Contribution number ten comes from long time label friend and multi instrumentalist Michal Turtle (@michalturtle). Q&A (excerpt) here below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Hi Mike, how's life in beautiful Swiss? What's the story of you leaving the UK for Switzerland actually?

MT: Life is sweet thanks :)I've been here since the end of 1987, of course it was a lady story that brought me here.

MFM: Do you think that moving places changed you as an artist or maybe your approach to (writing) music?

MT: Once I got here, things quietened down a lot. I found a job in a recording studio, and started working with local heroes, some of whom I still do work for. The music scene here, compared to what I was used to in London is very low key, and I soon found quite a lot of time for writing my own stuff. The public has yet to hear (maybe one day) my early 90s output, but I carried on much in the same vein as the London years, albeit with improved technology. (this was my bronze age 
output, as opposed to the stone age London recordings)

MFM: Imagine if your inspiration or motivation ever runs dry, what place would you move to in order to find new?

MT: Geographically, it doesn't seem to matter to me where I work, if I'm on the road or on a long plane flight, I can work just as easily. If I don't have a (piano) keyboard, the writing style changes a little, and becomes more mathematical perhaps.

MFM: You have quite a background in musical education, correct? If you'd have to name one thing studying academically has taught you and which you still value today, what would it be?

MT: For much of the work I have ended up doing, I am grateful for my studies in orchestration and notation. I have written (physical) orchestral parts for real players, and they always worked just fine, and sounded as I imagined.

MFM: Experiment seems to play a vital role in your music, which never sounds the same and always rich of unconventional textures and musical combinations. Is that something you inherited from studying music at academical level?

MT: I would say no to that. My classical education was very traditional, and during it I was also experimenting at home and with other people, but the 2 elements never really overlapped. Luckily in college was a “state of the art” (8 track analog) recording studio, and the guy in charge of it was looking for projects to record. I ended up doing 7 or 8 pieces, multi-tracking everything. After that I was hooked on the recording process. (which I still am)

MFM: Did it ever cross your mind to work on a new album after your first and only one from 1983?

MT: In the late 90s I was discovering my production skills, and did 5 albums with my own project “wearedust” It was very much of that time, but some songs still get airplay on swiss radio, but as you say MFTLR was my only album under the name “Michal Turtle” I have written much new stuff in the intervening years, and there may well be a solo project of new material at some point.

MFM: Such a nice thing from you to join our mix series, thanks. You're not really a DJ right? How then did you approach making the mix?

MT: I've done several now, sometimes they are theme based, and other times it can be stuff I like and that has influenced me. This one is basically that, plus a couple of tracks from old projects (you may spot Lucianne and Tim in there) and a couple of more recent tracks by me.

MFM Mix 010: Michal Turtle

PLEASE DON'T SEND DEMOS

www.musicfrommemory.com

Amsterdam based record label releasing visionary electronic music from both past and present.

Sublabel: @secondcircle

Comments

Paulo Esteves

Jung dj

Cowtit

Onta

LINJA

MM

Slowfoam

nilkhaki

Lori

Ma Sha