Tag Archives for electronic music

ANTIQUARK REVIEW on REVIEWER MAG

Original article @ Reviewer Mag

Sky Dancin’ With Marine Biologist

AntiQuark, Sky Dancer

Hungry Eye Records

Review by Kent Manthie
The other day, someone turned me onto a relatively new band, AntiQuark, and their new CD, Sky Dancer, out now on Hungry Eye Records. AntiQuark is threaded by electronica, rock, pop and a kind of new-new wave style. Their first single, if you want to call it that, “Man From Mars” has a techno-club, dance beat behind a sensible pop melody.
The Atmospheric ethereality, notwithstanding, AntiQuark are a combo of pop music players nonpareil. The first track, “Man From Mars” was probably recorded as a label-catcher or radio-friendly fare, as its pop sensibility shows, but when one digs deeper, like “Planet X”, which mixes a mission control-to-spaceship radio contact sample with swirling sounds and an edgier beat, a song destined to be remixed infinitely for loud, danceteria club mixes. Besides the space connotations it evokes, “Planet X” also has a very sensual output to it, there’s something to it that would definitely bring two hot, sweaty club kids together in a feverish dervish sort of dance. “Shameless” is a sweaty, swinging minuet that oozes sex and is driven entirely by synths and drum machines.
The vocals on Sky Dancer remind me a little of The Wolfgang Press, but with a much more trance-inducing, mesmerizing, spaced-out, melting environment style.
Other songs worth mentioning are “Drawer 4”, another song that digs deeper into their electronica side along with “Planet X”, the latter of which starts out with samplings of mission control-to-spaceship radio transmissions and has an atmospheric, ethereal vibe to it that also gets all hot and bothered, with heated up sensuality and is sure to bring together two ecstasy and liquor-fueled club kids together.
Another song which leaves the space junk (ie, old satellites, orbiting scrap metal, etc, nothing to do with their awesome touch) behind and goes straight for the heart is “Aldila”, a slowed down, breathy sex storm of a song, just perfect for making love to, with its big beats, its quiet synth waves and whispered Italian lyrics, it is another kink in anyone who thinks this band is a one-song combo.
But it is a one-woman band. The entirety of AntiQuark is Ant Dakini, who founded AntiQuark in 2001 and since then has recruited SergioO to add the sensuality of his vocal style, which was a good move.
Besides being an innovative transcendent musician, Dakini is also a marine biologist who specializes in shark biology. So, she is a busy woman, to say the least, but a very studied woman as well as gifted with musical greatness.
Keep on listening and you should be tempted to buy the Sky Dancer for your next house party or for the next time you’re out clubbing and bring home some that special someone.
-KM

ANTIQUARK INTERVIEW for MUEN MAGAZINE

ORIGINAL INTERVIEW at MUEN MAGAZINE
December 28, 2009 – Monday

Interview w/ AntiQuark (San Diego, CA)
Category: Music

ANTIQUARK
AntiQuark, originally from Torino, Italy, are a unique blend of electronic and techno founded by keyboardist, Ant Dakini in 2001 and then further developed in 2006 as vocalist Sergio O then joined.
In 2009 they released SkyDancer and also recorded a song for a popular Italian 80’s synthpop band, Krisma. AntiQuark has also been featured in many compilations and have been remixed by international producers such as Marc Urselli, Chris Reynolds (Red Flag), Steve Morell (PaleMusic, Germany), Giulio Maddaloni, The Moscow Coup Attempt, and more.
Sharing the stage with such acts as Godhead, Orgy, Pigface, Red Flag, and others, AntiQuark has produced 5 albums in total and besides touring the U.S. and Mexico, they’ve also toured Europe 6 times and have performed at music festivals such as MTV Tr3s, Fe/Male at Forte Prenestino in Rome, GieBerstrabe 16 in Liepzig, Germany, San Diego Pride and LadyFest in Las Vegas.
In the past they have been compared to such acts as Depeche Mode, NIN, Dead Can Dance, New Order, and Skinny Puppy.
See them live:
JAN. 1 @ Dream Street in San Diego, CA
JAN. 2 @ the Del Mar Fair in Del Mar, CA


Life Is Art & Art Is Life Photography

ANTIQUARK INTERVIEW / POST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC UNDERGROUND 12/26/09
By G. Cataline
PAMU: Hi Ant and Sergio! Wow, it’s nice to see you are still performing Ant,
as I remember you from earlier in 2001… When did you meet up with singer,
Sergio O., and how would you say your art and music has changed or evolved now that you are a duo?

