SR Mix #76: Outboxx [Immerse]

Bristol’s Immerse Records were one of the first people to really support this site, with their label boss Kidkut providing one of our first mixes and with their output. Having released a texturally brilliant album by Kontext called Dissociate, along with a steady stream of great 12”s last year (from people like XI, Arkist, Late, Simon/off and Cloak & Dagger) their first release of 2011 comes from Outboxx, a pairing of Bristolian producers pushing a decidedly more house tempoed groove.

Jacob Martin (who also produces as Hodge - his excellent ‘Conjecture’ is out now digitally through Pollen) and Matt Lambert’s debut 12” under the moniker, ‘Kate Libby’s’ b/w ‘Bertie’s Groove,’ feels live, as if it was somewhat improvised during a particularly fruitful session. ‘Bertie’s Groove’ is overly infectious, the lush chord and bass progression splintering off into shards of pure sunshine, whilst ‘Kate Libby’s’ is more stripped back, powered by the constant shuffle of the handclap. Outboxx’s is purist house music; a little ponderous, produced with a sheen and built with a steady injection of musicality – something that doesn’t surprise when the duo’s partnership is broken down into specific roles.

With news of their second single being signed to Well Rounded’s house music offshoot, Well Rounded Housing Project, we caught up with the guys to peddle our snapshot Q&A and grab our 76th Sonic Router Mix - an extended session though likeminded grooves.

SR: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info? Whats the Ouboxx project all about?

Jake: It’s just us jamming, having some fun and making some music!

It’s more straight up house music. Is that something you’ve always been interested in? Are you influenced by certain producers or tracks?

Jake: Yeah we are. Loads of them. We’re generally influenced by music that sounds kinda raw and crackly… lots of 80s funk, garage and house music...

You are a duo. How does the partnership work in the studio?

Matt : I’m on the keys...

Jake: I’m on the computer making the beats, the partnership works well – it’s fun. We basically just jam...

I know you producer other stuff under different names but how did you first get into making this kind of music? What was it that infected you to do so?

Jake : When we make music we don’t really have an idea or direction at first, just jam for a while and see what happens. We both are really into a wide range of music and what we are making is a result of that.

Matt : I’ve played keys for more than 10 years on and off and been in a few funk bands and am interested to keep up that side of things as well but I’m getting more and more into electronic/dance music by the day. I’m influenced by people like Benji B, Gilles Peterson – People that generally play good music.

What’s your production set up like?

Jake: The set up is Matt’s Nord, some AKG mics, a R-09hr and Cubase. The hand held recorder is really important as it enables us to use field recordings; the voice in Kate Libby’s is a recording of shouting at a fireworks display. The keys on the tracks are all audio, no midi, we generally try and just get one takes from Matt to give the music a natural feel.



You’re Bristol based. The city has a shining reputation for dubstep/bass music in general, how is the house scene down there? Is it something you go out to a lot?

Jake: It seems the genres are really blending in Bristol, currently when going out you end up hearing a mix of genres which is what we love. There’s always something exciting going on in Bristol, for example this weekend we went down and saw 2562 play in the Idle Hands record store which was amazing, such a great, intimate atmosphere.

Immerse has often represented more of a dancefloor edge, but with releases like the Kontext album, it put itself into slower, more introspective territories. What’s it like to have your first tune out with them?

Jake: Its real cool, Adam Kidkut is a great guy and its nice putting out our first tune through friends in Bristol…. that just kinda makes sense to us. Immerse has some really exciting stuff emerging from less established producers, definitely a label to watch.

And the follow up is on the Well Rounded Housing Project. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Jake: The follow up is two tunes rooted in house music but also a slower hip hop track (‘Brighten My Day’) with Naomi Jeremy which kinda rounds off the release nicely for us. Its great being able to put out what we want with no restrictions on style, Donga is real open minded like that.

Anything else forthcoming?
Jake: Not as of yet, we have a few tunes that we have only just finished so time will tell I guess...

