Name: Garry McCartney aka Trance Wax
Nationality: British
Occupation: Producer, DJ
Current release: Trance Wax's sophomore album Open Up The Night is out via Armada.
Recomendations: Book: 1984 by George Orwell; Piece of music: Symphocat - Long Whale Sound

If you enjoyed this Trance Wax  interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.
 


When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

When I listen to music I've heard before it usually transports me back to the first time I heard it, like taste or scent would.

This happens with my eyes open and there’s some random occasions where I'm in the same or similar palace to where I heard the music before, and you get a huge sense of reminiscence.

What were your very first steps in music like - and how do you rate gains made through experience versus the naiveté of those first steps?

I’ve never had any professional music tuition; it all came from learning to DJ at a young age. Even now I would see how I make music as going to a record shop and picking the right sounds for tracks as opposed to shaping the sounds myself.

I’m still learning every day and with the music software and technology moving at such a pace the innovation alone is enough to keep your attention.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

Yes, I would agree, this is when I was bought 1210 turntables and went record shopping at Mixmaster in Belfast. It was also the time record shops went online and you also had programs to download MP3s. I was also (and still am) heavily into bands and bought a Fender Telecaster which I found too hard to learn.

As I was too young to go out, I used to listen to a lot of radio broadcasts of DJs playing; I still go back to them as the sense of nostalgia when you return to the source of where you heard your favorite tracks is amazing.
 
Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools and how have they shaped your perspective on music?

Ableton. This is still the best software for what I do, and I’ve tried all of them. I bought the new standalone hardware version that doesn't even need a computer, very innovative and progressive.

Also YouTube. This may seem simple, but it saves so much time reading manuals of old hardware that would take hours.

Lastly AI. Recently there seems to be a weekly new discovery of something simple that blows my mind.
 
What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

It’s a personal thing that makes me happy, like therapy. This has never changed. Even though this is a hobby that’s now a job it’s still something I see as fun. The day that it’s not fun is the day it won’t be my job!

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

My favourite tracks are the ones that are not happy or sad, but move you from one to the other. Artists like The Smiths, Sigur Rós or Burial do this on every song, and it’s inherent in their sound.



It’s very hard for me to do but my end goal is to evoke a single emotion, then let the album create a palette of feelings by the end of listening.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

I fall asleep listening to people playing atmospheric computer games like Red Dead Redemption 2.

The sound of water or weather is very hypotonic and unpredictable. I can’t do this with white noise or a ticking clock as it’s too predictable and sounds like something I produce music with.
 
From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

One thing I love is extended notes or pieces of music slowed down. An example of this is the Jurassic Park theme tune slowed down 1000%, you can find it on YouTube.



Burial also does this a lot on his newer productions like "State Forest."
 


From symphonies and traditional verse/chorus-songs to linear techno tracks and free jazz, there are myriads ways to structure a piece of music. Which approaches work best for you – and why?

Arrangement is not an area I spend much time on, and I applaud producers that can. I make music very quickly and as I mentioned earlier it’s about exerting a single emotion.

Most of my tracks are ideas or loops that triggered an emotion, it didn’t start with the arrangement itself.
 
Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

For my album Open Up The Night a lot of it was made from scratch and only a few ideas existed before. I wanted to push the tempos and make it more of a club album than my first which was far more of a home listening vibe.

On the whole, I wanted it to represent a Fabric Live-esque CD where you built a set like you would in a club.
 
Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Yes, I would see my approach to music as being quite clinical and programmed compared to some.

I like getting in the studio with people who come more from the organic/art world than the laptop-savvy ones, as you come up with more original stuff.
 
How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I guess I can't just concentrate on one thing in life, and it’s the same with music. I have two artist projects - Trance Wax and Ejeca - and I'm always moving between different directions and mini genres in each.



The lesson I've learnt from music is that no one can take away the feeling you feel when listening to it, especially on your own in headphones.
 
Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I can’t put my finger on why, but I would say that making music and performing it is different from most other activities.

With music you’re expressing yourself and feeling emotion.
 
Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

Biosphere - "Poa Alpina"



I love dark, ambient music and this one is hugely haunting and uplifting. For me it always makes me stand back and look at life from afar, just for a few minutes.
 
If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

Keep it a personal human feeling and not a feeling society expects us to feel.