Blurred Images
Blurred Images is a solo project of Jose Banuelos. Making instrumental shoegazer, dreampop, ambient, electronic music.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
My interest in making music started at the age of 13 (1996) upon discovering a sequencer in my brothers computer, I started to mess around with it and began to learn about electronic music, sequencing and digital audio. Using a keyboard I started to compose songs in various styles for what would be one and a half years. I became interested in calm, easy listening music, so the final material I did with the keyboard (in 1999) was of this type.
After taking a little brake from music I started again with a newer computer (in 2000), this time my material was based on sampling and loops. Adding for the first time the sound of a guitar to my music the result was a mix of atmospheric guitars/ambient electronic sounds with techno/dance drum beats and a lo-fi recording quality. I called this Imaginative music.
I took another short brake from recording to be able to play in a band but by late 2001 my interest in atmospheric music (without the techno aspects) came back, and so I recorded a few songs leaving out the drum loops and sequencing the whole drum part instead. I categorized this resulting material as spacerock and it sounded less lo-fi than previous recordings, the demo (which was called On The Horizon) was reviewed on The Instrumental Weekly website.
I began the year 2002 recording new material and discovering many fanzines, tape/CDR labels, and the underground music scene. This time I focused on releasing a short album on a label and a song or two on a compilation. So I sent some demos. This is when I decided to call my project Blurred Images. I had named my first demo Blurred Images because I was not certain as to who I was or what I wanted to do musically, the name got stuck in my mind for years and decided to use it as my musical name.
This latest material was more atmospheric and less lo-fi, and this time I categorized it as shoegazer/spacerock (although dreampop is a good definition also). A few CDRs were produced (also called On the horizon), Didier Becu of The Original Sin fanzine and Dave Heaton of Erasing Clouds both wrote a review. Bliss compilation tape volume 109 from Bliss Aquamarine featured the song Passive and Paralyzed from this album.
By early 2003 On the horizon was reviewed at the Aural Innovations webzine and in February was released by the Italian label Best Kept Secret. Several songs were made after On the horizon and a short EP called Simplicity was produced. One song from this EP and an unreleased song were included on a compilation by Supple Records called Supple Selections Vol1 and released in May 2003.
My latest material is called Bridge Between Waters was recorded between March-May 2003, this months were of diverse and intense personal experience and thus influenced the music.
After Bridge Between Waters I have been featured in an Asaurus compilation CD called Watermelon Should Last Forever. And currently I'm working on new material as well as putting together a compilation for a small label I own called Aerosol Records.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
I currently don't play live, I played in a dreampop band for a while but thats about it, what I currently do is record live bands.
Your musical influences
Aphex Twin, Stereolab, Sigur Ros, Lanterna, Tristeza, The album leaf, U2, Daft Punk, The orb, Brian Eno, Mogwai, Ride,
What equipment do you use?
Behringer 16 channel mixer, Midiverb III, Washburn Guitar, Fender Bass, DOD analog delay, old Casio keyboard, Oxygen 8 keyboard controller, computer.
