Always choosing quality over quantity, Culture Shock is not one to churn out a new release every month. The producer has finally released the highly anticipated ‘City Lights’ to the delight of fans who had been waiting years to get their hands on it. The track soared to the #1 spot on Beatport, and was BBC Radio 1’s Track of the Day. We caught up with the man himself ahead of our 19th birthday this Sunday to chat about the single, what’s coming up next, and what he’s got in store for us this Bank Holiday Sunday…
Yes James, cheers for joining us! How have you been taking advantage of the rare but glorious London sunshine?
I was hanging out with some friends who live on a Barge in Hackney Wick. Went out for a row in the dingy and had a BBQ, perfect break from the studio!
Straight to business: City Lights is finally out! Some seriously happy heads out there when this dropped.. The track appeared in Andy C’s sets back in 2009, why did you wait so long before giving it a proper release?
The first mix that Andy played was super basic. It’s really important for me that tracks are well crafted. I want the idea and the vibe to to be boiled down to its clearest form. So I had to completely rebuild the track from the ground up… Something that’s a real chore to do sometimes, but I think really worth it. I always wanted to put a vocal on and it took me a while to make that happen. It’s finally coming out, such a relief!
I bet! The track made it to #1 on the drum & bass charts on Beatport, and was BBC Radio 1’s Track of the Day.. Were you expecting such a reaction to the track?
No – it’s wicked when people support my releases, makes it all worth it.
You’ve mentioned before that you like to explore different processes and themes with each release, how did City Lights come together?
I started with the distorted electric bass guitar sound. I wanted to produce it like a 70’s disco track… So loads of low mids in the bass and super dry drums, brass stabs and heavily phasered strings. The weird rising bleepy sounds in the intro were just a case of messing about with a sine wave with pitch lfo.
How did the connection with Bryn Christopher come about?
I did a show in Holland that I see Monsters were also playing at. Bryn’s vocal performance was sick, soon after that I starting thinking about getting a vocal done for City Lights and Bryn came to mind. He was really into the track and came back with 3 or 4 different ideas. We had a studio session and refined some of his ideas and did a guide vox there and then… With a comically basic setup. That actually ended up being the final vocal!
The video is wicked too. Tell us about the concept behind it..
Yeah it was really fun working on that. I’m keen to develop the visual side of releases and so it’s been great doing my first video. Obviously I wanted to feature city lights, but also an element of fire as it’s such a strong hook in the vocal. I think the vid ties it all together nicely. We actually made another one for the instrumental video to kick off my youtube channel.
You’re playing at our 19 Years event this Bank Holiday Sunday. Safe to say we’re hyped for your set! What have you got planned for the night?
I’ve been working on lots of new stuff in the studio recently so looking forward to testing those tracks out. And maybe a few more classics than I would usually play as well.
What are your earliest/ fondest memories of D&B?
Ahh so many…
Listening to ‘One in the Jungle’ under the duvet…
Heading to the Stratford Rex for Innovation…
My first vinyl purchase Dom & Roland – ‘Industry’..
Good times.. Flash-forward: You’ve mentioned you’re working on an album, how’s that coming along?
Haha… I’m always supposedly working on an album! I’ve got lots of unreleased ideas and tracks and I will work towards one maybe next year.
Well, we can’t wait! Can we expect to see any wicked collabs on there?
Too soon to say right now. There are a lot of people in and out of the scene I’d love to work with. I’m not a fan of talking about those things before they’re done though.
What’s your studio set up like these days, you’re using Ableton Live now, right?
Yeah – Ableton more and more, which I’m loving. The most important thing for me is that it’s quick and intuitive. I’m pretty much in the box (laptop) which allows me to be really mobile and do stuff on the move. Having said that I do also really like analogue gear and it’s really inspiring having quirky synths in the studio. I’d love to have a wall to wall modular system one day.
So what’s next on the agenda? What’s coming up next for you?
I’m working on my own EP and a few remixes – my favourite is something I’ve done for GRADES which should be promo’ing soon.
Final words of wisdom / shout outs?
Big up everyone that’s helped make D&B as special as it has been over the last 19 years.
Catch Culture Shock at our 19th birthday this Bank Holiday Sunday. Tickets available here.
City Lights is out this Sunday the 24th of May on iTunes. Get it here.
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