The first release in Motivant Records is left in the hands of the Mexican-born producer Francisco García, aka Vivran. Having studied under the tutelage of one of the members of Oostil (Afterlife Records) Francisco develops a sound that intertwines the sounds of melodic techno, progressive and deep. By doing this he merges the best aspects of all these genres and presents a new musical proposition that he defines as ’emotive electronic’.
With this first release, Vivran seeks to achieve a wide range of emotions in the listener, which are to be directed by rampant basslines and at the same time experience the story being painted in Eksa, the first of the journeys in search of the expression of true human emotion.
Electronic Groove: Hello, Vivran, thank you for your time today. How have these last months been for you? And what positives have you found during these pandemic times?
Vivran: Hello, guys, you are very welcome and I also thank you for hosting this interview with me today and all the Electronic Groove family.
The past few months have been weird, lots of moving around, and big changes. I had to move away from my campus in Mexico City because of the pandemic. The country has been hit quite bad. But besides all this, I think the first few months became like a production camp, a military camp.
Yet we, and I say we because I have lots of people working with me to bring this project forward, have been able to achieve quite a bit in this new reality. For starters the whole production of Eksa, video included, and the beginning of Motivant Records.
EG: Let’s talk about your musical background. When did all started and do you remember any particular moment that made you think that you want to become an artist/musician?
Vivran: Well that’s a fuzzy story. When I was little I really loved rock. I wanted to be like those guitarists in bands such as Queen or Aerosmith. So I went ahead and learned guitar, then quitted when I was in High School. I didn’t really understood how to move forward with what I wanted to do. Then I started to open my boundaries to new movements and peoples around the country.
I remember that I really wanted to DJ because I went to this set by the Mexican artists Meca Meca in 2017. I didn’t quite get how it all worked and how it could run so smoothly and be felt by such a large group of people. So by the end of High School, I was already pouring tons of awful projects in Ableton and one of my teachers suggested going to a music College which for many people in Mexico is super hard to do, because of the countries traditions. So that’s how I ended up going all the way to Barcelona and really learned the bases of how music is made.
EG: You recently launched your own label Motivant Records. What was the reason to create your own output?
Vivran: Most of what I know I learned from school back in Barcelona and from Hugo Ibarra, who is now Heîk, and is part of Øostil. When I moved to Mexico back in august of 2019 it was all learning and experiencing different scenes and the more I learned the more I found the contrast between the genres I liked and the music that actually came out of me.
You can notice this in Eksa, the song is inside the melodic house and techno spectrum, but it’s not quite the usual stuff you find in other, equally awesome melodic techno music. I believe emotion dictates how one as a producer shapes one’s own identity and sound, I want Motivant to be a jumpstart for young and upcoming producers who understand that you can tell more with purely electronic sound than with the best lyrics in the world.
EG: Can you tell us what’s Motivant Records concept?
Vivran: Motivant is emotiveness in electronic. Now more than ever I believe that people need to be close to their emotions and understand how to deal with them. I have always found an output, a sort of release from my own emotions through music.
I want the imprint to be a platform of close collaboration between visual and musical artists in which true human soul can manifest. A home for people brave enough to understand their emotions and share them with the world.
“I believe emotion dictates how one as a producer shapes one’s own identity and sound”
EG: The first release is entitled ‘Eksa’. What was the inspiration to produce this track?
Vivran: Well as I said for me it is all about emotions, and at the time my head was really conflicted, and the only thing that could really clear things up was making music or sort of beating the piano endlessly until something I felt came out.
Then one day I saw a girl, singing in a video and I really liked the vocal, which as a matter of fact didn’t even end up in the song, but in the beginning, I talked with this girl and I felt this same clarity in my head when we were planning on how to actually make the song.
So I kind of wanted to materialize this feeling, this clarity, in a musical composition. That is why there is a lot of blurriness in the first few notes in Eksa and how they relate to the rest of the instruments as they start to integrate and actually give flow to the track.
EG: Can you tell us about your motivation as a producer? How’s your studio set up like?
Vivran: I produce music because it is what makes me feel alive, and that sound super cheesy but it is the truth, everything that happens to me, and everything that I live I sort of think about through music as if I was always composing the soundtrack of my life. That is how I understand the world.
My studio is quite simple. For most of the things I actually want to release I do tend to go for a more professional studio to polish them.
I basically work with a standard audio interface, two JBL speakers which I understand a lot, I have a MIDI keyboard, a trackpad, and a beat sequencer. I work a lot with a basic dynamic microphone and tend to sample tons of sounds looking for weird stuff that for me sounds good. I also love to work with a couple of guitars when I can and I see fit.
EG: What are your plans for the coming months?
Vivran: Right now I am really grateful for the response on Eksa, I really loved releasing a track which meant that much to me, and I want the next things to be even better.
For me, these months will be dedicated to creating content and finding amazing artists to keep growing the scene in Mexico, which is also what I want.
EG: Electronic Groove: For good or bad, how do you see the industry evolving?
Vivran: Right now the industry and many of its aspects are at risk. We really don’t know how it will all turn out but for me, music is a basic need, and I think it is like that for everybody.
I really think that we will be able to dance together like we once did but today there are lots of creative and exciting ways an artist can communicate with his or her audience, which only means the industry is adapting and we as individuals are too.
“I want to grow as an artist enough to be able to realize really transcendental performances in any way the future allows me”
EG: What’s your favorite thing of being a DJ?
Vivran: The thing I love most about being a DJ is this trance-like state you find yourself in when you are playing, and when you are able to transmit this vibe towards your audience, it is really the best feeling in the world.
EG How you envision yourself, as an artist, on the coming years?
Vivran: I want to keep learning, everything I can in this path. I want to grow as an artist enough to be able to realize really transcendental performances in any way the future allows me. I view myself continuing with this music and taking it somewhere, well everywhere.
EG: Thank you for your time, Vivran. We wish you the best going forward!
Vivran: I truly thank you for your support and wish you all the best. Stay tuned for more and all that is to come.
Vivran’s ‘Eksa’ is now available via Motivant Records. Stream and buy here.
Follow Vivran: Facebook | Instagram | SoundCloud | Spotify