Ant: Sergio has been part of the band since 2007. The band has certainly changed in a more professional & ecletic direction. Thanks to Sergio’s great abilities.

Sergio: I answered Ant’s ad (looking for a singer) in January of 2007. I’d never really sung to electronic music before and Ant never had a metal/rocker-type singing for this group. At first I thought she would write me off since the only voice-samples I could send were from the metal band I had previously worked with.

PAMU: Have you lived in San Diego all this time, since 2001?

Ant: Yes – back & forth between here and Europe.

Sergio: I had only moved to San Diego in the Fall of 2006 from Ventura, CA. I’d been in Ventura for 3 years singing/recording with Divine Right of Kings. I moved to Los Angeles from Texas in 2002.

PAMU: Ofcourse, you’ve toured and performed at numerous events even outside the states – What has been some of your most memorable experiences while touring and performing overseas, and outside of San Diego?

Ant: Festival Forte Prenestino in Rome – in front of 2,000 people – in an old, WWI barracks that is now a famous squat. We didn’t even start playing until 2AM!

Sergio:In Liepzig, Germany. That was fantastic – a couple of hundred people – everyone of them dancing to our music. We came on right after a thrash/death-metal band from Brazil and they’d torn up the place – the crowd loved them. I thought everyone would just leave or tear us to pieces, but they immediately adjusted to our sound and suddenly we were bouncing the whole place.

PAMU: Is “Electronica” the best label for your music, or do you stray far from that genre? For example, do you ever write just straight rock or folk, etc.?

Ant: Electronica is good enough. Since a big part of our sound is made with computers & synthesizers.

Sergio: What I saw about going ‘electronic’ was that I wouldn’t lose anything. Because ANYTHING can be put into electronic music. Heavier sounds from Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy & NIN are as much ‘electronic’ as Depeche Mode, VNV Nation & Kraftwerk – and I dig all that stuff.

PAMU: Tell us about any upcoming tours you have booked.

Ant: Our manager is working on booking our next European tour.

PAMU: Sergio, how does your project “Divine Right Of Kings” differ from work with AntiQuark?

Sergio: Well, DRoK was a Zeppelin-Dream Theater-progressive-metal-ballad-thing. We recorded an album in English & then in Spanish and it was going to be a powerful, live, ARENA act. Big rock-guitars, big live-drums, huge GeddyLee-BASS & Ozzy-S.Bach vocals. I and the 2 other guys laid down the tracks with producer Z Morse. All the musicians involved were really good and already quite accomplished studio-guns, but then they weren’t going to take another step until they were paid.  So the live act never happened. With AntiQuark, I met Ant, within a few days started writing stuff, recorded it, and within 2 months was onstage in Germany performing. The difference between 3 years with DRoK and the first 3 months with AntiQuark was like ice & lava.

PAMU: What is AntiQuark’s overall objective? What do you strive to communicate in the music of AntiQuark?

Ant: The main goal is to write good music that people can enjoy & dance to.

Sergio: To compose & record as much music as possible, to perform/present it in as many different places as possible. I suppose for me personally it’s important to communicate how elastic music can be since I’ve never sung to this kind of music before and it seems to work.

PAMU: What do you have in the way of video, and who helps you with video?

Ant: In some of our live-shows we use projections from the sci-fi movie, Litorra (by Marc Sokolowski) that I scored the soundtrack for. For the future, we will be collaborating with Bret Barrett, an amazing artist who does multi-media art & sculpture. Also, we will be working with Elle Gamboa, an eclectic photographer & film-maker, to make several videos.

Sergio: My brother, Gabriel Ordonez, is a video-editor who works in Los Angeles. He recorded several of our live shows in L.A. and is compiling together a live DVD of AntiQuark.

PAMU: What are your goals for the coming new year?

Ant: To finish a new album, tour Europe, Mexico, & the U.S. and reach more people with our music. To develop a new & more intense live-show with more lights & more video-installations.

Sergio: Yes, all those things that Ant mentioned.

