Getting Existential with Kastle

Kastle makes gorgeous leftfield bass music inspired by UK garage, future R&B and Chicago house, among many other things. About a week ago, this San Francisco-based producer released his debut self-titled album on his own label Symbols—itself an outpost for lush and beautifully-produced house hybrids. Kastle is a real futurist, so we asked him about science fiction, time travel, and his favorite symbols, of course.

THUMP: Do you feel like moving to the Bay Area from Pittsburgh had any effect on your sound? 
Kastle: Undoubtedly. I think moving out west to San Francisco had a big impact on my overall life, so that will have obviously inspired a new direction in my music. I’ll always have lots of love for the east coast, but I feel like I was really able to come into my own out here.

What album do you love to listen to before you go to bed and why (or what artists in general)? 
Some of my top bedtime albums (usually joined with a book) are Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works 85-92, Burial – Untrue, the KLF chillout album, and the Twin Peak’s Fire Walk With Me soundtrack.

Yin yang, peace sign or pentagram… and why?
Yin-yang. It is very important for us to understand the duality of nature. Once I truly wrapped my head around this concept it changed my life. Seeing things as a part of the same whole, only at different degrees. It really shifts your perspective.

What kind of things have been inspiring you since 2013 started? 
 I’ve been focusing ever more on minimalism and also trying to increase the quality of my intake (work, physical, mental, etc). Very much quality over quantity. Reminding myself just because I can do something doesn’t mean I should. Focusing on these things inspires me to focus on my art and to do what really speaks to my soul. It’s way too easy these days to be flooded and overwhelmed by information and things.

You are a huge reader. Tell us a bit about some books that are on your nightstand right now. 
Oh man. Well I’ve become increasingly fascinated with the topic of death. I’m almost finished with Ernest Becker’s Denial of Death, which I was originally drawn to from watching Woody Allen’s Annie Hall again recently. It explains how most of our issues, neuroses, etc. all boil down to our fear of death and the knowledge of our morality. You can argue whether or not the majority of us are actually really living. Focuses on work done by Otto Rank, Freud and Kierkegaard. I’m also always regularly reading through Nietzsche and Emerson. Also working on “Filter Bubble” by Eli Pariser which discusses the current internet platform and how we are all sort of creating our own pocket internets based on what we view, search for, etc. You can argue if its a good model because who wants to just keep seeing the same stuff thrown back at them? Also just started “Fear & Trembling” by Kierkegaard which uses the story of Abraham to discuss the relationship between the ethics, religion and blind faith.

As a huge sci fi fan, what is your favorite fantasy about the future?
I just really want my own TARDIS. Forget a private jet. This would take gigging to a whole new level (and galaxy).

Right now, what do you personally feel is missing in electronic music.. or music in general? 
More creativity, less “content”. Artists need to be more confident in themselves and stop following the same formula as everyone else. People respond to the truth. 

When did you start Symbols Recordings?
Symbols launched in June of 2012.

Symbols Recordings is notable for how mellow and vibey it is in this climate of banger-driven dance music. Is there a guiding ethos to the label or what you put out? 
The feeling is the genre. Whenever I sign something for the label there needs to be a certain feeling around it… if I second guess it just a little I usually have to pass.

What was the hardest part of making your new record? 
Balancing my life with the writing process.

What is the track you like the most off the new record and why?
This is a really hard question to answer. I think I’ve tried to answer it in other interviews unsuccessfully. The whole album is super personal and there’s so much of myself tied to each song.

What is one of the best pieces of advice you’ve ever received?
I’m just going to quote the Tao Te Ching. “Because he competes with no one, no one can compete with him.”

If you could time travel back to any time period and see anything what would it be and why? 
I’d love to eat my way around Paris in the 1920s.

What is your favorite fast food restaurant in an airport? Which airport is it in and what do you order there? 
I tend to pack my own snacks these days for my airport travel and do my best to avoid a sub-par, overpriced meal. Clif Bars save me on the regular. But I do find myself at Vino Volo often. Their chain is in several airports as well… Philly, New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, Denver, Boston, Seattle, few more that I can’t remember. I can trust them for their charcuterie and cheese plates, cured olives, braised pork tacos, mixed greens and good wine.

What song always puts you in a good mood?
Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now