Tell us a little bit about the mix you’ve put together for us…

Jake: The mix is just tunes we are loving at the moment, it ran over an hour and it could have gone on for a lot longer. The mix starts out with some of the slower hip hop stuff we are really feeling and moves into house music. The Behling & Simpson and Portrait guys are ones to watch out for, loving their music... the new Appleblim & October Schmorgasbord release is a killer collaboration. Oh and had to put in the Andy Mac and Kidkut + Arkist tracks. Big big tunes!

Any words of wisdom, for our readers?

Matt : Jakes alright really.

Jake : Don’t try and take a photo with Matt. Ever.

::

DOWNLOAD: Outboxx – Sonic Router Mix #76



Tracklist:

Outboxx - Brighten my day (forthcoming Well Rounded Housing Project)
Sesped - Bastards (forthcoming Pollen)
Deft - Blade Runner Blues (unreleased)
Rob Hindle - Buenos Aires 2am read by Jonathan Tafler (LateNightTales)
Grooveman Spot - Going On (Jazzy Sport)
Portrait - Moving on (forthcoming Well Rounded Housing Project)
Anthony Shakir - Detroit State (Space Dimension Controller Remix) (Rush Hour)
Outboxx - Kate Libby (Immerse)
Chez Damier - Soul Minimal (Mojuba)
Outboxx - Bertie's Groove (Immerse)
Behling and simpson - Politics (unreleased)
Kidkut + Arkist - One Year Later (forthcoming Hot Flush
October & Appleblim - NY Fizzzzzz (forthcoming Smorgasbord)
Kowton - She Don't Jack (Idle Hands)
Andy Mac - Asteroid (forthcoming Punch Drunk)
Gerry Read - Untitled (forthcoming Fourth Wave)
Bakey Ustl - A Tender Place (Unthank)
Vessel - Glitter (unreleased)
Mean Poppa Lean - Personality (Leon remix) (forthcoming Well Rounded Housing Project)
Outboxx -Falling Apart ft Naomi Jeremy (unreleased)
Domu - Save it ft Face (Tru Thoughts)

PRE-ORDER: Late - Phantom Papers [Immerse]

Over the last couple of years, the resurgence of garage beats in post-dubstep music (owed at least in part, I suppose, to Burial’s wake) has fuelled my own speculation as to just why they are capable of sounding so haunted. It seems like a strange fate, in a way, for beats normally associated with the sexy flex of turn-of-the-millennium two-step to be co-opted by a new generation of producers using them to denote loneliness and melancholy. I suppose the clue’s in their construction really; a two-step beat is already a skeleton of the past, with the excesses of earlier rave musics trimmed away to leave only the bare essentials needed to make bodies move. When further displaced from an obvious dancefloor context, the minute snags and slippages in the rhythm of a swung beat leave space for the mind to fill in those gaps with personal and shared memories.

Since Burial showed that the form could have real emotional resonance away from the floor, a whole host of producers have been following in similar footsteps by carving out distinct sounds. Scuba’s achingly sad ‘Negative’ might well be the best of them so far, but Finnish producer Late’s new double pack for Immerse, the Phantom Papers EP, offers yet another angle. His sound, especially on lead track ‘Losing You,’ is undoubtedly in debt to Burial, but it would be a mark of journalistic laziness to pin it down as mere copyism. Instead it’s filled with a dubbed out sense of space that’s more Berlin than London; the beat itself seems to hang in a void, sending ripples outward through its structure as it moves.

Elsewhere, the undulating, uber-percussive ‘Bittersweet’ sounds a little like a Hessle Audio track, if the label’s crisp ‘n’ dry aesthetic was shorn of its edges and heard through an underwater loudspeaker. ‘Under These Conditions’ has a similar aquatic feel, and proves to be the EP’s highlight, an opening vocal section holding back for the delayed payoff of a beautifully simple, canned synth melody. The title track, meanwhile, drops the tempo and crafts a beautifully delicate piece of hip-hop, its expansive reverb leaving it a wraith in a sea of sound. As an EP, Phantom Papers holds together admirably, fitting neatly into the Immerse label’s more considered aesthetic but also striking out in surprisingly affecting directions.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: 28th June



Links:
www.myspace.com/llate
www.immerserecords.com

INTERVIEW: Simon/off [Haunted Audio]

After a relatively low key release on US label, Haunted Audio, we were taken aback by the intricate drum work of Austrian producer Simon/off. Delving deeper into his world we found fans in the Immerse and Surface Tension imprints and somewhere along the line we located a tough as over cooked lamb recording of one of his live sets that's had repeated spins at SR HQ.

