Professor Genius has had a busy few months. After waiting what seemed like forever for a proper release, along come a bunch of them in quick succession. His self-titled album has been available on CDR for a few months now from Tropical Computer System. Italians Do It Better recently released the La Grotta 12" (as well as including a couple of PG tracks on the much hyped After Dark compilation). Next week see's another 12" release for Citizen Kane’s Disques Sinthomme label and of course, he was part of the 24:Hours Records Vol.1 compilation too. This weekend he opened the show for Simian Mobile Disco live in Brooklyn. We thought we'd catch up with Jorge, the man behind the music, to find out a little about his past as well as his future.

24: How does it feel to have your music out there and available for people to enjoy?

PG: It's wonderful. People are very enthusiastic. I can only hope they stick with me because there's lots more music to come! The labels have been great and I love having my music on vinyl.

24: Tell us about how you got into music in the first place. What sort of sounds did you grow up with and what were your first experiences with music?

PG: It's the cliché answer but I really have been listening and living with it all my life. It's an intense relationship! My earliest memories are of singing melodies I'd hear on television programs like "Sesame Street". And the music my parents played around the house: records from Colombia, tango music, classical... As far as music with synthesizers goes: the prog bands I heard on the radio as a kid really affected me. I thought “What's making those sounds?!" Then I discovered Vangelis and Tomita, who I still love listening to. Then growing up with disco, rock, new wave, hip hop and loving them all equally. Living in their sounds, wishing I was there in the studio when the records were being made. I first heard Italo on NYC radio back in the late 80's/early 90's. I'm an old fogey!

24: How, why and when did you first start making or playing music?

PG: Friends in bands got tired of my asking to mix their next song or of me borrowing their drum machines! So I spent money on a second hand sequencer, mixing board, cassette deck and synth -- no computer yet! --- and taught myself what I needed to know in order to make the things I like. This was 1996. My first release (as Duermo) came out on ISM Records in 2000. It was made on this same gear.

24: How would you say your sound/style has developed since those early days?

PG: It's changed very much, obviously, because you learn as you go along. For one thing, I no longer face that "How do I do this?" moment - at least rarely - and if I do, I embrace it. I like obstacles. Still, there are things I did in '97 or '98 that I listen to now that have a certain quality I could never replicate nowadays. The question becomes "How did I do this?" instead!

24: Who or what inspires you create music?

PG: A sound. A face. A film. (Is that pretentious enough?) The image of people dancing together in a small, strobe-lit room. That one gets me going every time.

24: Where is your studio and what kind of equipment do you have set up in there?

PG: My studio's here in my apartment. The bedroom's become the studio. It's a mess. But "Chaos breeds images", like the painter Francis Bacon said. I've got a basic setup: A few synths, including my treasured Korg Mono/Poly -- A Mac G4 -- Motu 828 -- some effects racks – photos of Lee Scratch Perry, Vangelis and a green deer over the entire setup.

24: Can you describe the process you go through when creating a new track?

PG: More often than not a title pops up and I write it down. Then I'll think about what a record with that sort of title would sound like. I turn the machines on and get to work trying to make something worthy of the title. Pegaso happened this way. Otherwise, I'll come up with a sound I like and come up with complimentary sounds. Melodies, harmonies, rhythms start to happen. Things get stripped and modified. It isn't until I get a good visual from a piece of music that I feel it's successful.

24: Is anybody else involved with the music or do you do everything yourself?

PG: Just me.

24: Have you ever thought about playing a ‘Professor Genius’ live set?

PG: Yes. I'm really aching to get out there with just a Mac, Ableton and a keyboard and make people dance. I'm working out a DJ/improvised set at the moment: playing some classic Italo and influences as well as reworked PG music and new tracks on the spot. Nice and dirty and romantic at the same time.

24: So it’s something you could do by yourself then?

PG: With Ableton anything is possible! It will even make you a sandwich!

24: What other artist’s music are you currently enjoying?

PG: There are so many but at the moment. I'm working on new music and when I do I tend to keep it on the non-dance side of things: Harold Budd, 70's Miles Davis, Serge Gainsbourg, Joan Manuel Serrat (a great Spanish/Catalan singer). On the dance side, I dig fellow New Yorker Doug Lee's (aka Lee Douglas) NY Story. Another NYC project I really like right now is Galaxy Toobin. It's my friend Will's (aka Speculator) project and I think it will be a big favourite once their record comes out. Not sure when that'll be but it's great music -- like Jean Michel Jarre meets E2E4! I’m into Chris & Cosey's Heartbeat. Liaisons Dangereuses. Also into Patrick Cowley's stuff as well as Gino Soccio's first few albums.

24: Which 3 albums would you take with you as your ‘Desert Island Discs’?

PG: Prince -- Sign Of The Times, Serge Gainsbourg -- Histoire De Melody Nelson and Model 500 - Deep Space.

24: Are you working on any new tracks at the moment?

PG: Yes! Finally. But I'm taking it slowly. A few more "Á Jean Giraud" tracks then I'll see if the live sets happen. If not, then back to the lab and some dance productions. The next Professor Genius dance tracks will probably be stripped down affairs. There's also some non-PG things on their way.

24: What’s the idea behind the Á Jean Giraud tracks?

PG: The Á Jean Giraud tracks are basically musical dedications to the artist Moebius (Jean Giraud), who I've loved since childhood. I thought it would be fun one day to make sort of tiny theme songs to images of his and use the music of my favourite late 60s - 70s electronic composers as an influence. People like Vangelis and Francois De Roubaix, Cluster and Eno. Things that have a sonic relationship to their music -- at least in my mind. Not dancefloor tracks, per se. Anyway, there are currently 5 with a few more planned.

24: Are there any more releases planned?

PG: Yes. Some next year on the UK label ThisIsNotAnExit that I'm excited about. Hopefully the first Professor Genius remixes for other artists will also happen. Some things have been discussed but I'd really love to do a few of those! Non-PG stuff: Edits with my friend Duane Harriott as The BimMarks, probably a vinyl of that next year. Also hope to get my Bridge&Tunnel Kids project going next year. That's very stripped down, druggy techno with a real late 80s NYC + classic Detroit edge. Among other things...

24: Will you be setting up a digital distribution deal for you album?

PG: Yes. That's going to happen since the CD's will be sold out very soon. I want it to be available digitally at least for those who missed the CD.

24: Finally, is there anything else you’d like to mention?

PG: Yes! Thank you to 24:Hours and all the other blogs and sites that have supported my music this far. Anyone interested in booking me can contact me at cosmic.prof@gmail.com - only looking to do UK/EU shows at the moment.

Be sure to pick up the Pegaso single when it's released this week (Oct 23rd). It's a double header with the excellent I Think track by Cosmic Metal Mother. The original versions of both tracks can be heard on the Disques Sinthomme myspace page, but you'll have to buy the vinyl to hear the remixes. Get yourself a copy of the album from Tropical Computer System too while stocks last. Keep on Dancing!