Interview
Eights Everywhere, aka Trevor Williams, first got connected to the Portal as a mutual newcomer here in PDX just about a year ago now.
With several tracks released in that timeframe on labels such as Maison Fauna and SlothAcid, increasing experimentation with modular synthesis, and a deepening involvement in the greater event industry in the Rose City, it seems we are only just seeing the beginning of William's trajectory.
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From becoming a regular on the dance floor of Portland's parties to working in the more industrial side of the event industry, you've gotten to dip your toes into several facets of the scene here. With this perspective, what are your initial impressions of nightlife in the Rose City?
I really love it here. It's easy to appreciate the earnest attempt of self expression and authenticity from people of all ages. Maybe it's the collective struggle against sometimes depressing weather or something that keeps people a bit more real but it's definitely a vibe. There's so many smaller things happening all the time it's fun to live here and be able to keep things fairly mellow but still have lots of options.
Through the relocation, you've maintained connections with your community in Salt Lake City, just recently returning from a visit that marked your second consecutive appearance at Don't Trip Campout. What originally drew you here, and how has your community grown?
I can get really anxious socially. I may be neurodivergent and music and parties in general have always helped me to connect with people to fill my eager heart. I've always been drawn to music collectives to foster events so it's really nice to go back to Utah to connect with close friends and to catch up with friends from other places I often only see at music festivals. I was mostly drawn to Portland for the nature, culture, and cost of living. I'm still hoping to continue connecting with people here to develop even more community and I'm really excited to provide some memorable experiences through music.
You've talked to me before about picking up synthesizer at different shops around town to try out or add into your current rack. How has your relocation influenced your production?
If anyone is into synthesis and lives nearby PDX you should really join the Synth Library Portland! https://synthlibraryportland.com/ it's a really awesome organization. I wish I had access to this much gear when I was younger but I used to be a pretty in the box Ableton Live producer since high school. A few years ago I just started getting into hardware and now I'm deep in Eurorack Modular and I love it.
Check out Eights Everywhere live at The Great Salt Lake from last year.
Since arriving in Portland, you've dropped multiple releases including last year's multimedia AIM EP on SlothAcid, and more recently your track on Maison Fauna, Bellman, both produced from your modular patches. Talk about the evolution of your production leading to now, and where your current work is leading you.
I have some more releases coming out on Maison Fauna so stay tuned for that. Bellman is actually something I made maybe 5 years ago and was produced all in the box and AIM was made using some hardware synths but it was before I really dove into Eurorack. I didn't release any music for awhile after my first release on Suicide Robot, Patterns in 2015.
Moving forward I'm wanting to really embrace a less rigid structure and try to focus primarily on hypnotic qualities through minimal elements that each have a very complex texture or timbre. My focus is primarily on sound design traditionally but I'd like to try and shift my awareness to a bigger scope in my work and implement live improvisation to my sets and production workflow mostly using Eurorack ideally.
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