Dag Wallin
aka Human Blue

To visit Human Blue's
website click here.

Diskovery Channel:
Ambient Visions talks to Human Blue

AV:  Tell me about your musical background and when it was that you first started to realize that music was going to be an important part of your life.

DW:  At the age of 5 I started playing the piano but it took 7 years for me to discover my first synthesizer. When I did, I thought it was very cool but this is so long ago (1982) that it was really expensive to buy the equipment needed to make nice productions. It wasn't until I got my first real job that I could buy the stuff I really wanted and that's also when I started producing trax more complete. However, music became an important part of my life a few years after I started playing the piano.

AV:  When you first started composing your own music were there any other artists who you listened to that offered you inspiration in your efforts?

DW:  Yes. At that time other than pop music I listened to allot of groups like Kraftwerk, Depeche mode, Laserdance and Jean-Michel Jarre and I suppose they've all inspired me and still do.

AV:  What was is it that drew you to electronic music instead of some other form of music for your ventures into composing/performing?

DW:  My interest for synthesizers first of all. What people don't know is that the trance scene isn't the only thing I've been doing with my music interest/work. I've played in lots of different bands, been working as a piano player on different occasions, been doing a lot of singing both backing vocals and lead.

AV:  How long was it after you started composing your own music that you decided to see about recording it and releasing it on CD?

DW:  CD wasn't around when I first started dreaming of releasing my own music, at least not for normal people. I do remember my first time in a studio. That was in 1987, in a big well equipped studio in Stockholm (capitol of Sweden) where I worked as "co-producer" on an Stock-Aitken-Waterman inspired disco track that later on was released on vinyl. The track didn't sell very well and unfortunately I lost my own copy of it but this was my first contact with the record business. My first release as Human Blue was in 1997 (Stonehenge/psychotix) but I wasn't really looking for it, it was more like an offer to release a 12" on Spiral trax.

AV:  Was it difficult for you to find a label that wanted to release your music? How did you make contact with them and how did they help get that first release out on disc?

DW:  My first contact with Spiral trax was by booking DJ Anti back in 1996 for an outdoor party that some friends and I arranged. After that, we kept contacting each other and one day Anti asked if I was interested in a vinyl release.

AV:  How did the reviewers and the listening public feel about your first release? Were your happy with the finished product?

DW:  Yes, I was very happy about it and I remember that it was played in the early morning hours of Voov experience -98. I was having a beer in one of the tents around the dance floor when I suddenly realized that my foot was stomping to a beat very familiar to my mind which made me very proud and excited!

AV:  You've got a brand new release out called Diskovery Channel on ChillCode records. When was it that you hooked up with ChillCode Records and what was it about ChillCode that made you want to record a CD with them?

DW:  Thomas Bertler, who owns Chillcode contacted me about two years ago and asked me if I'd be interested in working for him. At that time I already had a plan about releasing an ambient/chill CD and after having contact with each other for a few months I decided to work with Thomas.

AV:  Why is your new CD called Diskovery Channel and what did you want to accomplish with the music on this release?

DW:  Cause the music on the different shows of discovery channel is allot like the music I wanted to produce and/or was producing. The main reason why I decided to spell it differently is that I didn't want to mess with their trademark. Second, Disko in my mind could be quite a cool radio channel that plays all sorts of electronic music. My goal with the music on Diskovery Channel is first of all that it should be very relaxing. I also wanted the music to be "ageless", i.e anyone of any age should be able to listen to it and be able to relax to it. Some older people who has listened to it (mom for example, she's 64yrs old) also find it very nice to just sit and dream to. This is, of course always depending on what personality you have but anyway...

AV:  Tell me about a couple of your favorite songs on Diskovery Channel and what your inspiration was in composing them.

DW:  My two personal favourites on the CD are Lost Time and Outback. Lost Time because when I listen to it now, since it's been a while since I produced it, it gives me kind of a weightless feeling. Feels like the track could go on forever and I can't understand why I didn't make it longer.

Besides, it's kind of uplifting and meditative at the same time which I'm happy to have accomplished. The other track mentioned, Outback, comes from a story my girlfriend told me about an adventure she had in Australia. She took her Walkman one morning and went down to the beach all by her self and just danced for hours. The Australian outback is big and you do need to have a nice place to go to, the rhythm of the track called outback is kind of a "walking rhythm".

AV:  What kind of frame of mind were you in when you were writing material for the CD Diskovery Channel and what kind of process do you go through as you write each of the songs?

DW:  It's hard for me to answer that question. It depends on my mood, what's going on in my life at the moment etc.

AV:  What will fans of your music find different about Diskovery Channel? What will they find familiar about this release?

DW:  One thing different is probably my production quality that I try to improve all the time. Hopefully they hear that I'm always in progress. The familiar thing with the music is probably the typical uplifting Human Blue vibes that I try to give people while composing.

AV:  When you are about to release a new CD do you ever get nervous about the music that you have created and how it will be received by the fans and the reviewers?

DW:  Of course, a new release always makes me nervous otherwise I'd be stupid. One can never know who the listener will be, what mood they're in and so on. Besides, since music is something that finances half my life, the income of an album release is always important.

AV:  Did you produce most of the music on this new CD yourself or were there others involved with the production of Diskovery Channel?

DW:  Nope, I've produced all of it myself. Someone else mastered in the end though, I like it that way since it's always nice to have someone else listening to your music in that final step before release, someone that professionally can fix small mistakes that I might have done production wise.

AV:  Do you ever do your music live? Do you have any upcoming performances featuring the music of Diskovery Channel?

DW:  No, I haven't gotten that far. But it's probably not that strange since I'm more famous for my psytrance/progressive sets.

AV:  Finally what lies ahead for Dag Wallin and Human Blue? What are you looking forward to now that Diskovery Channel is finished?

DW:  Ahead of Human blue and Dag Wallin is a big, massive release on the old famous UK label Transient. It will be a full length CD under the name:

misS tArRyAs Xperience. It's supposed to be released in May -06 and right now, the cover and the final touch is being given to the album. Feels really exciting and I'm very much hoping that this album will fall out well, that lot's of people can enjoy it!

AV:  Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Dag and I wish you the best of luck with your Diskovery Channel release and your upcoming release on Transient.