Category Archives: Interviews

Dimensions Festival 2012: Sneak Peak

Posted by Bassweight Society on

What up everybody!  Tuesday is back and today we want to take some time and have a quick look at the one of the most hyped  new musical experiences of 2012, Dimensions Festival.  This one and Outlook are THE two most highly desired events for us here at BWS.  But, today we’re going to talk about Dimensions since it’s the first one ever!  All elements considered, there seems to be no better place to experience the finest collection of bass music.  Anywhere.  Needless to say, we’re hoping that we will get our scrubby ass selves over there soon (crossing our fingers for this year!).  Taking place on an abandoned fort in Pula, Croatia from Thursday September 6th – Sunday September 9th of this year, there’s no doubt it’s going to be straight bonkers.  The lineup is jam-packed full of so many unbelievable artists like Mala, Author, Scuba, Floating Points, Joy O, Pinch, Machinedrum, Untold, and the list goes on for days.  If you haven’t heard of this event and you truly have a passion for quality bass, I would highly recommend manipulating your schedule in whatever way necessary to get yourself there.  It’s the brainchild of Outlook festival, obviously since it’s organized by the same group, so you know it’s going to be done in a proper fashion.  While Outlook is really the icing on the cake for bass enthusiasts, Dimension is looking to be a much more intimate festival (and a bit more affordable, too).

As we’re from the US, we don’t have chances like this to view the multitude of quality artists that Dimensions offers, in such a surreal setting.  This is the perfect vacation from candy-glow ravers, commercialized music, and shot-out venues.  It’s no secret that the festival/rave scene has grown exponentially in the US, so taking a break from all the hype and really getting to listen the the artists that we love, with people who are truly their for the music, is something that we deeply long for.  All the US heads, make sure you get out here if you can, make our presence known.  A lot of people have misconceptions about listeners from the states so I’m sure they would love to meet stateside cats that know a thing or two about music made for the chestplate.

“With a higher technical specification of sound systems than you will find at any other festival of its size, Dimensions is the perfect place to enjoy the deep end of electronica, the best in techno, house, deep dubstep, drum & bass and other electronic sounds.”

– Dimensions Team

Hopefully, we will run into this guy.  Definitely going to buy him a beer or two, that’s for sure.  He looks like he’s strictly about business.

Photo Credit: Dan Medhurst 2011

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I would love to show you all more pictures of the event, but this is the first year it has taken place so there aren’t any pictures!  And I lost John Connor’s number when I dropped my last phone in the toilet.  Before we send you off for the day we want to showcase some sounds of the artists that you will be seeing at the festival this year!  As I was saying earlier in the post, there is honestly too many good artists to name on this ticket, and the sounds that we’ve chosen today are simply at random because if we posted everything that we wanted to, we would likely overload the server.  But, take a peek at this promo video they made for the event.  Gets our blood going!

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The first piece of music we have is one from the Dutch bred 2562.  This is a mix we pulled off the Dimensions Festival Soundcloud Page, so it’s like totally official.  Was a mix done for Ninja Tune online radio.  This 45 minute mix is a shining example of 2562’s technical mixing abilities and his unparalleled interpretation of techno/house music. Aka ‘A Made Up Sound’.

2562 – Solid Steel Radio Mix

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This next bit is a mini-mix from a guy who has been making the US proud.  Brooklyn based Machinedrum has been putting out some of the greatest dance jams of the year.  On the forward-thinking tip for sure!  This track teaser of his displays influences from all over the board; jungle, soul, hip-hop, trance, to name a few.  Definitely going to be one of the sicker sets at Dimensions.

Machinedrum – New Beats Teaser 2012

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This next mix is from the almighty Author.  We highlighted this mix a few months back, when it was put up but, it’s honestly one of the sickest mixes that I’ve ever heard and I think is a great example of what Author does.  This is 45 minutes of the most intense audible bliss you can experience.  Maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but maybe not.  Taken from DMZ/Exodus in Leeds.  You should really set aside 45 minutes and listen to this mix in its entirety.

Author – Live At DMZ/EXODUS

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This last bit is one to represent the Exit Records crew.   A mix done awhile back with from Loxy at Intrigue in Bristol.  A truly badman mix.

Loxy – @ Intrigue, Bristol, Oct. 2011

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Tickets from Resident Advisor

Dimensions Accommodation Page

Dimensions Travel Page

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I’m out for the day.

To the gods.

-Kinman

 

Exclusive Interview: TMSV

Posted by Bassweight Society on

Blessings, friends.  Welcome back.  We have a truly amazing feature today with, in my opinion, one of the greatest producers in the circuit right now.  Tomas Roels, aka TMSV, has been kind enough to give us a few words about his influences, his plans for 2012, and some thoughts on the US dubstep scene.  It is really an honor to have the opportunity to work with this guy as I’ve been a huge fan ever since I first heard his sounds on Box Clever in 2010.  Being creative as a youth with things such as painting and drawing acted as a catalyst into Roels’ adoption of music production.  The idea of “creating something out of nothing”, as he put it in his interview with FatKidOnFire/MakeItGood back in August of 2011 (Check it here). It wasn’t until he was around the age of 15 that he began the journey of forming his own ‘sound’.  While things didn’t necessarily take off in the beginning, as soon as he was introduced to jungle and drum and bass, things began to come together.  After gaining the satisfaction of creating his own music, “something from nothing”, his passion and dedication exploded.  After becoming bored with producing “hard and repetitive” dnb, he was introduced to dubstep by his cousin.  He was hooked on the space and endless amount of possibilities that the space provided for his compositional creativity.  The rest is history.

