Audio has unleashed something pretty unholy into the atmosphere, a Force of Nature so volatile that here’s probably going to be new Green taxes levied against it.
It’s fast and lethal, like Audio himself in DJ mode. And getting hold of him was tricky too: like some frantic car chase scene down the back streets of Shanghai. He never stops!
Slow down a bit sir, first things first: how did the Virus connection come about?
Many moons ago I started to notice that Ed Rush and Optical were playing some of my earlier productions. That was the sign I needed to start sending them everything I did in the hope of getting a release. And now here we are!
I have seen you DJ live and you indeed are a force of nature. They no doubt wanted some of that firepower you possess.
I just wanna smash the clubs. It’s what gets the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. Double dropping big tunes in a rammed club IS the one!
So approaching THIS Force of Nature, this body of work: when did you know it was done?
Probably about 10 months ago. I had three tracks all of a similar vibe, so that’s what dictated the feel of the whole thing. After that it was very fluid, with one track tolling into the next.
Speaking of tracks: ‘Botfly’. Aren’t they nasty creatures? Does this reflect on the nature of the tune?
Kinda, I just liked the guy’s voice! It just really cut thru the mix, and suited the style of track which is pretty grotty too.
That ‘grotty’ thing tends to surface a lot. ‘Mudshark’ ffs.
httpv://youtu.be/wicTc9c14TE
And ‘Carcass’!
‘Carcass’ was one of the last tunes I did for Force of Nature.
The track itself was written quite quickly, but it was obvious it needed another key element and after trying various things, I stumbled across an old hip hop vocal Stapleton had recorded. After a little work it sat in the track perfectly.
The cover makes me think of another natural force: karma. It’s all linked, it’s all connected, it’s people, it’s neverending. Or just a simple image?
Matt [Optical] sent me very early incarnations if the image and I just knew it was perfect for the project basically!
After a few tweaks it was done, probably the least painful part of the whole process.
Not as painful as the tattooing and I note yours, the hands in particular. Which makes me ask about Pixel Fist! How would you break your involvement down for us?
I’m in it in the sense of having an engineering role; the face of the group are Lorne and Mackie. It originally started as a Dubstep thing but that quickly developed into an ‘anything goes’ type thing!
Do you have a system of working FAST as an engineer? A system to nail down the vibe?
I wouldn’t know where to start explaining it, most part it’s the amount of years I’ve been in studios. After 18 years I should know my way around.
… and does Pixel Fist all produce together or near?
Yeah. Most Wednesday evenings we get together to catch up and hit the studio. I would say that online collabs are not for me.
In terms of physical presence, where in the world are spots that come to mind you love to DJ?
There’s s few places I love going purely for the love I get back, like Czech Republic, Hungary, Holland but overall there’s so many great places to party it’s kinda unfair to pick only a handful.
So, as a one-man force of nature… how do you fit it all in?
I’m not sure! I always have something to do or some place to be. I suppose I’d put it down to my amazing wife who couldn’t be more supportive.
You must have some good travel stories?
I’ve been asked many times at airports if I was Plan B. Does that count?
And the new year? Anything you can forecast for us on the Audio front?
Hmmm. Not sure yet, I like to roll with things.
So let see what happens.
Force of Nature
