Scottish animator/producer launches record label and club night Display Copy in an amalgamation of creative formats.
TextLauren Martin
Konx-om-Pax is a 25 year old Glaswegian animator, graphic designer, DJ and producer whose creations permeate the “fine lines and blurred boundaries” between music production and installation art. A long time collaborator with the Scottish collective LuckyMe, his music videos, sleeve designs and installation work place his acid house and psychedelic influences in a thoroughly modern, hyper-real context. The intense experience of synaesthesia translates in his installations, allowing for a dramatic visual manifestation of the sounds he manipulates, whilst delicately balancing serious technical ability and a relatable playfulness that pushes the audience to their sensory limits. After working with several behemoth electronic music figures such as Autechre, Warp, Optimo Espacio, Underground Resistance and DFA, expectations are high for his latest project Display Copy. As a brand new label and club night focusing on the darker recesses of experimental electronica and techno, Display Copy is the culmination of the various artistic directions of Konx-om-Pax and his ideological kinsmen, such as Oneohtrix Point Never aka Daniel Lopatin. With the official launch of Display Copy on May 29th at the Glasgow School of Art featuring live sets from Oneohtrix Point Never and Tomutonttu, as well as a DJ set from Konx-om-Pax himself, the coming months will provide ample opportunities for such ambitious scope and drive.
Dazed Digital: Describe your creative process.
Konx-om-Pax: First of all I panic, get more stressed - stress some more - then I have a cup of tea and fire straight into a giant hoarding of visual inspiration to stick on my wall to finally start to work on a project.
DD: Who or what do you cite as your major creative influences?
Konx-om-Pax: Mainly films from Kubrick, Herzog and the avant garde scene, but also pop stuff from my child hood like Ghostbusters and Jurassic Park. Music wise it's old school, badly produced Chicago house and Detroit techno, early Warp releases and an absolute tonne of experimental music that dates back to the 50's, like Bernard Parmengiani and Erkki Kurenniemi. The US underground scene is really exciting now. My man Oneohtrix Point Never is making waves.
DD: How was Display Copy born?
Konx-om-Pax: In the Tate Modern Shop a few years back. I was reading a really expensive design book but I couldn't afford to buy it at the time, so I thought about asking to buy the display copy for cheaper. I'm into the perceived ideas of the value of objects; about what makes something valuable to someone.
DD: What are your goals for Display Copy, immediate and long-term?
Konx-om-Pax: Mainly to tie in all the stuff I'm doing at the moment - from commercial design projects, to installations, releasing music, and to basically keep on doing all of the above. In the future I'll look to release more collaborative projects, both visual and audio based.
DD: What role has your time at Glasgow School of Art played in your career?
Konx-om-Pax: It made me really confident to do what the hell I want. They pushed me to study my passions for music and experimental visual artists. I hardly did one piece of traditional graphic design on a graphics course. I made a tonne of noise and presented it in crit's in an interactive visual way, which was lots of fun!
DD: Who would you like to collaborate with in the future/creative dream team?
Konx-om-Pax: The obvious choice would be Autechre, because they still manage to make music that sounds like it comes from outer space.
DD: Your work has a great sense of humour and playfulness, yet often merged with so-called 'serious' techno. Where do you feel the two can meet harmoniously, if at all?
Konx-om-Pax: They meet when I whack 'em together as hard as possible haha.
DD: What's your current obsession?
Konx-om-Pax: Wham Bar Chews.
DD: Last record you bought?
Konx-om-Pax: Burning Star Cores new thing and a release on Oneohtrix's CDR label.
DD: Last movie you watched?
Konx-om-Pax: 40 Year Old Virgin.
DD: The one idea you wish you had had yourself?
Konx-om-Pax: Tetra Packs. I could be well rich by now.
DD: What's killing us?
Konx-om-Pax: Bad Chat.
DD: Releases coming out?
Konx-om-Pax: I'm putting out the music from last years Optimo installation performance on Display Copy next month, which is called Optimo Tracks, and I've got a remix from No-Fun Acid as well. It's well heavy.
Dazed Digital: Describe your creative process.
Konx-om-Pax: First of all I panic, get more stressed - stress some more - then I have a cup of tea and fire straight into a giant hoarding of visual inspiration to stick on my wall to finally start to work on a project.
DD: Who or what do you cite as your major creative influences?
Konx-om-Pax: Mainly films from Kubrick, Herzog and the avant garde scene, but also pop stuff from my child hood like Ghostbusters and Jurassic Park. Music wise it's old school, badly produced Chicago house and Detroit techno, early Warp releases and an absolute tonne of experimental music that dates back to the 50's, like Bernard Parmengiani and Erkki Kurenniemi. The US underground scene is really exciting now. My man Oneohtrix Point Never is making waves.
DD: How was Display Copy born?
Konx-om-Pax: In the Tate Modern Shop a few years back. I was reading a really expensive design book but I couldn't afford to buy it at the time, so I thought about asking to buy the display copy for cheaper. I'm into the perceived ideas of the value of objects; about what makes something valuable to someone.
DD: What are your goals for Display Copy, immediate and long-term?
Konx-om-Pax: Mainly to tie in all the stuff I'm doing at the moment - from commercial design projects, to installations, releasing music, and to basically keep on doing all of the above. In the future I'll look to release more collaborative projects, both visual and audio based.
DD: What role has your time at Glasgow School of Art played in your career?
Konx-om-Pax: It made me really confident to do what the hell I want. They pushed me to study my passions for music and experimental visual artists. I hardly did one piece of traditional graphic design on a graphics course. I made a tonne of noise and presented it in crit's in an interactive visual way, which was lots of fun!
DD: Who would you like to collaborate with in the future/creative dream team?
Konx-om-Pax: The obvious choice would be Autechre, because they still manage to make music that sounds like it comes from outer space.
DD: Your work has a great sense of humour and playfulness, yet often merged with so-called 'serious' techno. Where do you feel the two can meet harmoniously, if at all?
Konx-om-Pax: They meet when I whack 'em together as hard as possible haha.
DD: What's your current obsession?
Konx-om-Pax: Wham Bar Chews.
DD: Last record you bought?
Konx-om-Pax: Burning Star Cores new thing and a release on Oneohtrix's CDR label.
DD: Last movie you watched?
Konx-om-Pax: 40 Year Old Virgin.
DD: The one idea you wish you had had yourself?
Konx-om-Pax: Tetra Packs. I could be well rich by now.
DD: What's killing us?
Konx-om-Pax: Bad Chat.
DD: Releases coming out?
Konx-om-Pax: I'm putting out the music from last years Optimo installation performance on Display Copy next month, which is called Optimo Tracks, and I've got a remix from No-Fun Acid as well. It's well heavy.
