The Warehouse Project was pretty cool. M: We were learning a lot. We had vocalist, a tour manager and sound guy during the first tour. We wrote a lot of instrumental music this time round. I can completely imagine the album working in a live set up for sure. And so with that knowledge we definitely tried to put that into practice when writing this new album.
M: Functionally not so functional in a way. One of the interesting things about releasing an album is to see other DJs playing your music out and how other people fit your music into their own context. Quite an eye-opening thing. Because you never know how people are going to react. Are there any standouts on the album for you? T: I was thinking about this the other day if I have a favourite track. One thing for example. In The Walker. That probably took the least amount of time to create out of every other track on the album.
There was a lot of energy and the pace at which we got it all down and finished was just really quick in comparison to usual. What are you guys using to create your music. What are the biggest changes which have resulted in the sound you have now. M: We started with VSTs and slowly over the years built up bits and bobs.
We invested after the last album and touring. Picked up a few bits. With the knowledge of working from the computer we just kind of got this set up where we were running everything in sync with a clock coming out of the computer. And then syncing that with all the other step-sequencers. We were also using an iPad a lot to sequence our hardware synths. Just because the touchscreen was very tactile.
A lot of randomised functions. We were trying out a loads of different approaches really. Then when you have that little concept you can start building up the track. We got the Elektron Analogue Keys which is a fucking insane piece of gear. The sounds you make with that are just mad. We were using MPCs for drums. We usually start with those and then re-write them afterwards.
T: Helps the whole jamming process really. Trying to find the right sound and then the right sequence then we might throw some drums in. Matt has got a Nord drum so we might experiment with the different drum sounds we can get out of that. It really varies. M: Every track is totally unique. We take each one as its own thing. What things influenced you in the creation of this album? There was this one location in Essex close to where my dad lives that we ended up really focusing on.
Me and Matt went down there together exploring the area. Also taking the guy who did the artwork for the album Harry taking him with us so he could get inspired from the area as well. M: We tried to try a new approach.
At the beginning of the album phase we were talking a lot about how we wanted to approach this one. Not just aimless jamming in the studio and trying to gel all the tracks together. There was this one photo that Tom brought one day to the studio that grabbed our attention. Had a really nice, ominous feeling to it. Just felt right to write a track to that. Tom had taken a photo of this tower in Berlin called Teufelsberg towers which the track Domes is based around.
We found some field recordings of sounds that had been recorded inside these towers which we then brought into the track. Then there was the track Angels. I was in Morocco gathering field recordings and brought them into the track.
For me. I really like Domes. My favourite out of the 9. I really like the drums in it. It has a real funk. A real groove to it that I imagine people responding to really well. So you brought the echoes and sounds within the silos into it? M: A guy recorded some like dropping objects inside this dome. Which has this amazing natural reverb. I would have loved to have gone there physically and recorded some sounds in there. This guy Richard Devine. Check him out. He goes around recording sounds in amazing spaces.
I really like the way people do that. He just goes out into mountains and shit with the full set up and gear on. Another friend of mine up North she took the sound of something bumping against her watch and modified and looped it into a drum beat. M: Everyone has the same sample packs, with the same kicks and snares.
Trying to bring and layer in these other sounds makes it more appealing and interesting. The way you can modulate sound now as well. The opportunities are endless really. Have you always been photographers or something you got into more recently? How did that relationship develop and build? We have full reign and control which is a rare blessing.
T: The relationship started when we released on their other label 50 Weapons. Pulled out a couple of EPs. And we just started sending them tracks. Monkeytown is great. Moderat is definitely one of my favourites in terms of production. And seeing him live was fucking amazing. M: Someone I saw that smashed the live show was Picasso Mosay. The way he operates it is just sick. What have you got in store for the new show? The Elektron Octotrack is the back burner of the show now. It seems to be working for us.
The plan is to start off with maybe 10 tracks. That kind of stuff. T: With the last show we all had more defined roles. Matt would be playing drums on every track, I was doing basslines for every track and Carlo the ex-member was running all the top lines. So on one track I might be triggering drums in and Matt might be playing the bassline then it will flip on the next track.
So on and so forth. It makes it more interesting for both of us and has brought a lot more energy to our performance. We get to jump between different pieces of gear instead of just standing in one place playing one thing the whole time. It adds to the whole experience for the consumer. When are you launching the tour? Have you got any dates set yet or is it all in the works at the moment so to speak?
We have a live show this week in Hamburg. The tour is still all in development. I always like meeting the artists I chat to in person and maintaining those relationships over time. Is there anything else you want to talk about on the album? M: There was one track that was written at the very beginning of the whole process which ended up getting cut from the final running order. That was early on before we had a clear concept with the images. It was in our minds.
The sound we wanted to create. I feel that the 9 tracks that we chose have flow. That was something we were very conscious about. Not dragging on too long. Everything having its purpose. As a listener. Getting into the mind of the artist. What they were experiencing, feeling. All of those influences comes together on an album which is the pinnacle of the creative process. You must be looking forward to the tour…out of the studio. You spend so much time in the studio.
Like you were saying. I love seeing other people playing our music. Or hearing about DJs playing out stuff. Domes took forever to make in comparison to The Walker. Good God. Domes for me is my favourite. It brought me back to one of the first tracks I heard of yours.
This was at university back in called Something To Lose. That song has got the breaks heavy driving force drums. But what I did remember was the image associated with that song which was a girl reaching for a red balloon with a blue sky in the background.
A complete contrast to the stuff on your current album. We made some great tracks but we were just emulating our heroes or what we were hearing at the time. I have some friends called Toyboy and Robin who you may have heard of and they said something similar that the hardest thing to do as an artist is to take those influences which you may have had for years and turn it into your own original work.
M: One thing we were conscious of during the process was to not listen to anything that was coming out at the time. I made sure I did not listen to anything that was coming out in the months that we were writing the album I was avoiding. Not even clicking play. It must have been very difficult. M: There are so many other ways to be inspired though. One of my favourite things is and I could do this forever. T: No disrespect to everyone else doing their thing but I think British dance music stands out the most for me because everyone involved in the scene here is really trying to push boundaries.
I also feel that people in the UK are doing it for the right reasons. If you had to name one homegrown rising star, other than yourselves of course, who would you tip for the top? At the end of the day, I think our inspiration mainly comes from the enjoyment of trying to write new music whilst maintaining our sound. What do you think is the British dance music national anthem at the moment? Something will be in the top 5 then fall off pretty quickly.
With Radio 1 having championed dance music for so many years, and Danny Howard now being a key part of that team, do you feel that dance music is now much more accessible to all generations? Once daytime radio is playing tracks it brings it to a much wider audience.
R: I have an English degree but that was never something I was going to venture into. What is your most treasured piece of tech kit?
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