Frisk‘s ep on Headz is a deft and unexpected sidestep: a signature sound that feels completely abstract in parts yet buzzes with an unsettling familiarity.
Hey Frisk words don’t do this killer ep justice… take the bass in ‘Temperamental’: that is something you simply don’t get outside of D&B!
Well, ‘Temperamental’ was initially started when I was in a pretty dark mood funnily enough, but it all stemmed from the main synth line, that I wrote while just messing about playing some keys on the midi controller one hazy afternoon.
Then came the bassline which I knew I wanted deep and drawn out. Then the delayed stabs. I just wanted to create something dark and futuristic-sounding… it came together naturally.
The signature ingredients of yours are there in ‘Down’. Wicked tune, and would you say that you have an array of sounds you call your own? 909, FX etc? Who is the vocal?
The vocal is from an acapella of an R&B song that came out in the late 90s, that’s all the info I will give away on that, ha ha.
And yes, I’ve built up a palette of sounds and samples that I’ve cut and collected over the years that I like to use. If you listen closely to a lot of my tracks you will recognize these sounds. I believe that is how a unique, individual sound is created, without making the same tune over and over again.
Why the title of ‘Down’?
It’s just in reference to two people being ‘down’ for each other. A couple that have found love.
It’s the message that’s in the lyrics.
So where are you based?
Currently I’m in Leytonstone, East London, but I’ve lived in various parts of East London, South East London and Essex, back in my younger days, growing up. I also spent a few years living in USA, not far from Detroit.
Ant TC1 and DLR have stepped in for the seriously catchy ‘Requisite’, how did it come about that they were a part of this? How did you all interact?
Well, basically I just suggested about getting a remix of ‘Requisite’ done by someone in the Headz camp, to Ant one day, and the result was that remix.
Ant and J (DLR) were both fans of the original, and I knew that they would do a good job, so it all made sense. It’s a nice twist on the original.
What stuff do you listen to?
I like anything with soul, and a strong vibe really, but Hip Hop is my first love, the golden era stuff, which I’ve been listening to since my adolescence. That’s where I discovered breaks and sampling and then when I noticed the same breaks in Jungle/D&B from hearing stuff my sister was listening to and mates tape packs that’s when I became interested.
Tell us more?
I became a massive Goldie fan after hearing Inner City Life and bought Timeless, then came across Platinum Breakz and from there more artists like Roni Size Reprazent and Photek, and discovered pirate radio and Kool FM, and One in the Jungle and gradually got more and more into it.
Then a couple of years later I came across Kemistry & Storms’ DJ Kicks mix CD that came out around 98, and from that point on, my long obsession with Drum & Bass began.
In general though, I’ve found I am mostly influenced by a wide range of music mostly from the ’80s and ’90s, films, travelling to different parts of the world, and life in general.
My taste in music has grown over the years but I listen to all kinds of stuff from Peter Tosh, to Gangstarr, to Goldie, to SOS Band. From old to new.
My favourite genre of music is good music.
I love the ominous vibe of ‘Question’. Was there someone or something in your head when you did this tune?
It all started from the vocal sample “Answer the question”. Which I sampled from a film, but the track itself is not about any one particular thing. It can have many meanings. Maybe it says to someone, ‘do what you need to do’ ha ha.
I just liked how the vocal sounded after I loaded it into Logic and started adding filters and twisting it up a bit.
Then I laid the rest of the tune around it. I had actually already used it in another tune I’d recently made which has not been released and is actually a remix of that, in a way.
I feel that you reveal your true extent as an artist live, behind the decks, is that the case? I just play stuff that either I’ve made myself, or that I actually like. If people are feeling it then, cool.
If I’m feeling it, I’ll play it, a good tune is a good tune. You probably ain’t going to hear me play the current Beatport top 10 though.
Any shouts from you, Friske?
Big shouts to Goldie, Ant, Khanage, DLR, Script, Gremlinz, DJ E, Need for Mirrors, Bailey, everyone out there contributing to and supporting the scene, and all the heads, Big up.
Top image by AppsPhotography
Temperamental ep