Fast-forward to 2012 and TMSV is receiving support from Mala, Youngsta, DJ Thinking, DJ Madd, J:Kenzo, and the list could go on for days.  It’s no surprise that this is the case with the sound versatility that he brings to the table.  There are purely meditative tracks like ‘Myth’, hard-hitting rollers like his recent collaboration ‘Difference’, and dub influenced jams such as his latest remix of “Lay Down My Burden’ which is set to release sometime soon on the label Foundation Sound.  Whatever the style is, he seems to be able to hit the nail on the head.  Since 2010 he has earned himself a number of top-notch releases on labels like Tube10, although the majority of his signings are by Black Box/Box Clever.  Releasing music almost exclusively with Black Box/Box Clever, label owner Thinking has got to be a pretty happy man!  2012 proves to be a very successful year for Tomas as he gives us news of many upcoming collaborations and new sounds to be conquered, so be sure that you keep your ears on this guy!  So, without any further introduction, let’s see what this true badman has to say:

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BWS: Quickly, can you give the readers a little back round information about yourself?  

TMSV: My name is Tomas, 23 years old and I’m from the Netherlands. I’ve been making electronic music for a couple of years, mainly dubstep.

BWS: Where did the moniker TMSV originate?

TMSV: When I first started making music I was really into jungle. One night a friend and I were joking around and he called me Tomassive (or at least that’s what I remember), so I just started to use that as a production alias. After a while I thought it was a bit gimmicky, so I changed it to TMSV. I guess it doesn’t mean anything anymore, but I urge people to have fun imagining what the letters could possibly stand for.

BWS: In your interview with Kmag last year, you stated that you think very highly of Mala because of his carelessness towards the expectations of others and money.  It’s really great to hear things like that.  What do you take away from your own music?  By that I mean what sorts of fulfillment do you get from it, psychologically or spiritually?

TMSV: Well, I’m not a spiritual person, but I guess I am emotional. I tend to use music as an outlet. I always feel the need to make music to express myself in a way. I’m not sure if the tunes themselves describe my emotions directly, but the way I feel definitely determines the way my tunes sound.

What I take away from my own music is more of a psychological fulfillment, as you put it. The fact that I can make the music I want to make, and the fact that people really seem to like it, is fantastic.

It’s been a bit tricky for a while. The more people liked and played my tunes, the more I felt pressured to make tunes that sound a certain way. I’ve made some pretty generic tunes recently (that probably nobody has heard), but I’ve realised that I should just keep making my music. It’s supposed to be fun.

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BWS: Sadly, I have never had to chance to visit the Netherlands.  The pictures I’ve seen of the geography are really astounding, though.  The amount of green in the countryside is magical.  The architecture of the cities is something to marvel over as well.  How much inspiration, if any, do you gather from your surroundings?

TMSV: I really like this country. There aren’t many exotic or amazing things to see nature-wise, but it’s never ugly. I like the cities as well, old Dutch architecture can be really beautiful, and luckily there are lots of old buildings that are still standing.

I guess I gather inspiration from the relative serenity of the area where I live. One of the best things about this place is that you can almost always escape from the chaos of modern city life. I live in a quiet neighborhood as well, and it’s a 15 minutes’ walk to the centre of the city, so if I want to see friends and have a drink, I can choose to leave my quiet house and go to the slightly more busy city. I think the fact that going out doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re jumping into a city full of chaos and noise is calming in a way.

BWS: Furthering on influences and inspiration, how did the track ‘Myth’ come about?  Hands down one of the best tunes that was released last year.  I listen to the tune almost everyday when I get off work and every time it sounds fresh.  Seriously, big up for that production.

TMSV: Thank you very much! It’s actually very reliant on samples, as you can hear from the lead sound. After using the sample(s) I made a bassline and a beat, added some atmospheres and other sounds, and that’s all there was to it, really. I have to say that the tune was already at least 2 years old when it was released, so I can’t really remember too much about how I made it.

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BWS: Do you see yourself going in any specific direction with your productions in 2012?

TMSV: Definitely. As I said, I’m focusing on making music right now. I’m trying to avoid being boring and predictable, to a certain extent of course. At the moment I’m making more than just 140 BPM music: I’m working on dub, house, garage, hip-hop, downtempo, all kinds of stuff.

BWS: What are your feelings on the 140 jungle tunes that have been getting hype lately?

TMSV: There’s definitely some great 140 jungle around at the moment, in fact I just got some today that sounded sick.

It seems to be difficult (for me as well as for other producers) to really ‘get it right’ and not sounding like a parody of the typical jungle sound. Jungle was never about quantising and getting your samples to sound just right; it was about the groove of the breaks you used, the simple but effective basslines and the vibes of the blatantly sampled sounds that were scattered around the tune. Modern music production software makes it much easier to make a really well-produced tune than the old samplers the jungle guys used to have, and I think nowadays you actually have to put effort into balancing a nice mixdown with getting an ‘authentic’ sound.

