Tanner Ross grew up as much a fan of horror movies as he was of electronic music. It was this combination of interests that helped spawn the haunted techno sound that has had the electronic music scene buzzing for the past year. In March, Tanner and partner James Watts debuted Voodeux’s live set to an intimate crowd in Detroit. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Now with the recent release of their first LP, The Paranormal, the accolades only continue to roll in. Tanner talked with us a bit about the creative process and where Voodeux’s music fits into the big picture. He also took time to discuss some of his musical influences, not to mention list a few of his favorite all time horror movies.
URB: So what came first, the concept behind your sound or the sound itself?
TANNER ROSS: The sound itself. Just making music late at night, it kind of sets the tone from feeding off of each other.
URB: I’ve read that you’re a big horror movie fan, is he the same way?
TANNER ROSS: Not so much. Not really at all from my experiences hanging out with him. But he knows the dark side and embraces it very well. I mean, the dark side doesn’t just come from me. I think its safe to say that we both enjoy twisted music, moody music in general. It just catches the senses.
URB: I also read that you guys pass project files back and forth and add to them. How exactly does that work?
TANNER ROSS: We both use the same sequencer, so we’re able to save the project as a self contained file. Then I just put it in our dropbox folder. We just swap ideas till we think it’s done basically.
URB: Does it end up becoming like a competition? Who can add the wildest shit to the track? Or do you guys like discuss it over the phone and than proceed to add to it?
TANNER ROSS: It’s not a competition. We discuss things via phone and email, but not that much really. We work really well together to the point where it is almost like mind reading.
URB: So do you get a track back from him sometimes and think, “yea, that makes sense”?
TANNER ROSS: Not really. I think it’s more like I send him a track and he sends it back. Then I listen and think to myself, “BRILLANT!” and continue. A track can go in a direction and I will make it that way. Then after sending it to him and getting it back, sometimes he’ll continue with the idea but sometimes he’ll take it in a different direction that I wouldn’t normally think of. And then we will add to that idea and just kind of let the track take us on a journey. I find that most of the time the best music is usually the kind that is made with no idea it just controls itself.
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