Over the last year Alexander has released some original material on Ridiculoud and Dirty Drop and flock of remixes on various other labels including Dusted Breaks, Breaks.SK & Kind Crime to name a few.
He's style of breakbeat is quite varied but always keeps it melodic but with tough beats and pulsating basslines that gets the blood boiling.
Below we have a chat and check out Open CLusters forthcoming release on STFU Records "A Dominant Species - Feeling You" and he's latest remix of "Digibox - Dubplate" out now on KindCrime Recordings.
A Dominant Species - Feeling You (Open Cluster Remix) - Forthcoming on STFU Records by Open Cluster
Digibox - Dubplate (Open Cluster Remix) - OUT NOW - [KDC024] by Open Cluster
For the people who don’t know you, who, were & what is Open Cluster?
My name is Alexander and I come from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. I produce and perform under the name of Open Cluster. For those who are not familiar with my country, I can say that Georgia is located on the Black Sea, we have wonderful nature and we produce a lot of good wine. Currently I live in Prague, where I produce my latest tracks.
How long have you been making music, and what made you start producing breakbeat?
I started making music when I was in my 8th grade at school. I produced my first songs using a very old computer and so called “tracker” software. At the same time I was learning how to play keyboards and guitar. Later on I joined one of the local bands, where I was playing bass, but soon I found myself in position also to play keyboards, doing drums programming and etc. I mean I was doing all that because I was really interested in experiments with the sound and I was also trying to get some fresh sound for the band itself. With one of the later bands we came up to the point when we decided to record a demo at home. I started to learn the art of sound recording as well as basics of sound engineering and few months later we finally ended with a 5 track home demo recording which we then started to submit to record labels. Despite the fact we didn’t succeed getting signed, this was a very interesting experience and I learned a lot from the perspective of sound engineering.
In 2000 I fully switched to electronic music and started as a DJ. Few months later I got residency at one of the nightclubs. I got into breakbeat in 2003 when one of the local clubs decided to do series a breakbeat nights with a number of international breakbeat DJs. At that moment breakbeat was a very “fresh sound” on a local scene and the breakbeat movement started to develop very rapidly.
I started producing breakbeat in 2006 and at the same time I was performing as a DJ, producing for another live electronic act and being a Radio host. My sound has gone through many changes since that and I finally ended with my current sound around 2010. I’m learning something new every day and next day I’m already trying to implement it into my production which of course is shaping the current sound as well.
Tell us a bit about your background outside of music?
Well, I have a degree in computer science and I enjoy snowboarding, good movies, travelling to new places and meeting new people.
What other production can we expect from you in the future?
At the present moment I have 3 forthcoming remixes on ST FU, V.I.M. and Distorsion which will go out during the summer. In addition I will spend a lot of time in the studio this summer working on the couple of new remixes, guest mixes and my new 2 original tracks so stay tuned for more info.
What is you studio set up and what is your favourite peice of kit?
My studio set up is quite minimalistic and mostly digital. I have 2 x Technics 1210s, good ol’ Pioneer 707, 2 MIDI keyboards (25 and 49 keys), AKAI APC40, Korg nanoPAD, +couple of other midi controllers. In addition I have 2 laptops (one of which is running Traktor Scratch and the other one running Ableton Live) with 2 external soundcards and I have wired everything into my studio mixer and my KRK 8 monitors. My favorite piece is currently a Novation 25SL which I think is a great value for its price and is perfect for live shows.
Name 3 breakbeat tunes that is blowing you away at the moment?
There are more than 3 breakbeat tunes that blow me away at the moment, but the 3 that come across my mind are:
Defkline & Red Polo - Rolling In The Mud (Break Mix)
Atomic Drop & Tim healer - Take Control feat. Sirreal (Headflux Remix)
NAPT – Emotions part 2 (Original Mix)
Final word .............
First of all I would like to thank you Boba for this opportunity. I would also like to use this chance and say thanks to everyone who is supporting my music! Peace & Love!
http://soundcloud.com/open-cluster
https://www.facebook.com/alex.cluster#!/theopencluster
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