BWS: You have been collaborating with some really sick artists recently, like DJ Madd and June Miller.  Can we expect a lot more collaborations to come?

TMSV: Yes, definitely. I’m working with loads of people right now, but I’m not going to tell you who they are, because you never know if a collab is going to work or not.

I’m also looking for vocalists to work with me. I’ve had some responses already, but I’m always open to singers and MCs who would like to work with me. Please don’t hesitate to send me a message through Soundcloud or Facebook.

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BWS: What are your views on the US dubstep scene, as a whole?  Do you see yourself making it out this way anytime soon?

TMSV: Hopefully, yes. I’ve only been to the US once, about 9 years ago. I’d really love to visit again at some point. You can count on me flooding Facebook with spam when someone books me to come play in the US.

I don’t know much about your dubstep scene, but I do know that the deeper sound has gained popularity recently, which is great. It’s a huge country and very musically diverse, so I can’t see why the dubstep scene couldn’t be great.

BWS: If you could collaborate with any US based producer, who would it be, and why?

TMSV: When it comes to dubstep (and related genres), DJG (Grenier) or Matty G. Their tunes are very musical and diverse and the production is always sick, so collaborating with either of them would be cool. I’m probably missing ten thousand other American producers in my head right now. Sorry, you know how it is.

There are so many US based producers of other styles, it would be impossible to choose one or even ten. I do think I should name Dr. Dre and RZA just in case they Google themselves while looking for Dutch producers to work with.

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Serious amount of respect out to TMSV for doing this feature for us, it was truly an honor.  All the heads reading this that are new to his sounds, you’ve got a lot of catching up to do!  Be sure to stop by his Soundcloud and Facebook page and show him some love and support if you’re feeling his vibes.  You can find links to both below.

TMSV Facebook Page

TMSV Soundcloud Page

Alright people, that’s it for today.  Now I’m off to Coachella with the homie Lowkey to check out some very diverse musicians/bands out in Indio, CA.  Really stoked to see Machinedrum and Sbtrkt, among many many others.  Pretty stoked to see Sub Focus’s new “live” set as well.  Anyways, hope everybody has a great weekend filled with good vibes, good people, and good music.  One love.

To the gods.

-Kinman

Killawatt: Exclusive Bassweight Society Interview

Posted by Bassweight Society on

What’s up everybody!  We’re back with our monthly interview.  Today, we get words from a man who has established his presence with insurmountable speed.  Killawatt, nominated for best new producer in the Dubstepforum Awards this past year, is on a path straight to the top.  Securing releases on labels such as Black Box/Box Clever, Boka, New Moon, Subway, and DubPride, Matt Watt’s sound has been gaining a really large amount of support from the likes of Youngsta, Thinking, and many more.  All of this action seen has been within less than TWO years!  That is not to say that Killawatt is new to the music scene, though.  He got his hands on his first pair of decks back in 03′, and quickly began to make a name for himself in the jungle scene.  Fast forward to 2010, he is now co-operator of jungle label, Satta Sounds, and continues to carry on that passion.  But, he also gained a strong love for deep, minimal dubstep music.  After gaining his first release on New Zealand imprint DubPride, Matt had decided to part ways with the dubwise tunes he had currently been producing.  After taking classes in soundscaping and sound design he became very infatuated with the appeal of the ambient and cinematic aspects of dubstep.  The rest is history.  Making his debut appearance on Rinse fm in July of 2011, Killawatt has been smashing dance floors with his hard hitting mixing style.   As he continues to build his signature sound he is beginning to slowly drift into a seperate realm of classification. By that I mean that he is pretty much in a category of his own.  On the late he has been fusing a lot of techno influences into his 140 productions and is creating some of the heaviest rollers out there right now.  HUGE rolling kick drums, techno stabs that can make a good girl turn bad, and some of the most well-executed use of bongos the past year has seen, and there has been A LOT of bongo use in the tunes this past year.  His ability to incorporate the multitude of percussive instruments that he does has been, without a doubt, unrivaled in 2011.  Just recently he has had releases on Boka and New Moon and will see one shortly on Wheel & Deal.

Let’s see what the man has to say about the complaints of so-called “purists”, 140 jungle, and who shot Biggie and Tupac.

