Page 28 - Zone Magazine Issue 007

artist spotlight [ireland]
Diffusion Lab are Ivan Klucka and Chris Bubenzer and between them they have over 20 years’ experience, within the field of Electronic Music Production. I joined the lads in their studio on Wellington Quay, getting the lowdown on what Diffusion Lab is really all about.
What is the aim behind Diffusion Lab?
Chris: From the outset myself and Ivan shared a common goal, to make Diffusion Lab a more welcoming and relaxed creative space for artists to connect. We firmly believe that
when the mind is relaxed it creates more. When an idea is incepted, the creative artists involved can focus and collaborate upon it here. Basically we really want Diffusion lab to
be a more relaxed space for people to connect, share and work on ideas.
In what aspect does the idea form?
Ivan: The both of us have a very experienced music background via music production and DJing. We felt that it was a good idea to have a space where we can brainstorm from not
just ourselves, but other artists as well.
When did Diffusion Lab become a reality?
Ivan: The idea was there, back in 2014 but it took a few months to find the right space. When we found it this place, it just felt right for us, as we are in heart of city. We moved in around late February and since then we have worked on various different
projects with Irish and International Artists.
What do you offer as Diffusion lab?
Chris: We provide clients with services such as sound design, production mixing and mastering. Basically our strongest strength is in an electronic urban aspect, however we
like to keep ourselves fresh and diverse. We don’t like to limit our realms of possibilities and challenges, so we are pretty much open to taking on new projects. Basically anything
that takes us out of our comfort zone is very welcome.
Do you guys feel there is a place for Diffusion lab? Chris: Certainly, we feel that what originally started out as a common passion and hobby is developing us into a creative hub for local artists and musicians. Everything takes time but we are confident that the name and creative hub that is Diffusion Lab is growing.
What do you guys offer from your background and experience? Ivan: Well we both have over 20 years in producing and promotion in electronic music, so we feel we understand what works for artists who come into Diffusion Lab. The main thing
is that we are only really happy when artists we work with ,are satisfied with what they have created, their end product.
Do you guys have any side projects lined up? Chris: Well we are working on very interesting projects, but can't reveal much information
at the moment. Beside that we are working on our own stuff under the alias of ZUKABI. Zukabi Katto EP
Track 1 - Gost Pattern Both of us grew up listening to 90's German techno and the thing that we created is the result of that. We feel that there is a bit of Ben Klock in there.
Track 2 – Poppukon ‘Poppukon’ was one of those tracks we took a lot of time experimenting with, it took us hours in the studio for us to get the result we wanted. How the name came about was that Chris was eating popcorn a lot while we were making the track. He looked up the Japanese name for popcorn when we finished it and ‘Poppukon’ was born.
Track 3 - Keep it I think most people would define this as Tech house. Personally that is something we don’t particularly like, fitting tracks to a genre or a type. While it does keep to the certain makeup of them genre’s, we are aiming for something that feels inherently different.
Track 4 - Katto The leading track of the EP which means ‘Cut’ in Japanese. It has more of a Dub-style feel to it and there are some vocals that Chris provided. The vocal aspect was something we both felt was necessary so we just went with our gut and tried it ourselves. On the whole we feel that we crafted the EP nicely as it was something we were quite conscious of. The EP marked our first foray into the dance world under the ‘Zukabi’ banner.
What’s next on the horizon for Zukabi ?
Well we are currently working on a live set and hope to get this finished shortly. When we get this together, playing at events is the top priority for us. Other than that we are continuing to write for future projects, with some of these compositions accompanying our
live set.
What do you both want to achieve as Zukabi? Chris: I personally would like to have the opportunity to travel and play at events with other artists as Zukabi. I think there is a lot to be said learning wise from observing other artists in their natural environment.
Ivan: I also would like travel as well as keeping busy while creating. I have a genuine passion for music so whatever benefits arise from the opportunity of our material, will
make me happy.
The Katto EP from Zukabi is available for free download from their Soundcloud site at the link provided
https://soundcloud.com/diffusion-lab
Connect: http://diffusionlab.ie/
Words By Andrew Joseph Byrne Pics By I. Klucka and C. Bubenzer
28 ZONE-MAGAZINE.IE