Where does the name Oobleck come from?

Oobleck started out as a side project to pursue darker sounds than my main outlet as Siesta Submarina, which covers the more atmospheric and chord-driven side of things. Oobleck basically means “Non-newtonian fluid”, and comes from the mixture of cornstarch and water, a mix that allows the fluid to temporarily shift from liquid to solid state when you apply a force to it. I’m a big fan of Plastikman and always imagined how the inky blob-figure, the logo, would shape-shift to the weird music when hearing tracks like Konception and the Consumed album. Also, it sounds mysterious and pretentious, just like modern techno should 😉

Give us an interesting fact about the person behind the concept?

Hm, well, I am the only person who consider Leftfield’s “Rhythm and Stealth” to be better than “Leftism”…

As this being a live set, tell us about the equipment that was used to make it?

The set is made with Elektron Machinedrum UW and Analog Four as sound sources, going to a mackie mixer for aux sends to a Sherman Filterbank 2 and to the Octatrack, which handles live sampling and transitions. I love the Elektron machines, after owning lots of different drum machines, synths and samplers I find their user interface to be second to none, everything is so intuitive and easy to reach.
Also, their sequencers are stellar, and they have a certain sound to them that you just won’t get with Ableton and a bunch of pre-made sample packs. It’s important to me to synthesize every sound from scratch, it’s both a way to find the most interesting sounds and also to stay clear of relying on sounds that are being used in way too many modern productions.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by just about any musical form out there, but predominantly the techno scene, just so much going on there. I’ve always favoured music that lends itself to improvisation and that embraces imperfection as a part of the artistic package. Some of the older music from Pink Floyd, and bands such as The Flaming Lips and Motorpsycho that let the ideas and concepts and spur of the moment go above the constant pursuit of planned perfection. It’s not about the most crystal clear production, it’s got to have some soul and meaning, an urge for the artist to express him or herself.
Just consider how awful some of the Vatican Shadow tracks are produced, sounds like a bad mix, but they still work exactly how they’re supposed to. I think improvising leads to so many secret places, it needs to be explored. Also, it’s a very convenient way to excuse little errors in a live recording 😉 Besides that I’m inspired by nature, sci-fi and daydreams

What is your take on the techno-scene today?

I’ve only been into the techno scene for a few years, so I’ve kind of been exposed to both the relentless 4-deck, 140 BPM madness of the 90’s and the stone cold, massive bunker techno that is dominating the scene today at the same time. The genre never stops to amaze me, there is so much good, mind-bending and exploring techno coming out these days that I don’t stand a chance to check it all out, so I’m finding new favourite acts almost on a weekly basis. Been a while since I could say the same about traditional rock bands….

That said, I’m glad to see that not everyone has jumped on the same ‘Berghain’-sound, it’s good for sure but for techno to stay interesting it needs to evolve. I think both the presence and the future of techno is looking bright, and the last few years has seen a lot of activity in Norway too, mostly in Oslo and Bergen, where big techno nights have been all the talk, from the allnighters of The Void and Primal Behaviour, to concepts like Ploink and Darkrooms who is booking big techno names on a regular basis, thanks!