PAMU: Are you happy with the way that the media covers you? And where else can we learn more about AntiQuark?

Sergio: Not being a part of the corporate machine makes it harder to get on the radio or get your videos on television, but the internet/global community certainly makes things more possible than ever before. Independent magazines have been very supportive.

Ant: On the internet you can check some of our stuff or talk to us at: www.myspace.com/antiquark,
www.reverbnation.com/antiquark, www.facebook.com/antiquark

PAMU: Giulio is a good friend of ours. How did you meet up with him, and what do you have recorded with him thus far?

Ant: Giulio Maddaloni is an amazing producer from Italy. We met through the internet and immediately became great friends. We met him in person in Naples, Italy, during our last tour. He did a number of remixes for us. Two of them (The Man from Mars remix & Shameless remix) are on our latest CD, SkyDancer.

PAMU: Ant, when did you move from Italy to the U.S.?

Ant: March 12, 1997.

PAMU: Are you happy in San Diego, and if so, what is it that keeps you in San Diego?

Ant: I’m all right in San Diego. It’s not really a happening place. But the weather is nice and it’s
beautiful being close to the ocean. It’s a place without many distractions and so it’s good to get music & work done.

Sergio: I actually moved down here 3 years ago from L.A. to be closer to my family, and then meeting Ant made the move double-plus-good.

PAMU: What else do the both of you do besides work with AntiQuark – What do you both do for a living, passtime, etc.?

Ant: When I don’t do music I work as a shark-biologist. I’m striving to bring more awareness about ecology & preservation of the planet. In the little free time I have, I keep my body in shape thru yoga, fitness and macrobiotic nutrition. I have a big passion for dogs, I love spending time with my dog, helping shelters and associations that rescue animals.

Sergio: You know I actually have written 10 times as much poetry & prose than all the music I’ve ever composed. I’ll publish a group of books in the future. I read too much, I’m a movie-bum, a solitary bedroom-hermit. I write more & more and sing along to CDs & walls all the time. Perpetually finishing production ideas on the computer; I research all kinds of music, bands & their histories, and nap all the time. I hang out with my nieces & nephews more than any adults (except Ant of course). Sometimes I fantasize about exposing all the U.S. powermen of this first decade in such a way that the public could no longer find any doubt about how badly they damaged this country – and make them personally pay back all the taxpayer-money they stole for their “wildy stupid” (Time magazine) ideas in ‘protecting’ the American people.

PAMU: What last words do you have for your fans and/or those who may be interested in your music?

Ant: Check us out! Come to our shows!

Sergio: We appreciate your attention to us & our music.

PAMU: Feel free to add any other info about AntiQuark here:

Ant: Our CD, SkyDancer, is available on www.reverbnation.com/antiquark for free streaming and for downloading on iTunes, CDBABY, Amazon.com and many other websites.

ANTIQUARK REVIEW – SAN DIEGO READER

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/nov/18/as-i-hear-it-trouble-wind-tim-23s-antiquark/

Artist: AntiQuark

Song: “Drawer 4” (from the CD Skydancer)

Heard by: Rick Tiland

I think it’s industrial and original. It sounds almost retro ’80s with a new-age influence. I liked it a lot, actually. I’d like to know more about the artist and where they’re from. I would say they’re similar to Rob Zombie, Nine Inch Nails, maybe Tool. I think one of the lyrics was, “Leave my mansion.” The person seemed frustrated. Maybe it was a long night at a party and there were still a lot of people at the house and he just wants everyone to get out of his hair. Maybe the mansion is his head. Maybe he’s a frustrated artist who’s sick of people. I think they’re a little bit ahead of their time, so I think they might have some difficulty getting enough mainstream [exposure].

ANT DAKINI’S INTERVIEW PORTRAIT BY NESREEN

Nesreen a multi-talented young woman (singer, writer and much more!) wrote this wonderful report on Ant Dakini for Musician Spotlight Independent Project. Please check Nesreen’s wonderful voice at http://www.myspace.com/nesreenmmehdi

Musician Spotlight: Ant Dakini

Ant Dakini is an unconventional woman, who nourishes her soul through the innovative pursuit of the passions in her life. Through her musical endeavors as well as outside of them, Ant has also shown compassion in her surrounding community on both a local and universal level. Ant is the creator and other half of AntiQuark, a San Diego electronic band. Their music is hard to pin into just one category. It is an independent departure from mainstream, with roots to many techno and other forms of music world-wide but mainly European, specifically the large electronic movement in England and Germany. Each song experiments with different sounds ranging from Tahitian tribal drums providing a strong beat to Italian military chants spliced into a dance track, giving the music a sense of diversity and ingenuity. Born and raised in Italy, Ant showed early signs of musical talent.

