Continued
from Page 1
 |
DENNIS:
What’s your stand
when it comes to sampling?
e:trinity: I love
sampling and when people do it, I don't mind. As long as they are creative. If
you sample a top 40 tune that was popular 15 years ago and you add your own lyrics
to it, forget that. Most of what I sample is stuff not many people have heard
before, and in most cases isn't really available in the US. In the rare instance
I'll sample something vaguely familiar, I'll at least chop it up or process it
to the point where it's not easily recognizable.
| DENNIS:
Does that mean that you are not a big fan of Sean “Puffy” Combs music then?
e:trinity: No.
But if you do something creative with the samples, that’s great.
DENNIS:
What do you think of the MP3 format?
As an artist, do you see MP3’s affecting your work?
e:trinity: It depends on the
level of success that you attain. If
you are starting out, MP3’s are great for exposure but if you are step above that,
it can hurt you because you can be dependent on record sales.
DENNIS:
Are you afraid that people might use your music and other people claiming
they made that music?
e:trinity:
I don’t mind if they are sampling parts of my music.
I find that flattering but if they sample a whole riff then I don’t know.
It hasn’t happened to me yet.
DENNIS:
Let's get to know more about Elson Trinidad outside of e:trinity. Do you
feel there is a challenge out there by being an Asian musician?
e:trinity:
Yeah, but I don’t see it as a hindrance.
The fact that there are not many Asians out there doing what I do, there
is a lot of opportunity. DENNIS:
If there was one word to describe yourself what would that be?
e:trinity: Dreamer. I guess
ever since I can remember, I've always imagined, or even on the most pragmatic
level, liked to plan things out. Being a musician or any sort of artist you have
to be a dreamer because your art always starts out as a figment of your imagination.
Your artistry brings it into reality. DENNIS:
Outside of music, what do you enjoy doing?
e:trinity:
I enjoy traveling. I went
to South East Asia a few months ago.
DENNIS: Which
of the countries that you traveled to did you enjoy a lot?
e:trinity:
I enjoyed my recent trip to Singapore.
It’s like a microcosm of Asia. I
enjoyed England.
DENNIS: Do
you have many sexual encounters everywhere you travel?
e:trinity:
I wish! Hey, that’s a stereotype
of musicians! DENNIS:
What makes you happy?
e:trinity:
Finding out things are going the way they are planned. The warm sunshine
and going biking by the beach. A stable computer. A fast internet connection.
Learning new things while traveling and good music makes me happy. Someone told
me that if music and laughter aren't part of your day, then you don't have much
of a life. I agree with that. DENNIS:
What makes you mad?
e:trinity:
People who don't cooperate. Like having a band and depending on people
in the group who don't show any dedication. I've been in that position. You can't
do your show without them and that's why I don't perform in a typical band setup,
because if people don't show up, I can still do my thing. I had it with those
kind of people.
| DENNIS:
Let’s do a little word play. I’ll
give you three words and you give me your definition of these three words: e:trinity:
Sex- Something I have been denied for a long time. e:trinity:
Success – Something I want. e:trinity:
Asian Pride – Something you should use to make your self
inclusive but not exclusive. This
country is made of different cultures. The
strength of your culture is what you can contribute to America as a whole.
DENNIS:
Who is your role model? Is there
anyone who influences you? |  |
e:trinity:
I don’t know. I really don’t
have a role model. One of my influences
is Stevie Wonder who I managed to meet at a music store.
I usually don’t get star struck when I see celebrities but when I saw Stevie
Wonder I was in awe. DENNIS:
Where do you want to be five years from now with your music?
e:trinity: I want to be influential
with my music. What I’m trying to
do with my music now is to include samples from Asian music, indigenous, traditional
music, soul. There really is no Asian
music influencing Western music. There
is African and Latin influence but there really is no Asian music and I’m trying
to get that out somewhat. DENNIS:
This question is more for our readers who may want to get involved and
start playing electronic music, what do you recommend for them?
e:trinity: A lot of drugs!
(laughing) Just kidding of course. They should first start listening to a lot
of different kinds of music and their love of that music can be heard from the
music they produce. The worst musicians only listen to one style of music. Now
that people have access to technology, some people can make a tune in literally
minutes but you have to start somewhere. I have been playing music for over 15
years and if you are serious, you have to love music and understand different
facets to it. Like music theory and how sound and frequencies work. The unique
thing about electronic music is that it involves frequencies that no other form
of music has really touched before, and those frequencies can affect how people
behave. It's no coincidence that a lot of dance music these days contain large
amounts of bass. DENNIS:
Do you mean that they should take a class for it?
e:trinity:
Not really. There are a lot of websites out there they can learn from but
the best way is to learn hands on. If you have a computer, CD burner and keyboard
then you can make your own music. Granted, some of this stuff is expensive, at
least it's more costly than a guitar or a turntable. But at least nowadays $1000
can get you a lot more musically than you can get 15 years ago. ### -- You
can get more information and listen to e:trinity's music on his Website at www.e-trinity.org. Go
back to nt2099 |
Go back to Page 1 of the
interview | 
