Naiive has teamed up with Emmy Cath to release something spellbinding in the form of ‘From The Shadows’ & ‘Reaching Out’ on Terabyte, and upping the emotionally transcendental ante in the process.
Hi Naiive, can you tell us when the D&B bug bit you?
When I was about 14 someone gave me a D&B Arena album, mixed by Andy C. It was my first contact with D&B as a genre and it blew my mind. It felt like I recognised all the elements in it but it was something that I should’ve listened ages ago.
You had done some production before that?
I started producing Hip Hop when I was 15. The first ever producers that inspired me to start making D&B were Spor with ‘Loose It’ and Noisia with “Block Control’, when I first heard them.
What producers influence you now?
I guess it would mainly be some producers who are friends, people like Xochi, Kush T and M:Pathy. I’m really feeling their stuff at the moment and they are always quite innovative and experimental with different ways and techniques in their production. Apart from them, I always admired Amon Tobin’s work.
Tell us about ‘From The Shadows’?
‘From the Shadows’ is about when everything goes downhill and you lose comforts in your life and you feel like you’re falling to pieces. It’s like being in the middle of the ocean falling into the abyss, you have two choices, either let yourself sink deeper or just swim like you never did and rise to the surface.
I never learned what giving up is, and when things got tough I did what I always do in these situations, write music.
So when did the linkup with Emmy come about? Her voice is great and also sounds like it was great to work with from a producer point of view.
I met Emmy through some friends and we got on, and asked if she’d work on some music as I knew she loved D&B. She agreed straight away, and when we got in the studio after I had couple of ideas on the go, and it just worked!
She’s really chilled and relaxed person and always open minded for new ideas and suggestions. She had a massive input on the tracks with her experience, the way she used her voice and applied her rhythm and feel. She lives about three hours’ drive from me so she had to ‘note record’ her ideas at the beginning and send them over to me, so we could get most of our work done before we were even in the studio actually recording.
This would give us more time to work when we linked up in a creative way that we could apply on the tracks.
Great tip there. So where do you work, do you have a dedicated space?
I’ve got a studio in my house. I just like being in my own space, cosy and comfortable. I’ve been and tried working in big commercial studios in the past as I had access to them through College and Uni, but I couldn’t get creative as in my own home setup. Nothing can beat a “put together with time” setup with some mood lights and a nice cup of coffee. Just be careful not to spill it…
Can you take us through the inception of ‘Reaching Out’?
When I produced and wrote most of the ideas for the lyrics for both tracks, I was going through a bad time in that specific period of my life. Life inspires me; I go for long walks and listen to the environment. I picture sounds in my head.
‘Reaching Out’ is about when it seems like you’ve got everything in your life but they don’t feel right, even with everyone around you and being busy, inside you, you feel empty. Then, you reach out and look for a different space and getaway within yourself.
The places that I pictured reminded me of the planets with the forests in Halo. The first arrangement of the ideas for the track were actually called Halo before I decided for the track’s name.
The tunes seem to be about realization, awareness and a new beginning: is that the case?
Yes that’s right, when you feel lost and confused at times you just try and find yourself in different places. Within you or just go on an adventure and travel. Then you come back and you approach things with a different point of view and find new answers and start fresh.
What are your fave bits of equipment… what do you use?
Nowadays I mainly edit and work ‘in the box’. Recently I’ve updated from my old white Macbook to a Macbook Pro with maxed memory and an i7 processor which can handle some serious heavy arrangements.
My favourite bits of equipment are, my Zoom H2n field recorder; which I literally record anything into it and either add them to my tracks the way they sound, or edit and manipulate to create some truly unique sounds.
There’s also my Maschine Mikro MK2; you can get so creative experimenting with different rhythms with different sounds on it’s sampler, I just love it.
What tune is in your head right now?
‘Move on Up’ by Curtis Mayfield
What tune does it for you every day, as in ‘this tune makes me happy to be alive’?
‘Chase the Clouds Away’ by Evidence of Dilated Peoples. It’s just such a positive track with an easy going flow that puts a smile on my face every time I listen to it.
Any shouts?
Out to all the Terabyte Records, Auzi & Altered Perception for supporting me with something that I always loved doing by giving me a chance to share it with everyone else, Bane, Xochi, Toronto Is Broken, Sub Slayers, Optimal Prime, Kush T, M:Pathy, Anthony Warring, Co:Lateral and all the people that I call ‘family’: thanks for always being there for me.