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BWS:  Alright, let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first.  Can you give the readers a little background about yourself.
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Killawatt:  Ez, I’m Matt Watt aka Killawatt and i’m currently based in Southsea. I’ve been producing dubstep for around 2 years now, dabbled in making scatty ragga jungle before  but never really took producing seriously until i got into dubstep late 2009. 
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BWS:  The percussive elements in your music are unreal man.  This is an attribute of your music that caught my attention when I first heard your sounds, and it has kept me hooked ever since.  Sometimes, in my opinion, people get too carried away with the focus on sub-bass, leaving other elements of the tune sub-par.  The fact that you are able to recognize the importance of each element and then successfully harness that importance is one of the best things about your style.  Do you use a lot of sampling when building your music or do you play intruments live? Or both?
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Killawatt:  I use a hell of a lot of samples for pretty much all aspects of my music. I never really used to be into sampling, probably because i didn’t really know how to make good use of it, but recently it has taken hold of my productions, largely due to the influence of Ipman and renowned sample based producers such as Amon Tobin. Ipman works as a sound designer and sampling is obviously a major part of that so we’re always talking about it and thats influenced me a lot. It’s also because sampling and resampling opens up so many sonic possibilities. You can create sounds and textures that you could never recreate using purely synthesis, the organicism of real sounds provides an extra layer of depth that really lifts the music. I also like the unpredictability of using sounds i’ve recorded myself or that somebody else has, you don’t have complete control over all the parameters so i think it makes me work harder to achieve a sound i want.  I very rarely play live instruments in. I can play the trombone and the guitar and i have recently started using them in a couple of secret side projects i have on the go, its actually been quite inspiring playing them again so i think it is something i will do a lot more of. Over time i’d like to build up a collection of instruments, both common and obscure, so that i can make use of acoustic and electronic instruments equally.
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BWS:  Your turnover rate for tunes is extremely high.  Is production your only full-time job?  If yes, what did you do to accumulate all your studio equipment before beats were paying your bills?
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Killawatt:  Well, i suppose you’d have to call it my full-time job since i don’t have a job and i do it pretty much full-time. That does not mean, however, that it pays my bills! I’m sure i will start to earn a half decent living off it at some point but its hard work scraping the pennies together at the moment. Luckily my parents are very supportive of me so they are helping me get along for a few months until i start earning more from producing/DJing or until i get a job. I’m pretty lucky in that sense really!
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BWS:  As a fan myself, I have a very large respect for the appreciation that you express to your supporters.  Maybe not in a verbose manner necessarily, but in the tunes that you give out for free.  Usually it’s quite obvious why an artist is giving their particular tune(s) out for free; they were old, unfinished projects thrown together half-assedly at the very last moment.  Your free music, however, is of the same top-notch quality as the music you release on respected labels such as Black Box, Boka, and New Moon.  Is this something that you set out to do?
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Killawatt:  I love sharing my music, it gets me into a bit of trouble with my peers sometimes but i write so much music, and so much of it will never see the light of day unless i give it out for free. I don’t see the point of uploading everything i make to soundcloud if half of its never going to get released or played so i may as well give it out. I would never give out anything i haven’t played or know i wouldn’t play so i suppose thats why they are of that quality. The end of last year went a bit over the top with the free giveaways, literally everybody was doing it and to be brutally honest some of the music that got given away from pretty awful, was almost embarrassing.  I’ve already compiled 2 free EP’s ready to giveaway the promote releases this year so you have them to look forward to! 
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BWS:  Lately you have been making tunes that have a more techno vibe to them.  Can we expect 2012 to be filled with releases like these?
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Killawatt:  haha yes you can expect a LOT more like this. Techno is my main passion at the moment so it was always going to filter down into my own productions. I’m not really making your standard 128 4×4 techno, i’ve tried but i can never shrug off my dubstep production so it ends sounding a bit crap. I’ve gone back to the 140 bpm tempo and tried to incorporate aspects of techno into it and people seem to like it so i think i’ll keep making it! I can’t really make half-step anymore, since ive been producing this more upbeat and energetic style, half-step has just seemed a bit labarious and sluggish, theres just not enough energy in most of the stuff coming out whereas with these techno influenced rollers with the big relentless kick drum lines and the pounding subs there is just so much natural energy, you move instinctively to the music whether you like it or not because of the sheer physicality of it and the rhythms that have been engrained in us over the past millenia from ancient ‘tribal’ music. I say ‘tribal’ because there has been a recent trend in everything with one bongo in being tagged as tribal music, its utter rubbish and is something i find pretty annoying to be completely honest. I’ll stop ranting!  Expect to hear plenty more of this sound this year though, either at 140 or 134 bpm!
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BWS:  There has been a sufficient amount of hype surrounding the 140 jungle that is currently being pushed by artists like Arc88, Benton, Dismantle, etc.  What is your take on it?  Considering that you used to produce jungle/own Satta Sounds, do you see yourself putting out tunes of this vein?  Or have you already, and we just haven’t heard them yet?
