Meet Ecotech

A self-portrait by, Ecotech

Would you rather…

have the power to make things you touch turn invisible or shrink?

I'd have to say shrinking. Shrink every human and we'll have infinite resources!

Some questions with Ecotech

Is this your first musical project? If no can you tell us what came before your work as Ecotech?

I started a band that morphed from deathcore (I was fourteen years old!) to skramz / math rock/emo over the course of six years. It was called grady stiles, and it eventually fizzled out after I moved faster graduating college in 2014. Because of the initial isolation of that move, I retreated into the laptop which eventually culminated in a vaporwave project I called Cola Necromancy. Those are the two projects that people besides myself have heard.

As far as other past and running experiments, I could rattle off 20 of my projects no one has or will ever seek out on Bandcamp. Instrumental hip hop duo recycle bin 羅伊, bedroom pop called ZS, solo skramz record called swath, ambient guitar collection called A Tattoo... but who's counting.

If your music was a sandwich, what would it be? Why?

Self-eating and self-digesting. This is the future.

What gear was essential in finding your sound as Ecotech?

I used to think it was snake oil, but my biggest advice to anyone who's into hardware and can afford 3-4 smaller items -- don't go for the DAWless setup. Get one excellent synthesizer and use a computer.

When I acquired a Moog Matriarch is when I transitioned from my old persona to Ecotech. I'm not a brand guy, and I'm not an analog snob, but everything I had used before that simply lacked the depth that a large, analog synthesizer provides.

I used the delay on the Moog Matriarch to define the sound on World's Over. I'm a big "time effect" person (vaporwave did me in) and find that drenched delay is perfect for what I'm trying to do.

Have you thought about putting together any Livestream performances? Why or why not?

I have done two live stream performances under my previous moniker Dj Psoriasis at the Kaizen Club! Shout out to Mike Larry Draw and everything he does for creating a community amongst artists, local and otherwise.

As far as future plans, the only thing that's been stopping me is paying attention to short tracks rather than full sets, and therefore having a technical limitation around how to transition from one song to the next. The nature of social media and specifically the format and restrictions on Instagram reward me for focusing on short clips. It's my own fault for allowing it to get this far but I also get a lot of positive feedback from using social media so it's a tough call on which to pay more attention to. However, I do have immediate plans to up my live performance.

Update since I first wrote this: I forced myself to do an improvisational set on Instagram live this weekend. This will become a common occurrence.

What was the creative process like working with Evan Weselmann on the album artwork?

I sought Evan out with an image in my mind, but without the skills to execute it myself. I was like, Evan this world is dying man, can you draw a completely exhausted, personified earth in an old-timey monochrome cartoon style who's just ready to give up bc of rising economic inequalities and climate crisis? And Evan was able to read my mind. We only had one revision, the addition of the mushroom. (Originally it was a tissue box that looked like a ballot box to me.) I sent that album to the CEO of the agency I work for, I wonder if he thinks I'm high. Idk, he sent me a song called "You Need The Drugs" so I think I'm good. Yeah, check out Evan.

What was your first date like?

Driving around to public parks and realizing my perception of what a date is was influenced by years of being a punk kid who didn't do anything normal like bars, restaurants, etc. bc all my friends were punk weirdos too, resulting in a confused lady friend (who still liked me).

What are your top five favorite animals?

Rockhopper penguin, platypus, angler fish, dodo bird, pterodactyl. I'm inclined to say "gumbo" but that's a soup.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Do art. There is no class of person that is meant to be creative any more than anyone else.

Ecotech