Anyone down with full-force, chrome-plated underground D&B will be aware of the work of a certain Fearful. His new ep on Diffrent drops on April 6 and it’s stunning: whether you delve in by headphones or on a big system you will be lost in this ep. Both sides of it…
What are some random words/phrases that sum up the Mechanism ep?
Metal Breakdowns, Industrial, Horror, Sci Fi, Static, Vinyl, Tape Noise, War Machines, Forge, Raw, Precision, Design
I know of your work via AutomAte, Flexout and of course Diffrent Music, so what are some points of your recording history you would tell us about in case people are just finding out about you?
AutomAte were the first label that put their faith in my tracks so they played a massive part in making me feel more confident with producing. Label owner Deficit is also a big mixdown nerd so the feedback I got from him really helped shape my mixes for the better.
The following summer I put out a single on Structured Music, this is one of my favourite releases to this day. ‘Hypoxia’ is a percussive-led number full of clicks and pops with a pitch bending sub laid underneath, and ‘Drag Your Feet’ was a chance to collaborate with DYL on a grungy sound design heavy track.
I referenced those tracks a lot while writing my latest EP. The first Diffrent Music release came out two years ago and that was a big deal for me. I had been following their output and podcasts closely for a while, so to hear that they wanted to release ‘Tongues’ was exciting news.
Since then I’ve become close friends with the whole giraffe crew.
All said Mechanism is totally your own world, it owes nothing to anyone else… when did it start to form?
It’s taken two years to collect the right tracks together that fit the experimental sound I wanted to put out on Diffrent. I didn’t want to rush a release, especially as the standard being set by the rest of the artists was and remains so high.
The first track to really fit the Diffrent sound was ‘The Lurker’. This one was created to be a DJ tool. The gradual tempo switch from 170 – 125bpm is a sneaky way to switch genres during a set which I use a lot. I’d like to write more tunes that do this.
‘Shock’ was a project that had been sitting on the hard drive for a long time, I liked the ideas in the track but it was mostly an experiment in sound design.
After some nagging from Dexta to get it finished I dove back in and cleaned it up. It was originally six to seven minutes long but felt like 10 because of the slow rhythm, so I opted to make it shorter. It’s ultimately about how it sits alongside the other tracks, if the EP were one long track ‘Shock’ would be the breakdown.
Collaborating with Amoss on a track had been on the agenda ever since we all moved in together last May: Andy & I got in the studio one day late last year and just started throwing really obscure samples into a project to see what would happen. Not having any expectations and just going with the flow made that session the most fun I’d had in the studio for a while. We finished the core of ‘Carcosa’ in one sitting and came together for a couple more to finish the mix.
When we showed it to Dexta the grin on his face said it all and it instantly became an addition to the EP.
‘Mechanism’ was the last track I wrote. it came together very quickly in January.
Tell us more about the title track?
With only two weeks to go until the EP was to be mastered I had a little panic and went into overdrive to get a track together that would be more at home in the club. I wrote the drums in a couple of days. That may seem like a long time but it was just down to coming up with a rhythm that fits the Diffrent vibe.
So once I had this cool rhythm I started creating little stabs and reece basses using Serum. By end of the first week I had made this erratic tune that didn’t know whether it wanted to be a roller, stepper or experimental… a pretty accurate reflection of my state of mind at the time. I kept tweaking it every day, making edits to push it to be a great track but it never felt totally right.
So with with the deadline creeping up on me and stress levels at an all time high I deleted everything apart from the drums with only two days to go.
From that point I spent two full days reworking everything around the beat. The bass was made from resampled Sub patch from Serum which I over limited to create the top end crunch, I inserted little vocal chops and played with their pitches to create the intro melody.
Lastly I got an old pad patch I had made in massive and automated some reverse volume fades to inject a bit of tension. And that’s it. It went by in a weird blur of stress. I guess I work well under pressure, its taken a long time to realise that deadlines are a good thing for me.
The ep title is understated, sort of feels like something small and quiet at the heart of something, rather than a description of the machine itself.
Around the time of writing Mechanism I was visiting the science museum quite frequently. When you enter the main hall you’re greeted by these massive old engines, cross sections of rockets and countless other inventions that dwarf us.
That was a big inspiration for the title as the EP has two sides to it: ‘Carcosa’ and especially ‘Shock’ represent these colossal machines that exert huge amounts of raw power and seem unstoppable. The focus with those tracks are the distorted bass lines that give them their energy, but when you look closer, these huge machines are made up of tiny intricate parts that work together seamlessly.
That’s where ‘The Lurker’ and ‘Mechanism’ come in. They are the detail and complex heart of the machine; choppier, faster-paced and focusing on intricate percussion rather than tearing bass.
Where do you produce?
I do most of my production in my home studio; it’s a modest setup comprised of a macbook pro, Edirol audio interface and a pair of Yamaha HS8 speakers but that’s all I really need. When it comes to mixing down tracks and getting that final polish I head upstairs into the Amoss studio.
Living with Andy and James Amoss and Flexout boss Tom Retraflex means we’re always checking in on each other’s sessions to hear what’s new. I love that atmosphere, being in a productive environment with artists I look up to.
Are you limited by the medium sometimes… would you make longer tracks if you could?
I wouldn’t rule out longer tracks. I’d love to do an EP/Album that has completely seamless transitions. I admire people like Djrum and Floating Points who can write 10 minute long tracks and keep them interesting until the end. Maybe that’s something I’ll start to do more of in the future.
Back to the ep, ‘Shock’ is brill. Would this appear as part of your live set?
Definitely, I love the reactions that ‘Shock’ has been getting in clubs. At first I thought it would be too slow but its going down really well. I tend to keep things dark from the start, building the intensity over the course of the set. I don’t like to flood a mix with new tracks. For me it’s more about finding the new tunes that mix well with my favourite classics and seeing where those mixes lead.
One thing is for certain, you wont find any major chords in my sets.
In terms of sets, where’s somewhere you’d love to play? Anywhere.
I’ve always wanted to visit Eastern Europe, countries like the Czech Republic and Slovakia. To play over there would be a dream come true.
I’d never rule out going to any country as long as it were under the right circumstances. Get in touch if you want to book me.
Back to time lengths, if you had to play one of those mega four-plus hour sets would you like to? What strategies would you undertake?
I’d be up for doing that maybe once a year. With a timeframe like that I would draw for every genre I could. I think keeping the pace at 170bpm such a long time would wear me out, so I’d introduce some variety with techno, hip hop and maybe some dark ambient tracks by the likes of The Haxan Cloak.
What with the mental images the ep evokes, I’m assuming you love films: what’s five?
Interstellar, Alien,1984, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Thing.
I love Sci-fi.
Some parting words on Mechanism?
A big shout to Dexta for designing the artwork and screen printing the limited edition CD packaging. That homemade touch is one of the things that makes Diffrent Music such a special label to work with.
Finally, I want to thank Rob Dawson for his contributions to the EP: Rob was part of Fearful until last year and co-wrote ‘The Lurker’ and ‘Shock’. He’s off working on something new which I can’t wait to hear.