thefacesblur is the moniker of technical Artist and Producer/DJ Adam Graetz. Drawing from the darker corners of electronic music, he produces and DJ’s house, techno, and electronic music across a wide variety of sub-genres. Graetz has also been creating mesmerizing 3D-rendered animations and VJing world-class live stage visuals for over a decade with such artists as 808 State, Stephan Bodzin, Robert Hood, and more. As the other half of this duo, séance is a DJ & Producer out of Durham, NC. Lofi house, techno, UK garage, and disco are just a few of the stops on his journey through the world of house music. From his listeners, he asks only one question: ‘Would you like to communicate with the dead?’.
After collaborating on managerial and audio/visual duties on the show series ‘Ephemeral’ — which included acts such as Shiba San, Nora En Pure, and Paul Van Dyk — thefacesblur & Séance’s friendship burgeoned into a full-form collaboration. Their ‘elemental’ EP wasn’t just born of this collaboration, however; it took a lockdown, living in the same neighborhood, and exile from the scene they both loved for this EP to come to form.
We caught up with thefacesblur & Séance to discuss this new collaborative project, the release of their new ‘elemental’ EP, the origin of their connection, and what the future holds for them.
Electronic Groove: Hi Adam! Hi Sean! How are you doing? We’re glad to have you with us for a chat today. Where are you based right now? What has the situation been like over there?
thefacesblur & Séance: Hey! It’s great to be here. We’re doing pretty well, all things considered. We are currently based out of the United States, in Durham, North Carolina. We’ve started slowly emerging from various lockdowns and quarantines as most event spaces are still shut down in our area. However, we’re really excited to get back to playing and producing shows soon as more and more vaccines are rolled out over here.
Electronic Groove: So, we know you’ve got quite an interesting connection. Could you tell us how you guys met? Did you kick it off from the get-go?
thefacesblur & Séance: We originally met working on live events together, Sean in Production Management and Adam in Lighting and Video Design. What started as a co-working relationship turned into late nights, afterparties, and later turned into full-form collaboration on a new creative project.
Electronic Groove: And when did you guys decide to collaborate? Did the notion take long to materialize?
thefacesblur & Séance: Our collaborations together were already organically happening before the pandemic hit, but we didn’t decide to actually make it an official project until after lockdown started. Lockdown for us sparked more creative energy for us to put towards making the new EP. Literally, our first maybe 5 sessions were held over Zoom, streaming audio out of Ableton.
Electronic Groove: How do you guys go about in the studio? Who does what? Is it the same roles for each track?
thefacesblur & Séance: We work predominantly out of Adam’s home studio. Adam’s technical and engineering background meshed perfectly with Sean’s background in songwriting and arrangements. Over the many months of making the EP, we learned a ton about new mixing techniques and processes with the help of our good friend Marley Carroll. We pretty much replicated the same technique and workflow for each track of the record.
Electronic Groove: And now you’re releasing your ‘elemental’ EP. What’s the inspiration behind this one? How did you decide to approach the concept?
thefacesblur & Séance: By the time we started work on our second track we realized that our EP would become a multi-genre effort and we wanted that to be reflected in the concept. We’re both highly influenced by science fiction, alchemy, and the occult, and wanted that to come across in the work as well. Each element (and each of the 4 tracks of the EP) is representative of a different sub-genre in the world of house music: water, lofi – earth, deep house – air, UK garage/breaks – Fire, techno.
Electronic Groove: ‘elemental’ was also built around some visual tools, right? Is this something we can expect with all your releases? Do you think these things ‘enhance’ the overall experience?
thefacesblur & Séance: Yes, there is a heavy visual component to the work – Adam’s background working with 3D design, rendering, and animation plays a large part in the process of releasing music. These days visuals are so intertwined with releasing music that it is only natural to combine Adam’s renders with the music we’re making with the project. We really try to create an immersive and fully realized vision for the release by combining the two mediums to tie it all together.
“What started as a co-working relationship turned into late nights, afterparties, and later turned into full-form
collaboration on a new creative project”
Electronic Groove: Speaking about live gigs…How do you envision your future back on the stage? Will this partnership go beyond the studio?
thefacesblur & Séance: We’re looking forward to when we can get back on the stage, both together and separately. We definitely plan on having this partnership go on beyond the studio.
Electronic Groove: What can we expect from thefacesblur & Séance for the rest of the year?
thefacesblur & Séance: The ‘elemental’ EP came out Friday, April 2nd. We have a live stream planned to drop May 1st via DICE.fm, that we recorded with Life is Art Studios and our label Maison Fauna. Additionally, we are both working separately on solo material for release later this year.
Electronic Groove: Thank you for your time guys! We wish you all the best! Have a great year!
thefacesblur & Séance: Thank you for having us, It was a pleasure.
thefacesblur & Séance‘s ‘elements’ EP out now via Maison Fauna. Grab your copy here.
Follow thefacesblur: Facebook | Instagram
Follow Séance: Facebook | Instagram
