‘D&B has been really aggressive in 2015, and I wanted to make something that’s a bit of a counter to that’
Cyantific pulls up to the curb with the track that is totally, completely all about dark city nights, neon signs, steam rising from the street and the all-pervading impulse that getting inside a club and surrounded by a big PA is the Right Thing To Do (& check the random choice at the end of the piece for more elaboration on that impulse btw)
Big up Cyantific how’s it going and how was xmas?
It’s good thanks, I’m currently in LA after doing some shows for Bassrush out here, which were incredible. Xmas was a quiet one this year.
Do you get down in the studio during xmas btw? Sure it’s quiet but really special time.
I worked up to Xmas day, I’ve got a fair bit that needed finishing, plus my Cyantific FM podcast needed doing.
I feel a little bit weird if I’m not working all the time.
Tell us about ‘Outatime’? Great vibe to it, immediately in to it, love it.
Thanks! It started out as an idea for a remix, but I wanted to keep it. Wilkinson was so into it and really pushed me to finish it. It’s nice when another producer really digs something you’re working on.
D&B has been really aggressive in 2015, and I wanted to make something that’s a bit of a counter to that. I mean, I love the harder sound, but I found in my sets that there’s only a handful of tunes that aren’t totally driven by the bass, but still play well.
… and the art direction, that’s great. It made me think of a host of great 70s/80s films/their artwork and style… stuff like After Hours which is bizarrely also about time…
Yeah, I found this guy online who was making artwork that really suited the 80s vibe that I love. I think it fits the music, and it’s something a little different for D&B.
… so what inspired the tune’s title?
I was working on it around the BTTF day in October and got caught up in that. The title is a nod to that, it’s the license plate on the time machine.
OK: and are there situations where time has been against you? In D&B it’s common: finishing mixdowns when you have to leave… or in old days when you needed to get it cut before jetting off to rave in Bratislava. Any stories?
This seems to happen all the time. I’m up against it right now!
My relationship with time is that there’s never quite enough of it.
Every day in the studio I feel like I have to go home too early. I’ve lost track of the amount of times I’ve had to hand a track in for mastering and I’m still making changes… sometimes big ones.
What is a current production habit or detail you really like, something that reminds you that it’s not all simply glorified IT work, adjusting parameters to get a digital outcome?
I like both sides of it. Some days it’s great to be creating melodies and shaping sounds. Other times you don’t want that at all, and it can feel like a relief to just be working on the technical details.
Geeking out is essential. I think adding details to the drums or the bass, really subtle stuff, is what provides me with the satisfaction to keep working on an idea.
Any tunes from the past – speaking of time again – that are worming way back into mind/sets?
All the time! I just dug out ‘Electro Boogie’ by Dillinja for this last show in LA. Still sounding amazing, of course!
Any shouts?
Shout out to the Viper family, our time!
