Interview: Basic Soul Unit Talks Toronto, Techno
An authority on dance music, Stuart Li, better known in the techno and house world as Basic Soul Unit, has been an integral part of Toronto’s music scene for years. The techno producer has released music on labels that span the world, from the German label Dolly, run by techno duchess Steffi; the Japenese record label, Mule; the British label NonPlus, run by producer Boddika; the Chicago house music label Still Music; to most recently the Dutch label Dekmantel, through which Li released his latest full length album, Under the Same Sky a few weeks ago.
He’s also a veritable globetrotter, recently wraping up a tour that included dates in Boston, Pittsburgh, New York, and in Hungary, Romania, and Italy. On Saturday, December 19 Basic Soul Unit will make a stop in Buffalo for Strange Allure’s first bi-monthly party, and he’ll bring along fellow Canadian J-UL—who also happens to be signed to Li’s label, Lab.our. Strange Allure’s Alexander L will take the opening slot, and the Foundry’s NP will handle the visuals. For ticket info and venue information, visit Strange Allure’s Facebook page. This week we talked to Li about the Toronto electronic music scene, and his new record, Under the Same Sky.
Photo by Voltaire Ramos
You’ve lived in Toronto since 1984. Have you had much experience coming up to Buffalo?
I have been there a couple times—for a friend’s house party. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of DaRand Land—he’s from Buffalo and he’s an old school deep house producer. He’s invited me over to do a couple of his parties at his place and it was a really good time.
How would you describe the house and techno scene in Toronto?
Toronto is very multifaceted. It’s very multi-cultural and beyond that it’s big enough and we have so many different influences that there’s not really one thing or one sound that encompasses Toronto. It’s always changing as well.
You’ve been releasing music since 2003, but you released your first full length in 2012, Motional Response. Why after nearly a decade did you decide to do a full length?
For me, as an electronic dance music artist, 12 inches and singles are the primary format and most of the music I make is geared toward the dance floor, so I never really put that much thought into doing an actual album until the opportunity was kind of offered to me by [record label] Still Music in Chicago to do the first album. Since it was put on my plate I kind of took it on as a challenge. For the most part dance music isn’t very well represented by an album. At the same time, the albums that I have put out are mostly dance oriented but I try to put enough substance into them to make it work as a listening session.
And then in short order we got Under the Same Sky this year. Have you changed the way you write music?
Not really. I guess the music itself has changed a bit but the process is more or less the same. I never really start with a concept or theme in mind, and in fact, especially for the second album, I didn’t really put a deadline and there wasn’t a request from a label. I just worked through a bunch of music. As it took form it just sounded like these tracks fit together well, so I started to look at it as an album after that. I just started creating without thinking of it as an album and then after the music was finished I sent it to a few labels that I hoped would put it out. The Dutch label Dekmantel picked it up. They hold one of the most well known underground electronic music festivals. They were definitely one of the labels I wanted to work with.
My first observation of the new record is that it’s way more wide open than Motional Response. Motional was very reeled in—kind of soft and round—whereas on Under the Same Sky is more angular. It seems like you gave the leash some slack.
Yeah, I guess that was sort of an evolution of my creative process. When I started, I was very much influenced by Detroit and Chicago styles as far as production, and as music lover I also listen to and play a lot of different types of music, so I think as I matured it wasn’t so ridged as far as genres and themes go. I started taking in more influences and trying to express myself more openly.
While you’re writing this record, are you thinking ‘damn this would sound great at a huge festival or in a warehouse or in a small club,’ and if so, does that affect the direction of the record?
Yeah, to a certain degree. I didn’t think about whether it would work better at a festival versus a small club but definitely as I’m writing it my mind is somewhat on the dance floor and how this would sound on a certain system.
When you write music, do you visualize it? Do you look at music in terms of shapes and colors? Or is it more about finding a groove?
I guess it would be a mixture of both. I’ve been collecting records and DJing since the late 1980s so there’s definitely a groove element being in the club scene. But also I’m a graphic designer by training and profession so I think some of that also filters in as well as far as making music and doing it on a lap top. I do have a visual sense of it.
Do you have any favorite spots to dig for records in Toronto?
Well, I used to work at Cosmos records which is kind of one of the main shops here.
That’s one of my favorite record stores. There’s another shop there now, Cosmos West, right?
Yeah, they’re both within walking distance of each other. Cosmos is kinda more like funk, breaks, classic hip hop, soul disco. He’s geared Cosmos West kinda more towards like jazz and psyche and latin and stuff like that.
But he’s also got a lot of Detroit techno. I think the owner there recognizes me now because I go there every time I’m in Toronto. He always helps me pick out a great record that I’ve never heard.
That must be Aki [Abe] that you met. He’s the owner—the Japenese guy. It’s interesting that you mention the techno and house because his background, before he started the shop a long time ago, was kind of as one the main DJs in town for house music. He was doing Detroit house and techno parties in Toronto throughout the early 1990s. Then, of course, he started digging more jazz and soul, and disco for samples and such.
What have been some of your favorite records of the year?
The first one that pops into mind is the new Hunee on Rush Hour. He can go deep or go hard but it’s always in a very organic and soulful sort of way. I picked up the new Floating Points recently, too. I’m trying to think if there’s anything more on the techno side… Stuff from the Zenker Brothers—very good stuff.