Protassov
Hamburg, Germany
Running out of time
Behind the Music
Protassov361 million square kilometers is space for a lot of crime, and I knew that even before reading Ian’s book. But the particular personal narrative and individual accounts in The Outlaw Ocean make the crimes described — like human trafficking, slavery and environmental pollution — so much more visceral, making the reader want to delve deeper into what happened. These stories show society a ghastly reflection of the world, forcing them not to ignorantly look away but instead face the problems straight on. Only in this way will we be able to turn things around for the better.
As an artist, my work is about unleashing emotions from the deep subconscious. Thus working to create evocative music for The Outlaw Ocean Music Project felt very intuitive. Making music for me is always a bit of an unpredictable process and this time was no different. Sometimes I was inspired by field recordings, and other times I would be touched by a certain chapter or sentence from the book.
It was great fun to be part of this project, and I’m especially excited to hear the tracks of other musicians. Everyone has revealed part of themselves in this forum, and it’s remarkable how much unique creativity this project has brought about.
About Protassov
Protassov’s Stefan Fuß is a German Music Producer based in Hamburg. He began his music career as a singer and guitarist in the late ‘80s in several bands, playing club concerts in the Ruhr Area DIY scene. In 1992, he joined the myth enshrouded techno band, TEVO, and played countless gigs all over Europe. He began recording hip-hop influenced beats in 1998 and teamed up with Tom Strauch of the Ancient Astronauts, who founded Switchstance Recordings in 2001. In 2008, Stefan released his album debut “Shalina Music” on Switchstance Recordings, followed by 4 EPs. Stefan takes multiple influences and turns them into something that's his very own style. “You can not nail me down to one specific genre, to me freedom is the most important value in life.” Protassov´s work has been remixed by Jon Kennedy, Hint, Flevans and Dr. Rubberfunk. He is always in search of fellow musicians to collaborate with and develop his creative outcome.