Posij: Binary Mode - Drum&BassArena

Posij hails from Groningen and comprises part five of Critical’s Binary series which in itself should provide many D&B obsessives with a credible tremour, equal parts excitement and trepidation. As this is simply all about unpredictable, unstable, undefinable sound structures: something may send a command to fry us any second, like some massive cold war mainframe. Stay locked for Posij in the Critical podcast too…

Posij hello, how are you, what are you doing right now?

Hanging out at my sister’s house after spending a day at the beach with my girlfriend.

So what was the first D&B tune that ever changed your life?

Noisia, ‘Monster’.

And outside D&B?

I started getting into trying to make music myself because I fell in love with Mr Oizo ‘Flatbeat’. I have recreated that a bunch of times, so naturally the wobbly vibe also got me into dubstep later on.

You’re stepping up for the ‘Binary’ series on Critical, which in the past has been done by people like Current Value, Billain, Hyroglifics… can you tell us what the series is all about? It’s pretty exciting.

For me it’s about innovative, not too normal D&B, I am very excited to be a part of it.

Onto your instalment, well it’s crazy! Four incredible tunes. Over what space of time/seasons did they emerge?

‘Spin’ started out three or four years ago with me trying to copy the Upbeats’ sound.

I eventually made it less hyper and added the basslines from a newer project file, together it became the ‘Spin’ it is now.

I purposely did not go over the top with adding fillers/incidentals, I like the ‘held back’ vibe with the heavy bass.

It’s a heavyweight.

It’s the heavy distorted bass with wide stereo textures in the mid/high freq is what makes it so heavyweight I think.

And the acoustic like snare makes it hit your face pretty gnarly I think. I think.

And ‘Rover’?

‘Rover’ is something I made in just one hour or so: I eventually added some new sounds that now makes up the second drop, I like how it feels like the second drop could actually be the first drop.

It’s closest to ‘Windforce’ from my Lasercat EP.

For ‘Techplant’ – love the title – what mental images did/do you have in your head? I’m curious.

‘Techplant’ is like some kind of nuclear factory where the core is about the meltdown in a funky triplets fashion,

And about the tune?

‘Techplant’ is a more recent production that started out with me trying to make a Mefjus-like snare. It eventually turned into a triplets run deep ‘banger’ in my opinion!

‘Change’ is cold as ice: can you tell about the vocal sample, and does it infer anything in total about our world/human condition?

The song changes A LOT, so it’s kinda funny that the voice says nothing can.

It’s an in yo face tune with a bit of a hypnotizing effect or something like that. Maybe.

Tell us more?

‘Change’ is the most recent on the ep: I made it after hearing Noisia’s purpose EP and it’s greatly inspired by their dirty-yet-clean mixdowns.

The roller part I added in the last week before the mixdown, it really gave it what it needed!

Where can people check you out live?

I’ll be playing in Hungary at Balaton sound festival alongside Fre4knc, and I’ll be in the UK on the 8th of August.

I’m playing the Noisia Invites festival in my hometown of Groningen the 18th of July!

Looking forward to all of these.

And what’s a tune right now you’re drawing that is especially effective on the live front?

Too many to name! I recently became obsessed with finding double drops like the ones you’ll hear in my Critical podcast (below); it creates great opportunities for tracks I’d normally not play out.