With a new EP for the Haunted label just out and numerous other projects bubbling we felt it was time to reel him in for a pop quiz.

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

Simon/off: My name is Simon, I'm 32 years old, living in Austria/Graz (which is the 2nd biggest city). I've been making music and DJing for quite a while.

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

I consider myself as a chilled, down to earth person. I'm working part time in an art association/gallery, so I still have enough time for music...

How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?

I started as a young kid experimenting with tape decks, microphones and keyboards together with my younger brothers. There was no certain moment where I decided to start making music... it just came very naturally. There were a few years during high school when I was too stressed to keep on with it. Then I got a tracker program when I was 17 and from that moment on my old passion was back. Around that same time I went to my first rave parties. Jungle hit me hard and I got obsessed with it. I started buying records, DJing, working in a record shop; kind of a that classic way.

What’s your production set up like? What’s your favourite bit of kit in the studio?

For production I´m using basically an almost 6 year old laptop which crashes like 2 times a day .. haha. No midi keyboard, no nothing, just a mixer and monitors and decks for sampling. Over the years, I've collected some gear though but I'm currently not using it. Maybe the analog days will come back one day.

When playing my live-sets I remix/arrange my tunes with Ableton and some analog guitar fx and an Akai mpd24.

Where do you take inspiration from when making music?

Sometimes it really feels the other way around. Like music is inspiring my life or maybe it is more like a daily routine; but in a good way. And it's also a catalyst of what is happening around me; it helps to transcend daily life and impressions to another level... if that makes sense?

I just could not imagine living without music.

How would you describe your sound? You seem to take a few pointers from the 2562 school of rhythm construction...

I really like what he does, especially with his A Made Up Sound moniker but my influences go back to early broken beat stuff (before it became too jazzy): Nubian Mindz, 2000 Black, Bitasweet, Archive. 70s german pre-electro, 60/70s Jazz, early Rephlex and Warp days and way more... So basically it's a big old mix up.


Simon/off - Something In The Way (Unreleased)

How’s the scene over in Austria? Does the place inspire you musically?

Most of the time it's really good over here, we have some highly motivated promoters with good taste who are trying to push fresh sounds... Good venues with good systems and there are 2 big festivals in my home town alone (Elevate and Spring). The crowd is open-minded, no crews fight against each other etc. I can't say how my environment is directly inspiring my music because that's maybe more an unconscious thing. I have a few lovely people around with whom I can share my musical thoughts and that's important I guess.

You’re in a group Winterstrand right? Tell us a little bit about that if you wish...

Winterstrand is my 2 brothers and me... its melodic listening electronic; sometimes a bit folky sometimes dubby, sometimes dark... We are kinda trying to keep up with the somehow naive approach we had back in our childhood. So it's about not too much thinking, it’s just about playing and about melodies. We made like tons of music, we still have tapes from when I was 8. Around 2004 we started to release on various (Net)labels, mostly free and downloadable.

We did 3 albums and some remixes and compilations in the past years but we've been a bit lazy lately. Check http://winterstrand.net for links and downloads and some info. The whole Netlabel thing also lead me to a solo-release on Martsman's Label Plainaudio and that helped me being more confident with what I'm doing without my brothers.

What music are you feeling right now from inside and outside the scene?

