FIBER Podcast 019 Conforce

FIBER Podcast

With a blend of his own produced tracks and tracks by artists that inspire him the 19th issue is a floating mix made by the Dutch ‘frustrated cosmonaut’ Boris Bunnik, better known as Conforce. “Actually, I never made a mix with mainly self produced material, so I thought it was nice to try it for the FIBER podcast.”
Bunnik is a true explorer who publishes his findings under several aliases such as Conforce, under which he releases his more dancefloor oriented tracks, or Versalife, whose sound touches upon the classic electro aesthetic. Under his Hexagon moniker he yet takes another turn. Here he creates “deep and abstract mental sound excursions” described as “underwater, cerebral and seriously deep sounds.”

With several of these Hexagon tracks present on the playlist, this mix certainly has an underwater feel to it. Therefore, although meant as a joke, Boris’ personal visual association of this mix with the movies of the French ecologist Jacques-Yves Cousteau is viable.

On his floating lab, the boat named Calypso, the Frenchman shot movies between the 1950’s and the 80’s and explored the miracles and oddities of the ocean depths. Like a good sci-fi movie these images of people diving into dark inhumane spaces revoke the different feelings conveyed by this mix. Bunnik explains; “Instead of an impulsive DJ-mix I tried to connect moods and atmospheres that I really like and make them sound like a coherent flow/trip, dystopian or utopian and a bit in between.”

With tracks from Voices From The Lake, Artefakt, Monolake, Plastikman, Milton Bradley and Convextion we get an idea of the producers that inspire him. Yet when it comes to sources of inspiration for his own music Bunnik states that: “most of my inspiration just comes from experiences and conversations/mindsets I have. These days I try to focus very little on what’s going on in the musical scene. Just to be able to step into the studio with an open mind.”

In his endeavor in open minded curiosity Boris does not only satisfy his need for aural explorations, he is also keen to meet the demands of the eye. The visual work published on his site tells us that his visual inspiration comes from photography and urban life.

“I really like pure color photography from the experimental and early days of color photography. Especially the work by Joel Sternfeld. I’m not really into over manipulated Photoshop pictures these days. The subjects, the view of the photographer, those are the most important things that make photography interesting for me. Not the technical nor the postproduction side. There should be a right balance between both. This is something I’m looking for as well, also when it comes to musical production. You take the good from the past and the advantages of the present and try to find a right mixture that works for you.”

These new configurations of space made over time are what Bunnik enjoys exploring in civilized areas. “The urban landscape is a big source of inspiration for me. I love to see how architecture blends with its surroundings, be it controlled or uncontrolled. Intended or misplaced. I see the world as a kinetic image that is a constant source for inspiration and it’s changing at a vast tempo.” The chosen photograph for this mix is made by Boris himself and shows his visual exploration of space and hints to glimpses of yellow scuba divers in the depths of the ‘aural’ sea.