Q u o n e is Stephen Kwartler, an up-and-coming electronic musician from the Bronx, New York. Forever evolving his sound, he has currently released music on Post-Digital, Dewtone, IVDT & his very own Sixteensteps. Now, in an attempt to get to know him and his music a little better, we asked him the following 12 questions.

My intention was to not make music - just be a DJ. I was going on my 16th birthday and started to get into electronic music - which was at that time for me basically techno. I liked the idea of mixing and layering these records. So I got 1200's and started to play around. It got real fun when I got a Gemini mixer with 12 seconds of sampling time - hot shit!. The first beat I ever made was actually a hip hop beat - age 19. It was simply a sampled drum break (from a Minor Threat track no less! - "In My Eyes") and I layered it with other records live while a friend MC'd over it. It was then I realized I needed to express myself through music. I kind of laid low with it though for the next few years until I got more familiar with how I was actually going to start making music. I got some software and the rest is what led me to where I am now.

This seems kinda like a tough question. I think I can give an explanation more than a description - if that makes sense. I try to make what I am feeling inside when that piece of music is being created. What the end result may be is up to the listener. I have been heavily influenced by so many and I think that plays a part in how I sound and it just grows from there. I think I play heavily on the glitch/noise and washes interacting with melody. Right now I have a few solo projects in the works that are almost totally different ideas altogether. I guess that is partly why it's hard to pinpoint. I can say that when I used to bring new tracks for previews over a friends house, people could tell without being in the room what track was mine. So I guess overall I have a tonal quality that I must exude on all my recordings and that aspect I really like.

Computer: Dual Core 2.3ghz PowerMac G5, 250gb HD + 160gb HD, 4.5 gb RAM running Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Reaktor (recently built my first additive synth with 5 oscillator sources plus a granular oscillator source - will be available for DL on my website), Bias Peak, Reason 3, Supercollider, Gleetchlab, Max/MSP, MetaSynth, I-X-I Software, Plug-Ins by: NI, Audio Damage, Izotope, Wave Arts, PSP Audioware, KORG, and free resources

Hardware: MOTU 828 MKII interface, Roland Juno-106, Roland TR-808, Roland TR-606, Syntecno TeeBee, Electribe ER-101, Technics SL-1200MK2, Numark DM-1550 mixer, Evolution UC-33 MIDI controller, Event TRIA monitoring system, Art Dual Levelar tube compressor, Digitech Studio Quad.

I basically "trimmed the fat" a few years ago and slimmed down to complete essentials. For instance I had a perfectly good 24 track Tascam mixer but it was highly underused. So I sold it, got the 828 and it is perfect for what I need. I pretty much always made music with a computer once I stopped using the turntable & sampler. I pretty much got rid of all my digital synths since the computer is basically that with way more possibilities. I kept everything that was analog (except my MC-202 which was a regret!) and my Electribe. I love the sound out of it - it has such a distinct sound that blends well with me.

Besides my brain, Logic. It it the absolute heart of what I do. It showed me how to make music. It showed me what I could do. I have been using it since I started and could not switch to another DAW for my main interface. I use LIVE when I need it, but I could never work solely in it. I have also become quite fond of Reaktor lately.

#5. What is the typical process in creating a Q u o n e tune?

Buss master effects. If you are going have a master reverb and delay, Buss them! This way you won't have to have a reverb on a ton of channels. It's less CPU load and you can control how much you send (pre or post) to those Busses. Also take multiple versions of everything you do just to see what happens. Also, sometimes if I write a melody, I'll take the MIDI info and drop the velocity and either transpose it up or down (depending on the type of sound I'm using) and tick it over a sixteenth note or two to richen it up. Also when making your music, listen to what you're working on at multiple volume levels - low mid and high volumes can help you hear what's really going on. And listen to everything through the shittiest headphones you have - they tell the best tale. One last thing, If there is ever a RANDOM button hit it - multiple times.