I'm still haunting a lot of Broken Beat/West London stuff. The production level from that era is just awesome and this sound fits just perfectly into my sets right now. Some of the big labels like Hessle, Hyperdub, Immerse, Hemlock, Tectonic and some others are just bringing out a ridiculous amount of good music. The Blunted Robots/Night Slugs/Berkane Sol/strange sort of funky universe is amazing as well. And recently I got this Tek9 double 12" from 94´ called ‘Jus A Likkle Sumting’ – killer!

I’m not mentioning the non-dancefloor stuff… I'm buying King Tubby as always! And lately I checked again the soul/funk section of my record collection: Curtis Mayfield, Gil Scot Herron are true heroes!

You’ve had a couple of releases on the Haunted Audio label from the US. Tell us a little bit about how you linked with them? And can you take us through what you’ve had out to date?

They simply contacted me through the Sub.fm chat and asked if I wanted to do something with them. Altogether, sending tunes, signing and releasing ‘Think for Yourself’ b/w ‘Realize it’ (HAR101) happened within a couple of weeks. It's really a pleasure to work with them as they are open-minded, passionate, supportive and just honest and straight peeps. Out now is the ‘Resist EP’ (HAR110) which contains 3 tracks from my more minimal and techy side to 808 bass driven half-time stuff. Another tune called ‘Dread Control’ should be out soon as well.

Buy people buy!!! The rent is due. Haha :D

What's coming up for you in the rest of 2010?

I have a 12" forthcoming on Immerse, another 12" & a digital release on Surface Tension plus some tunes on Paradise Lost, Laridae and probably more on Haunted Audio. Out now is the second part of the Echodub Loves… compilation with one of my tracks called ‘Trip to Luca.’

After taking a little break from playing live this winter I should be back on track with live gigs in the 2nd half of this year. Meanwhile I'm DJing in and around Austria. Next dates are on the 23rd with Ark and 30th of April with Ben UFO at Disko404 in Graz.

Can you tell us a little bit about your mix... what tracks just had to be in there and how do you think it compares to your club sets?

When DJing in clubs I play vinyl only so this mix is more of a showcase of (digital) stuff I got sent by friends, some of my own stuff and tunes I stumbled across on the web. I’m also pushing some of the Austrians here... especially IZC who with his Dubsquare label is releasing some great music right now. Sound wise its comes quite close to an usual DJ set; some funky influence, some broken beat, some weirdo-style, some minimalistic 2 steppy stuff, some Techno + a few anthems ;)

Any words of wisdom for our readers?

Hahaha... I somehow mistrust wisdom spread on blogs so I’ll keep my mouth shut. Book me, pay me a drink and maybe I will then share some wisdom with you. ;)

::

DOWNLOAD: Simon/off – Sonic Router Mix



Tracklist:

01 Fontarrian - Snow (myspace.com/fontarrian)
02 D.Hafner - Tole Numerique (unreleased)
03 Simon/off - Niger Delta (unreleased)
04 Tri Funk - 689.20 (Anti Social forthcoming)
05 Wahoo - Make Them Shake - HxdB Bootstep Rmx (soundcloud.com/hexadecibel)
06 Simon/off - Exit Space (Surface Tension forthcoming)
07 Pacheko & Pocz - Cohete (Shockout forthcoming)
08 Seiji - Rumpus (seiji.co.uk)
09 Lurka - Cairo (unreleased)
10 Simon/off - No Pills (Immerse forthcoming)
11 Simon/off - Cloudy Dub (unreleased)
12 Luthor - Diamond Cutter (Haunted Audio)
13 Ca.tter - Waiting for the Sun (Unreleased)
14 El Rakkas - Extremly Cheap and Effective (Dubsquare forthcoming)
15 Ca.tter - Babypolitics (Dubsquare forthcoming)
16 Lurka - Robots (unreleased)
17 Simon/off - In Circles (unreleased)
18 Duncan Powell - Pushing (2nd Drop forthcoming)

Links:
www.myspace.com/simonoff
www.soundcloud.com/simon-off
www.hauntedaudio.com

RECOMMENDED: Kontext - Dissociate [Immerse]

