Artist Interview

Public

Chris is the featured artist for depthCORE.com's 23rd release entitled 'LOUNGE'. Tell us a bit about yourself Chris.

Christian J. (chris)

Well, my full name is Christian Alexander Jehle and I currently reside in Hamburg (that’s in Germany, for anyone who wouldn’t know). I’ve travelled around quite a lot in my life since my family is scattered all over the globe. I am seventeen years old, born 1988 and I am attending “Gymnasium”, the equivalent of high-school in Germany and I’ll be done in about a year. I’m not sure yet what I am going to study since I’m quite an all-rounder in school except for boring subjects that emphasize on memorizing, like Chemistry for example. I really love to write and express new ideas. So Philosophy, German and Economics are my major subjects. So I am actually not sure if my future lies within the design-industry. Apart from school I love to get out and party, hang around with friends, make music, listen to music, read, go jogging (weird eh?), and yeah, I also do some art for this group called depthCORE. I have also worked part-time for a small agency located in Hamburg creating posters, flyers, a few logos and shit like that.

Public

How did you get started in designing?

Christian J. (chris)

Phew, let me think. I guess it happened about two or three years ago when I first got a copy of Photoshop and I started playing around with it. Before that I loved acrylic painting but it became too expensive after I’ve used up the colours I got for Christmas. Of course my first attempts at Photoshop lead to horrible results but I became better and better and started to become interested in all sorts of art. I really sucked up all of that and while my Photoshop skills became better and better I was more and more able to express my ideas. I never actually read tutorials or bought books. Photoshop is really self-explanatory and if there are things you want to know there is always the help file or manual! At that time I set up my first website “reali-t.net”. Some people were impressed by my work and I got my first small design jobs. That was really great because I was able to improve my skills even further and go different directions. What really gave me some insight in design was my work experience I had along with a school project in a design agency. I was able to work for them about one month and I really learned along during that period of time.

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Apart from art, you're also a guitarist in your band. How do the different mediums interact and influence each other? How important is music in your artistic creation process?

Christian J. (chris)

Yeah I’ve been playing the guitar for quite a while. I’m mostly the rhythm guitar in my band. We play some sort of chillout Rock. I don’t really know how to call it. Very melodic and stuffed with freaky solo parts. I think it is actually a kind of avant-garde music. Our other guitarist is really fucking good and he won a competition of the “best Guitarist of Hamburg” so yeah, I feel kinda small when playing with him though I have been told I’m good. I do find it really cool to be able to play an instrument well. I really relax when I’m playing and dum gurlz luv it! Haha…While the creation process of my art I listen to lots of music. Mostly electronic stuff though like Amon Tobin, Bonobo or Squarepusher just to name a few. I wouldn’t say I get ideas from music, I think people that say that just don’t want to admit that they didn’t have any thought behind their art, so they just say this or that track inspired me. But music definitely sets the right ambience for creativity! At least in my case. In art I am very much an ambience guy and that definitely also shows off in my music. I would play a riff for a really long time only because I like the atmosphere it creates.

Public

Who is your favourite designer in depthCORE and why?

Christian J. (chris)

I like many artists in depthCORE but I think Pete Golibersuch (Shockreflex) is my all time favourite. Everything he does seems so damn elaborated. The mix of his great ideas and awesome execution make the best artworks of depthCORE’s past. A good example is “theworldhtaleftmh“(featured in the Verve pack). It perfectly illustrates his amazing layout skills and thought out concept.

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Pick your all time favourite piece of your own art.

Christian J. (chris)

I guess that’d be “50 Million Year Trip” that I have created for Oxygenetic a few months ago. It just embodies so many thoughts I had about the universe and its destination plus in my opinion I did a good job in colour and atmosphere, and since I’m an atmosphere oriented guy I really love what I made out of the ideas I had. Along with that goes “Adrenochrome”. A great collab I had with Armen Mnatsakanjan (hope I spelt that the right way…).

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If you could be any artist or musician for a day, who would it be and why?

Christian J. (chris)

Jimi Hendrix because he was such a cool guy and I’d want to see how it is to be left-handed… No really, seen artistically he was a definite genius not to think of all that pussy he must have gotten!

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Pick a website you wished you owned.

Christian J. (chris)

depthCORE.com because I would like to see Justin’s face after I nicked his art group!

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Pick a piece of art you wish you had created.

Christian J. (chris)

That would probably be “La persistencia de la memoría” or the “Persistance of Memory” by Salvador Dalí because of its ingenious interpretation of time in some sort of afterdeath situation. Plus I simply love the way he painted…

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Name your three personal heroes.

Christian J. (chris)

1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Immanuel Kant (German Philosopher)
3. Bob Marley (not because of his stoner habits but for the message he brought out to the world)

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Spend a million dollars in ten minutes.

Christian J. (chris)

Very easy. I’d buy a piece of land in Germany because prices are rising so quickly and land will be rare in the near future. Ten years later I’d sell it for twenty million and buy the rights on the iPod gen.35 from that. Then wait another ten years and sell my rights for twenty billion dollars and then have a huge cocaine party!

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Pick a part in a TV show or movie that you wish you had played.

Christian J. (chris)

Probably Filburt from “Rockos Modern Life” because he sometimes reminds me of my inner self.

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Where do you see depthCORE in three years time?

Christian J. (chris)

In its own building right beside the MoMA in New York and as the greatest trance label on earth since we would’ve earned billions by selling Babyshaker’s records, t-shirts and prints in 2007!

Public

Go out for a drink and karaoke with three people. Who are they, and what are you all drinking?

Christian J. (chris)

That’s a tough one. Probably I would go out with Josie Maran, Adriana Lima and Laetitia Casta. We’d sing a little, have a bottle of vodka and then I’d take them home.

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And finally, what will Christian be doing in three years time?

Christian J. (chris)

Actually I don’t really know. My future is not yet very certain. Probably I’ll study after school. I don’t know what though. Maybe national economics, philosophy, architecture or even design. Though I see design and art more as a hobby or something secondary that would help in bad times but I really want to do something intellectually more challenging than design. I know it can be interesting at times but from what I’ve heard and seen (during my work experience for example) being a graphic designer can be a very frustrating job as well and you’re burnt out quickly. But maybe also my band will succeed and become a huge thing and I wouldn’t have to worry about getting a job… But I wouldn’t count on that.

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Final shout outs and thank you's?

Christian J. (chris)

First of all I would like to thank the depthCORE admins for letting me take part in this great artgroup, it has really given me many experiences that will be very helpful in the future, then of course all the people that have supported me throughout the years and all those art appreciators that keep visiting my site shaperesort.com. Shouts out to Nico Oblonczek too that has always helped me with the coding of my site and has always been very patient when I show up with a new design every three months, heh. I don’t want to make a ceremonial Oscar speech out of this so yeah, thanks for reading and have a nice day all of you!

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Word.