Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Paredes
Hi Brian, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m a producer/label owner/promoter based out of San Diego, CA. Officially, I have been making electronic music since 2015 which started as a side thing as I was still very active playing guitar or drums in underground Metal bands at the time which, musically, was my main focus up until 2019. The way I got started with electronic music was when I traded an Xbox for an ESX1 Electribe sampler via Craigslist. From there I got help from a friend who also had the same sampler and he set me up with some samples of old drum machines and gave me some pointers on how to use it . Later I decided to expand the set-up and bought synthesizers to accompany it and learned how make all the instruments work together. At the time, I was already into a lot of Industrial, Minimal Synth, Techno, and all kinds of more experimental music, so I was experimenting a lot with those sounds with the instruments I had. The first official and “serious” project I had was called Centurion Wield and it was influenced by artists like Absolute Body Control, D.A.F. , Fad Gadget and early Skinny Puppy. At the same time I had also started the more Techno-leaning project, Egress, which originally was planned to be a side/studio project but eventually it became my main thing as the years went on and is currently the one I play out the most. As far as the Phosphene event series/label, that kicked off in 2022 with the intention of curating underground electronic music events with an emphasis on live electronic music artists that fall into the genres that I feel that work well together in the same event. Anything along the lines of Post-Industrial, EBM, Techno, Electro and throwing in more experimental styles such as Noise, Power Electronics and Ambient. Which the idea was definitely influenced from going to events in LA (and here) years back catching artists from labels such as Ascetic House, Northern Electronics, Chondritic Sound, Nostilevo and other stuff like that that had been putting out really interesting sounds at the time and still do to this day. Usually the line-ups were mixed in genres at these events but they all had a particular energy in common. As of this year, the label side of Phosphene started up and so far there’s a tape release, a CD compilation consisting of San Diego and Tijuana artists, and a CD version of Granite Mask’s latest album release.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
For the Phosphene events? Not at all, haha. It was definitely a struggle to get a venue at first. The first gig was definitely challenged with logistical obstacles since we had lost the venue we had originally booked with because they were scheduled to shut down a week prior to our event and we were less than a month away from the show when we got the news but last minute we were helped by the DataBass crew who had a monthly Techno night at a venue in Downtown, San Diego. So gladly we still managed to throw a show and I am very grateful for that. For a while after, the struggle to find venues or DIY spaces continued but we managed along the way doing one-off nights at DIY spaces that unfortunately no longer exist. Thankfully, later on venues like Til-Two Club and Fishtank Bar opened their doors to the Phosphene events. But I feel most promoters in this city struggle to find spaces to host their nights and especially for underground electronic music. During and after the pandemic we lost Kava Lounge and a couple of DIY spaces that were very accessible.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My most active project, Egress, is mainly influenced by the sounds from labels that I feel pushed the boundaries of Techno since decades ago with more experimental and heavier elements. Labels such as Sandwell District, Bunker Records, Sonic Groove, Ant-Zen and Hospital Productions to name a few. I also have a newer project under the other half of my full name, Iván Parra, which is more on the ambient/dub/techno side of things. I typically only perform “live” which means I play my sets with electronic instruments such as synths, samplers, drum machines and effect units, And again, that’s a huge aspect of what makes the Phosphene events what they are which is to have live hardware based performances and thankfully there’s a good amount awesome talent between here in San Diego and Tijuana that perform in such way. The Phosphene events are carefully curated and I always incorporate locals (including DJs) that compliment the sounds of the out of town acts as best as possible so I always enjoy bringing specific artists and sounds together. There’s also a monthly mix series on the DIY community radio station, Particle FM, where I invite artists from all over to do a guest mix.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Related to music, I would say hearing Hard House, Trance, Techno and Hip Hop during the 90s’s coming from my older brother’s room and him burning me CDs of some of that stuff after asking him about it. And the memory of later getting into Rock music from my Dad playing classic Hard Rock stuff like Zeppelin and Van Halen while off-roading in his old SUV in Tijuana. I feel those experiences shaped my first interests in music overall.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://phospheneproductions.bandcamp.com/music
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phosphene_sd/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@phosphene_sd/videos
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/egresssd/tracks
- Other: https://linktr.ee/egress_sd?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAabnpFHVT98NAJ0jFKhaNghNozEt6JCVjVj0GOWlsx2fSSrxkKObzv4FzIU_aem_yUSJh6uA-kMTKQZ5Tpxgzg
Image Credits
Personal Photo credit: Antonio Vega Zuniga
Flyers: Brian Paredes
CD Cover art & layout: Brian Paredes
A.T.S. Tape cover art: Brian Paredes
A.T.S. Tape layout: Andrew Palko