It started as a place for my friends and I to release music at our own pace, on our terms. I have many talented friends who make all different kinds of music and having a place to showcase it seemed like a perfect idea. We have since expanded to 15 artists in total on the roster and I think it's a perfect fit for all who have been a part. From our first release to our last (Mercury Effect's "Broken Details") we have tried to release quality.

What a great place to be! It's such an awesome community and I feel like you are getting to hear REAL music. The newest sounds, adventurous songs and all that are happening here. Plus it truly is a community. You can meet people, hear music, learn something - all from real people doing the same thing you do. It's quite remarkable and I guess to add to the previous question - I must have subconsciously wanted to be even more involved in it by starting a netlabel of my own.

Graffiti is definitely my other biggest release creatively. I have been drawing letters for about 20 years now. It's kind of a staple where I come from. Everyone has a pseudonym even if they "write" or not. Like nicknames from those Bronx gangster movies. I started out with multiple different names as a kid, common ones plenty of other people had. I started to write "QUEST" because I liked that it had a QU combo in it and most names, besides the famous QUIK RTW from Queens. That was about age 13. I was also fortunate to have major local graffiti writers live right on the end of my street. There were 3 brothers: CHIPER, CHOPER and BRACE. CHIP did not write but the other two did. BRACE kind of took me under his wing and put me on to things. Like telling me that another, well established writer already had the name "QUEST" therefore I couldn't use it. I shortened the name to the two letters that initially brought me to it - QU - and the rest is history. I threw on ONE after my name to signify that I was QU ONE - the first one with that name. That name has become who I am in a way. Most of my friends actually call me "Q" instead of Stephen. So from simple beginnings as just a name to write, it has become an extension of creative being - writing or music.

Lately the weekends are all about music. Either working on a song or trying to figure out how to connect Core Cells in Reaktor. When I am not in front of my machine, I am doing stuff with my new bride; we were married in November. I am also waiting for the weather out here to get warmer so I can go painting. I started doing pieces again and am super amped to get back in action.

As far as buying music, you can never really go wrong with Other Music on 4th street in the East Village. They have pretty much everything, and something absolutely nothing at the same time. I also go to Kim's on St. Marks place, also in the East Village. They have a ton of music, DVDs, Vinyl, Books, etc. Honestly, I have been either purchasing music online or getting it from other netlabels. I like things nice and easy. There are so many venues here and what really sucks is that the kind f stuff I want to hear is almost never in them. Knitting Factory and Tonic are the best places in my opinion and have great crowds. The best place for me to hear a DJ right now is at Triple Crown in Williamsburg Brooklyn where Cresh Frazy spins every Saturday night along with Marshall Law. They play the kind of shit you want to hear when listening to hip hop out - classics, breaks, funk, etc. Another of my fave spots in general is APT in the West Village. Monday nights are Prince Paul, Lovebug Starski and Bobbito on rotation. Best shit to hear in Manhattan. That spot also has plenty of special performances, guest DJs etc.

I'm from the Bronx so let's start off with Pizza. No matter what people might say, you cannot get real NY pizza in Manhattan. You gotta hit a borough. In my neck of the woods we got Louie & Ernie's, Bravo and (last but deffy not least) Villa Barone all in Pelham Bay and Country Club. I have had famous pizza in other boroughs and let me say - they're just OK. If you want to hit up Italian family style in Manhattan the go to Patsy's (there's a few of them in the city). One of my all time favorite places to eat ever is JANE on Houston right where the East and West Vill meet. There is also Paul's Burger Joint on 2nd Ave between 7th and 8th, Thailand Cafe on 2nd Ave between 4th and 5th, THOR on Rivington Street, Barolo on West Broadway and Dylan Prime on Laight Street all the way downtown. I could probably write this list forever. And any of these you can find on menupages.com. I just got super hungry even thinking about those places.

Not Without A Home
(IVDT)

Nowhere_Fast
(Post-Digital)

Washed Away
(Post-Digital)