"Kontext is set to perplex the world with his album project 'Dissociate' on Bristol’s Immerse imprint. Famed for its more drum-funk heavy productions from players like XI, TRG and October, the label is treading out into a new format with one of its most treasured producers at the helm. Steering his work through militant bass loaded kick drums and shimmering swathes of echoed synthesizer, the Russian producer–who incidentally just upped a free EP here – coats his work in completely fluent bass frequencies, using flicks of noise and glitches for his percussion. Consequently sharing more similarities with people like dBridge & Instra:mental than any of his dub techno brethren." - SRURB003



Link:
www.myspace.com/kontextkontext
www.immerserecords.com

DOWNLOAD: Furesshu - Milennia

Hailing from Bristol, Furesshu, has been in our peripheral vision for a while now; probably due to his role running the Seasonfive nights in Bristol, and his position on the flyers with a bunch of the scene's leading lights. After a 12” popped up on the newly minted Project Squared label – a subsidiary of Project Mooncircle – recently, he hit us up touting his wares.

Coming from the deep end of the spectrum echoing shards of sharp edged chords particularly fluently, he’s offering Sonic Router readers the chance to bag his ‘Milennia’ track for free…

“I first got into producing music about 3/4 years ago, messing around on Reason with a Mac at Uni,” he informs us. “The sound of Bristol's take on dubstep was very inspiring factor for me to start my own productions...”



“After releasing digital only on the net label Echodub, my debut vinyl release on Project Squared has just dropped which I'm really excited about, I was really happy to hear Marcel Dettmann playing my track ‘Untitled’ from the Project Squared 12" recently at Bloc Weekend. Asusu has done a remix of ‘Horizons’ which is forthcoming on Immerse and later in the year I will be dropping something else on Project Squared. In my spare time I'm writing more music in my bedroom studio and saving up for some kit to go in it. I have also recently recorded a mix to promote the release which is available for download through my soundcloud; it was also featured on Super Ultra Mega's Podcast.”

DOWNLOAD: Furesshu – Milennia



You can catch Furesshu at “Bristol's premiere techno night” under_score in April, MIMM in Nottingham in early May and Monochrome, also in Bristol, at the end of May.

Link:
www.myspace.com/furesshubeats

DOWNLOAD: Kontext - Acid Pasta EP

Ahead of his debut artist album, 'Dissociate,' dropping next month of the Bristol birthed Immerse imprint, Kontext has put together a free EP of older material.

Cue gumpf: "'Acid Pasta EP' is not a brand new piece of work. It's a best part of personal skill improvement I worked on at home studio in years 2005-2006. I wanted to find out if I could create something totally different from drum'n'bass and downtempo that I used to produce then. Something more about minimal 4x4 techno/house kinds of music.

Archive also includes some previews from my forthcoming Dissociate LP on Immerse Records (official release date: 26th of March 2010)"

DOWNLOAD: Kontext - Acid Pasta EP

Link:
www.myspace.com/kontextkontext

PRE-ORDER: XI - Light FM/Glass [Formant] & 000/Slippin’ [Immerse]

If there’s a problem inherent in any producer attempting to pull off a variety of different moods, it’s the danger of watering down through lack of focus. With the release of his latest two 12”s, Toronto native XI neatly manages to sidestep any such issues, marking himself out as impressively eclectic in style. Across two plates for Formant and Immerse, his music flits as though weightless between icy broken beat, two-step and austere techno, leaving a frosty tundra landscape punctuated by sudden shards of warmth and emotion. It’s appropriately chill for its Canadian origins.

Of the two 12”s, the Formant release is warmer in tone. The wispy drama and skittery percussion of ‘Glass’ recall the more abstract moments of 2562’s ‘Unbalance’ album, and ‘Light FM’ sends glacial chimes rippling through an ascend-descend bass melody that never really takes any drastically different trajectory - instead exploring every permutation before dissipating. Appropriate to the label’s output, which tends towards dark, percussive minimalism, his Immerse 12” further relegates melody to a supporting role, barely making an appearance at all in the sub, voice and drum battle of ‘000.’ 'Slippin' on the flip is another slice of particularly delectable ghostly garage, joining the ranks of an ever-swelling sub-genre that manages to encompass (amongst others) Burial, recent work by Instra:mental and Scuba, and Clubroot’s aquatic ambience. It’s also probably the best – and most dancefloor-ready - of the four tracks here, underpinned by razor-sharp, hard-panned hi-hats and a techy two-step flex.

