Combining two of his artistic personas (Memory Cassette and Weird Tapes), Dayve Hawke finds a distinct sound that will be engraved in your skull: Memory Tapes. His first album debuted on last year’s second half and he is now readying a sequel.

Dayve already scratched the surface of stardom with his now late band, Hail Social, that got to play as Interpol support. Maybe I exaggerate about the stardom, especially since he comes across as some kind of hermit that doesn’t own a phone and doesn’t even know how to drive. But one thing he knows for sure is how to make music, and you have to look no forward for proof of that than his musical personas: The Banker from Deal or no Deal, Weird Tapes and Memory Cassettes. The combination of the latter two gave birth to new project that combines the electronic artistry of the Tapes and the personal touch of the Cassette. For those that got lost, we’re now talking about Memory Tapes.

Seek Magic, the disc that he released last year under this name, has been critically acclaimed all along the web. The sound is equal parts melancholy and spacey sounds dancing around like raindrops inside your head. He’s already working on his second album, alongside tons of new remixes that he posts on his blog for free. Go on and take a look, they are plenty.

So, we read that seek magic took 10 years in the making. How was it finally going through with it? Are you proud of the long work?

Not sure where that came from. It took a few months, actually. I'm proud of the album but it definitely didn't take 10 years to record! I think maybe you're thinking of the Memory Cassette stuff which was mostly recorded about 10 years ago. Those were songs I had done in high school that I reworked a bit for release a few years ago.
 
What are your favorite VHS?

Terminator, Prince Live, Puff the Magic Dragon... those are all the VHS I've got.
 
What was on the first mix tape you ever received?

Probably in High School a kid gave me one because he wanted me to play drums in his band. It was terrible, lots of shitty punk and hardcore songs.

Speaking of cassettes and tapes, we read that nostalgia (or melancholy) is a big part of what you do. What are your feelings when composing the songs?

Making tracks is kind of a dream-state thing for me. I'm on auto-pilot when I do them. I don't feel much of anything but there are always kind of random images/associations running through my head.  
 
What equipment do you like to work with?

What I like is guitars but I spend a lot of time using things like computers, drum-machines and synths because that's the most viable way to make a record without spending a ton of money. I'm generally into anything that makes sound, but the computer is a drag sometimes. It's a good/cheap way to record but I hate looking at sound.
 
You are against being taken as mysterious figure, yet your "reclusive" lifestyle has sort of labeled you as one on the web. How are you dealing with the duality?

Well there's always going to be a sort of conflict but I just try to be open: answer questions, let people take my picture. I'm not very good at it so I'll probably always be a bit confusing to people.
 
What are your projects for the next few months?

I'm working to finish my next record and also trying to grow the live show a bit. There will be quite a lot of new music coming over the next year.