“I believe people want listening music – even on the dancefloor!” So explains Aleksander Vinter of the philosophy driving his musical mastermind alter-ego, Savant. As Savant, Vinter proves a true iconoclast, simultaneously fulfilling expectations and defying them.
On the one hand, he deploys the kind of speaker-shredding bangers that have made Savant one of dance music’s most popular rising stars: his dynamic live sets drives crowds at mega-festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival into abandon, yet Savant refuses to conform to EDM genre demarcations – or any, for that matter. “‘Electronic Dance Music’ is the most generic term, which doesn’t apply to what I do,” Vinter explains of the sound he’s dubbed “complextro.” “It’s all about putting everything into one pot of musical ether. I don’t have a rigid formula; my music manages to be comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. I like breaking rules – that’s where new stuff emerges.” Indeed, this is not your grandmother’s moombahton: 8-bit videogame soundtracks, trap, disco, house, electro, classical, ‘90s big-beat electronica – even ‘70s glam rock and ‘80s new wave finds its way into his sonic odysseys. “I like how a group like Queen is very theatrical and harmonized,” Vinter says. “That epic feeling, plus the style of David Bowie, and the spunk of Prince – that’s what I’m going for, but via dance music.”
Savant’s status as dance-music culture’s most unpredictable, impossible-to-pigeonhole icon has remained constant throughout a madly prolific career spanning numerous singles, remixes, nominations for Norwegian Grammys, and 11 (!) full-length albums. (Most of Savant’s discography appears on SectionZ Records – the innovative, community-based imprint that was an early spawning ground for the likes of Deadmau5, to whom Savant signed in 2010 and continues to collaborate with.) Savant’s diverse appeal was made crystal clear in the instant breakthrough success of his flagship 2012 release, Alchemist. Alchemist would go on to reach the #1 spot on seven separate Beatport charts: Dubstep, Drum and Bass, Electro-House, Glitch Hop, Drumstep, Indie Dance/Nu Disco and Overall. “I get tired of using only the two rhythms – 4/4 and half time – you hear in electronic music today,” Vinter says. “I’m like, ‘What else do we have here?’ Even my housier stuff doesn’t have the same BPM all the time.” Similarly, Savant intended his 2014 album Zion to “feel like spending an entire day in the dance tent with your head in the speaker while different acts took the stage. In each of these songs, all kinds of different shit is happening – even different tempos. I’m a terrible DJ, so I like having a song I don’t have to mix: instead of mixing six songs together, I just make one long one that sounds like six songs! That style comes from me listening to DJ mixes and thinking, ‘What if you just had the cool parts, without the copy/paste shit repetition?’ I can’t do copy/paste at all – I’d feel like I was cheating myself and wasting the listener’s time. ”
Savant’s music is largely unique in club culture in that Vinter aspires to create songs with actual meaning beyond merely “Let’s party!” Alternately inspired by literature, history, fantasy, cinema, and current world events, Savant is no stranger to wildly ambitious concept albums exploring visionary topics. 2012’s Vario took the listener inside a wild party that turned out to be a strange videogame that’s never existed; the distinctly classical quality of the smash Alchemist from that same year evoked the rise of ancient European dynasties. Orakel, meanwhile, challenged and engaged contemporary rave culture circa 2013 head on with its urgent, futuristic manifesto. Its follow up, 2014’s Protos proved unlike anything in Savant’s voluminous catalog, however- an ‘80s space-rock opera, with Vinter providing guitar solos and passionate New Wave-style vocals on nearly every track. For Savant’s latest, Zion, he flipped the script yet again. It’s an largely instrumental, cosmic meditation on the interminable conflicts in the Middle East – a complex real-world topic atypical for dance music’s largely apolitical, escapist culture – but set to a beat you can rave out to. “It shocks some of my fans, but I have to rediscover that I could do other things,” Vinter says of his ambitious, oft unexpected metamorphoses. “If I do a whole album of full-on vocals, for whatever comes next I want to do something that’s completely different. Writing about the Middle East has been in my mind a long time. It’s a very touchy subject, but the album has a lot of black humor and anti-irony amidst the heavier things. It’s all about how you interpret it. If you’re Jewish you hopefully hear Zion as a bar mitzvah party record; if you’re a conspiracy theorist, you’ll see it as an Illuminati thing; if you’re a kid, you’ll just perceive it as a bunch of cool electronic music to download.”
