Name: Terence Fixmer

Nationality: French
Occupation: Producer, live performer, DJ
Current release: Terence Fixmer's Shifting Signals is out via mute.

If you enjoyed this interview with Terence Fixmer and would like to find out more about his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, twitter, and Soundcloud.  



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you?

It’s just a feeling, a deep need in me to create something, to hear sound.

I compose at different times. Sometimes I don’t feel the need, and do nothing, and at other times I do a lot – I create a lot during the Fall.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

When I compose I have absolutely no concrete ideas. Instead I play with my synthesizers like I would with toys, trying different things without concrete direction.

And then, suddenly, something will catch my attention, a kind of a nice sounding accident - and that’s it, I have it.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

I don’t have a preparation phase, it’s more about where my eyes will guide me.

I look to the synthesizer, and then one of my synths will on that day hold my attention. Then I start to play with it, and let’s see … either something emerges quickly or ir doesn't … and if not, then I’ll change.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

As an artist, I am independent with my work, my decisions, and creation. So I find my balance through sport activities. I need to feel relaxed physically to let my imagination start working :-)

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

I start without a particular idea. Sor example, I'll choose a synthesizer in a random way, like the mood of the day synthesizer, and then I play and try different things with it.

Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?

When I find the right sound, or sequence, then there’s a kind of booster within me, to go further with the idea and sound design until the tracks are ready.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

I think that when I compose a track, in some way I don’t realize it. I am in a kind of deep state, a trance, and it’s in this hypnotic state that my creativity works.

When the track is ready, I listen to it some days later, and I feel I have a lost memory of the process, the way I did it – it is really strange and interesting. And every step of the way, when I listen to it I approve it as well - like I approve it to myself.
 
Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

Yes, that happens. From one idea, a new idea arrives and opens a new musical direction; sometimes I find it horrible and I must backtrack fast to my original work.

But sometimes it sounds good. Then I try to follow this new road.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

I would say I am in a kind of auto hypnotic euphoric trance state during these creative moments.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

That’s the difficult part for me, to know when to say ‘stop now, it’s ready’. It’s a difficult decision, you can work forever on a track.

Sometimes I work for too long on a track, and I go too far, losing the mood of the original piece. So I realize I need to work pretty fast to keep the spontaneity.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

Strangely, I know the mixing is really important but I don’t give it the highest level of importance. As for me, everything belongs to the expression and how good it sounds to my ears - or not.

Maybe there are technical mistakes, maybe I cannot mix some frequency between them, because it creates some conflict and important elements are lost …

But in the end, if it sounds good to my ears, that is the main point; maybe those mistakes are a part of the sound which I choose and accept as a result.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Not really for me. I create with feeling for the mood, I don’t feel pressure to create something outside of that.

Personally, the difficult part for me is more what track I will finish, or choose to work on, as I always have so much in the works.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee?

I create music without pressure, it is more about concretizing this creativity through sound, and to keep the focus on it, as I can create so much in many directions.