Need For Mirrors needs very little introduction. With releases on Shogun, Dispatch, V Recordings, Integral and most recently Metalheadz, as well as running the bi-monthly Soul In Motion in London alongside Bailey, he is an established figure within the scene and exhibits no signs of slowing down any time soon. Having just released the diverse ‘Sacred Heart’ EP on Metalheadz, we caught up to get the story behind the EP and more…
Big up Joe, what were you doing before we interrupted?
I’m recovering from the Metalheadz Rinse show I did last night, and the Soul In Motion xmas party which was also on last night. Soul In Motion was rammed and pure vibes! If you missed it then you really missed out. It really was historical!
The ‘Sacred Heart’ EP dropped on Metalheadz last week – what a diverse release! Did it take long for the EP to come together?
I write a lot of music and I picked a selection of tracks that had been written over a few months and sent them to Goldie to play. He got back to me and said he was interested in signing some of it. I wrote ‘Pow Wow’ a day later and that was signed straight away. So it’s really hard to put a time frame on the project. Once the tracks had been finalised I spent an extra month tuning and tweaking parts, but the main body of music was already done.
Was it made with the Metalheadz imprint in mind?
‘Pow Wow’ was the only one that was specifically written for Headz. I find it confusing writing specifically for a label as it often doesn’t work out. With this project it’s like Goldie curated this body of work of mine into a EP. Tracks I didn’t think would work together or would be released, came together and made sense. Also once the tracks had been signed I re-wrote parts of some of the tracks based on Goldie’s advice, and on others I added more detail and depth to connect them more to Headz.
What’s the significance of the title ‘Sacred Heart’? How did the concept initially come about?
I’m not sure what came first but I think it was the drums, then the double bass, then the vocal. The first version had no switch bass in the 2nd half, and that was added after it was signed to Metalheadz. I had this idea for the second half and Goldie was thinking the same thing. So I switched up the 2nd half of the track and thats the version thats been released.
Well it turned out wicked! First time I heard it I was NOT expecting that switch! Now back to ‘Pow-Wow’ – one of my favourite tracks off the EP. I love the way it progresses into a hypnotic rhythm.. Initial inspiration behind the tune?
With this one I had the idea for a Detroit style d&b tune and had the vocal sample sitting there and then the riff came naturally and the tune just rolled out. The rhythm of the baseline reminded me of a native American Indian pow wow dance hence the name. Also the poetry in the track talks about people coming together to dance. And underground music is also very tribal in the sense that d&b as a sub genre is a tribe, and Metalheadz is a tribe, and we come together and listen and dance to this music together. It’s very spiritual.
Indeed! Sometimes I feel funny about asking about the inspiration behind a tune – How does your creative process work, do you always have an initial concept or inspiration when creating the blueprint for a track or is it a case of losing yourself when you’re in the studio and just seeing what you come up with?
I have no plan really. Sometimes it’s all concept, all art, and a very deep introspective moment. Other times it’s just energy and fun and writing to have something to play that weekend. I’m pretty much writing music every day so it’s a routine of self expression. I’m being influenced all the time by the world around me – I keep a note book and write down ideas when I’m watching movies, listening to music or reading books or magazines. And I’m always flicking through notes when I have a track or idea on the go, or just need inspiration. And if nothing is working I just start making beats or bass sounds and start archiving them for later use.
Beams is a chill little number – do you find it cathartic working on lighter tunes as opposed to the harder stuff?
I actually find this track very dense and at times suffocating and the baseline is also very heavy. So I never thought of this as lighter then others just not as obvious maybe. However once that tune was started it rolled out very quickly and was a collection of beautiful disasters that came together. The samples started to talk to each other and I moved the end of the track to the start and played a lot with the structure of the track. Once it was done I knew it was something very special. I then sat on the tune for 6 months or so before letting anybody hear it. It was great getting it off my computer to Goldie and him signing it right away. Im not sure if I will ever be able to write something like that a again. It was a moment!
Tell us about the artwork for the release, it’s looking fresh!
The artwork is reinterpretation of the Metalheadz methxx logo. This new reinterpretation was hand drawn by Mike Giant, an amazing artist from the US. His history is in graffiti and over the last 20 years he’s become a well known international artist, and also runs a clothing label which he also designs for called Rebel 8. I was a fan of his work since the 90s, so when i found out he was into drum & bass I reached out to him about working on a project. When the Headz project presented itself it made sense to have Mike involved. He’s a huge Headz fan and he was happy to be involved.
I love how he reworked the logo, nobody does that style better than him! The entire process was very natural and I’m very lucky to have him grace the project. It’s truly a meeting of minds. The record has his new Headz logo hand stamped on the sleeve, and labels also have his design on the limited red vinyl 12″. Check out Mike’s work here.
You run the Soul In Motion nights with Bailey on the first and third Wednesday of every month, what was the motivation in starting the event initially?
When I came to the UK in 2003 the d&b scene had a great culture built around Swerve and Movement, both mid week nights. A lot of artists came up through these nights and wrote music specially for those nights. So with those nights now being obsolete and Drum&BassArena no longer doing D&BTV and only the odd album release party every few months, Bailey and I both felt the need to start up a mid-week night for a new generation of d&b heads, and also like-minded DJs and producers who needed a outlet to play vibes and test new tracks outside of the weekend club nights. The night also doesn’t have any MCs or vocalists, it’s strictly about the music and selection.
Highlights from the event in 2014?
Our Xmas party was crazy! Super rammed and lots of good music. But every event has been special and we were happy just to do one event let alone 15 this year.
Plans for the event in the future?
We start off in January and will continue to be every two weeks. Check out Soul In Motion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram for more info. RSVP for free entry at soulinmotionldn@gmail.com
Artists you’ve got your eye on in 2015?
LSB has really come into his own as has Phil Tangent. Both of them are not necessarily new to the scene, but have such a well rounded sound and DJ sensibility to their tracks that make them great to play.
What’s next on the agenda for you as an artist in the new year?
I have a string of releases out in the first quarter of next year on Warm Communications, V, Spearhead, Shogun, BMT Music, plus a follow up release on Metalheadz, so it’s all rather hectic. I’m always writing music and I have two albums sitting here that I need to release at some stage so I hope one of them gets released.
Can’t wait to hear it all! Final shout outs?
Shouts to all the heads representing at Soul In Motion and supporting my music. Salute!
The Sacred Heart EP is out now. Get it here.
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