DJ CFCF Interview: SXSW 2010

Mike Silver, aka DJ CFCF, blends the sounds of rap, hip-hop and electronica into an amalgamation chock full of authenticity. Before his SXSW appearance, Spinner spoke with DJ CFCF about his music and his influences.

How would you describe your sound?

Atmospheric, evocative electronic music. It's rhythmic, disco, house-influenced music, but it's more geared toward listening to than dancing to in a club.

What are some of your musical influences?

I've mentioned Arthur Russell a lot, Tangerine Dream, Peter Gabriel. A lot of rap, a lot of hip-hop producing. I love Frankie Knuckles--I'll just say a wide range.

Are there any sounds your music is compared to?

I've seen my music lumped in with the chillwave and the washed-out sound, which I'm not insulted by--I think those are all really good artists. But I also think I'm not shooting for the exact same thing they are, which is kind of this lo-fi, hazy, really nostalgic and really '80s-influenced short piece of music. That's something that I am, but when I'm making a song or a record I'm shooting for something a bit more epic, more open, a bit more grandiose. I'm shooting for a lot of things at once. I like chillwave music a lot, but I wouldn't say I'm a chillwave artist.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

From music and movies, mainly. Sometimes I hear a song that makes me want to make a song that makes me feel the same way. As far as movie influences, it's kind of thinking of a certain scene or a certain image and trying to translate that feeling into a sound.

How did you get into DJing?

It was kind of gradual, I guess. I took up producing music at home with my computer at a relatively young age, early teens. It wasn't good, obviously, but gradually I got better at it and started to take it more seriously. My brother had been DJing in bars around Montreal and he had invited me when I was young, before I was legal, to come play with him in bars. So that brought me into DJing, and since then I've tried to make my DJing complement my producing.

How did you come up with your name?

It comes from the name of an old television station in Montreal. When you're a kid you tape things off TV, and you have things that you watch years and years later, and I'm watching these things and they all have little bumpers for CFCF from the early '90s. For me it was something that linked me to my childhood and to Montreal, and for people who aren't from around here it would be enigmatic and have a geometric visual quality.

What's in your festival survival kit?

I'll bring a computer and some movies. Clothes, stuff that I need, nothing really silly or ridiculous.

What was the most influential piece of advice you've received?

Just do whatever you do. It doesn't really matter as long as the music is good. That's something that I've taken to heart, because there's no reason why I should work in exactly the same way as other artists. I feel like I've owned my manner of producing, and as long as I can keep up with what I'm doing, I think I'm doing the right thing.

What are your musical guilty pleasures?

I don't really have any guilty pleasures. Not to say that I don't listen to cheesy music, but I guess at some point I was listening to so much cheesy music that it stopped being cheesy music and just started being another thing I listen to. There was a period where I took up a lot that '70s soft rock stuff, and if you listen to enough of that stuff you start to not be able to detect when something is cheesy until someone walks into the room and asks you what you're listening to. But I don't really believe in guilty pleasures, you just like what you like.

If you had to create a meal inspired by your music, what would you be eating?

A really hearty fruit salad. It would just be a cornucopia of fruits in a tangy and creamy broth.

Kevin Chen is a Seed.com contributor. Learn how you can contribute here.