INTERVIEW: Sigha [Hotflush]

It’s been pretty hard to ignore the massive expansion in column inches given to the Hotflush label in the last year or so, and certainly since a certain ‘Hyph Mngo’ burst onto the scene. But beyond the obvious big hitters like label boss Scuba, Joy Orbison or Mount Kimbie, the imprint’s success certainly seems to have allowed Paul Rose to branch out further with the artists and sounds he’s supporting. This year, that’s taken the form of a host of special one-offs (tracks like Ation’s wonderful ‘Lover’s Dub’, which crept out with next to no fanfare), but it’s also been seen in the continued output of some of the label’s longer running, but less well-known, artists.

Since the release of his first twelve for the label, ‘Bruised’ b/w ‘Expansions’, in January 2009, James Sigha has been one of its quietest but most prolific sons, putting out three further releases on the Hotflush Two subsidiary since. His latest, the Shake EP, pulls together a typically varied collection of music – the title track is all monochrome, slow and ocean-deep, but ‘Shapes’ is pacier, clocking in somewhere close to that hallowed region where dubstep reaches techno. Its ascetic nature and lack of obvious melodic development has tended to ensure that’s exactly where Sigha’s music tends to be categorised, but over the last year or so it’s felt as though he has finally begun to shed its London exterior to reveal a rapidly pulsing Berlin heart.

They’re certainly a far cry from anything as obvious as build-drop dynamics or catchy vocal hooks, but the four releases he’s clocked up so far have been hypnotically addictive. We caught up with James to find out a little more about how things have been going, and why Sonic Youth still inspire him as much as Marcel Dettmann does.

Sonic Router: Can you provide those who might not know you with a bit of background info?

Sigha: I write music and DJ predominantly under the name Sigha. I’m lucky enough to be part of the Hotflush family, and my last EP dropped on Hotflush Two at the end of May.

Outside of music, who are you? What do you do on the daily?

I don’t really do much outside music to be honest. I still work one day a week, but even that’s in a record shop (London's BM Soho), so it’s literally permeated everything I seem to do. I’m starting to paint to give myself some headspace from it really - its good to be passionate, but to escape sometimes would make me a happier person I think.

An average day for me is waking up mid morning, checking my emails in bed, drinking A LOT of coffee and then heading downstairs into the studio. If things are going well in there, that’s where I’ll stay for the majority of the day. If not, I might head out to a gallery, watch a film, read a book, just try and pick up some inspiration really.

You’ve said before that you originally started off playing in bands. What changed your perspective and led to you start making dance music?

I generally don’t find working with other people very easy. The collaboration process itself can be great, especially if you’re writing with a friend, but I think that often the end product is watered down in terms of the original concept, and keeping that pure is something that’s very important to me. When I first started experimenting with electronic music, I was really inspired by the fact that it was just me and a computer, there was no one there to tell me this wouldn’t work, or if I did that it would sound bad. That was really key in shifting my emphasis towards dance music. I could write a whole track by myself, and so was totally free to be as self-indulgent as I liked. At the same time I was going to a lot of warehouse parties at the weekends, and I was hearing sounds I’d never heard before, or at least not in that context. All this came together at the right time and I just fell in love with it as a way of making music.

How did your experience in bands translate across into electronic music? Do you enjoy the difference in process between playing in a band and making music by yourself?

Um, it’s really different. I don’t have to run my ideas past anyone else first, which like I say is a major plus. It’s probably given me an insight into music, both the creative process and sound itself, which I probably wouldn’t have had if I’d started out writing electronica/dance music. I’m fairly solitary, so over all it suits me well.

I do really miss playing live with other people though, the connection you get when you’re jamming and it’s going well is incredible. I miss that a lot. At some point soon I really want to work on a live project.

Do you think that your music as Sigha still takes influence or inspiration from the non-electronic stuff you listen to?

I think so - more obviously in terms of what drives me creatively though, rather than the sound pallet. I listen to bands like My Bloody Valentine, Joy Division and Sonic Youth on a daily basis, more so than any single electronic artist probably. I’m sitting in my kitchen listening to Sonic Youth's 'Daydream Nation' right now. There’s so much raw energy and power, combined with moments of really intense beauty, in what they have done over the years. If I can translate even a small amount of that into what I’m trying to do I’ll be really happy.

