‍When and where did you first attend CDR?

My first CDR was the reboot at Dance Tunnel, I’d heard about it before hand when it was at Plastic People and was always curious about going but after the announcement I promised myself that I’d make the effort to come down, so I bought a ticket to first lecture which was Dego.

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What do you recall?

Before I’d even gotten into the queue I had psyched myself up to become basically a social nuisance. When you know that everyone going there is going to be on a certain level and you might actually get a chance to spiel out the reams of production theory that has taken over your every thought, then it’s important to open your mouth and chat to strangers.

So I got there expecting a queue and was unfortunately greeted with a vacant space, filled only with the awkward prospect of trying to form a queue with people. After whipping the phone out for a brief period of distraction I notice 2 others just milling about near the entrance. Nervously, I blurted “You here for CDR?” And so begun the start of my tradition of chatting shit to strangers in the queue of CDR. An exercise I now relish in.

The first lecture by Dego was funny, if a little rough around the edges. He was asked to come up with a track there and then. Which is no easy task. Unfortunately, he kept getting distracted by various rants I think he’d been wanting to expel to an audience for a while. One the most poignant was the one about how people of my generation and younger refuse to work with anyone else. A lot of his music is actually collaborated with other talented musicians even if they’re not credited, just mates coming over to play a bassline here and there. I still think about that one from time to time, he’s both right and wrong and there’s polar opposite examples even just in the CDR community itself, but that’s a rant for another time maybe.

My track didn’t get played, but I didn’t mind. Heard some really great ideas and noticed that actually bringing something jarringly different from the next track would get you the best reaction. So it was good see an audience that’s receptive to some experimental sounds.

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What have CDR sessions meant to you?

You know those ‘Breaking Through’ articles on Resident Advisor where they interview an up and coming producer. I really envy the people in those articles, not for the recognition, or the flood of bookings they’re about to get, but for the people that they’ve managed to surround themselves with. Usually with other people similarly established in the scene or doing something equally creative.

CDR to me is beyond getting feedback on my latest tune, it’s about meeting and establishing friendships with people that inspire me and to have the conversations that I can’t have back in Hertfordshire. Anything from the subtly of a specific compressor; the latest release on Workshop; the rise and fall of the Broken Beat genre; how woofer placement effects phase alignment and just who mixes down Metro Boomin’s beats.

On top of that it’s meant having confidence in my own tracks, building a support group of friends at CDR who are as excited to hear your new track as you are theirs.

Special shout outs to: Cengiz, the cynical but constantly hilarious Broken Beat don man; Chloe, the first woman I’ve met who enjoys trap music as much as me and is a constant source of inspiration through her work for women in the music industry through the SIREN collective; Felix, for being the sweetest guy and bringing his tempered personality into the music he makes, which honestly should be signed to Giegling ASAP. Seriously check it out.

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Please could you describe your work life/creative life tussle. Any tips or tricks for managing to keep making music?

I’m in the highly enviable position of being able to do music every day. I’m a professional mix engineer and have a studio in Stevenage where I record all kinds of local musicians. So any down time I get is just spent on my own stuff. Hashtag Blessed yh?

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Please give a brief description of your current production set up.

34-inch 21:9 LG 34UM95, 29-inch 21:9 LG 29UM67, Amphion One18s, Amphion amp100, Krk Rokit 6s, MOTU 1248 Interface, Audient ASP880, A Monolith of a PC that will never yield no matter how much I throw at it, CPU overload what? The greatest sounding room any engineer could ask for built by the hardest working man I know, shouts to Kriss.

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

At the moment I’m super busy actually. I also produce a Hertfordshire based band called Live//Learn and I recently put the final touches on their 11 track mixtape. So I’ve been drafting emails and documents non-stop to get ready to put this thing out. So lots of planning still to do, got gigs to book, blogs to email and pizza to eat.

Here’s a little snippet of what’s to come. It’s a live video of a track that will be on the release, you also get a little peak at the studios live room.

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On top of that I’m gearing up for my first release. It’s called ‘For My Bristol Friends’ and it’s out on a Bristol label called Drumz For Eternity. It’s been overwhelming to see that whole thing progress from sending out promo emails and seeing the response of some of my favourite DJs, to seeing it stocked for pre-order on sites I’m used to trawling over. Shops like Phonica, Clone, Juno, Redeye and even Rough Trade. Here’s the preview, it’s out in the first week of April so look out.

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With all of that happening I’ve decided to take a bit of a break from my own stuff. Besides, at the start of the year I managed to write 8 new tracks in 2 months and fill up my soundcloud account with private tracks, so I’m probably due a hiatus of sorts.

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

Sometimes I wonder whether my tunes are getting better or I'm just compressing harder, then I realised they're the same thing.

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Photo Credit Lina Jonsson

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