Not so long back, Melbourne based artist Guven released a great single titled Sugarfiend, which is significantly different to a lot of other local music that's come out of the electronic / dance scene recently. He's been working on a debut album which will apparently be released mid-2000, so it'll definitely be one to watch for when it's finally released.
I was fortunate to speak with Guven by phone recently, & as I do with various other bands I speak to, we began discussing both the music he makes & the long term goals he has for his music as well as a number of interesting topics which he's obviously passionate about.
Initial question from me was the very interesting name, which I of
course mis-pronounced & it's origin.
"That's okay, almost no one gets it right. It's actually said 'gey-varn'. Where did it come from? It's actually my first name. I'm of Turkish descent, so there's no real story behind it or any hidden meaning, so that I guess is a little different an answer than many bands give. I suppose it's a little confusing, but at least it was easy for me to come up with & it's certainly different than anything else around."
With that out of the way, I asked about the obviously different sounds of the Sugarfiend single & what we might expect from the album when it's released.
"Well, a lot of what I've done & am doing is a darker sort of sound, a little like Sugarfiend, but the album also contains many more sounds, some funk, some groove & some other sounds that I've collected together. I think people who like a challenge will be interested in it. My music I guess isn't an 'immediate' sort of accessibility, but after a couple of listens the feedback is that people get into it."
Of course, the term Sugarfiend is something that many people will be confusing in the meaning, so Guven explains.
"Again no real hidden meaning with Sugarfiend either. Basically, it's really about how everyone seems addicted to something. People talk about how they're not addicted to anything, but there are so many things people can get addicted to. It's not about drugs or anything like that, people get addicted to all sorts of things, like coffee or tea, music or whatever it might be, so that's really about it."
After a while we got onto the subject of the mainstream charts & the recently popular series Popstars.
"It's really hard as an artist whose developing yourself & doing everything almost entirely alone, to see such a cynically put together marketing exercise. With the money that's gone into both that series & the girls, the record company could probably have started developing maybe 5 bands, including the recording time, but instead they've put all that money into the one band who will probably only last maybe one album, but I have to congratulate the girls, because they're set now."
Lastly, I asked about Guven's plans for the near future.
"Well, basically, after the album, I want to get out & do some shows to support it. I'm already getting a band ready & we're rehearsing, so I guess that's the plan. Of course later, I'd like to go overseas, so I hope the album does well. I'm, looking forward to seeing the album out anyway."
Guven's debut album is out mid-2000 through BMG. Watch out for him touring shortly.
