Florida born electronic musician and producer Greggory Hoffmann presents himself as Utofbu. His first EP "Realise" on SofaRock is an experience in aural bliss.

I had a chance to ask him a few question so we jumped at the opportunity.

pextris: First off, your new EP "Realise" has been released on Sofarock. I've listened to it, I love it. It is a great first release. Are you excited?

utofbu: Absolutely! Its my first release and the music in it is a small collection of 6 years worth of my work. It represents the core attitude of the Utofbu project.

pextris: Seeing as the music is flowing in a great direction for you, what is the most exciting aspect of the music making process for you right now?

utofbu: well... that seems to be changing a bit as of recent. Previously, the method was pretty much the same method I use when I garden plants. I would usually manipulate a source sound until it had a complexity that got me to think about more elements in the piece, then I would interpret against it and play with it. So it was like I wasn't the only one writing the music. It allowed me to never feel like the music was mine which has its benefits, and its pitflls.

utofbu: like a plant, if you see that it is dying, you have to cut it back..break the stem...give it a reason to grow back..and that always works for my compositions and won't change. but now I am attempting to be more thoughtful and complete with my intentions as a composer. I want to inject more concrete compositional goals into the method that has worked. I want to rely less upon building against a pre-conceived backdrop.

pextris: An evolution of sorts?

utofbu: Absolutely. I feel like the dialogue that I have developed now has a language that I want to exploit with more direction.

pextris: They do say music is the universal language.

utofbu: but it still has a personal perspective. I am a firm believer that each thing that is universal in music can evoke a different memory or thought from ones own life that varies from individual to individual.

pextris: On the subject of your EP "Realise", what is the significance of December 1st, 1989?

utofbu: Dec 1st 1989 started as a mixit. But evolved into a very specific memory evoked from my childhood. on Dec 1st 1989 I spent an entire day in a tree, looking over the roofs of houses and pretending that I was flying, or perhaps the captain of an airship. my friends were playing in the tree and on the ground below me and I just wanted to climb higher but settled for the highest stable branch..there was a lot of laughter and I sensed that time was frozen for a moment.

pextris: That definitely fits the demeanor if the track itself.

pextris: You play multiple instruments such as the piano, guitar, kazoo, and whatever else you can get your hands on. How has your experience with the physical instrument translated to your creation of electronic music?

utofbu: I love it when mistakes happen. Playing an instrument makes you face those mistakes and exploit them as part of your overall character. In my electronic music, I find myself juxtaposing sloppyness with attempts at perfection, it allows me to seek an organic behavior for my EM.

pextris: Recently you made the move from Florida to Arizona. Has the change of scenery had any impact on your music?

utofbu: it has. Along with the transition from an unsure future. Arizona mornings are like hearing a big open stack of 5ths played on quivering sinewaves really quietly. There is a grandness and a meekness that exists together there. A smallness and a boundlessness. Florida was toxic when I left, I had little hope of survival, or any reasonable hope of eating a decent meal.

pextris: I've experienced it. It is definitely unique.

pextris: What's the next move for Utofbu?

utofbu: most presently, I am emmersed in daily work, either at my day job or editing audio for clients at night. For the next month I am devoted almost solely to those tasks. I do however have two electronic albums on the way. I am also working on a long term songwriting endeavour under another monoker.

pextris: Two new Utofbu albums?

utofbu: yes, one will be a collection of drones and ambient soundscapes that I have been developing for my own consumption while I sleep. More importantly I am working on a full legnth Utofbu release that will hopefully be more mature than the last attempt.

pextris: Utofbu + Pextris = Collaboration track. Wishful thinking on my part?

utofbu: not at all Sean! lets do it! I think collaborating on your projects is probably unavoidable now that you announced your next co-op project.

pextris: (last question.. off the record, but I couldn't resist)

pextris: As the producer of the Saw movie series, how did dying during the production of Saw III affect your electronic music career?

pextris: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Hoffman

utofbu: LOL!!!! being reborn was tough, but the EM just flows on out