Satl has been on a mad mission lately… When he’s not smashing out heavenly collabs with the likes of Malaky, Kasper and more, appearing at events like Let It Roll or London’s Soul In Motion, the Polish producer is dropping lush releases like the Forward Thinking EP which has just landed on Fokuz Recordings.
4 tracks deep, it’s a summer-infused groover and a swift reminder that Satl has quickly become a serious player in all things deep and liquid in a relatively short period of time.
To celebrate the release he’s gone deep in the mix for a Drum&BassArena exclusive, so we took the opportunity to catch up with the man himself to chat about the EP, mix and loads more. Dive in…
Hello Adrian! Thanks for taking the time to chat to us! Where in the world have we caught you?
Hi there, it’s my pleasure! I’m actually at my parent’s house for couple of days. Just chilling and spending some time with family…
Nice one! First thing’s first – you’ve just dropped a seriously vibey EP on Fokuz – big ups! You’ve done some great work on Fokuz, were they a label you always had your eye on when you first started producing?
Thanks, glad you like the EP! Well when I first started making d&b back in 2013, I had my first releases on Influenza which is kind of a sublabel for Fokuz… Now after all this time I work really close with Fokuz and I’ve gotta say that it is the thing that I was looking for! Bossman Marco, AKA Dreazz, is a great guy who is really pushing me forward. It really means a lot to me!
Big up Marco! Did anything in particular inspire the EP? What’s your creative process like anyway – do you have to be in a certain frame of mind to be inspired or can you spend a lot of time in the studio and still be creative?
Some people joke that I am like a robot or a machine when I’m making music… I can sit in the studio for hours and still come up with fresh ideas for tracks. I’m a really creative person when it comes to starting new ideas – it just takes some more time to finish all of them off later. It’s generally a really natural process for me, so I don’t always need that external inspiration.
In the Sun was inspired by my love for the sea though for example, something my girlfriend really infected me with. The sample in the track was actually found by my lovely girlfriend, so thanks for that Basia 🙂
I draw inspiration mainly from people who surround me like my girl, places I have been to recently and all positive feelings that have accompanied me lately…
In the Sun ft. Kasper is a proper summer groover… You’ve worked with Kasper a lot before – what do you think allows you guys to work so well together?
Yeah, Anthony is a good friend and I think the most important thing is that we have similar ideas when it comes to working on tracks. We’ve made a couple of tunes in the past and there is definitely more to come really soon!
Looking forward to it! Were you able to get into the studio together to work on this one?
Not on this one in particular but Kasper visited me in my home studio for a week during his Europe tour a couple of weeks ago and we have made 8 new tracks… Yes, 8 NEW TRACKS 🙂 Can’t wait to show you what we’ve done!
Who knows – maybe you’ll spot some of them in the mix I recorded for you 😉
The mix is straight up fire!! How did you approach it? Any exclusives in there?
Thank you! I never plan my sets so it’s always really spontaneous. I put a lot of exclusive music in my sets so you better listen to the whole mix to hear all the freshness!
Do you see yourself as a DJ or producer first?
Definitely producer – I enjoy sitting in the studio and making music more than playing at parties. Not saying that I don’t like to DJ because it’s really good fun and allows for direct contact with my fans who come to gigs, but I just can’t express myself during the DJ sets as much as when I put myself into the tracks that I work on.
Makes sense! Back to the EP – What’s your favourite on track on there and why?
Hmm… that’s a difficult question! I haven’t really thought about it but if I had to choose one, then it would be ‘Seaside’. It’s a really smooth, laid back tune with a relaxing vibe and wobbly bassline. It’s a kind of personal track for me, and to be honest I think it’s one of my favourite tunes I have ever made to date! It brings back loads and loads of good memories and every time I listen to it, it makes me feel like it’s summer again – I hope you will feel the same 🙂 I play this one almost in every set and people seem to like it too!
There’s a real sophistication to your production which is really obvious in tracks like Gimme Yourself. Was production something you taught yourself? Do you have a musical background?
I have a bit of a musical family – My dad plays bass guitar in a band, my uncle plays piano in a band as well, one of my aunts is a singer, and my brother can play piano… I can’t really play any instruments but the production skills that I have I taught myself.
Respect! Which artists do you currently see as forward thinking in D&B?
Would have to be Halogenix, Alix Perez and new bristol duo Ill Truth – that’s the hottest stuff out at the moment in my opinion.
Good picks! You’re based in Poland right? There’s a lot of talent out there from the likes of Handra, Silence Groove, Reza and more – what’s the scene like at the moment?
Yes I’m based in Poland just for a few more days because I am moving to Rotterdam at the end of September! We’ve got a few really talented producers in Poland and the scene is getting better and better all the time.
There are some crews like Trip2Space for the more atmospheric stuff, Scream Music for neurofunk and DrumObsession (who actually have their 10th birthday party with Fracture coming up really soon) for the full spectrum of drum & bass, and also Addiction Events run by Ros, which have done so much for the Polish scene since the late 90s!
Any other artists we should keep an eye on?
Of course there is loads of hot music coming from Poland: InDeed (who just got track out on the VA EP on Total Science’s CIA Deep Kut), Mortem (he’s had previous releases on Metalheadz and Critical), Skeletone, Radicall.
You’ve worked on quite a lot of material with Malaky this year as well – how did you guys initially link?
Yes I love working with Andy, he is definitely my favourite producer to collab with. Our tracks always come up so naturally. We met in Wroclaw, Poland in 2014 when I was playing as support for him – it was my first gig, and his first international gig, so that’s how it all started 🙂
What would your dream collab be if you could pick anyone in D&B?
Calibre – without a doubt. He is my favourite producer in the whole D&B world. Had the pleasure of meeting Dominick this summer as we played together on the DJ Marky & Friends stage @ Audioriver Festival!
He’s a don, isn’t he? If you weren’t making drum & bass what do you think you’d be doing?
Probably making hip-hop because I was making beats even before I got into drum and bass.
What’s coming up for you for the rest of the year then?
My release schedule for the rest of the year is pretty exciting! My track BLO will be out on Innerground on the New Wave EP PT2 with tracks from DJ Marky himself, Invaderz and more. Then I’ve got an EP on Friction’s SGN:LTD imprint which contains 3 solo tracks and 1 collab with Malaky.
Then the second instalment of the Satl & Friends EP on Fokuz Recordings… The idea behind these EP’s is that we put only collaborations on it, and this time there are collabs with Electrosoul System, Mortem, Command Strange and Velocity.
After that will be a vinyl EP for Integral Records, but I can’t say more about this one yet. And more projects on the side no doubt!
Wow, busy times ahead! Can’t wait to hear it all. Final shout outs?
Big shouts to my girlfriend for always supporting me! Shouts to the Fokuz Recordings gang, DJ Marky, Artificial Intelligence and all my fans who enjoy my music – without you I would not be where I am right now, so thank you 🙂
The Forward Thinking EP is out now on Fokuz. Get it here.
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