Sina XX Q&A
-Hi Sina, it’s a pleasure to “meet” you. This is surely a very special moment for yourself, after the recent release of your first LP, so I’d like to start with the most important question: how do you feel at this moment in time?
- Hi guys and thanks for having me! The release of my album is a big dream coming true. I’ve been wanting to make an album since I started producing. But to be honest, this feeling of celebration and joy is always swinging down because of the situation in the world, in particular in Palestine. Coming from the middle east and having my family been through war, those images hurts me in a different way. Music really heals me and help me staying afloat. But deep down I want peace for our region and for people to access a more authentic view on our cultures than the one spread on mainstream media.
-We perfectly understand and agree with you. Listen, the LP’s title flips “music with a message” into something more playful: “music with a massage.” Do you think of techno’s “massage” as a way to comfort and soothe, or maybe as a gentle pushback in today’s noisy, chaotic world? Could it still be a kind of quiet, powerful act in a cultural space that’s so often loud and polarised?
- You’re right I believe in the power of music to sooth and heal. I wouldn’t talk about comfort because sometimes - often - to heal, you’ll need discomfort. You’ll need to ask the questions that hurt and step out of your comfort zone. A track like “Transition” by Underground Resistance had that exact transformative power on me. “Do I have life ? Or Am I Just Living ?!”. True art pushes our buttons in powerful ways.
-In the album you pull deeply from SWANA traditional instruments and voices, bringing ancient echoes into modern electronic spaces. How do you personally navigate the thin line between honouring those traditions and avoiding the pitfalls of cultural extraction, especially in a scene that can so easily commodify “exotic” sounds?
- This is a very interesting question. How many European or American producers do you know that made hits - or event built a whole career - based on sampling music from India, Africa or else ? I bet a lot. Yet when a westerner “borrows” another culture, we barely ask ourselves that question. And I think that tells a lot of about the bias around that topic. As I often say, I can’t “colonise” my own culture. I was born in France in a Persian family. This bi-culture is part of me. I fully consider myself Eurasian and my music is a direct reflection of that. That means avoiding the “exotic music producer” cliché, who basically put a kick drum on a loop coming from some place else in the world. In my process, those SWANA instruments and voices are carefully transformed, they feel like the music I heard at home, a reminiscence of my childhood that echoes in a modern creation. It was the most authentic way to show that this heritage is part of me. It’s not something I’m taking or using, but rather an expression of who I am.
-That’s such a great way to put it, thanks a lot for your deep and personal answer. Now let’s get a bit technical.While producing the record, were there any instruments, or bits of software that became more than just gear, like emotional translators or even secret weapons? Something that helped you shape the LP’s emotional depth?
- Honestly ? Ableton. Besides Fire Dancer, all tracks have been made with minimal material - and time. I produced most track with the laptop on my lap, using its built-in speakers. It’s a process I started working with about a year ago that feels a lot more “flowy” and fun. There isn’t a single track on this album that was made in the same place actually.
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-Each track on Music With a Massage feels tightly built, but if you zoom in, you can catch echoes of very different techno worlds, UK industrial, Berlin hypnosis, maybe even some Detroit ghosts. Was there a track where all those influences clashed or fused in a way that surprised even you?
- I love the many facettes techno can offer and I’m definitely inspired by that diversity. Landing In Baghdad definitely hit something in me. Most of the sound design revolves around Arabic chants and metallic foley sounds which reminded me of the busy bazaars of Beirut and Tehran were I have been to produce my first EP. To stretch those Arabic influences, I even used a flamenco percussion, that “heel against the floor” sound, connecting SWANA culture to how it ties to European culture too. And it just works.
-You’ve put out tracks on labels like Umay, Body To Body, and BPitch, each with its own vibe and sound. How do you stay true to your own vision while working across these spaces? Do you ever feel like you have to adapt, or do you just do your thing regardless?
- I never adapt or produce something specifically for a label. But I must agree that making sense of all my influences was a long and difficult process, which has really came to fruition in the last 2/3 years. Time also helps me a lot. I keep my tracks secret for a long period of time, anywhere between six months to three years just to see how I feel about them. I need that distance to reflect and to make sure this sounds like me. And to keep things exciting creative wise, I have several aliases.
-We can totally relate to this process. Listen, personally I often find a strange peace within techno music. Despite the BPMs and the intensity, it brings calm and clarity to my mind. Is it the same for you? And which track from the album do you find yourself coming back to with the most joy? Is there a story, a secret about a track that you never shared but want to tell us now?
- The track Fire Dancer was produced over three years ago and was kinda lost in my production folder. Once in a while I look into it and that specific night I had smoked and joint and played the track - and boom, I was completely swallowed by the track and realised its potential. After that I started playing it and it was just part of my every sets. It’s a very “techno” track - it’s deep, hypnotic, and definitely not “obvious”. It requires to be in a certain mental state to get it. But once you do, it brings you somewhere magical.
-Lastly, I’d like to ask you a broader, more “political” question. What’s your take on where techno’s at right now? There’s a lot of innovation and visibility, but also maybe some noise, hype, and copy-paste vibes. What do you think is working well in the scene today, and what’s not? What would you personally love to see more (or less) of?
- I try not to think in terms of “scene”, it’s very broad. What I am particularly proud of is that many of the artists I care for show some kind of engagement today. For Palestine, for Congo, for Ukraine, for planet earth and sometimes for politics. Our music is political. The right to dance or organise an event or a festival is a 100% political decision. In Iran where my family comes from, thousand-year-long musical & dance traditions are being censored for political reason. I want people to be aware of that power and to act accordingly.
Let’s dive into a rapid-fire round; a chance to catch a glimpse of the person behind the music.
-If you were a city, which one would you be and why?
- Paris, it’s where I’m from, it’s chaotic, creative and full of contrast.
-And if you were an animal, what animal would best capture your essence?
- An elephant. I’m a community driven person with a very good memory.
-Picture yourself as a geometrical shape. Which one are you?
- A tesseract.
-If your music was a flavour, what would it taste like?
- Bitter-sweet.
-Only one record for the rest of your life, total nightmare, I know. Which one are you choosing?
- Photek - Solaris and for the rest I’ll listen to the birds.
-If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing now?
- Excuse me?!
-Sina, thanks so much for chilling with us on the Apparel Couch. It’s been great to share a real, honest conversation and connect through music. Looking forward to the next time. Take care and keep feeling the sounds.
