1. Hi Dave, first of all please introduce yourself and tell us what your relationship with Pete Namlook was. I run EAR/Rational Music, an Internet music mailorder store that I opened in 1992, the same year that Namlook started FAX +49-69/450464. In 2000, I took over as the North American distributor of FAX. So from 2000-2012, I worked directly for Namlook, selling FAX CDs to fans and stores worldwide, except for Europe and the UK (even though I was the “North American” distributor, Namlook had me handle sales everywhere except Europe and the UK). 2. How was the idea for this tribute compilation born? I had the idea right after I heard the news, but to be honest, I did not really set it in motion until almost four months later. I mentioned the idea of a tribute on the EAR/Rational mailing list, and one of my customers, Dave Brunelle, who is the webmaster and support person for Bill Laswell’s MOD Technologies, put me in touch with Krystian Shek, who also had the idea of a tribute. Krys had already contacted several artists, including Bill Laswell, so basically we joined forces and things really took off from there. 3. The number of Pete’s alumni and fans is amazing, why is his art so influential and what would you say is his most important teaching? Namlook’s music and the FAX label are influential for several reasons. For one thing, Namlook didn’t confine himself to one style, he experimented quite a bit, and as a result, his body of work is quite varied. In addition, I’d say he was one of the largely unsung pioneers of ambient music. Let’s not forget that in 1992, when the electronic music world was primarily focused on techno and hard trance, out of nowhere it seemed, Namlook released “Silence”, a genuine ambient classic. Finally, I’d say he was so influential because of his willingness to collaborate with others. His collaborations are some of the finest works in the FAX catalog, and he really had an uncanny ability to bring out the best in himself and others while collaborating with them: Silence, Dreamfish, 2350 Broadway, From Within, Shades of Orion, The Fires of Ork, Jet Chamber, S.H.A.D.O., Dark Side of the Moog, Move D/Namlook, etc. Most artists are lucky to produce one single stellar release, whereas Namlook had many! As to the lessons...I think they are encapsulated in the above. It’s worth adding this quote from Thoreau: “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” Instead of doing what others prescribed, Namlook forged his own path, ran his own label, and for the most part, did it all himself. DIY is important...even if you don’t succeed, the lessons you learn are priceless. 4. Have you been surprised for the response of all these artists who wanted to contribute their songs? I was a little apprehensive approaching artists such as Richie Hawtin and Gaudi, and I was surprised when they responded enthusiastically, only a few hours after I contacted them. It’s clear the artists really have a lot of love and respect for Namlook, so in that light, it wasn’t surprising at all. Some artists were more difficult to reach than others, due to their touring schedules, moving their studios, etc., but it did not take long before my surprise waned, and I regularly checked my email expecting the next positive response. 5. What concept have you followed for selecting the tracks to release? When have you said: ”OK it’s enough!”? Well, there was really was very little selecting on my part. From the beginning, I envisioned a tribute consisting of tracks from FAX alumni as well as fans, given the relationship Namlook had with his fans. My plan was to use any and all tracks submitted by FAX alumni, and to have fans vote on the tracks submitted by the fans (and indeed, the fan tracks were pared down from 93 submissions to 44 final tracks). Two fan artists gave me a choice of tracks, and in one case I sought out the SoundCloud page of the artist, and suggested a different track that I thought was a better fit. As to the FAX alumni, I contacted them one by one, told them about the tribute and asked whether they wanted to submit a track. I specifically asked for an unreleased track if they had one, but made it clear that any track would be appreciated. In a few cases, I had a track in mind when I approached the artist (e.g., Burhan Öçal, Blaine Reininger, Pascal FEOS, Gabriel Le Mar, Massimo Vivona). With Daniel Pemberton, he sent me an unreleased album and asked me to choose a track. And Benjamin Wild pointed me to his SoundCloud page and I immediately loved “41,” so we went with it. Lars Müller was extremely gracious and sent me a number of unreleased tracks from XJacks, Aerial Service Area, and Victor Sol, and I ended up including a track from his new band Hane, because I thought it evoked the spirit of Peter. In terms of saying “enough,” I clearly never did that. (= It was suggested to me that I set a deadline, and I did originally set a deadline of May 31st, 2013, but it became clear that some artists needed more time, so I decided to extend the deadline to include more tracks. What originally was to be a 1 or 2 CD tribute became 8 CDs. So I’m really glad I did not say “OK, it’s enough” when we reached the original deadline! 6. Is there a producer on the compilation whose participation has surprised you? There are so many great tracks I suppose this is a bit like asking someone which child is their favorite. Many of the tracks which I had not heard before surprised me in one way or another. I’ll say a few words about the ones that come to mind... By a River (for Peter) - This track features Bernie Worrell on electric piano, and the big surprise for me was that I had no idea that Bernie was going to be involved. It’s really a beautiful track, and Bill and Bernie complement each other so well. Regentropfen (Variation 01) - I had shivers down my spine when I first listened to this because at 1:59, David sampled the same exact “rain” CD that I listen to every night while going to sleep. She Came Dancing Across the Water - Surprise! It’s just four treated guitars! Public Transformation - I was familiar with some of Blaine’s work from Tuxedomoon, and when I started rooting around his Bandcamp site I found all sorts of great tracks that I had never heard. He’s not really known for ambient works, so I was surprised at the beauty of this track and how well it fit on Disc 1 (I had originally planned to use his track Coyoacán on Disc 4, but ran out of room.) Your Angel - Massimo is known for his techno tracks, and I had assumed we’d use one of those, but when I stumbled across Your Angel on his page, I knew that was the track we should include. So different from his other tracks, it’s tender and beautiful, and for me it really evokes the feeling of angels. Perfect for a tribute to Namlook. Lunar Patchouli - As I mentioned earlier, I reached out to Gaudi and was surprised at how quickly he responded. He graciously agreed to let us use this track, which I love, and told me that Namlook loved it as well, so I’m really excited that it’s part of the tribute. Secret Path - When Lorenzo first sent me this track, he told me that it was a track which Namlook started for Labyrinth VI and that he (Lorenzo) was going to add to it for Die Welt ist Klang, but I guess I forgot the details. I had it listed as a Lorenzo Montanà track for months before I re-read Lorenzo’s original email and realized that Namlook was involved. So it was a surprise for me, even though it shouldn’t have been. Electric Universe - When I first reached out to Simon, who now lives in Ibiza, he told me he had some old unreleased tracks that he had nearly forgotten about. I expected to hear something like Houdini, so Electric Universe was a pleasant surprise. He also sent me another unreleased track, Bioport, which I hope to release at some point. Energy to Earth - Wasn’t sure what to expect when Geir said he would send me a demo of Fires of Ork. I was surprised that a track this great hadn’t seen the light of day before this! Sax on Dub/Klangschale/Jazzy Mid-On - I was in touch with Pascal FEOS early on, but due to moving studios and his other commitments he felt he wasn’t able to participate. Some time later, I reached Oliver Lieb, who suggested we use his track Klangschale, from the Zeitlos compilation (which also happens to feature Namlook’s Mindlab). I didn’t know this compilation, and it was apparently not very widely distributed. So I then contacted Pascal and asked him if we could use his track from Zeitlos entitled Sax on Dub, which I absolutely love, and he readily agreed.