At an intuitive age of 4, she found herself learning to read music by ear, without direction. By the age of 10, she had begun classical piano lessons. She went on to study piano for the next four years at the Italian Conservatorio in Torino and although Ant enjoyed this type of music she was not solely satisfied with the confinement of recreating and repeating the works of others (Ant Dakini Biography). She was more interested in creating her own music and not in rigorously training as a career classical musician. Ant decided instead, to pursue another academic passion and chose to study marine biology. She received her Master’s degree in this subject and went on to a career as a marine scientist specializing in sharks. Meanwhile, she joined a cover band as a teen then an all female radical punk band in 1992 before she moved to San Diego in 1997. She started her current band, AntiQuark as a solo project in 2001 with Sergio joining in 2006 (AntiQuark on MySpace). From 2002 to 2006 she completed a degree in sound engineering and recording art and has been working with Sergio to produce their recent album and has toured worldwide.

When Ant describes her influences, they are varied and timely. She explains how classical music has been an underlying influence because of her training as well as pop, punk, metal, experimental and noise genres in the 80’s. The next decade would bring the influence of electronic music as well as bands such as Alice in Chains and Simple Mind. Her current band’s music falls into the electronic genre as well as pop, experimental and dance. Her audiences, just as her sound, are eclectic and diverse. AntiQuark has entertained fans of all ages, races and of all musical tastes. AntiQuark’s repertoire is all self written music and lyrics, recording only one cover for a compilation album, Ant describes, “We don’t like doing covers because we like to be creative and do our own thing.” Ant Dakini is the composer and producer of the band and plays the keyboard while Sergio writes and sings vocals. At shows, they usually play songs off of their most recent album, “SkyDancer” and occasionally play songs off of past albums Ant produced before Sergio’s addition. Ant is featured n many compilation and her songs have also been frequently remixed .The instruments that Ant uses are the keyboard and computers and musical software programs. Through this she is able to create an infinite number of sounds and combinations to fit each song. The band also occasionally uses electric guitars and live percussion.

Tracks from ‘SkyDancer’ are brimming with energy, having both a haunting and uplifting feel at the same time. The mixture of elements transcends popular music and creates a distinctive profound quality. One of my favorite tracks, ‘Planet X’, does just this as the voice samples, fluid beat, futuristic and rough effects and smooth vocals bring forth the imminent crisis of the world’s obsession with consumption. Another song titled, ‘La Fine’ is a beautiful and lively intermingling of drums and nature sounds, and in my opinion, is a tribute to wildlife. Whether it is through the mood of the music or the lyrics themselves, messages like these need to be communicated through music since it is such an influential medium.

Ant aspires to write more music and continue to release her creativity in the future. This is an important objective in the conception of her music yet she also has a goal that relates to the connection with her audience. She aims to communicate and reach people at a deeper level of understanding and share a part of herself through her music. She would like for people to truly enjoy her performances, feeling as though it was a meaningful experience.

Keeping with the common theme of variety, the shows Ant plays are also diversified. Venues range from discos or clubs to bars and even large festivals. She describes that there have been shows at dive bars with only five people present and huge festivals in Europe housing over 2000 people. One show that she remembers fondly was at the Social Center in East Germany. She describes her European shows as more exciting since the electronic music scene carries more momentum there. The show in Germany shares a certain quality with many European shows in that they are often held in abandoned warehouses, entertain an independent art crowd and are at the edge of legality. At their shows, Ant uses some prerecorded material as it would be impossible to play all the parts herself. She must stay on beat but does have the liberty to make changes if she chooses. It all goes through a PA system and is apparently relatively simple to set up. Ant describes their shows and explains that she is somewhat physically restricted to be behind the keyboard but that Sergio does engage the audience uses the stage area while singing. She also explains her ambitions for forthcoming shows. She includes a visual component in every show, displaying clips and images that compliment the music and add to the experience, creating more energy.

