Biography
editPogo was born in Cape Town, South Africa on the 26th of July 1988.[1] [2] and currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. He has become somewhat of an internet phenomenon through his musical compilations of sounds and video images from well-known Disney films. Pogo has stated that his nickname came from a comic series from his childhood, but refuses to reveal his real name. [3] He has hinted at an upcoming album, as well as playing in the United States. Currently, his music can be found on Youtube, Last.fm and Myspace.[4]
Life & Influences
editPogo cites his interest with music back to when he was two years old. His parents bought him a desktop tape recorder to which he would listen to cassettes daily. At twelve, he began using the Playstation game Music 2000 and would focus his free time composing tracks that he had recorded from television to cassette tape. [1] [2] "I became fascinated with making music when my music teacher at school introduced me to MIDI sequencing. The technology was hard to come by for a 10-year old, so I'd sit in my bedroom tediously composing music using a keyboard, microphone and twin-deck tape recorder." [3]
Pogo has referenced Marc Sinclair, a.k.a Akufen as an inspiration due to his recordings of mashed up sounds from a variety of references. Along with music, Pogo has taken an interest in film, especially in the genre that have produced Children of Men and AI: Artificial Intelligence. [1] [2]
Process
editPogo is often asked how he creates his music and what editing tools he prefers. He has mainly used Disney films to produce his tracks. He does not use audible language, but rather "mashes" sounds of the film together, followed by the production of a video. He has stated that "the first and highest priority to me is producing a track that I can listen to and enjoy" and it is usually through a fine sense of acknowledging different sounds and their arrangements. [5] After the initial developmental process is finished, Pogo downloads the audio to his MP3 player in which he listens to it repeatedly, fine-tuning the track from an objective and subjective point of view. "After switching back and forth between production and listening modes, it's then time to produce a video. This is a process that requires a different way of thinking. When I'm editing, I'm constantly evaluating things like meaning, flow of motion, framing continuity and so on. It's a misconception that my track is the product of my video, when the idea of producing both at the same time would be chaos." [6]
Pogo uses Adobe Audition for sampling, FLStudio for sequencing and Sony Vegas for video editing at a bitrate of 128kbps. [7]
Film
editPogo is also interested film and wrote and directed a short in 2007. Titled ‘Out With It’, the short features a couple faced with tragedy. Pogo has said:
"I wanted to create a situation that people could identify with, and encompass it within a larger, more uncommon situation. My idea was to pit a dysfunctional couple against an unexpected and bizarre tragedy. I toyed with several ideas as to what the tragedy could be, before deciding it would best remain a mystery. The question ‘What is everyone running from?’ pops up frequently, and while I don’t have an answer myself, it brings me great satisfaction to know that my film engages viewers to that degree." [1]