fullonline: Who is "Penta", where you are from and what is your musical background?

Penta: I am Nikita Tselovalnikov and I am originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. I have immigrated to San Francisco Bay Area in California 14 Years ago, and currently have most of my stuff in the heart of Silicon Valley in the city of San Jose. In the summers though I hangout in Europe - mostly in Lisbon and Berlin. I started making music when I was eleven years old. It was a year after that I decided to study piano in a Rimsky-Korsakov music school. First, it was Rock-n-Roll with my St. Petersburg school mates, then Industrial, Punk, Noise with various friends in San Jos�. I even had a real band where I sang and played Rhythm guitar. We played in clubs like Cactus and Berkeley Square. I was introduced to electronic music in 1992 and started going to rave parties in 1993. I made a first electronic track on my Yamaha PSR 500 Semi-Toy Keyboard in that year as well. Then, in 1995 I stopped with raves, since most of them were busted in San Francisco. It was disappointment after disappointment, so I was mostly involved with my bands, Negatif Attention, Pahoviy Strubetz and Eva Braun to name a few.

Yours truly as a lead singer in a punk- death rock band Negatif Attention. Concert in Cactus Club, San Jose, 1995.

On August 16 1997, however, I had to be reintroduced to electronic music with a trip to International House of Pancakes restaurant in downtown San Francisco where some mysterious band, called X-Dream, from some cool futuristic British label, Blue Room, was playing. The experience was so much unlike all the raves that I have been to in the past that it changed my life. Everything was different and alien-like, the people, the deco, the music... I went to Holland after that for a half a year as an exchange student, where I went to some Goa parties as well. It is when I came back to San Francisco in 1998, though, when my Goa life-style really kicked off. I began going to parties regularly, got to know some people, started buying equipment. My first piece of gear was Kurzweil 2500 S, since it was the machine that could do everything. Then Marcus from X-Dream made everyone buy the Waldorf Microwave, and I was among the people who bought it to make killer bass. Although, killer bass was much harder to make than I thought. My friends and I started to throw parties, our Russian collective was called Red Tribe. We held our first party in 2000, where I was spinning records (pictured). The party was using red lights instead of black lights and everything was pretty much communism-inspired. It was a lot of fun and something different from the fluoro parties. Of course, we were making ultraviolet parties too. We introduced America to Parasense and to NOS backdrops.

The first finished Penta track was written in December 2000, so the birth of Penta is officially around that time, although I have made a lot of unfinished compositions years before. At that time I had to write 7 tracks in a month to make a set for friends at the New Years party. The first tracks were �Santa Claus�, Terra �I�, �Kiska�, �Blue Christmas�, �Frankenstein�, �Boris�, �Uncle Sam�. My first release was �Zeynep� on Spectral Concepts. The label owner, Jeremiah, picked this track after my first official live set on April 20th, 2001 at the Parasense party we were throwing. After that party I started playing as Penta a lot around San Francisco, going to my first gig �outside� gig in Seattle in September. After I making it to Brazilian festival of Ypy Poty in 2002 (by the way, absolutely mind-blowing festival) and getting to know the good people at Good Mood, things started to happen internationally. Goa Gil also contributed to my promotion with my tracks in his sets and �Divine Dozens�. My first album �Pentafiles� was realeased on Spectral Concepts in 2003.

Me (before I was Penta) spinning records at the Redtribe party in 2000. Is that guy in the background eating an apple?

fullonline: Are you married and/or have kids?

Penta: I am not married, and I think kids will have to wait for several years. I am just not home anymore.

fullonline: Can you keep a comfortable lifestyle working only as a psychedelic artist or a second job is needed?

Penta: As of right now, my music supports me. I cannot say things are going excellent, since a lot of bookings get cancelled, and, overall, life is unpredictable, but it is enough to survive. I am hoping for things to stabilize very soon. My goal is to play fewer gigs for more money, otherwise, I have to play all the time and there is no time to rest or to make music.

fullonline: What is on your CD Player right now? (what are you listening to right� now?)

Penta: I actually don�t have a CD player. I have one in my Laptop, but I don�t listen to music in my Laptop. When I have a chance to listen to music, I listen to Electrolux releases, Bossa Nova and Caf� Del Mar. I don�t listen to trance that much at home, only if I have to DJ other people�s music, which happens not so often any more, since I have so much of my own music and promoters do not allow me to play extended sets, as the parties frequently get shut down early. I can play an 8 hour Penta set easily, however I very much enjoy playing other people�s music as well, there is just never enough time!

fullonline: Which one of your own music do you like the most? Does it have a special meaning to you?