In addition to AntiQuark, Ant also composes music for films and works as a freelance audio engineer. She has scored many films including, ‘Litorra’, ‘The Second Movement’, ‘The Wetlands’ and ‘In the Dark’. Ant Dakini was honored for her talents and won the first prize in the 2005 Media Arts Award Competition – Audio Category (composer, engineer and producer) for the album Neon H. The award was sponsored by the Multimedia and Entertainment Initiative of the California Colleges’ Economic and Workforce Development Program (Ant Dakini on MySpace).

Ant describes her association and experiences with two types of communities. First, she laments that although she enjoys San Diego, the community within musicians has been discouraging. She has tried to reach out and unite other electronic artists and has not had been satisfied with the outcome. The music community here, in comparison with Europe is much more private and not as social. This can be a detrimental quality as social networking can lead to unique opportunities and synergy, and the case of activism through music, the voices of many versus one can make more of an impact. Next, she describes her involvement with the general community. AntiQuark has played many charity shows advocating several causes such as women’s rights, gay pride, and animal rights. Aside from her musical statements and support projects, Ant is furthermore committed to the conservation of the marine animals, especially sharks. A friend of animals, she also works as a volunteer for a rescue association in San Diego (Ant Dakini Biography).

Ant Dakini’s determination and motivation are a great inspiration to many women and are even more sincere because they root from intrinsic sources. It is clear that she enjoys what she does, whether it is in her career life or in her free time. She has utilized her talent without degrading the content and her creativity which is a feat in itself. To many, this is what constitutes true art.

Nesreen
http://www.myspace.com/nesreenmmehdi

ANTIQUARK COVERSONG FOR KRISMA TRIBUTE

New updated post 9/27/2011

AntiQuark finalized the coversong of “Nothing to do with the dog” by Krisma.
It is available for FREE DOWNLOAD!!! at:
http://www.chybernation.4000.it/

CHyberNation, the tribute to KRISMA from 23 international indie artists, is here!

Krisma (formerly Chrisma) was created in 1976 by Maurizio Arcieri, former member of beat band NEW DADA, who had also published a couple of 7” under his own name.

In 1976, after the start of an artistic collaboration with his wife Christina Moser, Maurizio asked PolyGram to change the name on his contract from Maurizio to Chrisma.

The duo debuted with two 7” (Amore and U), that we could classify in the sexy sound tradition, very alive at that time.

With these two records Chrisma began a collaboration with Nico Papathanassiou (Vangelis’ brother) resulting in
Chinese Restaurant, LP recorded in London, where punk was starting to spread.

After Chinese Restaurant the same team worked on another album (Hibernation). After its release, the band would change its name to Krisma, choosing to play the same innovative and sophisticated electronic music they are still recording today.

Many bands have declared Krisma their models and this is why we decided to build this well-deserved tribute.

CHyberNation, a title which is also a pun on the nature and history of the band, is a collection of Krisma, Chrisma and Maurizio songs by many international musicians.

Volvo Tapes, side project by Enrico Fontanelli of Offlaga Disco Pax, offers a new version of Gott Gott Electron filtered through the vintage sounds of tiny Casio keyboards (Enrico loves them as Krisma do); Andy (Bluvertigo) together with Cosmic Boilers plays a hot version of the seminal song Water, enriching it with his sax reminding of Psychedelic Furs; Roulette Cinese re-reads Cathode Mamma as a contemporary and snappy pop-hit;

American band AntiQuark chooses Nothing To Do With The Dog,
from American album Fido, and plays it aggressively and faithfully;

Californian DJ RedFlag re-writes Skyline, underestimated masterpiece from Iceberg album; we also have Loud Neighbor (We R) from Spain and La Kuizine (I Must Know Your Name) from France.

