Evil Needle is an experimental electronic artist and producer hailing from Strasbourg, France mainly inspired by ‘90s hip-hop. With artists like Wu Tang Clan being the soundtrack to his childhood, Evil Needle has been making beats for the past decade and is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The sound of Evil Needle is one that cannot go unnoticed. To characterize his music into one particular genre would be to underestimate his talent. He is an artist that creates genuine music that feels good and touches your soul rather than just your ears. sometime his tracks are soulful and smooth, other times they are strictly hip-hop oriented. Deep grooves, melodious synthesizers, delicate snares, perfect chord progression, and a profound reaction from within listeners is what defines that needle-sound.
We spoke with Evil Needle about intimidating first shows and making improvements:
Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?
I’m pretty good. I’m currently preparing for my trip to Japan.
To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?
I consider it Hip-Hop, but others say it’s Future Beats or even Electronic.
What are the 5 albums that have influenced you the most?
RH Factor – Hard Groove
A Tribe Called Quest – The Love Movement
Flying Lotus – Los Angeles
J-88 – Best Kept Secret
Roy Ayers (no specific Album)
Which other artists are you into at the moment and why?
Sui.luj because his drums are on point, Chromonicci because he’s got that good mood going on in his tracks and has some really good groove. Hae because his chord game is nice and finally K, Le Maestro because his music is unique and groovy.
Are there any key pieces of equipment that you are using to define your sound?
Pretty much only my Keyboard/Piano and my mouse.
What would you say some of the challenges artists face today in the music industry?
I’d say it’s hard to stay relevant and actually getting better/improving and not doing the same thing over and over.
Where do you gather songwriting inspiration?
Listening to other artists music (especially the up and coming), doing remixes or recreating songs for fun or just simply trying out some different genres.
Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting your music together?
I usually start with playing around on the keys. After that I work on my Drums. If it turns out to be a good song I don’t even think anymore – it’s automatic.
What’s the best gig you have ever done and why?
My very first one, a Soulection show with Goldlink, Iamnobodi and Waldo. When I walked on stage there were like 600 people (which is pretty intimidating for a first show). I started playing and realized how receptive the crowd was. They were jumping around and genuinely having a good time and that pretty much took away my fear from doing shows.
And the worst?
I wouldn’t say it was a bad show, but it was just a strange one. I was playing with Twinztrack in Switzerland. We got word that the show was sold out. So we were looking forward to it. Once I started playing I realized how the crowd didn’t actually care about the artists playing. Most of them had their back to the DJ’s and were talking to each other or playing around on their cellphones.
If you weren’t a musician what would you be?
I would be working as a Return Material Authorization (RMA) technician
Do you have any particular gigs or festivals that you dream about playing?
Nothing particular to be honest, but just any festival in the US. I’ve never played there before so I’m really looking forward to it.
If you could perform alongside any other band or artist, living or dead, who would it be?
Pretty much just my Soulection and HW&W friends. They’re all located in the US and we rarely play together on shows.
Do you have any information regarding upcoming releases, projects or gigs in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?
I will be releasing my new Album/LP called ‘Abyssal’ in September 2017 via HW&W Records.
For more information follow Evil Needle on Facebook
