Coast: Who are you and where are you from?

Michael: I’m Michael Stevenson, a 24 year old animator originally from Redding, CA, now settled a bit farther south in San Francisco.
Coast: What was your first project? And how has your work evolved since?

Michael: I made my very first animated film when I was nine years old. I borrowed my parents’ camcorder and set up shop in our basement. Using a bit of modeling clay I created a wonderful story about three worms, and the only copy of the film was erased in a freak VCR accident immediately after I finished shooting. Luckily I wasn’t deterred and kept animating.

I suppose my work hasn’t fundamentally changed much – I’m still pushing clay around in front of a camera and telling silly stories, I just hope that I have a better eye for it now!

Coast: What was your inspiration for the film?

Michael: When I was a kid I went to San Francisco on a school field trip. We hit Pier 39 for lunch and I was mobbed by the local wildlife. A flock of pigeons flew in and sat patiently, staring, waiting for me to either feed them or abandon my food. Not being from the city I was a bit surprised by the tameness of the animals. The experience stuck with me, and many years later when I returned to San Francisco for school I decided to use it as source material.

Coast: How many images does it consist of?

Michael: There are roughly 800 frames in the film, which isn’t bad for stop motion. I shot at 12 frames per second with a Canon DSLR, then played with the timing a bit in postproduction. I tried to accomplish everything in-camera as though I was shooting on film, but rather than waste time shooting duplicate frames I simply made timing notations and fixed it in After Effects. Very fast motion pretty much has to happen at a full 24 frame a second in order for it to read correctly, and there’s a lot of staring so I extended single frames to become much longer holds.

Coast: Was it done yourself? Did you have help?

Michael: It was a solo project – I did all of the design, sculpting, and animation myself – but I enlisted the help of friends and family for a couple big tasks. There were about 60 pounds of clay that needed to be melted down and mixed to form the two dozen colors used in the film. I gathered everyone together and we attacked the mass of clay with crock pots, heat guns, and mixing sticks. It was pretty fun, a nice break from the usual isolated work.

Coast: What is your ambition for when you are finished with school at San Francisco State University?

Michael: I actually graduated a couple years ago. I got a job with a small animation studio right out of school, but it ended up pushing me in a very technical direction. I have a background in programming, so I was creating workflow automation scripts, building a Maya render pipeline, and so on.

I’ve recently gone freelance, so I’m getting back into the creative side of animation. Paid stop motion work is a rarity these days, but my pie-in-the-sky ambition is to help rekindle an interest in the medium and perhaps generate some viable long-term projects.

Coast: Do you have any other projects on the go?

Michael: I’m knee-deep in production on a small independent videogame that employs hand-crafted models and stop-motion art assets. I wish I could say more, but it’s still very early in development.

Coast: Thanks for the interview Michael, we hope to talk to you again soon!

You can check out the web site for Pigeon Pilfer here.

Jon-E: [laughs] I am just a guy trying to get by in life on his passion for music!

Coast: How long have you been DJing and producing?

Jon-E: I have been DJing for around 6 years, originally playing drum & bass. It wasn’t until late 2007 that I got into house music, which was also around the time I started putting a lot of focus in to production. I had dabbled a bit over the years, but it was the new love of house that really inspired me to take things seriously. And I was lucky enough to have a lot of friends around the world willing to help me out over the internet by providing tips and feedback (even harsh feedback when necessary).

Coast: How do you go about producing a new tune?

Jon-E: I usually have a general idea of where I want to go with it, and I will try to have a few main samples ready to roll (vocals, bleeps, and bloops, etc). Then I start with drums & percussion, and build from there. It’s funny though, the tune never ends up how I planned, and sometimes even the complete opposite of my original intentions! [laughs]

Coast: How has your music evolved?

Jon-E: Well for me I can’t hear the differences like other people can, but I have noticed it has been slowly steering away from the general commercial sounds of electro which dominated my first couple releases. I have been exploring as many new sounds as possible, including tech, and dubstep. I guess my music has been gaining more structure, and soul as I have progressed in skill level. When I started releasing tracks I was still very new to production, so I guess the main change in my sound would be overall quality!

Coast: What is fidget house?

Jon-E: [laughs] This question gets asked a lot, because there is a bit of a stigma that surrounds the name “fidget house”. To me, fidget is a lot of things, sometimes it’s techy, some times its ravey, sometimes bouncy and warpy, but when it comes down to it, fidget is just the glitchy, bangin’, sister of electro house. Usually when people ask me what I play, I just say “bangin’ shit.”

Coast: How did Nu Industry Recordings come about?

Jon-E: Honestly it was an idea I had for years, but was originally focused on drum & bass. I have always wanted to run a label, be able to release my own music, and support new artists trying to make a name for themselves, which is basically what I have been trying to do. I am also lucky to have worked with some of the big guns in the scene, which has helped build the label to where it is today, and without the help of a lot of my friends I don’t think we would have seen nearly as much success! So I guess a shout out is in order. Thanks to all of those artists who took a chance working with me! You know who you are!

Coast: What are some of the challenges in running a label?

Jon-E: I think organization seems to be the most challenging part. Keeping up a release schedule like ours takes a lot of commitment, and a lot organization. You have to make sure the artwork is done, the remixers are working (a lot are very busy, so it’s easy for forget deadlines), make sure the mastering is taken care of, contracts are signed, and the release is uploaded to distribution on time. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you are releasing every two weeks it can get a bit stressful. Although it can be a lot of work, it is definitely worth every second invested, because you really do feel like you have accomplished something with every release, and are part of something awesome.

Coast: Where do you want to see Nu Industry Recordings in the future?

Jon-E: #1 on Beatport! [laughs]

Coast: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring artists?

Jon-E: Send me your demos! [laughs] Naw, but seriously, if you want it then go get it, and don’t take no for an answer. If you get rejected don’t take it to heart, and try to use the criticism to help your work. Keep pushing away and eventually it will happen for you!

Coast: What are your top ten tunes right now?

Jon-E: In no particular order:

Lea Luna ft. MC Dino – Leaving For Mars (B. Rich Remix)
Mightyfools – Cops! (Jeff Doubleu Remix)
Mustard Pimp ft. Kali – Cherry (Original Mix)
Cold Blank – Doin It Right (Original Mix)
Tom Piper – Noise (Nom De Strip Remix)
Shab Ruffcut – Little Lady Lou Lou (Tom EQ’s Lil’ Loobs Remix)
Jon-E Industry – Skanky Sandwiches (Original Mix)
SiphNote – Step Back (Duncestep Remix)
Kraddy – Android Porn
Jon-E Industry – Look Out (Lazy Rich Remix)

Coast: Thanks for your time, Jon-E. Any last words or shoutouts?

Jon-E: Yeah, just wanna’ say thanks to everyone for the continued support, and they should expect to hear lots of big noise from Nu Industry in the near future! Also, a big thanks to all of the artists I have had the pleasure of working with!

For more information on Jon-E Industry and Nu Industry Recordings checkout http://www.nuindustry.com. Jon-E was kind enough to leave us with a three free tunes, including a guaranteed crowd pleaser – Mickey Avalon mashed up with Stupid Fresh. If you like what you hear be sure to checkout the Nu Industry Recordings section on Beatport.

Download Luvstuff vs Alena – Turn It Around (Jon-E Industry Bootleg Mix) here.

Download Stupid Fresh vs Mickey Avalon – Push My Dick (Jon-E Industry Mashup) here.

Download Herve vs LMFAO – Under The Sun In Miami Bitch (Jon-E Industry Mashup) here.