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Killawatt:  I’m not a fan, although i was smashing Dismantles terrain EP, they’ve got that older jungle aesthetic but with very up to date production and most importantly sound massive through a system.  Again its one of these things where people run out of ideas so they hark back to an older style and then claim its new, most of the time anyway. The majority of it sounds pretty weak compared to actual jungle, with looped 4-bar breaks that have had basically no processing, or have been processed completely wrong. Jungle was well ahead of its time and this stuff just isn’t. The most authentic 140 jungle tune ive heard is Ipmans remix of my track ‘Sidewinder’ that was released on the Black Boxxx series in december, the man knows how to chop up a break or too! I suppose because of my background in jungle i will always have this view. I still love jungle and really miss playing it out, it’s so fun to mix, and a lot more challenging than dubstep in my opinion. I have tried a few times to make jungle again but the production values are so different to dubstep that i just can’t really do it anymore. I’m sure i’ll make it again someday but just not quite yet!  Big ups to the Satta Sounds crew, making big moves in the jungle scene this year!
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BWS:  There has been, among a select population, a growing discontentment for the current state of the genre.  These are typically the people who complain about dubstep not being “underground” enough anymore, or just plain “dead”.  I have a really hard time with those kind of claims, mainly due musicians like yourself, Compa, Phaeleh, Von D, and so many others.  Your sounds are fresh, forward-thinking, and exhibit uniquity, so how someone can claim that dubstep is dead is beyond me.  Where do you see yourself going with your music in the next year or so?  Do you have any insight on where the genre as a whole is heading?
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Killawatt:  Those people need to get a grip on life. This discontentment is something i find very irritating. There is so much good, new music being made and released but these people are either too lazy to go looking for, jumping on a bandwagon or are just bitter. I for one am really happy that dubstep has found the masses. Obviously the biggest crowd pullers are playing the more aggressive and obnoxious style of the sound but who says something isn’t allowed to evolve and adapt? Thats just what the majority are into and fair enough, if they have a good time listening or dancing to it then i don’t see how its a bad thing. Even if just 1% of the people who have discovered dubstep in the last year take the opportunity to delve deeper into the underground then that surely is a good thing? Without it going mainstream, J:Kenzo wouldn’t be doing his Daily Dose of Dubstep on Mistajams show and Skream & Benga would never had got their INDWT show and now their weekly friday night show. They have been representing both the mainstream and the underground consistently on 2 of the biggest radio stations in the country…how can that possibly be a negative thing?!  I honestly don’t have a clue where its all heading, and thats the most exciting thing about it. It will just keep mutating over time, giving birth to more and more different styles. I think dubstep has been a mini paradigm shift in music. Drum & Bass was too much of a clique to really do anything massively beneficial in genre development and house/techno/trance/garage had all gone a bit stale until dubstep came along. Now i think all the genres within EDM feed off each other and thats why there’s so much interesting music being made at the moment, even though a lot of people would say otherwise. Moreover, all genres within the whole of music feed off eachother now, not just EDM.  I see myself just doing what im doing now and hoping things go to plan!!
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BWS:  What should the readers be on the look out for, as far as releases from yourself, in the next few months?
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Killawatt:  January was a fairly hectic month with 4 releases coming out within 3 weeks of eachother. There’ll be a bit of a break now i think. Look out for my 2nd release on Wheel & Deal, my remix of Radikal Guru’s ‘Dread Commandments’ on Moonshine recordings alongside more Radikal Guru remixes by RSD, Hatti Vatti and Adam Prescott.  I have plenty more for the rest of this year already but thats all under wraps for now…there should be some news soon though so hold tight!
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BWS:  Alright, now, just for fun……
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BWS:  Who shot biggie and tupac?
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Killwatt:  MC Hammer
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BWS:  If you were stranded on an island and could only keep with you the following things, what would they be? 1 vinyl, 1 DAW, 1 piece of hardware, and 1 sandwich.
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Killawatt:  The vinyl would be Pink Floyds ‘Wish You Were Here’ – amazing album! Provokes pretty much all your emotions!  Don’t think i’d really be bothered about having a DAW if i was stranded on a desert island. Pretty useless really considering i wouldn’t have a computer!  My choice of hardware would be a solar powered fridge…pretty useful.  My sandwich would be cheese, ham, gherkins, mayonnaise and branstons pickle in homemade white bread! the king of sandwiches!
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BWS:  If you had the ability to make music with one person, dead or alive, who would it be? and what one question would you ask that person?
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Killawatt:  Would have to be Hendrix, he was just a straight up badman! I’d ask why he didn’t read the label on those sleeping pills!!
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BWS:  What would you consider to be the most ideal setting for your performances?  Who would you want to be there?
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Killawatt:  On a beach in the Maldives with my girlfriend, family, friends and all my favorite musicians! sounds like paradise to me!
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We just want to give a massive shout out to Killawatt for taking the time to answer these questions for us!  Respect.
Below you will find links to Killawatt’s Facebook, Soundcloud, and Myspace.  Make sure you check out his music if you haven’t been fortunate enough to yet.  Support the artists, BUY THEIR MUSIC!
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Thanks for reading everybody, make sure to watch this page as we have another great interview lined up for March!  Go ahead, start guessing ;).
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To the gods.
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-Bassweight Society (Kinman)