show less
On the one hand, he deploys the kind of speaker-shredding bangers that have made Savant one of dance music’s most popular rising stars: his dynamic live sets drives crowds at mega-festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival into abandon, yet Savant refuses to conform to EDM genre demarcations – or any, for that matter. “‘Electronic Dance Music’ is the most generic term, which doesn’t apply to what I do,” Vinter explains of the sound he’s dubbed “complextro.” “It’s all about putting everything into one pot of musical ether. I don’t have a rigid formula; my music manages to be comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. I like breaking rules – that’s where new stuff emerges.” Indeed, this is not your grandmother’s moombahton: 8-bit videogame soundtracks, trap, disco, house, electro, classical, ‘90s big-beat electronica – even ‘70s glam rock and ‘80s new wave finds its way into his sonic odysseys. “I like how a group like Queen is very theatrical and harmonized,” Vinter says. “That epic feeling, plus the style of David Bowie, and the spunk of Prince – that’s what I’m going for, but via dance music.”
Savant’s status as dance-music culture’s most unpredictable, impossible-to-pigeonhole icon has remained constant throughout a madly prolific career spanning numerous singles, remixes, nominations for Norwegian Grammys, and 11 (!) full-length albums. (Most of Savant’s discography appears on SectionZ Records – the innovative, community-based imprint that was an early spawning ground for the likes of Deadmau5, to whom Savant signed in 2010 and continues to collaborate with.) Savant’s diverse appeal was made crystal clear in the instant breakthrough success of his flagship 2012 release, Alchemist. Alchemist would go on to reach the #1 spot on seven separate Beatport charts: Dubstep, Drum and Bass, Electro-House, Glitch Hop, Drumstep, Indie Dance/Nu Disco and Overall. “I get tired of using only the two rhythms – 4/4 and half time – you hear in electronic music today,” Vinter says. “I’m like, ‘What else do we have here?’ Even my housier stuff doesn’t have the same BPM all the time.” Similarly, Savant intended his 2014 album Zion to “feel like spending an entire day in the dance tent with your head in the speaker while different acts took the stage. In each of these songs, all kinds of different shit is happening – even different tempos. I’m a terrible DJ, so I like having a song I don’t have to mix: instead of mixing six songs together, I just make one long one that sounds like six songs! That style comes from me listening to DJ mixes and thinking, ‘What if you just had the cool parts, without the copy/paste shit repetition?’ I can’t do copy/paste at all – I’d feel like I was cheating myself and wasting the listener’s time. ”
Savant’s music is largely unique in club culture in that Vinter aspires to create songs with actual meaning beyond merely “Let’s party!” Alternately inspired by literature, history, fantasy, cinema, and current world events, Savant is no stranger to wildly ambitious concept albums exploring visionary topics. 2012’s Vario took the listener inside a wild party that turned out to be a strange videogame that’s never existed; the distinctly classical quality of the smash Alchemist from that same year evoked the rise of ancient European dynasties. Orakel, meanwhile, challenged and engaged contemporary rave culture circa 2013 head on with its urgent, futuristic manifesto. Its follow up, 2014’s Protos proved unlike anything in Savant’s voluminous catalog, however- an ‘80s space-rock opera, with Vinter providing guitar solos and passionate New Wave-style vocals on nearly every track. For Savant’s latest, Zion, he flipped the script yet again. It’s an largely instrumental, cosmic meditation on the interminable conflicts in the Middle East – a complex real-world topic atypical for dance music’s largely apolitical, escapist culture – but set to a beat you can rave out to. “It shocks some of my fans, but I have to rediscover that I could do other things,” Vinter says of his ambitious, oft unexpected metamorphoses. “If I do a whole album of full-on vocals, for whatever comes next I want to do something that’s completely different. Writing about the Middle East has been in my mind a long time. It’s a very touchy subject, but the album has a lot of black humor and anti-irony amidst the heavier things. It’s all about how you interpret it. If you’re Jewish you hopefully hear Zion as a bar mitzvah party record; if you’re a conspiracy theorist, you’ll see it as an Illuminati thing; if you’re a kid, you’ll just perceive it as a bunch of cool electronic music to download.”