Some former stars of independent Italian music scene didn’t want to miss the chance to give their own covers: legendary XX Century Zorro of Miss XoX stands out with its phunk version of Many Kisses; awesome Avvoltoi get back to their historic cover of Who’s See Me Feel Me, recorded in Italian by Maurizio after he left New Dada
(Guardami, Aiutami, Toccami, Guariscimi), while mythical Johnny Grieco, former leader of Dirty Action, offers his version of Maurizio’s Cinque Minuti e Poi…

We also have many other bands from the underground scene, like Shivan (with an amazing emo-metal version of Aurora B.), Iso and La Magicienne D’Oz (Fritz Cavallo), El Pulpo, spin-off of Peluqueria Hernandez (a languid Lola, dark-room style), Tupolev & The Spam Lovers (Mandoia with a sparkling touch and Japanese hues), Xelius
Project who winks its eye at Kraftwerk and rearranges Telegram, Riky who gives an Arabic atmosphere to Lover, Adriano Canzian (a version of Black Silk Stocking perfect for DJs), our host Joyello (a deconstruction of immortal song C-Rock), Vico Dell’Amor Perfetto (Signorina) and many others.

Krisma, always active and alert, didn’t want to be mere onlookers and they appear in ChyberNation too. Maurizio Arcieri together with Magnetica Ars Lab offers a new version of Opera Punk, latest techno track produced by the band, and both Krisma step on the stage with Machina Amniotica for a live version of Samora Club, kindly offering
it for reproduction in this collection.

CHyberNation is a Joyello production for Strambelly Netlabel and is available for free download here:

http://www.chybernation.4000.it/
CHyberNation (A Tribute to KRISMA)
dischi strambelly netLabel
© 2009
www.chybernation.4000.it
werkrisma@joyello.net

NEW SKYDANCER ALBUM REVIEW (ITALIANO)

AntiQuark: SkyDancer

by M. Genovese

http://www.myspace.com/junglamanna

Cosa hanno in comune Torino, Panama ed il mare della California? AntiQuark, semplice no? No non sto delirando! Il duo statunitense AntiQuark raccoglie in sé tutte queste anime a partire dalla sua fondatrice  Ant Dakini biologa italiana con alle spalle alcune pubblicazioni sugli squali fino ad arrivare a Sergio, voce del gruppo, nato negli Stati Uniti ma vissuto a Panama arricchendosi delle influenze tipiche della mistica latino-americana.

Il loro lavoro, SkyDancer, edito dall’etichetta indipendente Hungry Eye Records è l’ultimo di una lunga serie cominciata nel 2002 e si presenta come un lavoro di una certa eterogeneità che ben rappresenta le molteplici fonti d’ispirazione  che influenzano il duo californiano.

The Man from Mars apre le danze con le strutture ritmiche dei synth , abilmente addomesticati da Ant, che si fondono appieno con le ambientazioni profonde della vocalità quasi mistica di Sergio, che chiude il brano quasi sussurrandoci che quest’universo, ad un marziano sembra in fondo in fondo non consentire niente.

Nella seconda traccia, Shameless, basso e beat si inseguono su di un tappeto di pads a dare profondità all’ottima voce di Sergio ispirata ai mitici anni 80. In breve sequenza poi Planet X sunto del pensiero naturalista degli AntiQuark e Drawer 4 dalle atmosfere da scena rave anni 90 scandite dalle melodiche continue e ripetute come un mantra e la voce a rendere il tutto quasi ipnotizzante. La quinta traccia, La Fine, dai ritmi tribali incessanti a far da base ai suoni della natura incastonati nei pads, avvalora ancor di più la vocazione al meltin’ pot degli AntiQuark. La natura la fa da padrona ispirando questo brano in cui i suoni come gocce d’acqua danno vita e dinamismo a La Fine.

In chiusura, prima di una buona serie di tracce remixate da artisti vicini al gruppo, la mia preferita, Aldilà, una favola elettronica, un’ambientazione magica da ascoltare rigorosamente dopo le 23 di un lunedì invernale nelle strade semideserte di una grande metropoli europea. Un cammeo di poco piu di due minuti e mezzo sintesi di tutte le qualità degli AntiQuark. Insomma un album da ascoltare, da ballare e passatemi l’espressione: ”Da meditazione”. Ovviamente  su myspace e antiquark.net.

ANTIQUARK PERFORMING AT SAN DIEGO PRIDE 2009

AntiQuark will be performing on July 19th, 2009 at San Diego Pride in Balboa Park.

More details will be released soon. Stay tuned!

On April 23th, AntiQuark played at the Pride Equality Benefit at the Ruby Room in San Diego, see a minivideo of the performance below.