Photo by H. Raymond
This piece is part of our Month in Dubstep – January 2010 piece. You can read the full piece here, and our review of Pangaea EP here.
What first attracted you to dubstep?
It was totally fresh sounding music, a completely different sound to what I was hearing from other dance music at the time. I’ve always enjoyed listening to ‘experimental’ music so was naturally drawn to it
In an interview last year, you said the program you used to make tracks was Fruityloops. Have you discovered anything else since then, or moved on to another program?
No I’m still using it, alongside Acid Pro now and again. I may try something new in the future but right now I’m comfortable using it to sequence my tunes
Do your tracks have any particular inspiration, or come from any particular place?
Not really, when I’ve been asked this before I’ve always thought hard about it but don’t come up with a suitable answer! The best I can do is to say that when I’m messing around with ideas and latch onto an idea that makes me feel a certain way, I’ll know to roll it out into a fully-fledged tune
Do you consider yourself a ‘dubstep’ producer — how would you describe your sound? Am I correct in detecting rave and house influences?
Yeah I guess, if you want to label the music! That’s where I’ve come from as a producer really, so that’s fine with me (as well as the rave and house influences). I think my tunes are ‘warm’…
Any word on where your sampled vocals come from? What kind of records, what genre, etc?
Old tunes, sung by very good singers ;)
How long did it take you to complete the Pangaea EP for Hessle, and do you feel like it is a defining release/moment for you?
Yeah it took a few months of forming the ideas, then often re-forming them before finishing them off. I’d moved to London shortly before I decided to make the EP and found it very hard to get inspired for a while! I’m pleased to see it out but I’m not sure if its a defining moment really – I have a load of ideas floating around my head right now and I’m keen to move forward…
The EP is quite varied stylistically. Was there any theme or common ground that made you want to release all six of these songs together?
When I had ‘Why’ and another couple of others more-or-less done I thought I’d make a long EP, as the tunes were on a similar flex and had similar production values, but also because I don’t think some of the tunes would have stood up well on a single 12”. But I reckon the tunes have their own vibe too so the EP works well because of that I reckon
What else do you have planned for 2010 after the EP drops?
I’m currently working on some remixes and have a bunch of new tracks to finish, but I don’t have anything other than that lined up. It’s actually quite nice not to be working towards a release, I’m just focussing on experimenting with new ideas and playing out the results
Do you have any plans to collaborate with other artists in the near future? Is there anyone you’re dying to work with
I don’t have any plans to but it’s something I’d like to try as I haven’t really attempted to make something ‘properly’ with someone else before! My new flatmates are both very good producers so maybe something will happen with them, who knows. It would be interesting to work with some vocalists in the future too.
