by NICK SPACEK
Musician Andy Votel is a talented DJ and archivist whose work with his label, Finders Keepers, has regularly unearthed long-lost music from the hinterlands of experimental, avant-garde, and beyond, frequently tied to the world of film music. As mentioned in the most recent print edition of STARBURST, Finders Keepers unearthed the “bloodline of Eastern European kosmische and groundbreaking, grinding cinematic psych rock” with the release of the Andrzej Korzyński score to Żuławski’s 1972 film, Diabeł (aka The Devil).
“Sourced from the elusive original master tapes with the full cooperation of the CeTA archives in Wroclaw in collaboration with GAD Records,” this release is a fuzzed-out, echoplex-resplendent score sure to make all but the most hard-hearted film music and stoner rock fans drool with delight, and comes just in time for the massive rediscovery of Polish director Andrzej Żuławski via the release of his 1981 film Possession on horror streamer Shudder.
Additionally, on March 29th, Votel will perform a live score of music to a screening of The Devil as part of the Kinoteka Polish Film Festival in London. The music will comprise Korzyński’s scores for Żuławski’s most iconic films as well as other Polish music of the 1970s. We spoke with Andy Votel all about it ahead of Wednesday’s performance…
STARBURST: The music which you release, as well as that which you spin, covers a wide swathe of genres and locales. Where did you first start in this worldwide journey of musical discovery?
Andy Votel: I’ve always been fascinated with vinyl from a very young age. Touching the record player in our family home was forbidden in the 1980’s so I developed a fascination. Through hip hop I learned to deconstruct music and looked for the finest obscure ingredients. My modus operandi was to leave my comfort zone so I decided to not buy any English language music for many years. An art school trip to Poland in 1993 introduced me to Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Russian, and East German music. As a DJ, I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world buying records from every continent, which eventually teaches you a lot of cultural and creative lessons through art, film, design etc.
When did you first discover something you knew needed to be heard by more people?
My first ever records and remixes all included samples from records and films that I felt needed to be decontextualised. I have felt like this all my life. My initial source library for unusual samples and sounds eventually got so large and nuanced that I started to make mixtapes and compilations. I learned to manufacture records working as a designer for Grand Central, then ran my own label Twisted Nerve, so Finders Keepers was born from that experience. The first record, L’Enfant Assassin De Mouches, was the perfect record to launch the label because it resembled a very erratic mix-tape within itself. Almost like an entire label on one disc with multiple styles of music. It is the perfect template for the label’s discography.
The records Finders Keepers reissues sometimes represent years of work by the time they appear. How much patience does this job require?
Anyone who is serious about record collecting and finding rare records will understand that patience is the key component. In an era where people expect music and art at the click of a switch, it might be hard to understand. Finding records and searching for one particular piece of old music can take years, and you have to hope that your tastes don’t change. Finding original artists and master tapes and rights holder is no different. But, the first records we released on FK 18 years ago are still in print to today, so we like to specialise in “timeless’ music or records that are so unique that they stand the tests of time or evade trends.
In addition to performing at festivals, do you get to travel in order to bring these reissues to life?
Yes.
Your performance at the festival will see you paying homage to Andrzej Korzyński by remixing both that composer’s work, as well as that of other Polish musicians. How do you stay true to the original musical themes of The Devil, while also crafting something new?
I don’t intend to stay true to the themes, I prefer to decontextualise the music and the films and view and project it from a different perspective, like a hall of mirrors. It is important for me to retain some cultural aesthetics though, and by strictly using Polish music this also presents a challenge which is a great breeding ground for creativity and experiments, as well as happy accidents. I believe this is how Korzyński and Zulwaski’s relationship worked when they made these collaborations up to 50 years ago.
When crafting mixes, is it easier to work within a theme, or does that create new challenges?
It’s certainly not easier, but it’s more fun, and more challenging. I have so many avenues at my disposal now, so as long as you have an open mind, you can apply a concept to most mixes and collages. I think it’s unfortunate when projects are not conceptual, it’s a lost opportunity. Although I do enjoy spontaneity too. I have a radio show called Randomonium which is strictly concept-free and spontaneous.
Along those lines, how familiar does one need to be with a film in order to craft a new score from component parts as it plays?
For me personally, you have to be very familiar, but I only really work with films that I know and love. Again it is great to improvise, but my scores are painstakingly crafted… ideally you would find the correct balance in between. The film scores for Jean Rolling by Francois Tusques are completely improvised, and most of the soundtrack work a treat, before Jean Rolling had to edit it. You need to edit, I think that is the key to a good collage.
The Devil + Live Music will screen as part of the Kinoteka Polish Film Festival on March 29th. Details on that show here.