What’s your production set-up like?

That would be telling! But it’s nothing too exciting I promise. I’m a big believer in the idea that 'its not what you use, its what you do with it.' I suppose given that I should have no problems revealing all, but I reckon a little bit of mystery is good.

“for me the best music seems to do nothing at all, but somehow manages to hold your attention for its duration.”

There’s a lot of Berlin in your music, but there’s also a lot of London in there. How have the sounds of those two cities inspired your music?

I’ve lived in London all my life, so part of that is always going to be lurking in what I do somewhere. It’s got a great history for music and is a real melting pot of different sounds, so it’s been really inspiring growing up here musically. I think though that I’ve become a little numb to it, just through over familiarity... It’s easy to take what you’ve got for granted. In terms of electronic music, drum ‘n’ bass, garage and dubstep are sounds that run deep here, and they've definitely moved me.

Having said all that, I feel more at home musically in Berlin these days. There’s an amazing creative vibe in the city that’s incredibly inspiring. I suppose it’s because the cheap cost of living has encouraged a kind of artist migration over there. So much great music has come out of that city over the years, and the place itself is magic. East Berlin feels like it’s in this state of slow dilapidation, there’s a sense that everything is decaying which is very beautiful to me.

Marcel Dettmann’s just remixed one of your tracks, and there’s obviously some influence from the Berghain school of techno in your sound. I presume you’ve been to the Berghain - did the club itself and hearing techno in that kind of environment change your perspective on your music?

Berghain seems to be at the center of this revival in techno at the moment. It’s brought together some very talented likeminded artists and DJs, which has been really important to give people a focal point I think. Before I’d even been to Berghain, I already had a very strong impression of what it was and what it would be like inside. They've created a really powerful brand with the club, which is definitely helped by the no photos rule and strict door policy. Everything about it seems to go hand-in-hand with the music it represents, which only serves to heighten the experience for a techno lover. I don’t think there’s another club in the world you can get quite so lost in both figuratively and literally. I was listening to, playing and writing techno before I visited the club, but hearing Dettmann play for four hours at eight in the morning was a real eye opener for me. Obviously his sets are legendary, but it was the crowd that really blew me away. The place was packed and full of energy on Sunday lunchtime - that isn’t something you can find in the UK week-in-week-out. That really made me think, ‘I’m in the wrong city’.

Your sound is really stripped back and lean, with little in the way of obvious melodic development. Is that a style you specifically aim for, or is it just the way it seems to come out?

I’m not a big fan of anything too obvious in music. I try to create soundscapes that are really immersive and that the listener can really get lost in. For me, when I write and listen, music is about introspection, and big melodies always seem to get in the way of that. Development of a track in general is something I’m really particular about - for me the best music seems to do nothing at all, but somehow manages to hold your attention for its duration. I suppose that’s what I’m aiming for. There is something in UK bass-oriented club music that is very extrovert, from the way the tracks are constructed, with huge emphasis on the impact of the drop, to the individual sounds used. I’m fairly introverted and have always like my music 'eyes down' so to speak, so that comes out in my own tracks I guess.

Your tracks, especially the slower ones like ‘Rawww’ and ‘Shake’, have that weird ability techno has to put people into a trancelike, dreamlike state. Is conveying that sort of mood something you consciously work towards?

Music is a really powerful thing. I just mentioned the UK’s obsession with impact, and that in itself can deliver a huge buzz when it’s done right. But personally I love the otherworldly feeling that good techno or house can bring. Repetitive rhythms actually cause your brain to produce serotonin - and what’s more repetitive than a four-four beat, right? To immerse yourself completely in the music and the feeling of hundreds of people around you sharing this experience is truly amazing. So yes, after all that, it’s definitely something I bear in mind while writing. Maybe it’s the most important thing, in fact.



You obviously have a connection with dubstep and garage, especially in your earlier Hotflush releases, but recently the techno and house influences in your sound seem to have moved further to the fore. Has that been an intentional shift?