Regardless of their relative energy levels, the common trait running through all four tracks is a deliciously palpable tension between XI’s complex, spiraling drum patterns and their backdrop of swelling, oceanic ambience – leaving his music suspended in some tranquil vacuum between waking and dream. The overall effect is oddly disconcerting, neither entirely dance-immediate nor calm enough for comfortable headphone listens, but all the better for it.

Words: Rory Gibb
Out: Shortly/Soon

Link:
www.myspace.com/xidubs

INTERVIEW: XI [Immerse/Formant]

Sonic Router is incredibly proud to be able to present the first exclusive mix of 2010 from Candian producer, XI. With music forthcoming on a multitude of labels and a multitude of production styles, we first got wind of him through his forthcoming, ‘000’ 12” on Immerse Records. With a percussion heavy style his music has all the energy of the garage, funky hybrid perpetuating the airwaves but manages to retain some of those simple sine wave step hallmarks that first struck a chord with our ears back when.

After hearing more of his music thanks to another 12” on Formant, we reached out and touched our keypads, pinned XI down to an AIM username and shot him a few questions so we could learn ourselves a little something.

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

XI: Sure, my name’s Christian, been producing beats since the turn of the millennium, got seriously into dubstep late in ’05. Started out doing experimental and moved to jungle early on. Always been an electronic music fan, also grew up on a lot of abstract hip-hop and metal from the 90s. Been DJing clubs since the age of 16, went to recording school at 19, and it’s been a wrap ever since.

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

Music takes up a massive portion of my daily life, between playing shows, working on music by myself or with friends, working at local record store Slinky Music, or doing mix-downs for friend’s bands/projects; there is really only time for a few things. I like to collect comic books and trades, and was a competitive video game player for a bit, but those days are pretty well over.

How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?

Hearing artists like Aphex Twin, DJ Shadow, and Photek made me do a 180. I was totally captivated by the artist’s sonic palette and become obsessed with figuring out how to mimic the sounds and arrangements I was hearing. I copped a free version of Fruity Loops and started having more fun than I’d ever had doing anything. Ever.

What’s your production set up like?

I like to keep it minimal; I run a small basement studio with a Novation Xio Synth, and an MPD32 for control/performance. Aside from that I do a huge amount of my work inside Ableton Live.

How would you describe your sound to someone zoning in for the first time?

Manic depressive.



Whats the deal behind the XI moniker?

For a good while I was producing jungle under the name “35k” but was also making a good bit of experimental breaks, 2-step and hip hop. I wanted to have a different name for that project so I took the first 2 letters of my name’s short-form (“Xian”) = XI.

What first brought you to the dubstep sound? What inspires you musically?

The versatility was easily one of the biggest draws for me. Each producer in the early days of the sound came with a unique style, but no matter how they differed, they all fell under this one BPM umbrella. I personally thought it sounded like the drum & bass I loved turned into crunk (which I also loved). This fusion of UK music and hip-hop totally piqued my interest, and has definitely had an influence on how I make my beats to this day.

From the feel of your forthcoming 12”s on Immerse and Formant, you’ve got a keen interest in percussion. Is that your main focus when you start making a track...?

I almost always start with drums. I played drums in various bands though my younger days, so rhythm has always been a sticking point with me. For me a track can be little more than a complex drum pattern and bassline, with one or two other sounds accompanying it.

What’s the scene like in Toronto? Is it a healthy place musically? Who’s representing, other than yourself, the out there?

