E.Vax | New single and debut album on the way

E.Vax aka Evan Mast, former member of indietronica band Ratatat will be releasing his eponymous debut solo album on 27th August on French label Because Music. He recently release his second single ‘Karst’, just a few weeks after lead track ‘Rabindra’. 

As half of duo Ratatat, Mast found a sizeable audience over the past decade thanks to the pair’s blend of rock and electronic music. For his solo debut, he took his cue from his most relaxed musical impulses, with moments of staccato guitar shining though the drum beats.

Ratatat’s fame took Mast on tour throughout the world, which instilled in him a desire to live without attachments. As he puts it himself, “I find it quite appealing to be a foreigner, to not understand a language or even the people, to feel lost. It opens up the possibility of new discoveries. I feel like I know the US pretty well at this point, so it was a good idea to start from the most distant reference point to that.” His plan to start a film project in China in 2020 was scuppered by the pandemic.

In addition to his work with Ratatat, Mast has worked with other artists, sculpting undulating rhythms for rappers and singers. He stayed in Wyoming with Kanye West for a time, producing the track ‘Selah‘ on the album Jesus is King, as well as the captivating ‘Reborn‘ on West’s collaboration with Kid Cudi, Kids See Ghosts. “Working with different people opened up new perspectives,” says Mast. “I was able to follow other musicians’ creative processes and I know have a completely different perspective on my own music.”

The E.Vax project began 20 years ago, at university. It’s there that Mast first began playing with audio software, using a synth and recording to four tracks. He hoped to create melodic moments that he only found occasionally on the albums of his favourite electronic musicians. “The E.Vax material was a response to this realisation, I wanted more melody in the genre,” he says. The other aspect was simply learning how to make music on a computer. “I was responding to the musical process on the computer and all the possibilities that were suddenly opening up for me.” 20 years later, he is still just as fascinated and creating exuberant music, with the possibilities being even more mind-boggling now than they were when was starting out. 

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