Phaeleh Interview: Words With The Bristolian Bass God

Posted by Bassweight Society on

Welcome back everybody!  Hope the weekend treated you well, let the countdown to next weekend begin!  Today is the biggest day in Bassweight Society’s history.  We were fortunate enough to sit down and grab a few words from, in my opinion (Kinman), the best all-around producer in the game right now.  Matt Preston, also known as Phaeleh (pronounced “Fella”, say it with me now….Phae’leh), has been taking ears by storm over the past couple of years.  His music, taking influence from such a vast pool of styles, cannot be pigeonholed into a particular genre.  A lot of people label him as an ambient dubstep producer, which he most certainly does produce, but then what about tunes like Caustic Storm and Untitled 333?  It is a man who transcends genre, bpm, and any other sort of boundary, which to me is the utmost form of artistic expression.  As we have said in previous posts, dubstep began as a limitless concept, and the music that Phaeleh produces is one of the last to stay true to that base.  This is the very reason that Phaeleh has been, up until recently with Akira Kiteshi, the only artist to gain releases on Chemical Records label Afterglo.  Being trained in classical music, Phaeleh brings an insurmountable field of foundational knowledge that many producers lack these days.  The amount of emotion and vibes that are emitted from his productions is honestly mind-boggling but most importantly, extremely uplifting.  Whether it is a one of his extremely deep, dark, and sub-heavy tracks like those mentioned above or it is an ambient, soulfoul, and beatifully drenched vocal tune like The Cold In You or Breath In Air, the man captures the entire spectrum of what it is like to feel, as a human-being.  His humble approach to life has gained him much appreciation, respect, and dedication from his fans.  I remember reading an interview he did with Kmag back in March of 2011 and when asked about his humbleness, he stated ” I think it’s just because what separates me is that it took me a very long time to get noticed by the scene, so I am just very appreciative of anyone reaching out.”  It’s just plain inspiring to see a musician who refuses to let the fame, recognition, and lifestyle go to their head.  The man is an ultimate boss and shows no signs of letting up in the near future.  Already gaining releases on top-notch labels like Wheel & Deal, Afterglo, Black Box, and Disfigured Dubz, 2012 holds another year filled with releases and forward-thinking for Phaeleh.  The utmost amount of respect goes out to this guy from the Bassweight Society crew!  For your time and for the music that you write.  Take a peek at what the man like Phaeleh has to say:

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BWS: Quickly, tell us about yourself.  Where you grew up, how did you get into music, that sort of thing.

Hi, my name is Matt and I’m a producer based in Bristol best known for writing chilled beats. I grew up in rural Wiltshire about 30 minutes east of Bristol. I got into music through playing piano and later guitar as a kid and generally from listening to the music my parents were playing when I was growing up.

 BWS: Coming from the Mecca of Dubstep music (UK), do you see yourself as being “one step ahead” of producers that hail from countries outside of the UK?

I’d never say that, as I think it’s quite dismissive and arrogant. I don’t think creativity is tied down to specific locations. Admittedly a lot of sounds might begin here, but I know great producers based all over the world, and think geography has little to do with how good your tunes are.

BWS: We know that you are able to play quite a few instruments.  Where did you gain your musical knowledge/skills?  How often are you producing with analog hardware as opposed to digital instrumentation?

I’d say I learnt most things from my classical guitar teacher I had from about the age of 11 or 12. I was fortunate to have a good music teacher at school who had me using cubasis from the age of about 13 or 14. I also learnt most of my theory whilst I was studying contemporary music at college when I was 16. I think I’ve been very lucky with the teachers I had over the years! In terms of hardware, I have a lot, though only a couple of drum machines are analog. I do like the warmth of it, but I prefer the instant factor of working with software and not having to record everything to audio straight away. But to be honest I don’t have a set approach to any of my music making, so will just use whatever sounds best for a given situation.

BWS: Seeing that the style of your production is so unique and that the quality of your tunes is of the highest calibre, what do you recommend to upcoming producers in the sense of programs to use, or education to seek?  

There’s no right or wrong bit of software to use. I use Cubase as I know it inside out and it suits my workflow. But I know wicked producers who use Fruityloops, Ableton and Logic (I can’t get my head around that one though). I think the best thing to do is to link up with people you know who produce and get tips off of them, ask to watch them use the software, maybe write a tune together. You’d be amazed how much quicker it is to pick something up working with someone rather than from just magazine/youtube tutorials.

BWS: You have, without a doubt, one of the most distinct sounds within Dubstep, or Electronic music for that matter.  When writing your music, are you consciously trying to recreate a specific sound from within your head?  Or do you prefer letting the music create its own sound through trial and error?

I always just let the music go where it needs to. I don’t ever approach a track with a sound or goal in mind. I might be able to predict the kind of vibe it will have, as the music is always a reflection of my mood or headspace, but that’s about it.

BWS: The emotion that you are able to instill into your music is truly unrivaled.  People have been known to say that your sets have brought upon them, literally, tears of joy.  Where do you gain a majority of influence for your productions and how do you go about incorporating that into your sounds?

Thanks! I was always interested in more emotional music as a teenager, and pretty much exclusively listened to Tool and Tori Amos for several years, so I think that had a massive influence on my writing. But I’d say life was always my biggest influence. My most popular tracks are those I’ve normally written after some kind of personal crises which has left me feeling somewhat miserable. I’m just glad I can turn those moments into music which people can enjoy, whilst also being quite therapeutic for me.

BWS: Who are your 3 favorite artists outside of the Bass music scene?  If I stole your Ipod right now, what would I find on it?

Tool, Brian Eno, The Prodigy (first 2 albums only).

BWS: In your circle of fellow producers who has been you’re mentor or biggest influence and why?

I’d say DJ Madd has been the biggest help/supporter of my music. I wasn’t really that well known when I met him, but he definitely helped give me a kick up the ass when I needed one and helped a lot with networking and pushing my sounds, so really appreciate his influence with that.

