The third installment in our recent series of mixtapes comes from South London enigma, Becoming Real. Displaying an unconventional fascination with post-structuralist cultural theory (you don’t get that with Calvin Harris), his own music is all cut and splice arhythmical loops and Aphex-style pitch shift which is pretty hard to pin down. Now he’s dropped Cilla Black and Des’ree into this mix, I’m even more confused. But I’d much prefer that then hear another shoegaze band or Kate Bush clone.
With a strictly limited edition white label out in a few weeks, Get Hyperreal is kind of his first ever release. That’s an exclusive right there. Interview and download after the jump.
DOWNLOAD: GET HYPERREAL (RIGHT CLICK SAVE AS)
Where does the name Becoming Real come from? Have you been watching the Matrix a little too much…?
It came from a dream in which I was a vampire and I was attacking someone with these knife teeth.The vampire was this alternate reality or persona which was pretty much impossible to become. It ended up being a toss up between Becoming Dracula and Becoming Real. Becoming Real feels like its always a journey to a fictional destination, it’s always ‘becoming’ but never fully realised.
I have only seen the Matrix about three times. I watched an interview with Slavoj Zizek recently and I like his idea that he wants a third pill when Morpheous offers Neo the red one or the blue one…
Did you put the mix together with any particular theme in mind?
It’s a mash of all of the stuff I’m listening to right now. I’m just into melody and beats. I kinda want to put my music into context, as a lot of people ask me about certain influences, so maybe these will answer some of those questions. But it could also go the opposite way…
Where did the inspiration come from to include Cilla Black?
Err, I guess I just like some of that old stuff. I thought it was very relevant in terms of it being this fossil which contains within it a lot of the ground work for other styles of music I like. I also put a Des’ree song on there. I literally started welling up when I listened to it the other day. I don’t think it really matters that that song is kinda cheesy. It moves me just in the same way that listening to “Hypnotize” by Biggie moves me. That’s the power of music, y’know?
You’re an artist too, working with montage. You like to cut and paste things together a lot. What’s the fascination?
Sure. My artwork tries to exam reality and if it actually exists. I feel like we live in this perpetual virtual image, this constant postcard of ‘real’ within the ‘virtual’. The collages I do are trying to create a void of an image, a meshing of different pictures to create this hyper space; a space where everything is recognisable but nothing is ever in full form - as soon as it gets close to the real, it folds in on itself.
What’s next for Becoming Real?
Got a couple new remixes coming up which I’m really excited about. Doing a split with Tough Love Records, I have a 7″ out in Jan/Feb on Lo Fi Funk. I’m on a compilation coming out on Merok Records called Dont Die Wondering. So, pretty busy , but I want to be busier!
TRACKLISTING:
Cilla Black - “Step inside love”, Comanechi - “Rabbit Hole (Becoming Real Remix)”, Becoming Real - ”10″, Hudson Mohawke - “Apple Core”, Teeth!!! - “Seespaces”, Becoming Real -”Let The Right One In”, Busta Rhymes - “Tear Da Roof Off”, Viktor Vaughn - “Raedawn”, Turboweekend - “Something or Nothing (2000f Remix)”, Banjo or Freakout - “Left It Alone (Becoming Real Remix)”, Des’ree - “Kissing You”
P.s. Becoming Real is playing Jake’s night BLOOD ORANGE on Friday, go see.