On the hunt for a new summer sexy jam? Look no further than Mutated Forms’ super-slinky 86BPM groove Tiny Little Pieces.
Released on Total Science’s CIA (and remixed by the label head honchos themselves) it began as a track with Jenna G but now features the honey-toned vocal skills of Tali. If you’re looking to zone your floor out into serious ‘smooch mode’ then Tiny Little Pieces will definitely fit the bill.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQKxZ174KaA
With another big track forthcoming on Hospital’s next Hospitality compilation and a whole load of big projects for the near future we grabbed Artjom and Zub for a cheeky Drum&BassArenaBlog mix, a chat about how they work, what’ve got coming up and how they feel about lame YouTube comments…
How are things going at Mutated Forms HQ?
All good, thanks. Busy times ahead!
Are you chatting to me from Estonia or the UK? I’m unsure if you’ve relocated over here or not…
It’s very confusing, I know! We all live in different places. Artjom is in Birmingham, Zub is in London and Alex is in Tallinn, Estonia. I keep being asked “so where are you guys actually based?”, “how many of you are there in Mutated Forms. There’s two of you, right? Or is it just you?” Thanks to modern technology it’s not that big a deal for us though!
Okay, for those who moved over here, how are you finding it?
Artjom: I moved here back in 2007 to do a university course, which was the result of keeping a drunk promise I made to an ex-girlfriend. I like it a lot, I think you kind of have to be in the UK to have a chance to get somewhere in music, really. I’ve got a love/hate relationship in Birmingham though, but it’s grown on me thanks to the amazing people I’ve met here.
Zub: I moved to London one and a half years ago. I’ve got to say it is quite challenging and the lifestyle is completely different to the way it was in Estonia. But I do really enjoy it as the main reason for the move was music and everything is happening here. So I can’t complain really.
How does it work with three of you in the studio, do you all fulfill special roles within the production process?
Artjom: Me and Zub share our Ableton Live projects on a dropbox folder, which is a really easy, pain-free process. A lot of duos actually prefer collaborating like that rather than sitting in the studio together arguing about everything. There are exceptions when we’re both in the same room working on a track, but mainly it’s dropbox.
We both jump in on every aspect of the tune. But in the end lately I end up doing most of the mixing down, whereas Zub is the trusted person with the keys and chords and sampling vocals etc… But it’s not all black and white with us.
Many arguments?
Of course, each one of us has his own vision, both with the sound and all kinds of decisions. I doubt there’s a duo or trio out there that never argue over their sound. Most of the time we manage to compromise though.
Let’s chat about Tiny Little Pieces – a proper end-of-night sexy jam, yes?
Artjom: The funny thing about Tiny Little Pieces is that originally, the track (without Tali’s vocals) was produced years ago and was called “Touch My” (a few people might have heard it in one of our Nu Forms podcasts) The problem with the track was a vocal sample we have used in it so we got vocals recorded for it. Believe it or not, we still have a version of it with Jenna G’s vocals over it – she’s an amazing vocalist and the idea for the track was great, but we’ve had to scrap it because of how bad the recording was.
Later that year (2011) I was touring New Zealand with MC Tali and I asked if she’d be up for doing a track together again as we’d already worked on a version of our old track Blue Magic. I played her Touch My. She loved it and it became Tiny Little Pieces.
And to answer your question – yes, I suppose you could call it baby making music!
Like Wastegash it’s got that funky halfstep vibe – is that the flavour you’re feeling at the moment?
I wouldn’t compare it to Wastegash personally, but yes we have been mainly making 85-90 bpm halftime music these last 12 months or so. We’re looking forward to dealing with a lot of hate from the drum & bass purists and our old raw audience 🙂
Yeah, sadly it seems to attract heaps of lame youtube comments about the whole D&B/halfstep argument… Do you ever read that rubbish? Do you even care?
Hahah, yeah… It was more than expected. Especially seeing as the track ended up on UKF Drum & Bass and not UKF Music.
I personally couldn’t care less about the whole subgenre/genre bollocks, it limits your creativity as an artist and demotivates other producers from trying to be original. When we make music we sit down and go with the flow, I don’t care what you class what comes out of it as.
The track is 86 bpm, so you could theoretically call it halftime drum & bass… but really, the only thing D&B about it is the tempo. It could have just as well been a song on the radio that had nothing to do with drum & bass.
Most artists have to deal with a lot of hate from the old fanbase when they decide to radically change their sound. Look at Alix Perez with his new album – it’s an amazing release that has left a lot of unhappy kids on youtube, haha.
What do you think of Total Science’s remix? Must be an honour being reworked by the label bosses themselves….
Total Science are one of the names that got us into drum & bass, so both releasing music on their label and having our track remixed by them is an honour. I think they did a sterling job on the remix, completely changed the vibe.
You’ve also got a track on the next Hospital compilation, too, right?
Yeah we did a track called Abandoned, which is on this new 86-90 flex. It’s coming out on the 3rd of July as part of Hospitality Summer 2013 compilation. It is now the third track we did for their camp and it’s always great to work with them.
You’ve worked with Jenna G, now Tali… Two of the biggest vocalists in town. Who else is on your hit list?
I’m not sure if we have a hit list, but it would be great to work with Robert Manos on a tune, which will hopefully happen quite soon. I’d be more interested to work with MCs from the hip-hop world and generally people from outside of the drum & bass circle.
What’s popping this summer for you guys?
After our releases on CIA and Hospital we’re in the process of wrapping up a five track EP for Pilot, which we’re really excited about. We’re also waiting for the final remix to be finished for the Wastegash remixes EP on Grid as well. We can’t wait to get that out. We’re in the process of signing another single to a record label we haven’t worked with before, but can’t give too much information away before it gets confirmed. We’re also planning to give some music away for free soon too! I don’t think I can talk about the other projects just yet.
Two more questions… First: what’s the most mutated thing you’ve ever heard or seen?
Zub: Just Google “Gopniki”.
Oof! Scary. Final one now: Tell us one thing about yourselves you’ve never told in an interview before…
Zub: I hate crowded places and noise… Unless the noise is good music!
Artjom: Ironically, I’d have to agree. It must be a bizarre fact given our DJ/Producer status, but I often find myself quite uncomfortable at raves. As a punter, especially at bigger nights. I much prefer small intimate gigs. When we’re going out to a big rave my two favourite parts of the night are the pre-drinks and the after party.