BWS: Which American producer do you most favor, if any, or who would you most like to collaborate with from here in the US, and why?

I’ve always really liked what VVV has been producing, so I’d have to pick him. I’ve already done a collab with him though, so guess I should say someone like Skrillex to just get more gigs 😛

BWS: There has been rumors circulating for some time about you doing a live performance.  Is this something that you have in the works at the moment?

Well I did ‘Live Sets’ for years before I started DJing, either laptop based or with grooveboxes, even using custom built software with hardware if you go back far enough. To do it again though I’d really want to take it to the next level and involve a lot of live musicians, and I’d probably play guitar and bass and do some live looping/manipulation. There’s nothing solid planned unfortunately as it would cost a lot for all the musicians, but I’m hoping after the next album there may be an opportunity to work within a more traditional band context. I’d really like to write an album specifically for a band setup so that it could be toured properly, whilst still doing versions of existing tunes. It’s definitely something I want to do in the future though, as there’s only so much DJing you can do, and my ears are feeling the punishment.

BWS: What’s your take on the vinyl culture?  Are you a collector of vinyl yourself?  We know that travelling from gig to gig and carrying crates of records can be a lot of work, but do you find that the benefit of playing those tunes on wax out at the club has a sort of appeal to you?

To be brutally honest, I’ve only DJ’d for a couple of years, and do it out of necessity rather than a love of vinyl culture. I love how some tunes sound on vinyl, but then other tunes I prefer the sound of a WAV as it isn’t so limited in the stereo field and has a lot less compression and aggressive EQ. I’ve got massive respect for the DJs who play strictly vinyl, but the issues in clubs with dodgy equipment, costs of vinyl and the weight when travelling mean I’ll be a CDJ warrior for now.

BWS: From following you on facebook it looks like you’ve played a lot of spots throughout Europe.  What are a couple of the best gigs you’ve played in terms venue and crowd?

I love playing everywhere in Europe to be fair, though guess some of my favourite gigs have been in Holland, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania. You get different crowds in each country, but I find gigs outside the UK have a lot more emphasis on the music, rather than people just turning up and wanting to get messy.

BWS: Tell us more about Afterglo.  From the looks of it, up until recently, you’ve been the only artist releasing tunes on that label.  How did that come about?  Also, we know you head your own label Urban Scrumping, started back in ’08.  What’s the motivation behind a Producer to head his own label and what can we expect to see released in the near future.

Afterglo is based at Chemical Records and was setup as a project for working with albums for artists which don’t just fit into a simple pigeonhole. I was really lucky to link up with Mark and Ian who run it, as they put a lot of time and effort into it. I think Mark heard some of my tunes from DJ Thinking who runs the Blackbox and Box Clever labels. He really liked what he heard so I linked up to chat about a potential project, and I was really pleased with their ideas. I was the first artist they worked with, but the next few releases are all from Akira Kiteshi (seriously keep your eyes peeled for his album, it’s next level). I don’t think they’re in a rush to get a massive roster of artists and would rather work on one project at a time. I’m currently writing another album for them, so really looking to working on that with them!

In terms of Urban Scrumping, I set it up as a way of getting my tunes out there, as most labels never got back to me or just suggested that it wasn’t real dubstep and I was an idiot for thinking anyone would ever want to buy it or release it. I released a few mates tunes as well on the label, but have found it’s been on the back burner since the Phaeleh stuff has been going well. Hopefully do some more releases in the future, but currently figuring out the best plan for the label in the long run.

BWS: Do you have any side projects in the works that we should keep an eye out for?

I’m writing such a diverse range of music at the moment that I have considered putting out some of the more house or dnb tempo stuff under an alias, but I’m still making my mind up about that. I also really want to do a proper ambient, no beats release at some point. Not sure I could get away with that under the Phaeleh name, so might have to use something different for that too.

BWS: What’s 2012 hold for Phaeleh? Hopefully not the end of the world haha.  You had an American tour planned a bit earlier this year but it fell through.  Can we expect to see you coming this way and blessing us with some shows in the upcoming year? 

Well working on my new album will be my priority for the first half of the year. Hopefully it won’t take that long, but I’ve given myself 6 months to get it finished.

I was gutted the tour in 2011 fell through, but these things happen. I’m wiser from the experience so hopefully when I do make it over there won’t be the risk of something like that happening again. Really want to make it over, as always get such great support from America, so would be awesome to play some shows over there!

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Phaeleh’s Facebook

Phaeleh’s Soundcloud

There you have it!  Straight from the dragon’s mouth.  A massive thanks to Phaeleh for doing this interview for us.  If you haven’t already, check out Phaeleh’s pages (above) and show him some more love from the states!  Check in tomorrow for some more good music.  And if you haven’t checked out the Bassweight Society Facebook page, DO IT!!! >>>>>> Bassweight Society Facebook

To the gods.

_bassweightsociety (Kinman)

Future Jungle – Insights and Outlooks with Arc88

Posted by Bassweight Society on

Ay, welcome back, we hope you had a sub-filled weekend. If you remember, today’s post will be following up on our introduction to Future Jungle last week. Way back then, we introduced the sound we hesitantly dubbed ‘Future Jungle’ and had a sick jungle mix from local dj Archive. We also promised some inside info from someone behind the mixing board, and boy did we deliver.

