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/
1 comment:
Great interview! Thanks, Woodzee!
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