Wintermute has recently teamed up with Neonlight to deliver the Edge ep on Blackout and – apart from the blazing sound – something about it struck a thematic chord, resonating loudly: the cover, the title… maybe in the actual DNA of the release. Best to don the protective suit & venture into the airlock to discover more…
Wintermute hello, what you doing right now?
Hey there, I’m currently sitting in the studio together with Neonlight, trying to put the finishing touches on a small soundtrack project, that is due next week.
Let’s come back to the extra-curricular. What is the ‘Edge’ of the ep, is it an edge of reason, a scientific precipice/ledge… what does the title mean?
The EP title is more of a linguistic figure – so maybe “verge” or “threshold” would also work.
Back then, when we were brainstorming about a possible red thread leading through the EP, all of us were intrigued by the idea of exploring the junctures between technology and humans.
So we decided to tinker with the themes of augmentation, transhumanism and constant strife for self improvement throughout the EP.
In the end, it’s a pretty common sci-Fi theme, but nevertheless interesting to explore in a musical way.
Noted. And titles such as ‘Posthuman’ and ‘Guinea Pig’ struck me: do you think about the Big Questions a lot?
Ha ha, that’s a tough one. It would be kind of presumptuous of me, to say that I am thinking about it a lot, but I tend to reflect on things from time to time.
I guess I draw a lot from movies – classics and contemporary alike.
Can you take us through ‘Influx’?
Writing ‘Influx’ was quite fun in the end, although it went through something like three iterations. The idea was to have an opening track, that pretty much works like a movie trailer: it should create something like an epic feeling, drawing you into the “musical scenery” – and of course it should hit really hard. We wanted it to be bold.
Back in October last year, we started working on an old track idea of mine. It was more of a D&B-Roller like “Never Stop” back then, with a big cinematic intro – synth pulses, orchestral toms and horns. After a week though, we got stuck and decided to strip it down. The day after, Tobi came up with this stumbling bass groove.
It was working quite well, but I felt it needed some kind of musical and rhythmic anchor for the listener. So I quickly came up with this annoying rave-stab and suddenly it started to come together. Also by that time the working title for the track was born: ‘Captain Hook’.
I take it you love producing. Does it extend beyond D&B?
By now I’m almost producing and writing music full time. A few years ago I started leed:audio together with Tobi and Jakob AKA Neonlight – a company that specializes in sound design and composition for games and other media.
So there’s always something to do, apart from producing D&B.
This might sound a bit cliché, but the ability to evoke all kind of emotions just with a few acoustic events is still the most fascinating thing about production or music in general.
As I’m not that much of an extroverted person, producing or writing music also always has been some kind of non-verbal communication for me.
Tell us more?
When I’m writing music, I tend to always have some kind of image or scenery and a certain mood in my head. So finishing a tune is often more about trying to depict that image or convey that mood in a musical way, rather than the – often annoying – technicalities.
For the future I definitely would like to do some more work in the field of interactive media. I already had the chance to work on video games and it was really intriguing, as it often demands quite a different approach to writing music.
OK so following on could you depict the location we would be in if the music of Wintermute was a physical place? What does it look like?
I think, it would be a place somewhere in the near future, that is cramped, crowded, shabby and dirty. Something that would resemble Alien‘s interior design on a cityscape level.
I always liked those down-to-earth “retro-futuristic” – although that’s probably not the proper term – industrial designs.
You name Alien, so name five films you really like.
As I am kind of a movie nerd, this is really tough to nail down. But I guess I’ll try – in no particular order:
Blade Runner
This might almost seem like a stereotype, but I just have to put it in, as it was such a seminal movie.
Solaris… the Tarkovski one.
Also an all-time sci-fi classic for me. Though-provoking and visually stunning.
Brazil
Also a lovely and weirdness movie. A Terry Gilliam Version of 1984.
Nobody Knows / Dare mo shiranai
As I’m a big fan of East-Asian cinema, this is more or less a placeholder for some of my favourite Japanese directors like Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu or Shinja Tsukamoto.
Lost Highway
I’ve always been a fan of David Lynch’s work. There is always a certain weirdness and tension in his movies.
On the visual front, who did the art for the ep?
Tom Hamel, who already did some of the artworks for Blackout, also made our cover art. We just gave him a broad overview of our thought process behind the EP and he quickly came up with an idea.
What is it about D&B as a form that captivates you?
For me, it is still one of the genres, that tries to push boundaries in terms of sound design. I guess, there are people, who look upon this as over-zealous nerd-work that is not adding anything to the music. But I think it is quite integral for a certain sound aesthetic.
Apart from that, I always loved the physicality of D&B.
What changes do you sense in the D&B scene?
Currently, I guess all musicians have to cope with the decline of sales and the devaluation of music in general.
On one hand almost everyone is able to write music through means of technology nowadays, but on
the other we are getting swarmed with new music every day. I find it really hard to keep up with flood of new releases every week, especially in a fast-paced scene like drum and bass. Pun intended.
On the bright side, I think we are currently seeing a rise of D&B in terms of global recognition… even hitting the local radio stations in Germany, which is rather rare. So even if it might not be my cup of tea, I think, it’s still quite healthy for the scene as a whole, as more people get in touch with the music.
OK to wrap up, what is next from you, Wintermute?
I’m currently doing some remix work. Apart from that, I got a bunch of ideas that I need to get finished. It’s almost an EP, but probably less conceptual this time.