Following the recent launch of her brand new label Phase Insane – and with a slew of critically acclaimed releases clocked on the likes of UNCAGE, Copycow, refused. and Frequenza over the past eighteen months – we spoke to internationally celebrated Spanish techno sensation Indira Paganotto about her latest EP on OFF Recordings, her upcoming ‘Invisible Connections’ compilation on Octopus Recordings and her plans for the rest of the year.
Hello Indira! Thanks for your time.
Hi guys ! greetings from the mountains of Madrid!
How does your creative process start when making a record?
My creativity when creating music does not vary much since I live here, because I have a very natural environment such as living in the mountains, it seems time is always stopped, the only thing that disturbs it are the changes of season, so my music mood varies depending on the season of year. Let’s say that being isolated from the world has made me be 100% me, I have been able to know my language without external influences that would alter this process.
Lately, I am very focused on creating very early in the morning, I get up at 7 am I have a triple Caffe and I lock myself in the studio until 12, then I have lunch, I do my ritual in the garden of removing leaves, cutting firewood if it is winter, clean the stable of Tequila (my mini horse) and take a walk through the mountains with the dogs and return to the Studio, to my little temple, until the afternoon or until my ears tell me enough! (hahah) This loop is healing for me, it had been years since I focused so much time on creating since the bustle of gigs and tours took a lot of mental time and I couldn’t focus like now!
We’re loving your Jungle EP release on OFF Recordings. Tell us something more about the release. What was the idea behind it? How are you satisfied with the feedback?
Thanks a lot ! It has been a pleasure to release on this label , I love the sound of OFF and was cool that they gave me the opportunity to choose the artist from the label that I liked the most to remix. I had no other name than Oliver Deutschmann! He has a very intelligent and personal language and he has taken the track “Jungle” to his world, he has given it a spectacular, very contemporary and current remix.
I put it “Jungle” since I finished the EP at the end of my quarantine, where it seemed to me to be in a literal jungle, we have passed a wild, mysterious stage, of almost survival. I lived it surrounded by animals in the mountains like i say u before, so I would go out for a walk in the hours that they left us and it seemed like a real jungle, you could not hear anything more than the trees moving and the birds singing. Some stranger on the other side of the road would give you a slight greeting and change the address… you were going shopping and many things were missing, people were destroying the supermarkets that here on the mountain are small and there was almost nothing! It was all very wild so I gave it that name to reflect my state of mind and my experience in those days.
“Cowboy” has a lot to do with the wild feeling of Jungle, but taken to the Far West, where survival was also day to day. Cowboy has a more cinematic touch, with rough vocals and a riding base that holds you tight from start to finish, as if you were riding a runaway horse!
The feedback has been incredible, I am delighted with this EP.
What would you as an artist tell us about the remixes and your collaborations?
All that is to add to create something interesting, I like! I don’t usually do many remixes or collaborations, because I have a very personal sound but as long as the other artist has a vision similar to mine and there is a very good feeling, it is wonderful !!
I am currently collaborating on an EP with SUDO, a Japanese techno artist; and another collaborated with Dreamstalker, a Russian psytrance artist ; and two more top secret!
Tell us something more about the compilation you curated for Octopus Recordings.
I’m very excited because it’s the first compilation I’ve made for a big label like Octopus Recordings. I have been releasing releases with them for years, as well as podcasts, streams and live interviews for their various channels; So already making a compilation where I can choose the artists that I like the most on the label as well as some new ones that will be released for the first time there, is amazing!
The selection of artists and tracks has taken me several months, but I think I was right with the line I wanted to take. Hypnotic tracks, with riding basses, epic cuts, melodies that invite you to close your eyes and travel, vocals that cross your mind … and I have to say too … with Psytrance touches! That’s why it has taken me a little longer than I had in mind because there are not many artists who have all this together in one track, so I hope you like it !!
Grab the compilation here.
How would you describe the current situation on global electronic scene?
This is crazy, I don’t even know how to describe what we are experiencing! It seems like a nightmare from which we are never going to wake up, when it seems to start to light, they give us another slap and lock us back at home. But hey, it is a historical moment that we have to
live in a positive way, always with hope and hope. doing everything possible to get us out of this strong!
How would you describe your sound?
