EastColors‘ new guest-filled album Lighthouse is (ironically?) easy to get lost in. Then there’s that cover image: simple, enigmatic and thought-provoking. You want to go inside, find out more, see what makes it tick and perhaps enjoy the view. So we did.
Hi EastColors, this is a great album.
Hey Damian. Thanks for your kind words. Glad to speak again!
When did you start work on Lighthouse, when did it start to come together?
I had the idea almost two years ago and it took me 1.5 years to realise the project. I think it all began with the track ‘Could Be’.
I love the title tune a lot, that’s excellent. Does the album revolve around that as such? It’s pivotal.
Glad you like it! For me ‘Lighthouse’ is what I love about D&B. Drums plus bass plus vocals.
It doesn’t have crazy modulated bassline or hasn’t got the hardest drum sound, it’s just a vibe that makes you dance.
It’s my absolute favourite from them album. Big thanks to Phil, Fava for lending his voice for the track.
The album has this thing: a really ace, relentless, steady flow. It is a great trip from beginning to end. Let’s isolate some tunes…
– ‘Siberia’
It’s kind of experimental tune. An unusual vibe for me and we got a sick Swift vocal for it! Don’t forget the switch in the third part, no one’s expecting it which makes it really fun to play out.
– ‘To Start from the Beginning’
That’s a bit of rougher track. It got a big modulated bassline I made with Kontakt.
Originally we had the idea to take the title of this track for the album but eventually it changed.
– ‘Open Up Your Eyes’
Again an experimental tune. I made it having an old school jungle vibe and I was watching some conspiracy theory movies at that time…
– ‘Caught Up’
Well, this tune was made after a studio session with Bop and Detail. We spent a night in the studio and I developed an idea which ended up being ‘Caught Up’. The goal was to make a tune with double bass, because it’s really rare in modern D&B.
After a while I finished it on my own and got a wicked vocal from Mota which adds perfectly to the track!
– ‘Dreams’
Dreams is a really old track. The original was made five or six years ago together with Traffic and Noel. Funny enough when it was finally released it worked really well, which we didn’t expect at all! Just before the original came out I made a VIP version having an old Virus vibe in mind.
The VIP is much more club-orientated than the original and I love to play it out.
– ‘You & Me’… and who’s the vocalist?
It’s a sample I cut from a well known Canadian Rock Singer’s track – would you believe me?
How did the Detail mix come about?
At first I sent Detail my version of this tune and he liked it. So we decided to do a collab out of it.
The array of vocalists on Lighthouse is great, perfect for the tracks…
In the past I mostly worked with vocal samples and I wanted to change that for the album. It was a new experience for me which I don’t regret.
Every vocalist brings completely new life into each of the tracks. We tried countless variations of vocals really and hopefully everyone agrees that we got the best covered now.
Phil Fava managed to capture the deepness, Koen Mota and Arshad Swift brought the feeling and Krizia LaMeduza the melodic vibes. It’s how I wanted it and I’m very glad it worked out.
Has your production changed and have you changed in recent years? I feel that you are in a good place right now with music!
Definitely! Everything changed for me. So much things happened in this last two years. Especially the move to Saint-Petersburg. And my production changed noticeably since I switched from Logic to Ableton.
What’s your studio like?
Actually my studio is only my Macbook, a sound card and a pair of Adams now. Not really much. I had some hardware synths but I got rid of them.
What I really like about music production is to explore samples and new possibilities of creating strange and cool sounds. And as I mentioned I’m really into Ableton live now. It has so many possibilities compared to Logic, which I’ve been using for six years before I did the switch.
What does the title of the album signify? I think it ties in with ‘consistency’… it fits with the overall vibe of the album.
Well first off a lighthouse always was a memorable symbol for me. It’s something that you would follow. Like I followed my dream: to release this album.
Secondly there’s a lighthouse in my hometown Vladivostok. We had a yearly D&B open air very near to the lighthouse place, and of course this affected me majorly. Whenever I see a lighthouse it reminds me of the great times I had with D&B!
Any live dates you want to share with us?
I’ll be heading to the Netherlands, Belgium and Czech Republic soon. I’m very excited about it. If you’re there, come around and say hello.
If you’d like to get me for one of your gigs get in touch
Any shouts as we sign off, EastColors?
Of course a big shout to the Demand guys, especially to Carlos, who believed in me and made my dream came true! Shouts to all the vocalist that helped me get this album done.
Thanks to you, D&BA for the interview, all the readers and everyone who followed my music and supported me through the years.
