CDR London has always been a breeding ground for new talent, with many of its alumni releasing critically acclaimed records for both charts and the underground. While many of them don't get the chance to attend regularly, we have started to see a new generation of attendees slowly make their mark.  It's with this in mind that we'd like to introduce you to Matches, a very promising producer who we first met at LEME 2014.

When and where did you first attend CDR? What do you recall?

At Plastic People in London earlier this year. I remember the energy that night: a lot of excited/nervous people, the dark room with the red light in the corner, and, of course, the soundsystem.

How did you hear about CDR?

A friend of mine – Eric Lau – told me about it and encouraged me to head down. He mentioned he’d been down himself and found it a great experience.

Any other noteworthy CDR memories?

Seeing people dance at Plastic for the first time to the tune I submitted was one I’ll always remember.

How long have you been making music and how would you describe your journey?

I’ve been playing music pretty much all my life. My mother used to take me to Indian percussion lessons to play the tabla from the age of 6 and I picked up the guitar in my teens. I only really started making music about 8 or 9 years ago though. I started off with long, greasy hair playing guitar in bands with friends, before digging for records and making jazzier, sampled based hip-hop stuff. I then moved onto making more of the music that I do today. And, yes, I got a haircut along the way…

It’s been a fun journey so far; that’s why I do it. It’s great experimenting with ideas and concepts and learning about different types of music.

Have you a favourite club and/or soundsystem?

Plastic People as my favourite soundsystem. Met a lot of good friends there, had a lot of jokes and always hear incredible music. The system there is one of the best in London too and just completely takes the experience to another level. Although I also have some really good memories of Benji B’s Deviation nights at Gramaphone too.

Please give a brief (as you see fit) description of your current production set up.

Nothing too crazy. An Apple iMac, Logic, Reason, MPC 3000, Roland JX-3P, Epiphone SG-300, Fender bass, Fender Blues Junior amp and a bunch of guitar pedals.

Have you a favourite piece of equipment? Something you always return to or at the centre of your studio. Please could you tell us about it? When/where did you pick it up? What makes it special?

I’d say my favourite is probably the Roland JX-3P. It’s an analog synth with basic MIDI output too. I picked it up off ebay 3 or 4 years ago but got a great deal on it because the synth had to be picked up from the middle of nowhere (which was fortunately close to where my parents live). It has a lovely, warm tone to it which you can use to get some really nice sounds out of.

Any projects or tracks your working on at the moment that you’d like to let us know about?

I’ve got a forthcoming vinyl release on Arkhive London Records coming out early next year which includes the first track I played at CDR. Also got another track on there with Kaidi Tatham (EDITOR: if this is the one we think it is, it's big!) on keys that I’m really happy about.

Finally, have you any advice or words of warning for producers/musicians developing musical works in progress to play at CDR?

Do your thing and don’t be afraid of sharing your music. Its good to take time to refine your ideas, but the earlier you get your stuff out there the more you’ll learn.

Keep tabs on Matches via his Soundcloud and Facebook & Twitter

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