Since my first release with Hotflush I think that it’s been a really natural move from one side of the dubstep/techno divide to the other for me. ‘Bruised’, for instance, was totally influenced by a Dettmann track specifically that I was playing again and again at the time. I couldn’t find anything that was 'dubstep' but had that same vibe, so I tried to write what I was looking for. People seemed to pick up on those influences and noticed the Berlin references in the track. Now with tunes like ‘Rawww’ and ‘Shake’ the tempos dropped, and they are both out-and-out techno tracks, but people have pointed out UK dubstep and garage influences throughout both of those tunes.

I think I’ll always have that connection to dubstep and garage in my sound - as I mentioned earlier, living in London it’s hard not to - but Sigha has grown very organically into a techno project. To start writing dubstep (whatever that is now) or garage would feel like a step back rather than forward. That’s not taking anything away from either of these styles at all, I mean in terms of my own personal development. I’m still writing dubstep under a different alias, and I’m going to be pushing that more over the next twelve months.

What are you listening to/watching/reading/etc at the moment that’s really inspiring you?

I’ve been reading a lot of Ernest Hemingway and Christopher Isherwood recently. They both have a beautifully simple and engaging style of writing. I’m a massive fan of sci-fi, Philip K Dick particularly. 'Valis' is one of my favourite books of all time. I’ve just re-read Ian Bank's 'The Wasp Factory' as well. I think in terms of books, film, art etc, I like things that make me think differently.

I’ve become a bit obsessed with watching physics documentaries right now. I’ve always been awful at science, and have no idea what they are talking about; but that’s what I love about it, that sense that there are these huge fundamentals that are just out of my reach. It’s a feeling that’s really hard to put into words, but that is what inspires me more than anything.

Your music’s got quite a cinematic feel – are you influenced by films at all?

Totally, films like Solaris or The Fountain, that again seem to suggest something intangible just out of sight, or are really, really depressing, haha. Something like Requiem for a Dream for instance - it’s so dark and bleak, but intensely beautiful as well. I don’t know where I’m getting that sense of beauty from, everyone I’ve spoken to about this seems to think I’m nuts, but to me it’s a heart-wrenchingly beautiful film.

More so than most other labels, Scuba seems to have pulled together an incredibly diverse but very like-minded set of musicians on Hotflush. When I spoke to Dom Kimbie about it the other week he described it as being more of a movement than a label. It must be inspiring to be a part of such an exciting musical community?

Yeah, I think he’s hit the nail on the head there really. It’s a really great thing to be a part of, I feel very lucky and proud, but it can feel pretty intimidating too! Mount Kimbie, those guys are so talented it’s crazy. To be on a roster alongside guys like that, Scuba, Joy Orbison, it’s pretty intense. I feel really lucky that Paul’s got such an open mind too. You mentioned earlier how my sound has developed over the last year and a half - I doubt that I would have had the scope to push out in the direction I wanted to on many other labels. He’s built a great thing in the label, and I feel blessed to be a small part of it!

What projects have you got in the pipeline for the future? Any imminent things coming up?

The main project I’m working on right now is the launch of my own label, 'Our Circula Sound.' The first release will be out in August, with a Dettmann remix of my own 'Early Morning Lights' and a new track by myself called 'Over The Edge' on the flip. The site is still in development but should be up soon, so keep checking www.ourcirculasound.com if you’re interested. I’ve got some big things planned for the imprint, so watch this space basically!

Apart from that I’ve just finished a remix for Commix's Re:Call To Mind LP on Metalheadz, and am working on more for Kevin Gorman’s Microwave label and Echochord. I’m starting to think about a larger scale Sigha project as well, and planning the next few 12”s.

Keeping busy, basically…



Any words of wisdom for our readers?

Stay true to yourself, Do what makes you happy. And buy my music.

