Page 50 - Zone Magazine Issue 008

feature interview - uk
When did you decide that you were going to be a music producer?
From my school days at the age of 11, I used to go to a under 17's club in Swansea called Europa. I've always had a passion about music, and it always intrigued me on how artists actually made music. I decided to buy a music production software called Sonar 5 at the age of 23 and started my journey into creating music. I had a long road ahead of me because it was more difficult to create music than i anticipated.
Were you a dj first or a producer?
Producing came later on as i started dj'n at the age of 17. A good friend of mine used to be a resident dj in a club near Swansea, and he knew how passionate i was about music even before i become a dj. He invited me down to his club to see him dj, i stood there in awe as i couldn't believe the reaction the crowd were making towards each track that was being played. I was instantly hooked after my friend let me play a track.
How would you describe your signature sound?
All my productions have to be dance floor friendly, with a commercial edge. The very first thing i think about on a track i produce is 'How will the crowd react to this?' There's a few elements of a track which represents me such as big piano melodies, big bass lines, and big hooks. There's nothing worse than listening to a track that doesn't go anywhere. Music has to take you on a journey, music should never make you feel bored.
Has producing changed much in the last 7 years?
100%. Music is always evolving and genre trends are always changing. I like to challenge myself with the genre trend changes, such as progressive house, complextro, future house and funky house. A lot has changed with my productions such as the mixdowns and the quality of sound on the mixes. Over the years i've realized it was key to have a crisp sounding track, as there is nothing worse than listening to a track that has terrible quality as you cannot appreciate the track.
Have there been times where you have wanted to give up or are you very driven? I've always said to myself that 'you have to
be in it to win it'. If i'm not going to put the effort in, i'm never going to get anything out of it. People will always support good music because it makes them feel good and there's no better feeling than make people feel good through something i've created, and that is what drives me the most.
So tell us about your studio. What five pieces of equipment do you use the most?
At the moment the most used piece of equipment i use is the Korg M1 piano, this iconic sound is from the 90's which has made a comeback in 2015 and will continue into 2016.
The M1 organ is also a sound which i absolutely love and use in almost every
production. For my mixdowns i use KRK rokit 5's and also use my Sennheiser HD 25 headphones to reference stereo enhancement.
For eq'ing i use Fab Filter Pro Q 2, because this shows you the waveform of every sound you eq, this is very handy as every sound you use in a production, there are areas of a waveform that doesn't need to be there, but it would impact your mixdown if you didn't remove that unwanted sound
What piece of equipment could you not do without in your setup?
Not having good speakers would make my life very difficult. It makes all the difference to how my mixdown will sound at the final stages of my production. I learned this in the earlier stage of producing that trying to make a track in just headphones, or with really cheap speakers, will badly affect the final quality of the mix.
Do you keep adding new equipment or are you happy with what you are already using?
I added a new Focusrite soundcard which drastically improved the sound quality of music i listen to. Standard sound cards on laptops or desktop computers will make music sound quite dull or muddy in comparison, so it's always key to invest in a good sound card which offers more clarity to music that you are listening to. Apart from that, my studio setup has stayed the same with just monitors, and a midi keyboard.
Have you used other studios or does everything come from your home set up?
I haven't had the opportunity to use a professional studio, and everything i've produced is in the comfort of my own home. It's always intrigued me to produce a track in a professional studio environment to see if there's anything new i can learn from it, as i'm still learning new things today.
Which producers do you look up to (if any) and why?
The Wideboys productions always used to be a big part of my dj sets because of their big bass lines and catchy hooks. They're well established artists in the music industry and i've always wanted to capture what they do in their productions and put it into my own. They have been supporting my music for the last year and i am also signed to their label with my productions. Sometimes i have to pinch myself when i get a phone call from Ed from The Wideboys for a catch up.
Where do you see yourself in a years time.
Recently i've received some huge support from Thomas Gold for a remix of mine which is signed to Ministry Of Sound. Having that support feels surreal to have a producer that is so well established in the music industry to play music of mine. My goal for 2016 is to get airplay on Radio 1 and to hopefully continue to gain support from more DJs and producers.
What advice would you give to any aspiring producers?
Never upload your music to a music platform unless it's finished and you're 100% completely satisfied with it. If you're having problems with the mastering / mixdown side of things, there are a lot of forums or video's out there to help you. If you can afford it you can always pay a music engineer to master your music. Get to know dj's and other producers to share your music with, as without dj's your music will never get heard by the masses. If you have trouble gaining inspiration to create a track, listen to one of your favorite artists and try to recreate the structure of their track, without trying to copy the exact track musically.
What is the best piece of advice anyone has given you?
You have to put effort in to succeed in the music industry, if you're just going to sit around and do nothing and expect things to return in your favor, it will never happen. Always do your homework with which labels to send your music to, and always make sure your music is polished before anyone else hears it.
If you hadn't had the success you had, would you still stick at it?
In the music industry, it takes years for an artist to perfect their sound, in my mind i knew i wasn't going to stop producing music until i could gain support from well established artists. At that point i knew my hard work paid off, and it was an amazing feeling. This in turn gave me more drive and inspiration to continue making music.
Who would you most like to work with?
It has to be The Wideboys. Growing up listening to their music and finally getting their support. It would be a dream to collaborate on a single with them. It would also be great to see what they do first hand to see if there's anything new i could learn. I'm still learning new things today
Is there any track you would like to remix and why?
There is a lot of great music out there, and one track which i always wanted to remix was The Wideboys - Sambuca. This track is so iconic that almost every person who enjoys music knew the original track, They gave me the opportunity to remix the track because i wanted to do my thing to it, and Wideboys gave it a spin on Kiss Fm which was amazing to hear.
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Words By Danny slade Pic By John Rees