In my childhood and adolescence, my ear became accustomed to the mixture of Goa music with its cavalier and infinite basses and in Indian melodies that I heard from my father’s vinyl, to the Opera and classical music that, like a good northern Italian, my mother put to me in the car when she bring me to school. Years later, when I started producing years later , I released three vinyls of House music , because I wanted to discover that genre that was unknown to
me, but little by little my roots led me to what I am now, I accelerated the beats, hardening the energy of the tracks. , going through years of research in pure Psytrance, until this sound that I have now, which is a mixture of the wonderful aura of Psytrance, where the hope and vibration that it brings you transports you to outdoor environments, horses riding, nature, light , purity … and Techno, with industrial sounds, leather boots, club, absolute darkness … I like to recreate different stories in the same track, as if it were a movie, since I have many things to tell and I cannot leave a simple loop, I’ve always added scenes and changes until the magic happens!
What’s your opinion on the current livestreaming trend among DJs?
It seems to me very successful seeing the difficult moment that both artists and the entire electronic scene, in particular, are experiencing, they do not give us any other option to express ourselves musically, so I think it is fantastic that this arises. Personally, I started streaming since we were locked up at home, every week my husband who is a painter and I created a different background, a new world, a new inspiration. And since everything was opened, we have a project underway collaborating with a well-known brand that will help us create the streams we have in mind. Recorded with film cameras, in which art and light sensitivity are the fundamental pieces for the viewer, including unique places but always under a cinematic aura.
What is underground to you?
I think Underground is being different from the majority, it is not as extreme as being Outsider, but it encompasses the same feelings in my opinion. It has a special weight in music and art, as it recreates alternative worlds that the “massive people ” usually consume. It is true that in recent years, electronic music is well known but artists, clubs, labels and underground trends always emerge that renew genres and underworlds. Do I consider myself Underground? Yes, of course . Since I can remember I was, I wanted to delve into music and art and I was never at the tip of the iceberg, but spent hours and hours researching rare artists that almost nobody listened to, I have always liked what is different, The unknown. Proof of this are all these years where I have delved into my sound totally alone, without anyone to help me or explain how to make a simple loop, I bought a totally isolated house and built my studio from zero to my liking to get out of the world and into mine.
Are you planning some new music and projects soon?
I am preparing the new Phase Insane Records references, where local and not so local artists will come out with very interesting tracks that I cannot reveal yet. The second reference will be my first double vinyl Album, where you can listen to a selection of 8 tracks, 4 of them will be the best I have done in these ten years, I had them saved because I was waiting for this moment in which to release them in my own Label. It means a lot to me at this point in my career to release an album, because it marks a before and after in an artist. You hear a story without cuts, a movie without advertising in between. I am very excited I hope you enjoy it!
Apart from this, there will be two remixes that I have made for Dusty Kid and Axel Karakasis, and two more EPS that I cannot reveal yet! I can only say, Fire!
In March I will record a stream with United We Stream, and apart from that I have two more powerful streams closed in Berlin.
Aside from productions, I will release my own Phase Insane Records clothing line,: catsuits, leggings, shirts with Japanese sleeves and jumpsuits, all in latex, handmade in Madrid , with great care and to the smallest detail for whoever buys it, have a unique and unrepeatable piece!!
What can you tell us about your label Phase Insane?
Since I started producing, more than ten years ago, I wanted to have my own label, but I still wasn’t very clear about my language, so it would be impossible to carry a label consistently, with a defined line! In recent years, I begin to have my style, all the tracks speak of Indira, of her life. So I think it is the best time to release Phase Insane Records. It has a very defined and careful identity, since I have put the best of my environment so that each reference is unique and timeless. I have involved the Madrid artist David Morago, in which each reference will be
his real paintings adjusted to the vinyl format. Art in its purest form! The musical line carried out by Phase Insane Records is focused on Techno, although some psytrance reminiscence will come out for sure at some point because you know it is part of my musical heritage (hahah).
Whoever buys Phase Insane Records, will take home art, music and literally my being. The next reference will be my first album, so it will be a very special edition !!
Check the label here.
What are your top 5 techno tracks at the moment?
A.Morgan -Flesh ( Original Mix)
Christian Kluge – Ich Sehe Sie ( Original Mix)
Marcal – Angry Teleprinter (Original Mix)
Ryogo Yamamori – Superpsh (Original Mix)
Joton – All Tomorrow’s Parties (Original Mix)
