Evano is a fresh, new and relatively unknown electronic music artist from Ljubljana, Slovenia who has been able to maintain his experimental approach to music, avoiding the flood of digitalisation and soulless modernization of this genre. His music flows in endless depths and subtle exploring mainly in minimalistic passages.

The music journey began back in 2004 when he got his first DJing experiences. One year later, along side his friend Peter Jenko, he established a renowned Slovenian electronic music society called Phonotouch where they organized DJ workshops for youth, sharing their knowledge of DJing and also raising awareness of quality underground electronic music. Realising that his musical desires expand the field of DJing, he enrolled SAE music institute, seeking knowledge for music production which soon became his leading preoccupation.

In 2010 he teamed up with a young producer Vid Vai and Alex Long, an already established techno matador. Together they have spent hours in studio, experimenting with new sounds and unconventional approaches, sharing their knowledge and experiences.

Hard work paid off well for Evano and soon after that he released his first EP called »Caviar« on a Canadian label called Stereo Tension Records. At that time, his music also became noticed by one of the most active DJ collectives in Slovenia – Colours In Music. Another turning point in his music path happened in the beginning of 2011 when he was invited to be a part of the crew by its founding members – Aneuria and Ian F.

His music becomes noticed and praised by many well-known artists such as Dr. Nojoke, Pheek and Cleymoore who also invited him to collaborate in another artist collective called Pluie/Noir. Focused on creating unconventional electronic music that stands out of the traditional production approaches and is based strictly on freedom and experimentation with the sound, as we can hear by listening to his latest works Evano is able to remain fresh and innovative. Always seeking for something new, inspired by various labels like Perlon, Mule, Quintessentials, Raster-Noton and music masterminds Vladislav Delay, Murcof, Baby Ford, Ricardo Villalobos, Soul Capsule, Petre Inspirescu, Omar S etc., he is able to remain unique and keeps on surprising us as only few artists can.

Work with field recording

In the past few years field recordings became a crucial part of Evano’s music production. In different songs they play multiple roles. Sometimes they help evolving an idea, getting the inspiration, in some other cases they even represent the main part of the track.

Fascinated by the uniqueness and the infinite possibilities of recording, Evano uses his field recorder to create fragments and textures in music. The latter give to his audio work a specific stereo width, which he describes as “being in a room”. And this is precisely the feeling when you listen to some of his songs, as if you were there with him, listening to some electronic music combined with the noises of the surrounding. On the other hand the recordings are not just a mean to achieve the binaural effect; they imprint in his work a specific place and moment. They can also play the role of a kick or a snare, they can be the main melody or just a noise that you may not hear, yet you can feel the uniqueness of the whole.

http://soundcloud.com/evano/
http://twitter.com/evano_rpsky

Mix + interview

Pluie/Noir Podcast 001
“Électroniques pour l’Acoustique”

Sound by Evano.
Visual Interpretation by Ayane.
Video by Max Binski.

Pluie/Noir Podcast is a bi-monthly audio-visual episode representing our work as an artist collective. Each episode will feature a one hour collage/mix by one of our producers/djs and a poster triptych by one of our designers.
We interviewed both artists and dropped some questions about their vision:

EVANO

Pluie/Noir- You are the first artist chosen for our conceptual podcast series. What made you accept pluie/noir’s invitation to be part of the collective?
Evano- I stumbled upon Cleymoores’ soundcloud profile in June 2011 and wrote him an email regarding his particular sound and technique. I liked it immediately. I was soon invited to join pluie/noir and it was my pleasure to be a part of such promising concept. I think it will be a prolific connection.

Pluie/Noir- You have started your first DJing experiences in 2004, 8 years later in what did music change your life?
Evano- It changed my life in many aspects. I found my passion and discovered the possibility of artistic expression in it. It occupies my mind in a positive way, and over the years it helped me meet some wonderful and amazing people. As being a DJ/producer I found the ideal way to channel my perception of music and feelings to the people.

