INTERVIEW: Roman Kovalchuk of HIGH PARK

High Park - All Day, 2011"

AUTOreverse #14, Summer 2011
Roman Kovalchuk of
HIGH PARK
interview by
Ian C Stewart

ROMAN, HELLO. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'RE FEELING MOUTHY ABOUT RIGHT NOW?
I'm on a three hour drive going camping right now, away from my studio, so I'm pretty happy to get a few days away from the city and relax.

LET'S DISCUSS YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES.
Right now I am influenced by a lot of hip hop. Drakes new stuff and The Weeknd have been on repeat over the last few weeks. Also Odd Future, Kreyshawn and Lil B, the whole swag culture, is having a creative impact on me as well. When I was growing up I was listening to a lot of trance, Armin van Buuren's radio show was always playing in the backround. I also played with a metal band a couple years ago.

NOTHING WRONG WITH METAL. WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR MUSIC HEADING?
Up.

WHAT MUSIC SOFTWARE DO YOU USE?
Fl studio, adobe audition, ableton live

ARE YOU PLANNING ANY SOFTWARE UPGRADES?
I'm thinking of getting a MacBook pro so maybe I'll try out Logic.

WHAT'S IN YOUR HOME STUDIO SETUP?
I have a microkorg and acoustic guitar. I write a lot of melodies on the microkorg.

DO YOU WRITE ON KEYBOARD OR GUITAR?
Mostly keyboard (microkorg)

TALK ABOUT YOUR LATEST RELEASE, "ALL DAY"
I wrote most of the instrumentals in the winter and only added the vocals in the spring. It was strange coming back to those instrumentals because I heard them in a completely different way.

HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT WRITING SONGS?
It changes depending on the idea. Sometimes I'll come up with a melody and then add drums to it, other times I start with the drums and go from there.

High Park - High Park, 2010

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START MAKING MUSIC OF YOUR OWN?
I always had an interest for creation so once I started playing music, I figured that I could write my own.

ARE YOU ACTIVE IN YOUR LOCAL MUSIC SCENE?
I used to be when we played metal. Right now I'm mostly in the studio. I'm playing my second show next week.

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO COLLABORATE WITH?
In the future I would love to produce for Drake or The Weeknd. I am hoping for a talented rapper or vocalist to step into my life one day and help me out.

WHAT OTHER BANDS ARE YOU INTO?
Sun Glitters, Tempelhof, Way Out West, Washed Out. My good friend Stan makes music as zxz which is also exciting.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOU, MUSICALLY SPEAKING?
I'm planning on releasing a cd of pop remixes and I am also releasing another full length on Phantasma Disques in the fall.

WHAT DID I FORGET TO ASK YOU?
In my spare time I like to play soccer and spend time outdoors.


Http://highpark.bandcamp.com
Http://soundcloud.com/highpark

DISCOGRAPHY:
High Park - High Park (2010) Datahex Records
High Park - All Day (2011) Self-Released

Thank you, Roman!