Penta: I always like the latest track the most. Out of all-time favourites, I still play Neurotic Call, Disgusting Little Creatures, sometimes I put Zeynep. XML is also nice track to brake the 148 BPM Vertigo of my recent music. I like Fear very much.

fullonline: What other music style do you listen to?

Penta: Already discussed. Ambient, Elektro, Bossa Nova.

Playing an ambient set at Isladance Festival near Paraty, Brazil in November 2004

fullonline: What Psytrance Artists would you like to work with?

Penta: I think working with Zik Matutero, Ghreg on Earth, Savage Scream would be very interesting. I also would like to make a track with Zolod and Miguel Nexus. Working with Ocelot and Sector 7G was a lot of fun. For me these artists along with many others are close in spirit and each is a master of some technique that I would like to learn.

fullonline: Is there any equipment you think can help you produce better music?

Penta: For me Reaktor and Logic is the winning combination. I think the programmers at Emagic and Native Instruments have influenced my music a lot, and I am eternally thankful. I have also purchased their Software, ha-ha.

fullonline: Do you prefer to play at parties at any specific time?

Penta: I enjoy playing dawn sets, somewhere from 5-8 in the morning, depending on the region. For me this is the most psychedelic time. I also enjoy playing at night, around 3, when it is dark and scary.

fullonline: How do you choose the samples of your tracks? What is your favorite one?

Penta: I choose samples less for content and more for how it works with the arrangement. I frequently sample television, so I get unexpected results. I sample commercials. I do not like to sample movies that much, since a lot of people choose the same samples. This happened with �Pentafiles�. My favourite sample is from the �Fear� track � �The only way to overcome your fear is to face it� and from �Disgusting Creatures�.

fullonline: Your debut album "Pentafiles" is completely sold out, and today it's recognized as an important "modern influence" on the ever growing "Dark side of the psy". Talk about the process of creation of this masterpiece.

Penta: The album was planned as a super dark album, but it came out much more morning-sounding. I guess, I was not evil enough. Half of the tracks were written before the summer of 2002, and the other half, like �Time Warp� �Collaboration� and �Every Machine� was made around New Year of 2003. The idea was to share some sounds and effects between tracks to make the album sound as a whole. Some people actually found that repetitive, but they didn�t get what I was trying to achieve. It took a lot of remixing to get it sound right, as I didn�t know many things back then. I never liked the track �Lost in Space�until people actually made me like it. There were only 2000 copies printed, and I am considering a re-release, if there is enough interest.

fullonline: What are your future releases, and what are the labels you're currently working with?

Penta: The most recent release was Fear on DejaVu records, besides that I am going to release �Looking Great� on Vertigo Records soon. I have been making my album, so there are not many releases on compilations lately. However, In June I made several new tracks, so we will hear them soon.

fullonline: You now got your own label AuraQuake, can you give us infos, links, scheduled releases?

Penta: The AuraQuake label is created to release my new Album, �Funraiser�, and in the future I am planning releases by other artists, if everything goes good. Let�s see where it�s going to take us. There is a Website at www.auraquake.com.

fullonline: How your new album "Funraiser" is gonna be? We are all anxious for news about this release! Please tell us about it, does it have many SAMPLES??? (How was the process of creation, took too much time, in what studio it was produced, who mastered, etc...)

Penta: The new album is a little bit darker and faster than �Pentafiles�, however there is a 140 BPM Intro track in it, which sounds kind of weirdly-progressive. I am constantly trying to evolve the sound, although this album is closer to �Pentafiles� than my last releases. There are more melodies, at least. Some tunes were made completely with a Laptop Mouse and Headphones on the road, and had to be remixed later in my Moselle Dr. Studio in San Jose. I am sure, there is going to be surprises in this release. The tracks are tested on dance floors worldwide and work pretty well. Last time I played in Portugal, the stage literarily caught fire during one of the tracks: pretty evil stuff. Son Kite was hired to do the mastering, and I am happy with what they did.

Moselle Dr. Studio in San Jose, California

My studio consists of:
1.1 GHz Pentium III Laptop by Gateway.
Emagic emi 2/6 sound card
Mackie CR 1604 mixer
Event PS 6 monitors
Kurzweil 2500S
Microwave XT
Virus B Indigo
Novation BassStation
Roland Juno 106

Lexicon MPX100 Dual Channel Processor
Alesis MidiVerb4
Emagic amt8 MIDI interface

fullonline: What do you think about people sharing music through mp3 instead of buying it?