Arc88 sat down with us last week and really educated the crew on what Future Jungle is, where it came from and where it’s going. In the Q & A you can expect to gain an insight of the emergence of 140 Jungle, its furtherance by artists pushing the sound and a general understanding of its place in the dance music horizon – all from a producer, who we think speaks for the genre.

Arc88 Interview:

BWS) Could you briefly explain a bit about yourself, where you’re from and a bit of backstory of your dj/production career until this point?

Arc88) I’ve been producing for a few years now, I’ve fucked about with loads of different genres but decided to stick with this because its a style I’ve dug for years.

The first 140 Jungle bit I made was a bootleg. (probably better if i don’t say what) After that I made ‘A Feeling’ (which is coming out on Terrain) that gained some interest which inspired me to carry on. With that I built “2 Many” which turned out to be my first release on Terrain which I’m still getting mad feedback internationally so I’m grateful for that.

BWS) Rad. So is 140 Jungle a new style to you? or simply Jungle slowed down?

Arc88) This sound is a bit of a mix really, I try and keep it as legitimate sounding as possible because I want someone to listen to it and assume it was made in 1990, but with new production tools and software. You don’t get that same gritty true sound they did back then, so the production is going to sound a fair bit cleaner.

What I do really, is infuse a very early Hardcore sound with a later style Jungle drum track, as opposed to the earlier Hardcore jungle sound where the drums would be fairly minimal. (I use pitch changing drum rolls and fills quite in the style of Shy Fx, Bass Master Warriors, Potential Bad Boy etc.)

It is slowed down to a certain degree when you consider Jungle music, but early Jungle was around 150 bpm anyway and hardcore/acid house started at 135 – 140 bpm, so with modern bass music now, it made sense to refer back to these early styles.

BWS) Education! What inspired you to create this style of music? and who are some other producers that you would consider your peers in 140 Jungle?

Arc88) Well I’ve always loved Jungle and I’ve heard a lot of Hardcore so as soon as people were feeling it, I thought there’s no reason to not rep it fully.I haven’t heard many other producers go for this sound apart from the obvious being Skream and Rusko… But people doing it proper underground still are: Myself , Benton , Unitz, Dismantle, Taiki and Nulight and I rate this guy at the moment called Dj Gold with a track called 45 War, its fire. (below)

BWS) Listening to your mix on Terrain Record’s website – it’s sick! Do you see, or perhaps, feel, a resurgence of Jungle  in 2012, and will it be in the 140-150 bpm range rather than in the 170’s?

Arc88) Thanks man, and yeah I do big time. I can’t wait for how it’s gonna blow. It’s just a matter of time with the reoccurrence of acid house and stuff like that. We’re gonna go back in time to ’91 and it’ll be pure madness, and yeah I think it’ll stay at this tempo for a while because I can’t see people not playing dubstep in the near future and if it fits in with their set, they will play it.

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BWS) Hell yeah!  With that said, is 140 Jungle well received when you play out?
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Arc88) Yeah man it seems to be, due to growing popularity, it seems to be getting dropped earlier on in sets which is always good, but at the moment if you have an entire half step set you kind of want to speed up towards the end and finish on a hype. Either way I’m just glad its getting played out…I would be interested to see some reactions to it overseas.
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BWS) Yeah we’ll try and link you something. Going back in time, what are some of your influences when creating this sound?
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Arc88) Ahhh well for the hardcore sound I like K Class, Acen, Total Kaos, SL2, Altern 8. For jungle… Shy FX, Mickey Finn, Bass Master Warriors, 4 hero, Origin Unknown, Dj SS, Blackstar, Congo Natty…ahh theres too many!
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BWs) Which dj’s are currently pushing this sound?
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Arc88) At the moment:  N-type, Dismantle, Unitz, Benton, Taki and Nulight and myself are pushing it proper.
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BWS) Do you see yourself sticking with 140 jungle in the future, and are there any releases or labels we can look forward to in 2012?
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Arc88) Yeah I’m gonna stick with this sound. I might move it in the direction of acid house, but thats as far as I see it going at the moment, there’s more freedom than people think with this genre so I wanna blow some minds before I think about doing anything else.
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2012 holds: ‘Pelican’ (Terrain) ‘A Feeling’ (Terrain) ‘Powwa Moves’ (Wheel & Deal) ‘The Code’ ft. Daddy Freddy (Wheel & Deal)
BWS) That’s what we like to hear! Signing off, do you have a message for bass music enthusiasts in the States?
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Arc88) Stay locked to UK music. Listen to Rinse FM over the internet… download my 140 jungle mix from terrainrecords.com.
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BWS) Thank’s again and we look forward to hearing more from you!
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There it is, another great interview with Arc88! Take a minute to let it marinade, maybe read it over one more time, because Arc just dropped some real knowledge!  His insights are much appreciated at BWS and we hope our readers are as stoked as us!
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We’ll be back with more future jungle posts, in the meantime, check out the aforementioned artists and Arc88’s mix on Terrain’s site.
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-BWS (Shice)