Name: Peter Kalcic aka B.Visible
Occupation: Producer
Nationality: Slovenian
Recent release: The new B.Visible full-length album In Between Places is out now.
Recommendations: I rewatched all the Eric Andre episodes recently and gained a lot of inspiration from that.

If you enjoyed this B.Visible interview, visit his personal website for more information. He is also on Instagram, Facebook, Soundcloud, and twitter.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

Watching skate and snowboard videos was my first encounter with music that I could identify with. At the same time Napster worked pretty fine. That’s where I discovered a lot of great music, plus I really enjoyed to share it with my friends.

Seeing the Austrian turntabelism crew Waxolutionists at the local youth centre inspired me to become a DJ. So I saved up some money for turntables and records.

I started producing a bit later, in college, because I was surrounded by people who were really good at it

Some people experience intense emotion when listening to music, others see colours or shapes. What is your own listening experience like and how does it influence your approach to music?

Music of course has an highly emotional effect on me and can get me in a certain mood within seconds. If I had to express music with a different sensory perception, I would go for flavors like sweet, sour or salty.

Listening to music in my case is mostly connected to certain intentions. Wether it’s for pure joy / relaxation where I put on familiar records or I’m on the hunt for something new which is related to finding records for my DJ sets or gaining inspiration for my own creative process.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

After learning the craft, my main ambition was to position me more or less on the left field side of music production. The functionality of the music was secondary, it had to be different wether expressed by wonky rhythms or exotic / intense synth sounds. My first album marked a bit the end of this era. I knew I wrapped up everything I wanted to say and it was time to move on.

So over the last two years my preferences really shifted to making more enjoyable sound in every aspect. I gave up on too high frequencies and quirky synths and focused more on warm and pleasant sound sources.

Of course I still have the ambition to keep it unique. But the vibe of the track is now the main focus.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.
 
I mostly identify with my close surroundings. I love to get influenced by the beauty of places and the art of my friends.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

I like it colorful, a bit provocative and attached to some interesting subculture.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

I think it's important to create something new, but when it comes to sound aesthetics, I often dive into things I've loved since childhood.

With the years I discovered the synths and drum machines that where triggering me back then. Now I use them on a regular basis without tweaking or manipulating the output too much. I try to bring in novelty by other aspects.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

My DAW is always the centerpiece of my production. But I often exchange the equipment around it - so that it stays exciting.

Music is still like playing to me, you have to change the toys from time to time, otherwise it gets boring.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

At the moment I'm commuting between three cities. It's hard to report on a daily routine. What I can say is that I’m having a cup of coffee in the morning. Also trying to ride my bike, or to go skate / snowboarding at least three times a week.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

I’m always trying to get myself into this remote controlled vibe where everything flows and everything comes together with no big effort, regardless of the project.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

On my solo-project I prefer to work out the key idea by my own and then continue with a contributor. Nonetheless I like to start from scratch when it comes to new formations and projects.

I’m working with a punk band on something yet totally undefined and I enjoy every moment of it. It’s specially exciting to see how things develop when you team up with producers or musicians from distant genres.

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

For the personal part - It’s my most honest form of self expression, in that case also therapy. Beyond that, I’m also really hoping that I can bring some joy to the listener - and in the best case let him experience something new.

Related to society I believe that music is something deeply woven into our roots, used for meditation, motivation, or just to add the right layer of emotion to a certain event.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

Music was often a way out of a difficult situation, or a method to get my head clear. The mood of the outcome is highly adapted by the topics I’m struggling with.

If the issue or feeling is captured in a song, it's less of a burden for me afterwards. As I mentioned above it’s a form of therapy or self-medication.

There seems to be increasing interest in a functional, “rational” and scientific approach to music. How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?

I really don’t want to get too much into that scientific approach of music. For me it’s something totally free, emotional and not rational.

Science is always trying to describe the functionality behind something. I, however, want to stay naive and see the magic music does.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I see a lot of connections between music and daily life activities.

Cooking or making a cup of coffee is a certain craft where you need diverse components and mix them properly. It’s easy to adapt that process to music production, but a good cup of coffee never made me jump out of the chair and dance around the room.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

Not really. There must be a scientific approach to explain it, but I still stick to the magic. (laughs)