1)
Firstly thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. Can
you tell us a little about when you took your first steps into music
production?
I
first got into production through being in bands with my older
brother Tom. He used to record on a Fostex 4 track recorder before
developing a passion for electronic music and was composing his own
music within Cubase, he managed to study it at A level on a
scholarship to the local public school as our school didn’t have
the technology or teachers. I was luckily able to follow suit and
spent most of my final years at school in the studio making mistakes!
I used to spend hours and hours creating unusable beats but that’s
what it’s all about when you’re first starting, I learnt more
from trial and error than from any formal education I received and
continued experimenting with various DAWs throughout my late teens
resting on Ableton but switching to Logic when I arrived at Youth’s.
2)
You worked as a sound engineer in Youth’s studio. Can you tell us
how that came about and the most important things you learnt in the
role.
Again,
this came about by being in a band with my brother, after years of
listening to Killing Joke as well as Shpongle and Ott, Tom found
himself in a band with Youth’s nephew, which was crazy at the time,
we had no idea of his connection to Youth or the connection between
those artists. Fast forward a couple years and we were showing our
demos to Youth with the potential of recording our EP in his Spanish
studio, unfortunately the band fizzled out but Tom reconnected after
his degree and was offered work experience, once he had his foot in
the door I dropped out of university straight away to sleep on Tom’s
floor and work my way up from tea boy.
I learnt a lot about the
different personality types of musicians and artists in general,
Youth’s place had a constant stream of various creative sorts
coming in and out every week from major celebrities to quirky
leftfield thinkers, being able to handle an artist’s ego and seeing
where they struggle shows you a lot about your own creative process.
It was also invaluable seeing the discipline of writing/recording
songs every day and getting into the healthy habit of finishing
projects.
3)
How did you meet Simon Posford and why did you make the move to work
with Twisted Records?
Our
first proper conversation was at Youth’s festival at his studio in
Spain, it was only brief but we seemed to get along. I was in a
difficult place, knowing I wanted to do music and being in, what on
the outside, seemed to be the perfect place but I didn’t feel there
was enough care over the art having to do things so quickly and I
didn’t want to be an engineer when I had far stronger aspirations
to be an artist.
I left Youth’s without knowing Simon would offer
me work and I spent half a year taking time to take stock of how far
I’d come and remembering what it is I love about music, it was a
life changing moment when Simon sent me that offer!
4)
You’ve just released the Sphongle Re-mixes. How did you find that
in comparison to producing your own compositions and what’s up next
for Cosmic Trigger?
At
first it was an extremely daunting proposition, I’d loved Shpongle
for so many years I wasn’t sure if I could do it justice but I knew
I had it in me so I strove and spent night after night,
experimenting, tweaking and trying mix after mix until it started
taking on a life and sound of it’s own. It’s the most considered
and realised piece of music I’ve ever created, my debut album was
released in a hurry and was done at a far more stressful time in my
life. The trust and space Simon and Twisted gave me with these
remixes was the perfect environment for something organic and true to
grow from.
Next on the Cosmic Trigger agenda is an EP followed by an
album next year probably, I’ve got so many new ideas and techniques
from doing these remixes, I’m excited to get stuck in.
5)
What music genres or musicians influenced you outside of the
psychedelic scene?
There
are really just too many to list to feel I’ve done them and myself
anything close to justice but I’ll share a few - I’m a massive
fan of krautrock, the original 70’s German experimental bands like
Neu!, Can, Ashra and also the modern take on the sound such as
Kikagaku Moyo and Follakzoid. I’m a sucker for strange time
signatures that has been fuelled recently by extensive listening to
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (as well as Shpongle of course!).
Led Zeppelin and Nirvana were two of my biggest influences being
in bands growing up along with garage rock bands such as the 13th
Floor Elevators. I’ve always had a soft spot for quite moody music
too like Sigur Ròs, Radiohead and early Verve.
6)
Are there any new artists or genres you see making an impact in the
near future?
I’m
a huge fan of Koan Sound, they’re already pretty huge but I think
they have the potential for even greater success, I also love Bwoy De
Bhajan’s sound, he creates a lovely blend of organic and cinematic
soundscapes with a lot of panache. I also have a hunch that the
Neo-Psychedelic Rock scene is still yet to see its high water mark,
there are a lot of interesting bands on the rise in that scene.
7)
What advice would you give to up-and-coming producers or sound
engineers?
If
you’re serious about it spend everyday putting in those hours,
there really is no substitution for hard work, simple as that! There
are plenty of good resources on YouTube to learn the basics and
improve technique, anyone can do it if they really go for it and
trust in themselves through all the mistakes and agonising times when
it seems that nothing is ever going to improve.
But most importantly
it really is about having fun and not feeling the need to adhere to
any strict rules of production, style or tempo, our individual tastes
means we won’t all sound the same and neither should we!
8)
There is a lot of doom and gloom floating about regarding the
entertainment industry at the moment from the income for artists with
streaming and the lack of gigs and possible closures of venues with
lock-down situations. Are there any rays of light you can see for the
future in the music industry?
I
think music will always find a way, even if it takes a while to
return to anything like what we’ve been used to over the years
there will always be new art and people yearning for celebration and
release in sound.
Links
https://www.facebook.com/cosmictriggersounds/
https://shponglemusic.bandcamp.com/