Pluie/Noir- The electronic music scene changed a lot in the last decades. What are the main differences you feel from when you started djin’ until now?
Evano- If we are speaking about the past eight years, I don’t think there were such big changes in electronic music. Everything was, and still is overflowed with such hyper production, that is difficult to find the things you really like. Therefore the sole digging became a much longer process for me. But it became also essentially different. Music has so much to offer if you search deeper and longer. For me there are no long nights when I start searching for some underrated, old and mostly unheard material. I spend less time on beatport and more on pages like discogs and decks. So I buy more vinyl, but still try to follow many net-labels that I like and support.

Pluie/Noir- What’s your take on experimental minimalist approach ? Will you stick to it?
Evano- It’s hard to say. That is the genre that fits to me at the moment. The minimal approach fascinates me more in production than in DJing. So I’ll try to keep my production experimental as much as possible. It’s a challenge, being accurate, exploring every single track in the song and make it unique. For me it’s a rational, systematic research in sound. On the other hand I do what feels right, so it’s also instinctive and unpredictable.

Pluie/Noir- You’re a dj and a producer. What inspires you?
Evano- Modular systems and Sonic art. And everything else I hear and see.

:AYANE:

Pluie/Noir- You were responsible for illustrating Evano’s podcast. What can you tell us about your triptych?
Ayane- It’s a fabulous podcast. I got myself lost in some very distinct moments. Since I got the oportunity to make it into a triptych, It was easier for me to separate some moments of the podcast in 3 different stages. Even though the 3 posters work solo as 3 distinct moments of the podcast, they are meant to be felt as a whole, and feel the mutations of the sound in a visual way from the first third to the final one.

Pluie/Noir- In japanese, “Ayane” means “aya” (colour), “aya” (design) or “aya” (kimono design) combined with the “ne” (sound). Does your name mean that your influences are essentially Oriental ones?
Ayane- 
I have a special bond with the japanese culture. I really enjoy their simplicity, the minimalism taken to extreme, either it’s in graphic design, industrial design, architecture, music or cinema. They have a supreme attention to detail, sometimes getting close to the utopic perfection. “Ayane” reflects that bond I have to Japan, and their simplicity.

Pluie/Noir- You were invited by Exquisite Collective from Buenos Aires, along with Max Binsky and João Ricardo, to represent Pluie/Noir in a International project called Exquisite Corpse, that will be published online (web page and behance) and probably later in a book. What can you tell us about this ?
Ayane- The Exquisite Collective started off as a platform to enable the exchange and interaction between artists, designers, photographers and creatives from all over the world. This project is based on a type of word “game” called Exquisite Corpse, used among surrealists. It’s a creative factory! Each participant will contribute to this project, in sequence, with a personal illustration connected to the last in at least one element.
I already did my contribution, Max Binski and João will follow.

Pluie/Noir- Color or Pantone ?
Ayane- Blue Klein! Ah … and “running donkey”. An expression I created to something like pantone color of 2012: tangerine tango.
I never think of a colors as a standalone, I think of them as a pair of colours or more. But Blue Klein is an exception. It’s a good standalone color, I picture it alone in different forms, textures, contexts, probably by direct influence of Yves Klein.

Pluie/Noir- Is Design a Passion, and is it your only one? Where can we find AYANE ?
Ayane- Yes, a true passion. “Those who run happy don’t get tired”.
Design is my work and also my hobby, and its great that it is so. I have a full time job at an Industrial Design company called Mordomias in Porto, and I also do freelance work in my “free” time.
Graphic Design is a tool. A tool of self-expression. I just need time and space to make the magic happen.
Music is a different passion, but ultimately it can be my inspirational muse.

The idea of this mix was to make a collage from acoustic and electronic tracks combined with effects, basses, modular recordings from DAW and my personal field recordings from 2011.

All tracks are edited in some way, mixed along another track, cut, pitched or even reversed.