::

Words: Rory Gibb

Sigha Links:
Myspace // Facebook // Soundcloud
www.ourcirculasound.com

RECOMMENDED: George Fizgerald - The Let Down EP [Hotflush Two]

Over the last couple of years Hotflush’s little sister imprint Hotflush Two has been responsible for some of that community’s deeper and more experimental cuts. Sigha’s first two EPs operated with a defiantly minimalist agenda, and Pangaea’s jazzy ‘Mosaix’ is among the most opaque things he’s yet committed to tape, all tightly syncopated upright bass and mournful Berlin shimmer. But then again, it’s also home to Joy Orbison's 'Hyph Mngo’, so it’s hardly as if it’s totally neglected populism in favour of stranger treats. George Fitzgerald’s debut EP finds itself somewhere between those two poles; the humid synths of ‘The Let Down’ easily match that track’s dancefloor heft, but flipside ‘Weakness’ proves to be something else entirely.

It’s probably worth getting it out of the way early: Joy Orbison comparisons are going to flow thick and fast from many quarters keen to write Fitzgerald off as some kind of copyist. And the similarity is undoubtedly there - you’d have to have lived under a rock for the last eighteen months or so to miss it – but anything deeper than a cursory listen should suffice to highlight their differences in approach. It’s largely down to structure; both tracks on this EP show a more obvious garage influence, and Fitzgerald certainly knows his way around a bassline. Both these two tracks and others doing the rounds currently like ‘Don’t You’, are driven by huge, sinewy pulses of sub that solemnly refuse to engage with any other element of the music. Instead they brood darkly in the background like unshakeable monoliths, while at the top end diffuse strands of melody curl around two-step percussion.

Fantastic though the title track certainly is, B-side ‘Weakness’ is where the real heat’s at. Here Fitzgerald shows off in understated monochrome, crafting a roller that manages to strike a delicate balance between euphoria and crippling sadness. It shifts back and forth like mercury that’s escaped from a shattered thermometer, with a central melody so thin and evasive that each time you attempt to get a grasp it slips away like secondhand smoke. It’s certainly the equal of anything Orbison’s yet put out, and I’d argue that its subtler approach makes The Let Down an even more accomplished debut EP than 'Hyph Mngo' was last year.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Now

Link:
www.myspace.com/georgefitzgeraldmusic

RECOMMENDED: Sigha - Shake EP [Hotflush Two]

The downside of being part of a label with such a strong community of big hitters (Scuba, Joy Orbison, Mount Kimbie, bits from Ramadanman and Pangaea) is that there’s always the risk of vanishing into the gaps between major releases. London producer Sigha is among Hotflush’s more mercurial talents, shifting on a whim between slo-mo house and techno, rigid two-step and minimalist dubstep(ish) transmissions, without ever fully locking to any of them. Perhaps for this reason his releases always seem to be slightly overlooked: his tracks are too broken and awkward for true techno, not weighty enough for dubstep per se and lacking the obviously soulful edge you’d expect of garage.

But then that’s kinda the beauty of his music – shorn of any obvious genre affiliations, Sigha productions are free to drift in whatever direction the whim takes them. If there’s a shared trait to everything he’s put out, it’s an ultra stripped-back, Berlin-schooled approach that reduces melody to swathes of gaseous static that weave around deceptively complex beats. Last year’s Rawww EP was an underrated gem, the title track’s obvious Basic Channel-isms offset by the ghostly London-centred sounds of ‘Hold Your Heart Up To The Light’, and his new Shake EP – his fourth for the Hotflush Two imprint – sees him further exploring the same hazily drawn lines. The range of ideas on here once again put paid to any notion of an easily categorisable Sigha ‘sound’, but also consolidates his previous work into three tracks that showcase the different sides of his music. More so than any of his other releases, they’re also quite strikingly pretty, the lack of obvious melodic development more than made up for by the sheer weight of detail packed into each.

There always seems to be something extra going on in each of these three tracks. Closing ambient piece ‘Light Swells (In A Distant Space)’ is lit up by tiny arcs of electricity that flicker almost out of earshot, like catching a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye. As the furthest departure he’s taken from dance music it’s a success, its structure made up of dense layers of cloud that press against one another to generate moments of dissonance and clarity. Lead track ‘Shake’ is far tougher and more muscular than anything he’s done before, moving away from the implied momentum of a track like ‘Bruised’ into a pounding slab of house, but ‘Shapes’ is the most interesting on here. Operating at around 136 bpm, it chucks the kitchen sink at a loosely techno-tinged beat, sending abstract percussive hits and clicks rattling around dark pulses of sub. It’s a proper eyes-down dancefloor beast, and despite the absence of anything resembling a hook manages to remain far more than simply a DJ tool.

