Part 2

When it comes to the healing properties of art, many use the word spirituality. What does spirituality mean to you personally and how does it inform your work?

Dancing is considered a ritual. I'm fond of this idea. It heals the body. As I have said above, I have danced to escape my troubles.

Composing is a form of meditation, as well. I'm really on a different planet. It is kind of ritualistic, too. Sometimes I listen to my tracks and I ask myself: was it me or was it God's hand performing it all. I think we are more than just flesh and bone. I feel it and I also feel quite good knowing it.

Not preaching or anything. I like to say: whatever pleases you. It really pleases me to dive above and beyond the superficial consumerism we have lived in for centuries. We have definitely lost a significant amount of touch with nature, air, water, ambience and sound, with each other, as well. I love the Internet because it sells my music and promotes my gigs, it makes this interview possible, but it distracts people sometimes. From their art, as well. I mean-people look for love on apps. How not natural is this?

In moments like these, when I feel the ridiculousness of the luxuries we are surrounded by, I just play my favorite "Blade Runner Blues" by Vangelis from 1982 and read the comments on youtube.



There is a brilliant one amongst the thousands of them and it goes like this:

''This music gives one a strange nostalgia of a memory that doesn't exist ...''

If you have ever heard this piece of art you would know what I mean. If you haven't - it is now time to get to know it. You might even experience some extraterrestrial inner self bizness.

From a technical point of view, how do you create sounds and arrangements that can improve health?

Not sure I do create those. At least not intentionally.

I'm an arpeggiator girl. The Behringer Deepmind I got as a last studio gear addition has a good one. It definitely gives my tracks quirkiness and I need that funk in my life.

The soothing element in my productions is my voice, I believe. Aka my vocals, which I have in 90 percent of the music I write. A friend from the past told me years ago that she imagines a woman working on a sex-phone everytime she had to call me on the phone. I still laugh everytime I remember it. I guess she was kinda right because I have consciously decided to work with my voice, it became a strong asset in my productions and it is what the audience knows me for.

If you open my Instagram you are going to witness me singing or messing around with vocals in stories almost every day. I also wanted to become a singer, so ...

Back to production, I am definitely split between deep, trippy sensual tracks and jacking, pumping, out of the box techno cuts. It's a typical libra problem - what do I choose to give more of. So I choose both. And I make both. You find me somewhere in between. I can easily fluctuate because I have anyway never been a fan of the obvious, nor pragmatic and my influences are already so diversified.

‘I Am Here Now', as an EP is more to the funk and quirky side of Gabriella Vergilov. And it's got the rolling arpeggio. Fewer vocals than usual, but I compensated with some personal tributes to Bulgarian cinema and poetry, like samples and readings implemented in the tracks.

When it comes to the healing properties of music, in which way do you actively try to incorporate them into your music? What kind of sound are you looking for?

I just sit and work. Literally, ideas flow when I start working, not before that.

I'm the type of intuitive producer. The more I tweak, record, play notes and sing, the more I find inspiration. I also can't stress too much over perfecting my sounds. There are mixing engineers for that purpose. I know how to do a basic mixdown. CTRLS taught me 7 years ago when I went to him for a mix and master service for the first demos I wanted to send to DVS1. He also assured me that it is not a sin to not love doing detailed pre-master work yourself. The vitality is the idea.

Usually, I rely on what the synth I'm working with is giving me, without adding too many external effects, because I like to trust the machine and its features. I also like it rather raw. It is way more crucial to me to seize the momentum of the idea flow rather than freaking out about why my kick has a muffled end. This can be fixed, changed and modified, but I am not going to obsess about it for a week and try to find 5 more issues around it.

Again, the idea is about what is going to define you as a producer / composer and not the precise textbook politically correct sound design. Then you are an engineer, not a composer. Not a producer. Two different choices. I am impressed by colleagues who can do both.

Me - I'm a classical case music producer; I work primarily with hooks, grooves, vibes and emotions. But on a funny note, I think what might improve my mood sometimes is hearing my kick pumping and my vocal clean! (laughs)

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

I'll take "Strashni Ohi" from my newest EP.



It's the tunnel vision techno tune, rolling and mega funky. The male vocal sample is from an old Bulgarian movie ''Ladie's Choice'' and the line is very cheeky, provocative, a bit dirrty and total Bulgarian slang. The bassline complements the meaning of the phrase from the vocal sample quite well.

My favorite tracks are often made in a rather simple way, sitting on my sofa using a midi keyboard, despite the physical studio machinery I own. That was the case with ''Boring Shit'' which ended up being most beloved from that EP by the audience and most DJs, and it landed on DVS1's Fabric Mix for the same reason. That is the case with "Strashni Ochi", as well - made simple, not much thinking, but seizing the moment.

I always start with a kick, baseline, vocals, hi-hats and then I bring the whole crew of instruments to the party. The bassline is the absolute Queen in my work.

I must have a bassline!

I often rely on a 303, and most of the time, I find my ways to design a rather non-cliched acid sound. Traditional kick and hi-hat techno is not what I am good at either. Complexity is where I feel myself, yet surprisingly so many of my colleagues describe my sound as somehow minimal. I do EQ on each channel, use filters, sometimes so much that a hi-hat sound can turn into a bassline or a vocal loop into an explosive breakdown filler. But generally, I keep my sound raw.

[Read our feature on the Roland TB-303]

The most effective tracks I have so far composed are the ones with minimal equipment and not so many headaches around them either. I made 'Strashni Och'i in 2 hours, from scratch till the end. When I am actively working on an idea, I just absolutely can't go to bed before I bring it home.

I need to be swallowed by the process entirely. Again - it is ritualistic. I can't stop tapping my feet on the floor. When I stomp, the track is probably finished. Or maybe I am finished for the day.