Page 37 - DemoZone Magazine Summer Issue 2020

You recently released your debut album
Credence. Talk us through that. What was
the production process?
The album came quite naturally. I do really enjoy putting together an album, even though many see it as a bit of a lost art form for more lesser known artists. Club tracks are becoming more of a novelty than more down tempo pieces nowadays, so the album kind of wrote itself. I seem to be constantly writing, so as soon as the pieces came together, and the time felt right, the album was released.
All the tracks are written in my studio at home. I would usually start with some chords. It is a totally different style of writing as opposed to writing club tracks. Usually you would start with drums and bass and work out a groove from that, and they have a pretty standard structure. With the album it was all about the tracks flowing naturally and also knowing when to stop. Although I have a small amount of outboard equipment, it was, I'd say written mainly in Ableton. I wanted to scale back the amount of vsts , synths and drum samples I was using so the album would have a cohesive sound. I think that was one of the biggest things I've learned in the last year or so, and that is less is definitely more.
Any standout tracks for you off the album?
I, and I hate to say this, but I like al of the tracks equally. At a push, possibly Willow, and the ambient mix of Solar. The full club mix of that will be out later in the year, all 10 minutes of it! I also like the dark atmosphere of Sequence 4.1 and the off key chord progressions. I think it just works well as an album t put on and listen to from start to finish.
What's next for SONAS?
Well I have been writing constantly since, albeit apart from a huge slab of writers block that lasted nearly a month in April. And have a few club singles that are ready to go out to labels. Their big techno and progressive house numbers. After doing the album wanted the energy levels in the music to go up again. Aswell as that I have a couple of EPs which I will be releasing on my Bandcamp over the course of the summer. Its been a busy few months!
Any final thoughts on the industry at the moment?
Its an incredibly interesting time for electronic and dance music at the moment. The tragic situation with covid-19 has obviously had a profound effect on the music scene as a whole. Venues will struggle to reopen, and I think there will be a certain element of fear amongst clubbers and concert-goers that will be with them for a long time to come. Social distancing will make any kind of events a strange place to be for the foreseeable future.
However for producers, it has been, and as far as I can see an incredibly productive time. And many will be changing the music they write to cater for the way people are listening to music at home.
Its going to be very interesting to see where we are at, say in 2 years time. But that's one of the wonderful things about music. It can be with you through the worst of times, as-well as the best of times.
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