Interesting developments as ever from the Sigha camp then. It’ll be intriguing to see where he heads next.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Now

Link:
www.myspace.com/sigha

PRE-ORDER: Dark Arx – Blood Vein EP [Dark Arx]

After the head-oriented spaces of Dark Arx Recordings’ first release, Binary Sequence’s underrated 'Below The Ice' 12”, the label’s second plate shifts towards a more overtly dancefloor-aimed aesthetic whilst retaining a strong connection. This coherence is largely mood-related: Binary Sequence managed to create an incredibly tangible sense of dissociation with the bare minimum of elements, all awash in static crackle. Dark Arx’s own Blood Vein EP keeps the same mournful feel but ramps up the pace, locking a restrained textural palette to driving post-garage patterns that manage to simultaneously bring to mind techno’s rigidity and the hip-swinging flex of two step.

There’s a distant loneliness to the largely beatless closer ‘Argent & Sable’ that brings to mind some of Sigha’s more minimalist productions, but shorn of rough edges it exudes a sense of calm quite different from the unease a track like Sigha’s ‘Bruised’ evokes. Instead all three tracks on here move like liquid: riding on basslines that are far less viscous than those of many of Dark Arx’s contemporaries, both ‘Blood Vein’ and ‘Streak’ appear to ebb and flow effortlessly. ‘Streak’ is worthy of particular mention, its subtly harmonised synth pads drifting over a beat that shuffles like one of Hessle’s best, rolling for an all-too-short six minutes. The result is an EP that feels far shorter than its runtime, and an intriguing successor to the label’s last twelve.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Now



Link:
http://darkarx.blogspot.com

EVENT: Colony w/ Millie & Andrea

The end of a busy year for the Colony crew; Saturday 19th Dec sees them hit a new venue with a better soundsystem bringing Andrea & Millie down from Manchester to play alongside Ben UFO, Sigha and more.

£7 advance tickets, more on the door.

Facebook Event // Tickets (RA)

Link:
www.myspace.com/colonyparty

PRE-ORDER: Sigha - Rawww EP [Hotflush Two]

On the evidence of his latest plate for Paul Rose’s Hotflush imprint, and recent collaborative effort with Spherix, Sigha is fast becoming London’s answer to dub-techno pioneers Basic Channel. Like Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, he seems to revel in creating wide-open spaces within his tracks that allow each individual element to breathe independently of the whole. The result is to draw emphasis to every minute change in rhythm or melody, creating a sense of hypnotic ease that ensures each track feels far longer than its actual runtime, yet never overstays its welcome.

The title track of his ‘Rawww EP’ is a case in point: with its graceful pivots and static-drenched motion, it could have been a component of Maurizio’s M-Series, a single monochrome melody line remaining constant as the rest of the track disassembles and recreates itself over ten long minutes. It couldn’t be more ‘Berlin’ if it tried – but that fact has no bearing whatsoever on its ethereal beauty, capturing in its all-encompassing synth wash and metronomic pulse a slow and considered journey down the autobahn.

On the flipside, ‘Hold Your Heart Up To The Light’ betrays Sigha’s London roots more explicitly, driven by the slightest memory of a garage beat and echoes of syncopation buried deep in the mix. It’s essentially a mood piece – something he does well; none of the tracks on ‘Rawww’ are overtly aimed for the dancefloor, instead choosing to stand alone as microcosms of London bass music’s potential for unlocking odd feelings of nostalgia and melancholy. ‘Untitled 2’ moves further back towards techno territory, awash in delay and coated in a fine film of vinyl crackle that clings whispily to the beat before being swept away in sudden gale force currents.