Toronto is doing its own thing, I haven’t really been to any other city like it in terms of the community. I wouldn’t say it’s the most healthy musical environment, but the tools for artists to progress are here. There is a lot of talent in T.O such as producers Bombaman, Egyptrixx, and the boys from Zed’s Dead have sent me some very impressive stuff. We have tons of talented DJs as well. The scope here among some promotional outfits seems to be a bit limited, but I’ve always been doing my own thing, I think that’s the only way to keep going around here. I’ve taken back up promotion as well, kicking off the year by bringing NYC’s Falty DL to town on the 21st of January.

Do you find it hard to keep up?

I suppose that comes down to your definition of keeping up. These days there are so many new artists, so much new music, and legions of new fans of the music. I just keep my head down and trawl around for the stuff I like. I’m finding right now to be one of the most exciting times in music ever in my life, so in keeping up with stuff that makes me excited, no, I wouldn’t say it’s hard, though it does take some effort.

I see you work with Bombaman as Loetech. How did you two hook up and what makes the project different from your tracks as XI?

Bombaman and I started producing experimental hip-hop and jungle together many years ago. We met through a mutual friend around 2002. Being that we are basically the same person it is very easy for us to throw down in the studio together. The way our collabs differ from my solo production is that Bomba’s more party and dancefloor driven attitude plays off of my braindance-y complex arrangements, forming something uniquely intelligent, energetic and groovy.

You’ve also got the Ultragamma project, which feels more hip-hop influenced, judging by a quick listen and your mix tracklist for the CC 001 mixtape. Tell us a little about that one?

Ultragamma is another solo-project I’m working on. It started a couple years back in much the same way XI did, just dabbling around with some other styles under a pseudonym. I actually love working on this kind of stuff, I never really intended for anyone to hear it so I was free to just do whatever I wanted, the main point originally being to create a more tweaky sound palette for my dubstep productions, but after a couple people heard the beats I got the notion I was on to something a little more important.



What up and coming releases have you got coming out?

I’ve got several XI plates dropping early this year, ‘000’ on Immerse Recordings out of Bristol, ‘Light FM’ on Texas label Formant Recordings, my collab with DJG, ‘Putney Says,’ on Surefire Sound out of SF and ‘The Ghost’ b/w the Headhunter remix on Orca out of London.

I haven’t started working on releasing any of the Ultragamma stuff, and am not in any particular hurry to.

Since 2010 is the most futuristic sounding date since the year 2000, have you got any future forward predictions for the year ahead?

Given the current climate I wouldn’t be surprised to see a total blurring between underground and overground styles. Not just in music, but in culture in general. People are takin’ it back this decade.

Can you tell us a little about the mix you’ve done for us and how it came together?

I wanted to do a bit of a producer showcase, to give your readers an idea of my production spectrum. As I stated earlier, I love versatility in music and try to keep my style varied and interesting, so for this I decided to start off on the lighter side of things and work my way into some of my more slammin’ work.

Have you got any words of wisdom for our readers?

You literally get out what you put in.

::

DOWNLOAD: XI – Sonic Router Mix



Tracklist:

01. XI - Unfair [dub]
02. XI - The Ghost [Orca]
03. XI - 000 [Immerse]
04. XI - Drip [Surface Tension]
05. Ludwig Coenen - Green Movement (XI remix) [Thoughtless]
06. XI - Light FM [Formant]
07. Tri-Funk - 620 [dub]
08. Thrills - Go (XI & DZ remix) [dub]
09. XI - Dreaming Void [Surface Tension]
10. XI & DJG - Putney Says [Surefire]
11. XI - Zurich [dub]
12. Egyptrixx - Just Say Really (XI remix) [Idiot House]
13. Starkey - Murderous Words (XI remix) [dub]
14. XI - Vacuum [dub]
15. XI - Luck Dragon [dub]
16. Dials - SEF [dub]
17. Rustie - Bad Science [Wireblock]
18. Loetech - Base [dub]
19. XI - Genesis [dub]
20. Swarms - Shiver (Ashburner remix) [For the Win]

Link:
www.myspace.com/xidubs
www.myspace.com/ultragamma

Photos: Kelly Koehler