This interview was with Hype Machines Zoya Feldman and was originally posted 19 May 2009:
Hype Machine's Zoya Feldman took a few minutes of of her busy schedule to talk to Vainzine's CTZN V41N. Here's what she had to say for herself...
CV: You do design work for Hypem if I'm not mistaken? Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do...
ZF: I've designed graphics for the Hype Machine since 2005, mostly at night, and I design for a CD manufacturer during business hours. So I'm chin-deep in music all day long, and it definitely enters my personal work, too.
CV: Which Piece of your own work are you most pleased with and why?
ZF: I became obsessed with a Big Black song last year, and as it played on repeat and I listened to the words over and over, I started to write them out. I made dozens of little posters of the lyrics, and now my friends have them hanging in their living room — and they don't even listen to Big Black.
CV: Does music influence your work outside of Hypem?
ZF: The Bazooka Joe project was a cool experiment in lettering, and very helpful in getting that song out of my head. My favourite piece, though, is our first t-shirt, because I think it really illustrates what the Hype Machine does — aggregates and amplifies the reach of music on the web. We only made about 100 of these, and I shipped each one myself. That's also why we only made 100.
CV: I'm not surprised, otherwise I'm guessing you would still be shipping them out! So with the decline of CD manufacturing and growth in MP3 where do you see yourself and the music design industry as a whole going in the next few years?
ZF: Well, now that people need more incentive than just music to buy a CD, music packaging has actually become incredibly elaborate. Rhymesayers is always coming up with really innovative ways to showcase their product, and it's pretty cool to see just how many ways you can put a disc in a box. Vinyl is also seeing a huge resurgence, especially with digital download cards, so I think people will continue to pay for a physical copy of an album if it looks as good as it sounds.
CV: What are you own personal aspirations?
ZF: If that doesn't work out, I can always focus on realizing my dream of opening a bookstore/flower shop/craft store/cafe/bar. It'd be a one-stop shop, really, and we'd just play the Hype Machine front page all day, because that's so eclectic too.
CV: Your up & coming tracks of 2009?
ZF: I'm loving the Burial/Four Tet split right now, but the best band I've discovered this year (on our front page, of course) was Beast, Please Be Still, a phenomenal instrumental/post-rock group. When I ordered their CD, they sent it to me with a hand-drawn note — can't get that in a torrent ;)
A massive thank you to Zoya for taking some time out for us. If you want to see more of Zoya's work visit her personal website Exxaggerrated.com.
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