Sigha’s work on ‘Rawww’ is certainly not the sort of material aimed squarely at bass connoisseurs – in fact, there is nary a rumble of percussive sub-bass throughout. Instead, its presence is used to mark out a region for the track to operate within. The results, whilst minimal and firmly head-oriented, are well worthy of investigation and careful absorption.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Now



Link:
www.myspace.com/sigha

READ: SRQ007 - A Dubstep Column For November

Get the skinny on the new 2562 LP and Peverelist's forthcoming CD plus news on new Guido, Gemmy, Headhunter, Sigha, Joy Orbison and Untold by reading this month's Sonic Router Column on The Quietus.

READ: SRQ007 - A Dubstep Column For November

SUBSCRIBE: Hotflush Podcast

Time will tell if we will post on every single episode that ever goes live but in case you missed it, the 3rd installment in the Hotflush Recordings podcast is now live.

Its mixed by label boss man Scuba.

DOWNLOAD: Scuba - Hotflush Podcast

Link:
www.hotflushrecordings.com

SUBSCRIBE: Hotflush Podcast

The 2nd highly anticipated entry in the Hotflush podcast series is here thanks to Sigha, who has taken the time to delve a bit deeper in his selection.

Essential listening for fans of the label and unknowns alike..

SUBSCRIBE: Hotflush Podcast - Sigha

Please note this ^^^ is a link to a direct download.

To subscribe go here for more options.

Link:
www.hotflushrecordings.com

EVENT: Medium & Sin City @ Cable

Medium are combining with N-Type's Sin City label for a smash down at Cable and in promotion of it Medium's own Tasha has done up a mix ahead of the event.



DOWNLOAD: Tasha - Dubstep Flex*

Tracklist:

1. Instra:mental – Tramma – Non Plus+ Dub
2. Sigha – On a strip – Hotflush
3. Joe – Grimelight – Hessle Audio
4. Ramadanman – Kablammo Eleven – Soul Jazz
5. Pangaea – Bear Witness - Hotflush
6. Joe – Rut – Hessle Audio
7. TRG – They Know (TRG Berlin Wall VIP) - Immerse
8. Ramadanman – Revenue – Hessle Dub
9. Untold – Dante - Hotflush
10. Instra:mental – Futurist – Naked Lunch
11. Kontext – Plumes (Relocate Rmx)
12. Breakage – Rain – Digital Soundboy
13. Compound One –Get Loose – Compound One
14. SP & Joker D – Future – Tempa
15. Breakage – Together – Digital Soundboy

*This mix was originally put together for Nerdbanite

Links:
http://www.myspace.com/mediumbeats

PRE-ORDER: Sigha - On The Strip/Remembrance [Hotflush Two]

Sigha’s sound is dark and understated, a little like a subtle combination of Ben Klock and Pangaea, and on the strength of this release its obvious to these ears that he makes some of the most subtle and driving dub-techno tinged dubstep around. His debut platter ‘Bruised’ b/w ‘Expansions’ was as ghostly and brooding as they come taking a swung techno groove and subtle dubbed out elements to make a true minimal dubstep crossover that was fiercely original and never sounded techno-botic or in any way clichéd. His latest offering, also on Scuba’s Hotflush Two imprint, does a whole lot more of the same.

‘On The Strip’ has those all familiar Basic Channel dub chords and puts them on a stripped back garage rhythm whose snare crackles and clips potently behind the cacophony of metalic metronome hi hats. This sound may have been done countless times over the last year or so but its Sigha’s understated and downright subterranean production that boosts him to that cut above that deserves the Hotflush stamp of approval.

The real highlight is 8 minute epic on the flip, ‘Remembrance’ rolls out breathy heart beat loops under tweaked minimal clicks and a galloping garage groove. The killer punch comes out of the darkness in the form of an almighty orchestral sounding chord drone that really shapes the progression of the beat taking the track from a eyes down meditator to an almost euphoric reach for the ceiling tiles grimacer.

Words: James Balf & Oli Marlow

Links:
www.myspace.com/sigha

EVENT: Medium w/ Ramadanman & Alix Perez

Links:
www.myspace.com/mediumbeats

::



Ramadanman has also just done the first in the series of Pipscasts - the podcast of Apple Pips Recordings.

DOWNLOAD: Ramadanman - Pipscast #1