Exposure has stepped up to drop a razor-sharp and resonant salvo in the form of ‘Delicate Lives’ and ‘Sacrifice’ on his label AR Audio, straight outta Bristol. We managed to find some time to discuss the impulses, influences and inspiration which populate his world.
Hey Exposure. Bristol has such a wide history of beats and it must be all around you: where did you start to pull together your influences from? I mean I hear all sorts.
There’s always been a really strong heritage of quality Drum and Bass in Bristol, people like DJ Die, Roni Size, Krust are the real pioneers of our scene so I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from them. I got into it at a good time, 98 – 03 was the golden era for me: tunes like Ed Rush & Optical ‘Bacteria’ and Dillinja’s ‘Hard Noize’ really captivated me and got me into it in a big way.
Now everyone’s in Bristol- Break, DLR, Mako, Total Science, S.P.Y, the list goes on, and they’re just the ones you know about!
I’m constantly being sent music from really great producers so it’s the best place to be to do what I do.
When did you start to get involved in D&B production, as in when was the moment where you thought ‘I have to do this!’ Was it a tune or a night or… ?
I knew it’s what I wanted to do from the first night I went to when I was a fresh-faced 15 year old! I learnt how to DJ first but it wasn’t until a few years later I got into producing. I lived in Nottingham where I played for Detonate and I was hanging out with Ed:It, so I started getting into then. It’s fully taken over my life now.
Onto the release, loving the sultry/dusty feel to this so first of all take us into ‘Sacrifice’… this really is a journey!
Cheers, yeah ‘Sacrifice’ is a bit of a journey- it started from an orchestral sample and then developed from there. It’s very different from how it started and went through a couple of different names.
I ended up calling it ‘Sacrifice’ due to the countless hours spent in my studio crafting the sound.
If you want to make good music you must be prepared to sacrifice other areas of your life, like your social life, at least for a while.
Who is Sula Mae? Loving the vibe on this, sounds like your minds were on the same wavelength here for ‘Delicate Lives’.
Yes Sula Mae is an amazing talent. She is a folk singer songwriter normally and this was the first bit of Drum and Bass she’s appeared on, but I think her voice lends itself to it well. I sent her the idea for it and what she sent back blew me away.
The peaceful, soulful vocals work well with the tougher beats and bass. That contrast is something I try to achieve a lot in my productions, hence the name ‘Exposure’.
And this is out on AR? Take us into the label: its outlook and plans for the future.
Yes it’s out today.
The music policy for the label is pretty varied, we have everything from beautiful liquid to hard tech, as long as it’s good I’ll put it out. I’ll be doing vinyl as well as digital and although it’s hard to sell vinyl these days it’s something I’m really passionate about. I’m working closely with up and coming producers to showcase their talent as well as some well established names… TBA!
We’re also planning more launch parties across the UK and I want to take the sound globally, so watch this space.
You DJ? what sort of things are finding your way into the sets nowadays? What are you feeling.
DJing is my first love. There’s nothing more enjoyable to me than dropping a tune and seeing the reaction of the crowd: watching people’s faces light up is the reason I’m alive!
I’ve always had a proper varied selection, I like to take people on a journey between the light and dark and everything in between, I’ll always have some classics in my box too. Everything Break does is golden, Spectrasoul also always deliver consistently.
Labels like Dispatch, Metalheadz, Symmetry and Flexout keep pushing things forward. Newer producers like Ed:It, Chromatic, Kyrist, Octo-Pi and Philth are all making excellent music too.
Any shouts/final thoughts, Exposure?
Names to watch out for- Precision, Stitch, Phaction, Ill Truth.