Conformist
... is the Electronic music project of Michael A. Simmons. Hailing originally from the in the outer reaches of beyond aka the remote village of Dale, Wales, Simmons' musical inspiration gathered pace with a move to Wales' capital city Cardiff.
Following a few false-starts cutting his teeth in Punk bands multi-instrumentalist Simmons slowly began to pursue his own electronic-based solo work. Early Conformist demos immediately caught the attention of the influential Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephens of BBC Radio alongside respected DJ's John Kennedy and Eddy Temple Morris.
Who is the "human" behind the artist "Conformist"?
I'm Michael, I live in Cardiff, Wales. I jog regularly, eat well, always put the bins out on time and remember my elderly neighbours' names. I'm a model citizen and i just want to fit in.
Do you remember your first steps in music?
I remember being 9 years old and making a rudimentary remix of Black Sabbath's Iron Man on vinyl using the cassette recorder on my family hi-fi.
The excitement in the realization that I could alter the pitch and stop/start the song myself by pressing onto the vinyl was a big moment. Pretty soon i was cutting my own edits of rock and metal tracks, using another tape player to multitrack. Later on i got a 4 track recorder and i was away.
"Heddiw feat. H O R S E S" is an amazing piece of Post Punk meets Experimental Electro Avantgarde , what's the story/the message behind the song?
Nice of you to say so. The entire track was completed by exchanging files back and forth on WhatsApp during lockdown. It's formed from a 4 bar loop of deliberately flat and uncomplication slamming drums and beds of synths wrecked by corrupted midi.
My friends in the band H O R S E S provided a vocal track which was implanted onto the instrumental.
The lyrics are sung in the Welsh language and deal with the post-Covid anxieties I think we're all still adjusting to; trying to find peace in our new world, things feeling overwhelming and the adjustment to change.
As a producer, how much time do you spend to find the right sounds and when do you decide that a song is ready for a release?
I try to not get lost in experimenting and fall into a time-wasting tunnel. I'm not adverse to using sound presets if they work for the piece. Often I'll use preset sounds on tracks as place-holders so that i can progress with other elements of a track but they then become integral and i end up keeping them.
Once a track is released i will very rarely ever listen to it again because i can't live with hearing the imperfections.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Oneohtrix Point Never, Steinski, The Bomb Squad from Public Enemy, Aphex Twin, J Dilla
What are your "All time Top 3 Songs", at this moment?
"Gerry And The Holograms" by Gerry And The Holograms -
"SPQR" by This Heat and
"Off The Beaten Track" by African Head Charge.
I'm no fun at parties.
Cardiff's indie music scene is ...?
Full of brilliance, talented people and passionate venues. Always vibrant, always inspiring, always real.
What's next for you?
A new Conformist album next year. Hopefully a new single to drop in Spring 2023.
