Semiautomatic
Akiko Carver on organic electronics, the perils of living in NYC, and what her band really, really needs.
By Jessie Nelson
Published: November 4th, 2003 | 9:32pm
Semiautomatic's electroclash-touched-with-punk sounds divine in a music industry obsessed with making radio waves and an underground scene that tends to get caught up in outward appearances. Based in New York City, making music under the industry radar, Semiautomatic's Akiko Carver just wants to make good music and make you dance in the process. Carver and partner in crime Rop Vazquez (a.k.a. Ropstyle) released their fourth album, Wolfcentric, in September. Carver recently spoke to Venus from the pair's NYC home.
You guys seem to be just on the left side of electroclash with a dash of rock thrown in. Tell me about what went into your choosing your particular instrumentation.
We came together in '98 when Ropstyle was looking for a way to mix his DJing with live music. Originally our songs were recorded on a four-track, so we didn't have room for anything more than turntables, guitars, and vocals. Our band name was taken from the Technics Semiautomatic Direct Drive turntables that we used, because Rop couldn't afford 1200s. Later we added a drum machine and keyboards, and then dropped the turntables when we decided they were too delicate for live shows. Since Ropstyle started studying circuit-bending, we also use modified toys and toy keyboards for some of the noises.
Do you find that using electronic samples, etc. enhances the organic quality of your music?
We haven't used samples since we stopped using turntables, so most of what may seem like samples are really speaking toys that Ropstyle killed and rebuilt. Since he works to create the sounds from them, we consider those noises fairly organic as well -- well, as organic as any electronic noise can be, including guitar.
Tell me about how you became a band.
After the Peechees [Rop's former band] broke up, Rop moved to New York and we lived together. I think we just had very similar interests in terms of instruments and creating different sounds out of the music we were familiar with. When we first lived here we were fairly isolated and the New York scene was sort of strange to us. So it was an ideal environment for us to do what we wanted, which was to dump the idea of genres altogether and just make music that seemed right to us. When 5RC offered to put out a record, it seemed like a perfect place for a project like that to go, so everything just sort of fell into place.
Many of your songs deal with political issues as well as themes of broken relationships. Are you looking to make political commentary with your music or just looking to make good music that satisfies you first and foremost? Do you exorcise personal demons with your music still?
We've never been on any political mission with our music. If I did set out to make political commentary I certainly wouldn't use something like an underground rock band as a vehicle. Any political commentary that's there is just something that I feel and can't help feeling as a human being, witnessing my own surroundings and the world I live in. I guess I do try to exorcise demons with music though, as I think probably most artists do. A lot of the songs on this record deal with a sort of despair and a lack of hope, politically and emotionally, because of the time we recorded it in. We were in the middle of a war and Ropstyle and I also had just broke up as a couple, so I think I pushed the boundaries of what I would allow myself to say out loud. In the past my lyrics have been sort of veiled, and I guess I decided that I need to be very clear from now on, or at least to feel that I have the space to do that in.
What music were you listening to at the time when you formed Semiautomatic and how did it influence your earlier albums?
Rop was listening to a lot of turntablism and hip-hop; I was listening to trance and techno. We both come from a punk/hardcore background, and I think all those influences came out in the early stuff.
What are you listening to currently?
I work on a zine called Kitty Magik, so I guess I listen to a lot of the stuff we get sent for review. But right now what I'm really into is the Pupils, the Kitchen, 7 Year Rabbit Cycle, and some underground Jamaican stuff. Rop's listening to a lot of noise and stoner rock and power violence, I think.
Outside of music, what else inspires you to make music/the kind of music you make?
Primarily, my friends. Watching friends evolve and get better at things they do, seeing things come full circle. Also, conversations. Spooky supernatural stories. Dogs. Space and the formation of the universe. Weed.
Tell me about your background as a musician. Were you trained at all (music school, private lessons, etc.)?
My dad's a jazz pianist and I took piano lessons on and off throughout my childhood. I forgot about all that and in the early '90s I picked up guitar and bass because I didn't think that anyone would listen to a girl with a keyboard back then. I started playing piano again only after sort of divorcing myself from the rock mentality. (Now keyboards sort of exemplify the rock mentality. Hmm.)
Semiautomatic is based out of New York. Does the current social/political climate in New York have bearing on your work at all or do you use the band as an escape, a chance to create music that speaks about the way you'd like to see the world?
Yes, I think the climate of New York has a lot to do with it. It's just depressing, you know? Less crime but people get arrested for stupid shit like talking too loud outside a bar, or for sitting on a milk crate. They even gave a ticket to some old lady for feeding pigeons. It's bullshit. I think it does have a big impact on the music scene in general. We have venues shutting down every couple months and the only reliable places to play are those shitty Manhattan clubs where they won't let you play within the same six weeks anywhere else in the city, and they do those horrible, tacky lists where they ask every patron "what band they came to see" -- as if they couldn't come to see a couple of the bands or all of them -- and base paying bands on that. And people can't smoke if they want to. It just sucks and fosters more competition between musicians than is necessary. But it's OK because it keeps us on our toes. There are always people looking for new crazy places to play. I think that makes the New York underground scene that much better because we don't base our loyalty to any one business or bar -- it's nomadic and is totally about people coming to hang out with other people and socialize and experience each other's art. So yeah, I think the band is sort of an escape, but also a means of reaching out.
What was it like to work with Ari Up from the Slits (on Wolfcentric's "Stushpuss" and "Execution"?
It was inspiring but stressful.
What's your opinion on the current state of the music industry?
Fuck 'em.
Do you see Semiautomatic signing to a major label at all or would you just as well stay in the underground/indie realm of things?
Well, I can't say we'd never sign to a major, because if we did one day that would really make us look like assholes. But I don't see it ever happening. We're not interested in making commercially viable music so I don't see them being interested in us.
Do you both have day jobs outside of the band? If so what are they?
I'm a graphic designer and Ropstyle works at a no-kill dog shelter. He walks, feeds, and plays with dogs all day.
What else do you want people to know about Semiautomatic?
Hmm. Well, we do need a tour-booking manager! Seriously!
Issue #28
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