“I believe people want listening music – even on the dancefloor!” So explains Aleksander Vinter of the philosophy driving his musical mastermind alter-ego, Savant. As Savant, Vinter proves a true iconoclast, simultaneously fulfilling expectations and defying them.
On the one hand, he deploys the kind of speaker-shredding bangers that have made Savant one of dance music’s most popular rising stars: his dynamic live sets drives crowds at mega-festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival into abandon, yet Savant refuses to conform to EDM genre demarcations – or any, for that matter. “‘Electronic Dance Music’ is the most generic term, which doesn’t apply to what I do,” Vinter explains of the sound he’s dubbed “complextro.” “It’s all about putting everything into one pot of musical ether. I don’t have a rigid formula; my music manages to be comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. I like breaking rules – that’s where new stuff emerges.” Indeed, this is not your grandmother’s moombahton: 8-bit videogame soundtracks, trap, disco, house, electro, classical, ‘90s big-beat electronica – even ‘70s glam rock and ‘80s new wave finds its way into his sonic odysseys. “I like how a group like Queen is very theatrical and harmonized,” Vinter says. “That epic feeling, plus the style of David Bowie, and the spunk of Prince – that’s what I’m going for, but via dance music.”
Savant’s status as dance-music culture’s most unpredictable, impossible-to-pigeonhole icon has remained constant throughout a madly prolific career spanning numerous singles, remixes, nominations for Norwegian Grammys, and 11 (!) full-length albums. (Most of Savant’s discography appears on SectionZ Records – the innovative, community-based imprint that was an early spawning ground for the likes of Deadmau5, to whom Savant signed in 2010 and continues to collaborate with.) Savant’s diverse appeal was made crystal clear in the instant breakthrough success of his flagship 2012 release, Alchemist. Alchemist would go on to reach the #1 spot on seven separate Beatport charts: Dubstep, Drum and Bass, Electro-House, Glitch Hop, Drumstep, Indie Dance/Nu Disco and Overall. “I get tired of using only the two rhythms – 4/4 and half time – you hear in electronic music today,” Vinter says. “I’m like, ‘What else do we have here?’ Even my housier stuff doesn’t have the same BPM all the time.” Similarly, Savant intended his 2014 album Zion to “feel like spending an entire day in the dance tent with your head in the speaker while different acts took the stage. In each of these songs, all kinds of different shit is happening – even different tempos. I’m a terrible DJ, so I like having a song I don’t have to mix: instead of mixing six songs together, I just make one long one that sounds like six songs! That style comes from me listening to DJ mixes and thinking, ‘What if you just had the cool parts, without the copy/paste shit repetition?’ I can’t do copy/paste at all – I’d feel like I was cheating myself and wasting the listener’s time. ”
Savant’s music is largely unique in club culture in that Vinter aspires to create songs with actual meaning beyond merely “Let’s party!” Alternately inspired by literature, history, fantasy, cinema, and current world events, Savant is no stranger to wildly ambitious concept albums exploring visionary topics. 2012’s Vario took the listener inside a wild party that turned out to be a strange videogame that’s never existed; the distinctly classical quality of the smash Alchemist from that same year evoked the rise of ancient European dynasties. Orakel, meanwhile, challenged and engaged contemporary rave culture circa 2013 head on with its urgent, futuristic manifesto. Its follow up, 2014’s Protos proved unlike anything in Savant’s voluminous catalog, however- an ‘80s space-rock opera, with Vinter providing guitar solos and passionate New Wave-style vocals on nearly every track. For Savant’s latest, Zion, he flipped the script yet again. It’s an largely instrumental, cosmic meditation on the interminable conflicts in the Middle East – a complex real-world topic atypical for dance music’s largely apolitical, escapist culture – but set to a beat you can rave out to. “It shocks some of my fans, but I have to rediscover that I could do other things,” Vinter says of his ambitious, oft unexpected metamorphoses. “If I do a whole album of full-on vocals, for whatever comes next I want to do something that’s completely different. Writing about the Middle East has been in my mind a long time. It’s a very touchy subject, but the album has a lot of black humor and anti-irony amidst the heavier things. It’s all about how you interpret it. If you’re Jewish you hopefully hear Zion as a bar mitzvah party record; if you’re a conspiracy theorist, you’ll see it as an Illuminati thing; if you’re a kid, you’ll just perceive it as a bunch of cool electronic music to download.”
