#daniel ness

Spawned in Peckham but with family spreading across several countries, the Merci Jitter collective are all about breaking down the borders between nations, genres and art forms. Nowhere is this better expressed than in their Movements compilations, the second edition of which dropped just last week. A stimulating mix of electronic sounds that pay scant regard to standard forms and formulas, Movements Vol II features 13 international artists bonded by a shared sense of musical adventure, which seeks out the highest common denominator between their distinct approaches.

To celebrate the release of Movements Vol. II, we spoke to founder Daniel Ness and three of the artists involved: China’s Guzz, Lithuania’s Spurga and London-based French producer HNRO…

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MusicMap: Tell us a bit about the genesis of Merci Jitter…

Daniel Ness: Merci Jitter is an open zone multimedia platform where we like to dabble into various art forms and bridge them together, but the main ethos stems from this problem I came across several times in the beat scene. The audience and many of the producers never really allowed other sounds/genres such as Techno, House, Bass to intermingle or coexist. There would always be this feeling of people turning their backs if it wasn’t, let’s say, Hip Hop, Trap or R’n’b/Jazz. Even with Grime a lot of people had issues (see the comments on Jarreau Vandal’s Lotus Eater remix on Soulection). So I had this urge to create a sound which blends various sub-genres and more ‘club-oriented’ genres like Techno, House and Bass together into a Hip-Hop context. From then on it evolved a bit, less outlined but still all about bridging things together to create coherent formats which will hopefully help break the mould and create a recognisable sound.

Movements II features artists from a range of countries, did you always intend to give the release such an international flavour?

As a person from a wide international background, I’ve always (weirdly) surrounded myself with a number of international people, friends, colleagues… However I think for this project and Merci Jitter in general, it’s due to the way the platform was set up and the type of collective we are, as in very internet-based, which has always put us in a position where we are exposed to a bunch of international artists through SoundCloud & Facebook.

This is also due to university and people I have met during shows abroad such as Ben Kaczor from Basel or Guzz from Beijing, but we also work with local/national artists such as Phrixus, Holloway & Simkin, as we’re part of an area (Peckham) and therefore a scene which we gotta push.

Merci Jitter have a focus on visual as well as musical art. What attracted you to American ceramic artist Kristin McKirdy, whose work (photographed by French photographer Benoit Grellet) is featured on the cover?

Kristin McKirdy’s work involves a certain form of intricate minimalism which really appeals to me on an aesthetic and creative level but also fits hand in hand with Merci Jitter’s visual aspect. Not only does her work reflect a form of shared simplicity, McKirdy also features a similar mindset in which various art forms/techniques as well as a re-appropriation of styles are fused together into a coherent format.

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Track focus: HNRO – Allure

MusicMap: What was the inspiration behind the track you contributed to the compilation?

HNRO: The track was inspired by an urge to fuse two of my main influences when it comes to composing electronic music: UK Bass/Techno and Hip-Hop.

How did you compose the track?

The idea was to make use of aesthetics and codes that are a heavy part to the UK club music sound (606, 909, cinematic pads, chopped-up breaks and vocals, heavy percussive elements) and transcribe them to modern Hip-Hop rhythms and workflow.

What’s the meaning behind the track title?

The term ‘Allure’ is defined as ‘the quality of being powerfully and mysteriously attractive or fascinating’, which I think describes quite well what I struck for when making the tune.

What attracted you to the Merci Jitter project?

I believe it is that constant strong desire of bridging this gap between two universes that share so many similarities that made us want to do a second compilation with Merci Jitter. We are lucky to be surrounded by a lot of very talented people that share similar views on music with us and we wanted to share the sound we love and hopefully help this new exciting scene expand to a wider community.

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Track focus: Guzz – Lion Dance

What’s the meaning behind the track title?

Guzz: I guess it’s obvious. It’s the Lion Dance of China. If you don’t know, I’m sure you can find it on Google!

How did you compose the track?

I wanted to make a Club track with Chinese rhythms and sounds, so after doing some research, I decided to use the drums of Lion Dance. It has a unique, powerful groove, and break, drop like all the Club music. I watched some tutorials of Lion Dance and its drums, and I combined all these beats and rhythms, added a bit to make it more “Club”, and here it is.

What was the inspiration behind it?

The inspiration is simple. Just digging the Chinese beats and groove, especially the drums. Just a little bit of work and it’s ready to take over the club.

What attracted you to the Merci Jitter project?

Daniel hit me up on Facebook one day, asking if I wanted to join their compilation. I didn’t know who they were, so I went on their SoundCloud and listened to their first compilation. I liked their music, so I agreed to put out a track on their new project.

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Track focus: Spurga – Mandolina

MusicMap: How did you compose the track?

Spurga: I would spend time listening to music, making loops and then using them the next day. These loops came together with a sequenced beat into an unpolished track made on FL studio, but the song somehow got stuck for a few years. I later used the stems for a live setup by chopping them into various audio clips in Ableton and I just played it out live and recorded the results.

What was the inspiration behind it?

I was very into library music at the time and Flying Lotus type beats.

What’s the meaning behind the track title?

I think right before making the beat I was watching a YouTube video of South American drug smugglers transporting drugs in a mandolin and it just stuck in my head, haha.

What attracted you to the Merci Jitter project?

To be simple – I like it how they bang.