Driven by his fascination with “future impressionism” producer Dirty K shares with us his creative universe and belief that people should search for peace and beauty in the objective world, as opposed to creating an unobtainable utopia. Curating a unique fusion between the Western and Eastern approaches to the creation of music, Dirty K applies his Nanjing influence into his sophomore release titled “Panorama”. This latest project is intended to stimulate the natural state of life. Gathering inspiration from nature, landscapes, and the state in which life is formed.

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“Panorama” is formally out today！and u can purchase all of the 6 brand new tracks at different platform now！link in bio. video by @iranacredi

A post shared by James (@dirtykkkk) on Nov 28, 2019 at 4:57am PST

How has living in Nanjing influenced your style of music?
I studied the majority of music producing in Nanjing for many years, in particular when I was a p\ostgraduate student, I learned an abundant about music theory, which could offer a new idea for how my music is arranged. Same in the sound design field I get in touch with lots of cutting edge platforms. These things provide a foundation for me to start developing my own music style. Meanwhile, courses like History of western music helps me build up my own music concept. Although they are not the most important courses, As shown in my new EP “Panorama”, the concept is close to the impressionism music of the 20th century.

In your opinion, did studying music for years make you a “better” artist? How did it influence the way you view the creation of music?
It’s hard to say, in China the universities of arts are more focused on developing the students to fit into directions of employment, rather than helping them find themselves and be a real artists. To some extent, it makes sense, but it is adverse to my innovation. So I always go outside what I was taught, and experience different things. I can say my creativity is largely cultivated by the underground music scene in Shanghai, to make music with a group of creative people is really important. Everyone wants to express themselves, it encourages me to break the rules.

How long did your sophomore release “Panorama” take to create from start to finish? And what does the name of the project mean for you?
I started this project during the beginning of 2018, and finish it in September of this year. Initially, I just had a general direction, including the work from many visual artists, especially the landscape footage shot by Iranacredi who made the music video for “Panorama” inspires me a lot. Likewise, Tavi lee who makes covers for me is an outdoor enthusiast, she likes gathering materials from nature. So I decided to make an EP to describe different kinds of landscapes and to express a concept that emphasizes the natural state of things. For me “Panorama” is a good title to interpret this idea, my friend Yikii Tong showed me this word and I think it’s really close to my artistic concept.

What is your utopia look like?
I'm not a utopian type of person actually, but through the EP “Panorama”, I tried to help people find peace in their hearts, and feel the beauty of the objective world. people are always upset, depressed, anxious, alienated from each other just because of their own values, birthplace, and identity. So if I think about the ideal world, I’d hope everyone has an open mind and are willing to build up connections. That’s another reason I want to bring the concept of impressionism music back. Cause this music has a kind of character which combines the Western harmony system and the five-tone scale. Like the aesthetic bridge which connects the Western mind and the Eastern mind.

You’ve collaborated with creatives from all over the world, do you find large differences in your creative processes? Or do they usually align with your collaborators?
We all have various methods of finishing our own work respectively. But the common view which relates us is the nature of motivation. I choose them for the whole creation process, I just contact them on the Internet. We didn’t have direct communication with each other. But every single project we convey the concept of “Panorama” through different perspectives. The themes of Iranacedi’s Visual for the title track “Panorama” combines the nature scene with a digital environment, expressed a kind of surrealism. Enhanced through the digital aesthetic, it brings a sense of the future into my music. In the work with LJC, We absorbed the impressionism music into Wave music, expressed more on the connection between East and West. In the track “Ego Fusion” I collaborate with Chams, We talked more about the integration of different values and ideologies.

What is in store for Dirty K in 2020?
It is still in the planning process, but I’m sure I want to create more work that has something to do with “Future Impressionism”.