After waxing the seminal "Cantimilla," Tranquility Bass' one-man terror Mike Kandel escaped the L.A. rat race, moved to a remote island off Washington State and came-up with a flawless full-length debut.
After issuing a string of high quality singles on L.A.'s Exist Dance label and accidentally landing the meandering underground trip-hop smash "Cantimilla," Tranquility Bass' Mike Kandel followed a prompt to get back to basics. "I really needed to just sit down and write some songs...something I've been interested I getting back into doing for awhile, " he explains. So Kandel packed his bags and relocated to the remote Lopez Island, just off the coast of Washington state where he set up his studio and worked on tracks while living on 19 acres of wildlife.
Let The Freak Flag Fly is the result of his brief respite away from urban life. "This record is the first time I sat down to make music that I didn't think about the DJ whatsoever," says this Chicago native. "Everything else was 12-inches whether it was really down tempo stuff like Tranquility Bass or not. This was the first time I really didn't care...I just wanted to make music."
But don't think there aren't plenty of sweeping soundtrack movements and trip-hop beats on Let The Freak Flag Fly. In contrast to many dance albums which draw influence from soul and R&B, Kandel brought in unlikely elements of country and blues into his mix.
After his reclusive island experience and a decade away from his childhood roots, Kandel is back in his native Chicago putting together artwork, a video, and a touring band for his album. He doesn't spend his spare time exploring Chicago's electronic music scene. Instead, he thrift and record shops, listens to country and blues, and spends nights re-aquainting himself with old friends at bars.
"This way my creative process works is that I just keep pushing things in a direction and they end up sounding the way the do," he says a bit mistified.
"I don't know why, really."
- Kim Taylor MixMag Jan/Feb. 97
