Electro-pop producer Panaviscope has released his debut single, ‘Kiss Yourself To Death’ via How Bad Pretty Bad Records. The Swiss musician takes inspiration from a broad genre of music as he pulls Pink Floyd and Air into his web of personal artistry. The result is a dark electronic pop song that embraces both whimsy and the disturbed.
Receiving a jump-off via Swiss national radio play, the newcomer has already climbed to nearly 40 thousand plays across digital streaming platforms. We decided to sit down and learn a little more about this rising star in the industry.
Tell us about you, how long have you been producing music? What did inspire you to start?
I started playing music at the age of six and it felt like « wooooah ». The first time I could record two vocals on the same track and feel the strange effect of listening to yourself in stereo, I was hooked. I’ve never stopped learning, producing and composing. It’s like it’s always been there. Like breathing.
The music industry is super competitive these days, was there a moment in your life that you wanted to give up on music? How did you manage to stay focused and achieve what you want?
The state of the music industry can be quite strange, depending on how you look at it. Algorithms play a huge part in how people discover music, which too often leads to a « winner takes all » situation. That being said, artists have now the opportunity to get heard and find an audience, from everywhere in the world, with a small budget, which wasn’t possible before. Nowadays, you’re forced to know yourself, you’re forced to know why you’re in this business. I play music like some people practice sports. My goal is to improve myself every day and release vinyl after vinyl. I want to end up with a collection of great records that I can hold in my hands. That’s my goal. And I’m very clear with myself on this matter. If millions of people discover my music in the process, that’s great. It’s a pleasure to play the promotion game, of course. I’m not hiding in a cave. But success would be a byproduct of my artistic journey. I constantly have this image in mind: a series of awesome records on a shelf.
How would you describe your creative processes? Who writes the lyrics to the songs? Are the music and lyrics written in conjunction, or separately?
In Panaviscope, I compose, play all the instruments, write the lyrics, sing, and create all the visuals. Sometimes I start with the lyrics. Other times with images. There’s some sort of inner mythology, for a lack of better words, that I need to release in the form of music and words. My impulse is different with every new song. I don’t have a strategy, just a strong work ethic.
Where the inspiration comes from?
I love reading. Books are a great source of inspiration for me. I love to fantasize on how people used to create music and movies in the past. I’ve read « Easy Riders, Raging Bulls », by Peter Biskind, at least ten times. When I’m stuck in my creative process, when a song becomes too heavy to shoulder, when I’m losing myself in all the possibilities which jump at me, I go back to this book and reflect on these incredible directors of the 1970s. It helps me make radical artistic choices. Sometimes I stumble upon an article about a band, about a new album, and based on this article, I try to imagine how the band worked, what they produced. I then try to compete with this ideal result which exists only in my imagination, without listening to the band or the album.
What’s your favourite track from the upcoming album and what other bands/artists are you listening to right now?
I would say the track « Breathing in reverse » is very powerful. In three minutes, you travel from electro to classic 70s rock, in a very smooth journey. I’m happy with the aesthetic of this song. The result is extremely cinematic. At the end of the song, you should wonder « what the hell did just happen to me? » In this song, I talk about going back to the forest. I explore a romantic vision of nature. A parenthesis.
What’s next for you?
I plan to keep on doing what I’m doing. Working every day. Composing. Pushing the pop paradigm as far as I can. I will release my debut album in 2020.
