VA - Still in My Arms (2020)

The child was wrapped up in swaddling bands as was still customary in Rome, where little infants wrapped up tight in this manner are called pupi (cocoons). The tiny, tranquil girl seemed to be the incarnation of peace.

I took her in my arms, and she lay there quietly. I moved on with her still in my arms.

Still in my arms: a compilation by Bayu and Moopie featuring Abfahrt Hinwil, Bauri, Boc Scadet, Gimmik, Lackluster, MD, Multiplex, Num Num, Plod and Proem.

Where was your favourite place to go as a child?
Frans Enmark: “When recording our music back in the 90s to early 2000s (so, practically as children) we often set up the studio in a clearing in the woods. In northern Sweden, it never gets dark during summertime so we would just stay up all night writing and recording. Most of our first album was written in that clearing whose natural sounds most definitely can be heard in the album. The acoustic element of our music from that time was actually the nature.”

How did you meet your best friend?
Martin Abrahamsson: “I'm not sure. There have been a bunch. Lots of my best friends moved away when I was a kid.”

Were there any particular items in your house that you remember?
Martin Haidinger: “My first tape recorder, a little mono device with a built-in microphone. Our next door neighbour had a massive stereo in his loft—he played the latest singles every night loud enough for me to hear. I liked one song so much that I wanted to know what it was, but I didn’t have the guts to ask him. So, I taped it with my little tape recorder through my open window. The next day, I took the tape to a record shop to listen to it. When they played it, the only things we could hear were hiss, the occasional car passing by and a few birds. In the background there was an unidentifiable noise. Years later I found out the song was ‘I Feel Love’.”

What do you like daydreaming about?
Lawrence Grover: “The places that I used to go to, but can't find anymore.”

Who were your heroes when you were young?
Esa Ruoho: “When I was young, my hero was this guy that was—I guess you'd call people of his ilk—a polymath, excelling in graphics, design, programming and especially music. He was also a mentor, graciously showing me things about music and sampling, sharing his songs so I could study their files, pattern and composition and giving me feedback on my stuff. He'd show me apps after having studied them at great detail, showing me tricks that I still use to this day. We even tried collaborating at points. He also told me that I could do things I thought I couldn’t, such as grasping and comprehending scripting to create meaningful snippets of code—things that I also still use to this day. So, in essence, he believed in my capabilities when I didn't know I had them, never put what I was doing down and was overall just a really inspiring guy to hang around: always looking at something new, testing this or that, building new patches, advancing his craft. You guessed it, I am—of course—talking about Brothomstates, also known as Lassi Nikko.”

What were your favourite games and hobbies?
Richard Bailey: “I still have favourite hobbies and games. They are pretty much the same ones I’ve always had: music, art and Metroid.”

What was your favourite book or movie growing up?
Roland Dormon: “The Little Red Hen and The Red Balloon.”