Hailing Straight Outta Denver is ATIC, replete with influences ranging from Decoder, Led Zep, the Alien films and 90s hip hop… what more do you want? A creepy image of a little girl with antlers in an underpass, to accompany the Step Into Darkness ep, you say? Check.
Why the title ‘Step Into Darkness’? I did notice the wicked ‘step’ to this… is it a double meaning?
Well, there’s certainly a step to the tunes, but there is also this lingering effect of darkness through out the tunes, I really tried to get a dancefloor vibe while still keeping it mysterious.
It’s kind of a trip down the rabbit hole kinda thing…
Can you take us through ‘Timeloss’ from the ep? Why the title, and what influenced?
I’m actually a huge fan of Aliens and sci-fi stuff. Timeloss is a phenomenon that some people report happening when you’ve been abducted. Which is part of the reason for the name.
The other reason is that it just really fit the sound of the tune: dark and dreary. You just kinda get lost in the atmospheres and the drums.
What’s another tune from Step Into Darkness you’d talk us through?
One of my favorites is ‘Reality Sound’. The samples were taken from a Vybz Kartel biography and a lot of the little sounds in the tune are random sounds stretched out, chopped up and effected from random parts of the biography. I also really like the funk and step to the drums and the bass on that one.
When do the atmospheres come, in terms of when you write: is it all at once or do they come later?
I like to kinda float around in the mix trying different things out until it’s done. Sometimes I’ll write a whole tune and then decide I’m not a huge fan of a certain sound, like a bass or fx and just turn them into atmosphere and see how it goes.
I like to experiment and try weird things while writing.
What music influences do you have in general?
Well I listen to a large array of music and my influences come from all different types of genres. Some of my biggest influences in D&B are probably Decoder, Ed Rush and Optical, Break, Future Cut and others.
I’m also a huge fan of 90s and underground hip hop as well as classic rock such as Led Zeppelin.
What films do you like? I note the Aliens mention…
I’m a huge Ridley Scott and HR Giger fan. I’m a huge sci-fi fan, but also horror in general and comedies. Interstellar was one of my favorite films within the last year.
Did you like Prometheus? Some didn’t but it’s a curious film, many great parts to it.
I love Prometheus. One of my faves next to the original Alien movie. I’m very excited about the new Ridley Scott Prometheus sequel supposedly in the works.
How did the linkup with Fade happen?
Fade was actually an artist that I looked up to when I first started putting out tunes. He has had some great releases for quite some time. Then he linked up with my first label mate Quentin Hiatus over at Free Love Digi.
Quentin sent me some Fade tunes to master for FLD and I quickly got in touch. Then the conversations started and along came the tunes.
I feel very privileged to know some of the awesome artists I do and to be able to release on such solid platforms.
What’s next in terms of releases and playing out?
I have quite a few local shows coming up like the Denver Winter Music Showcase which is hosted by Recon DNB with Sinistarr, Legion and Kaset.
I also have a show coming up with my good D&B buddies Liminal, so very stoked about those. Things are shaping up nicely here in Denver for D&B… gonna be a great summer!
I also have a forthcoming six track release that I’m working on for FLD entitled Tuff Times and another project for Dissected Culture as well as a some remixes and some singles. So stayin busy!