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On the one hand, he deploys the kind of speaker-shredding bangers that have made Savant one of dance music’s most popular rising stars: his dynamic live sets drives crowds at mega-festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival into abandon, yet Savant refuses to conform to EDM genre demarcations – or any, for that matter. “‘Electronic Dance Music’ is the most generic term, which doesn’t apply to what I do,” Vinter explains of the sound he’s dubbed “complextro.” “It’s all about putting everything into one pot of musical ether. I don’t have a rigid formula; my music manages to be comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. I like breaking rules – that’s where new stuff emerges.” Indeed, this is not your grandmother’s moombahton: 8-bit videogame soundtracks, trap, disco, house, electro, classical, ‘90s big-beat electronica – even ‘70s glam rock and ‘80s new wave finds its way into his sonic odysseys. “I like how a group like Queen is very theatrical and harmonized,” Vinter says. “That epic feeling, plus the style of David Bowie, and the spunk of Prince – that’s what I’m going for, but via dance music.”
Savant’s status as dance-music culture’s most unpredictable, impossible-to-pigeonhole icon has remained constant throughout a madly prolific career spanning numerous singles, remixes, nominations for Norwegian Grammys, and 11 (!) full-length albums. (Most of Savant’s discography appears on SectionZ Records – the innovative, community-based imprint that was an early spawning ground for the likes of Deadmau5, to whom Savant signed in 2010 and continues to collaborate with.) Savant’s diverse appeal was made crystal clear in the instant breakthrough success of his flagship 2012 release, Alchemist. Alchemist would go on to reach the #1 spot on seven separate Beatport charts: Dubstep, Drum and Bass, Electro-House, Glitch Hop, Drumstep, Indie Dance/Nu Disco and Overall. “I get tired of using only the two rhythms – 4/4 and half time – you hear in electronic music today,” Vinter says. “I’m like, ‘What else do we have here?’ Even my housier stuff doesn’t have the same BPM all the time.” Similarly, Savant intended his 2014 album Zion to “feel like spending an entire day in the dance tent with your head in the speaker while different acts took the stage. In each of these songs, all kinds of different shit is happening – even different tempos. I’m a terrible DJ, so I like having a song I don’t have to mix: instead of mixing six songs together, I just make one long one that sounds like six songs! That style comes from me listening to DJ mixes and thinking, ‘What if you just had the cool parts, without the copy/paste shit repetition?’ I can’t do copy/paste at all – I’d feel like I was cheating myself and wasting the listener’s time. ”
Savant’s music is largely unique in club culture in that Vinter aspires to create songs with actual meaning beyond merely “Let’s party!” Alternately inspired by literature, history, fantasy, cinema, and current world events, Savant is no stranger to wildly ambitious concept albums exploring visionary topics. 2012’s Vario took the listener inside a wild party that turned out to be a strange videogame that’s never existed; the distinctly classical quality of the smash Alchemist from that same year evoked the rise of ancient European dynasties. Orakel, meanwhile, challenged and engaged contemporary rave culture circa 2013 head on with its urgent, futuristic manifesto. Its follow up, 2014’s Protos proved unlike anything in Savant’s voluminous catalog, however- an ‘80s space-rock opera, with Vinter providing guitar solos and passionate New Wave-style vocals on nearly every track. For Savant’s latest, Zion, he flipped the script yet again. It’s an largely instrumental, cosmic meditation on the interminable conflicts in the Middle East – a complex real-world topic atypical for dance music’s largely apolitical, escapist culture – but set to a beat you can rave out to. “It shocks some of my fans, but I have to rediscover that I could do other things,” Vinter says of his ambitious, oft unexpected metamorphoses. “If I do a whole album of full-on vocals, for whatever comes next I want to do something that’s completely different. Writing about the Middle East has been in my mind a long time. It’s a very touchy subject, but the album has a lot of black humor and anti-irony amidst the heavier things. It’s all about how you interpret it. If you’re Jewish you hopefully hear Zion as a bar mitzvah party record; if you’re a conspiracy theorist, you’ll see it as an Illuminati thing; if you’re a kid, you’ll just perceive it as a bunch of cool electronic music to download.”
show less
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