The Hungarian-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Iszlai has been carving out a space for himself amongst the nebulous field of sample-collage music. His unassailable grasp for arrangement and musical narratives is what tethers his music to sound of pure intrigue, and each iteration of his work has a tendency to overflow with a bounty of note relationships and variable rhythms. It’s a deadly combination, and one that consistently delivers in it’s unique, stutter-stepped fashion.
While geography separates Iszlai from the U.S. circuit by a little over 5000 miles, the advent of 2020’s performance streaming frenzy brought about the perfect opportunity to connect with fans new and old beyond just his studio releases. The Rust’s Featherbed Vol. XIII stream featured a full-spectrum Iszlai performance paired with Euphoric Aspects manning the visual production. It’s one thing to listen to Islzai’s catalog on record, exploring each track with as much or as little attention as one sees fit; it is another thing entirely to submerse the senses in a meticulously crafted Iszlai mix, bringing his discography to life through novel blends and precision cuts. It transforms the amalgam of songs into something far more cinematic, echoing the atmosphere of the psychedelic scores from generations past. This performance is being included in today’s edition of the Rusted Rhythms A/V Series at 8pm EDT, and will be cataloged in posterity alongside the rest of the Rusted Rhythms mixes.
In tandem with today’s re-screening of Iszlai’s Featherbed performance, we took the time to peel back some of the opaque layers to his profile, and got into some of the details surrounding his craftsmanship.
The Rust: Your music is definitely on the complex end of the spectrum; how did you come into the craft of production?
Iszlai: I used to do quite a lot of audio editing for short films back in college, and I played guitar in some bands around that time. I hated electronic music back then, but somehow I got intrigued by records having unconventional, weird guitar sounds. So I tried to record myself playing through all these crazy effect chains. It was a fun hobby, I started adding drums and other instruments, I edited my takes, then I just slid down a rabbithole and never turned back.
The Rust: Do you have a history of music education? How did you find yourself drawn to sound in the first place?
Iszlai: During my teenage years I was fascinated by playing live music. I went home and studied by myself, learned from others, it was an organic process. Everyone seemed to be better than me, that kind of pushed me to learn more, even though I was interested in applying to film school. Fortunately I could work with sound there, this opened up a whole new world for me, which eventually led me back to music.
The Rust: Given your novelty, what were some of the influences that molded your sound? Has collage-style arrangement always been a staple for you?
Iszlai: I think older, non-electronic pieces influenced me more, like Miles Davis. Miles Davis taught me to listen. That being said, the first time I heard and actually listened to electronic collage-like pieces of music, I was blown away. It fascinated me, I realized that there was this amazing ambiguity about it: being intentionally wrong and making perfect sense in a way. Rough editing messes up our perception of continuity, it challenges the “reliability” of the music itself. It is a very intriguing concept to me even today, I see it as a method for alienating the listener.
The Rust: Given the organic texture palette that you focus on, where do you perceive yourself to fit in the wider spectrum of music? Do you even bother to label it?
Iszlai: Wow, I can’t really tell, but I used to think about this. Eventually I just gave up and whatever people call my music, I’m perfectly fine with it. It is difficult for me to label it, because of my versatility. I do electronic music, but my “day job” sometimes requires the exact opposite of that aesthetic. I did small classical pieces, drove myself nuts practicing for opera, I did fully acoustic soundtracks, theatre, noise music, all those influences trickle down into my albums once I get off work.
The Rust: Your Featherbed set was really striking, and you pulled off some serious blends within your catalog. How did you go about putting that together?
Iszlai: Thank you, much appreciated! I used to play these semi-live sets arranged in Ableton, like when you just pull loops from stems, assign them to clips, start messing around. That was basically it. I only thought about how it should begin and which new tracks to include, then I just let go. I practiced a bit and came up with the idea to use that “wake up, work, sleep” interlude, went back and recorded the whole thing.
The Rust: What's the songwriting process like for you? Is there a methodology?
Iszlai: I deliberately try and change my approach, that is always very refreshing to me. I have a natural process of tapping into what I find exciting in that present moment. This can be a piece of hardware, chords, a snare drum, basically anything. I just get into it and zone out. The harder part of the process starts when I get closer to finishing the music.
The Rust: We're a year and some change into the Covid-19 pandemic; would you care to talk about what this experience has been like for you?
Iszlai: I was afraid for a while, there were definitely some rough patches. This eerie silence seeping into our daily lives, life slowly waning away... Staying busy helped, but I started noticing sleep disorder and this tranquil quality of the uneasiness I was experiencing. I remember leaving my apartment, walking down an empty street, feeling very isolated, listening to New Hymn to Freedom by Szun Waves. It was like a slow fever creeping up on me.
The Rust: What are your current plans for the Iszlai project? What are you shooting for across the horizon?
Iszlai: No plans yet, I’m currently working on scores and doing sound design for various projects. This is an exciting time for me as I learn a lot about myself while collaborating with other artists.
Be sure to take a healthy dive through Iszlai’s available catalog to get a full perspective on his cutting edge style of sample-collage production. For those who are interested in checking out further Rust-curated mixes, take a gander at our Rusted Rhythms page for a direct line on hours of aural goodies.
FOLLOW Islzai: Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Spotify / Facebook
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