Sian

Sian is an Ireland-born DJ, producer, label owner and visual artist based in Los Angeles. To support Sian’s new “Every Time” release, we asked him to talk through a few of his interests.

William Gibson

I am very intrigued by apocalyptic sci-fi and its effect on the modern world. This man is a real visionary to me. William Gibson literally invented a lot of our current ideas in futurism, music, and inner-city life, and was endlessly referenced by movies like The Matrix, Ghost In The Shell, etc.

The inventor of many phrases we use, like “Cyberspace”, envisioned a world dominated by the internet and surveillance technology. By creating a world we know as “cyberpunk”, his influence on all electronic musicians is omnipresent.

Neuromancer was life-affirming and formative for me, it felt like he perfectly captured a dystopian and isolated world led by the same technology designed to bring humans together.

Guitar Pedals

Many stomp boxes designed for guitar use have found themselves falling into the capable hands of electronic music producers over the years. From distortion in the hard techno and electro scene, to delay and reverbs in the trance booths.

This particular one is a masterpiece of engineering, based on the legendary old Lexicon reverb circuits. It has a spacial sound that feels like open space. It’s a very deep and emotional effect that sounds blisteringly cool on synths, vocals, drums, percussion… and of course, guitars.

Hedi Slimane

This man, who gave Saint Laurent its iconic status and visual identity, had a really tumultuous ride getting to the top and multiple crashes along the way. He brought music to the forefront of fashion, taking cues from the music Gods who he idolized, and defined a whole black and white classic aesthetic that gigantically influenced my record label and artistic identity.

Choosing unknown musicians and dropouts as his models, his ‘Hedi’s Diary‘ journal is like a bible to many minimalists.

Rodney Mullen

Philosopher, artist and skateboard legend, Rodney Mullen took his profession to a transcendent level. Many of us skate rats knew him as a superhuman figure that outpaced anyone in the game, performing skate runs that defied both logic and gravity.

He later became very viral for his bigger picture thinking and zen-like view of the world. A real one, and a self-made entrepreneur who gave street kids higher intellectual aspirations, get up and try again, embrace your pain.

Ridley Scott

Something that overshadows most of my artistic choices, the atmosphere, feel and power of the original “BladeRunner” is hard to fathom. The battle he had to endure to get the movie made, then only to face a huge flop on the release, then become a cult classic is fascinating.

His other movies including “Alien” have warped my mind since childhood, his genius has the power to captivate and communicate very complex ideas. The sheer visual mastery is so important to me, modern cinema would never be the same without him.

Corvettes

I had the pleasure and heartache of owning this bad girl, the 1978 Anniversary edition. She was an absolute dream, the T-tops, the red leather, all so fine, but owning this old gal was very tricky. I literally black smoke from the hood on the 101, stalling on the highway and some near-death braking incidents.

I once drove her (admittedly too fast) from LA to Joshua tree, nearly set the car on fire due to a blocked fuel line and had to juggle the choke and fuel to keep the air out of the gaskets, avoiding a backfire.

A sure-fire, head-turning classic, and as much as I was traumatized I would definitely get another one someday.