Penta: I think I completely gave up on this subject, - it�s part of the evolution of the industry, we have to learn to live with it. Sure, it�s more difficult to make many out of releases, - the tracks nowadays are sold anywhere from 200 or even less to 700 dollars by artists of my calibre (which is completely ridiculous considering the time required to produce one), but it is easier to get attention of listeners through the internet. You can practically become famous overnight. MP3s are a very good way for beginning artists to get exposure and for established artists to stay in the news.

fullonline: How do you make your Live Acts? What equipment do you use in your Live Acts?

Penta: I make a pretty standard Live Act � in a sense that I run tracks from Logic, put Loops and play Effects with a keyboard, however, I am dreaming of playing with two Laptops and two sound cards, - this way you can play completely live, as you can open songs in their original files and tweak the parameters for each individual part. It is a little bit difficult for my music, since it is all in Audio files, but still possible to do a lot of stuff, like turn on and off different parts, put on delays, flangers and other FX on leads, Hi Hats, etc. I am also considering Ableton Live, but in order to make music completely live on stage with it, you have to be super concentrated, and that�s impossible with all the party people asking for lighters, passing spliffs, drinking my beer while I am playing. I prefer to make as much eye contact as possible instead of staring at the screen. For me, the interaction with the audience is more important than tweaking Cutoff Filters.

fullonline: You prefer to play a DJ set or a Live Act? Why?

Penta: It depends: there are days when I like to play Live more, - since it looks more mysterious, like people wondering what is going to come out of my laptop. Sometimes I prefer DJ sets, because they give me more flexibility, and I can control the action on the dance floor better. Most of the time I like my DJ sets more, since they are longer and always different, but people want to see Live sets.

fullonline: In your DJ sets you usually play tracks from which other artists?

Penta: I play a lot of friends music � Ocelot, Ghreg on Earth, Dejan, Azax Syndrom, Matutero, Neuromotor, Nommos, Fungus Funk, Derango, Bug Funk, Para Halu, Sektor 7G, Parus, Metallaxis, Terminator. Usually whatever people give me. I never search for music and rarely ask somebody to records me CDs.

fullonline: You think decoration is important? What makes a good party?

Penta: I think Decoration is 70 percent of the party, than 30 percent of the rest. People are very important. One of the best parties I have been to was amazingly decorated, with great people and so-so music. The atmosphere is what important, not big name DJs, although their aura adds to the atmosphere. People produce adrenaline anticipating a favourite act and that�s good. Adrenaline is good.

fullonline: You're investing time, money and working a lot to make a better psytrance scene, and I want to thank you for that. What do you think people should do to make a better scene? Any visions about the future?

Penta: I think party organizers should pay more attention to Decoration of the parties. Sometimes even the best music cannot make the party if it�s poorly decorated. People should also dress more psychedelic, this adds to the atmosphere of a carnival. Just like the old times, I guess. Nowadays I see to many people dressed in sports shirts and baseball caps, - that�s hardly psychedelic. People need to be educated through better organized parties. I hope the future will bring bigger, more quality scenes around the globe. This way, it�s going to be possible for more artists to make a living out of the party scene, creating better experiences for everyone. I also hope the scene doesn�t go too commercial in its mentality.

fullonline: What is your favorite psychoactive molecule?

Penta: I prefer moderate alcohol consumption. Too much of it can be devastating for your performance as was proven a couple of times that I am not proud of deep in the past. I don�t need psychoactives to get into psychedelic mode, I am naturally high.

fullonline: We all know that all kind of weird stuff happen at psychedelic gatherings. Can you tell us something different/funny that you saw or happened to you in a party?

Penta: I guess the funniest and scariest thing was the episode I mentioned earlier, when the stage caught fire during the last track of my Live set in Portugal in 2004 � the track was so intense, I probably put it too loud, that the electricity of the stage freaked out and started sparking, igniting the stage. That looked very dramatic, I was very happy. Once I knocked down a monitor speaker on the DJ set up, trying to spin it on its stick. The music stopped, one thousand people were looking at me in awe. It was funny, I guess�

fullonline: Any last comment, message and/or promotional link?

Penta: Thank you for good questions. Thanks everybody for supporting my project over the years. Special thanks to Catia and my parents. Thanks MOE - http://www.mistressofevil.com/, Sector 7G - http://www.thumpradio.com/sector/ for all your inspiration. My own promotional link is www.pentafiles.com. This is my artist Website, you can find more info on Penta, tour schedule, pictures, news, etc.

fullonline: Thank you!
Respect!