Category Archives for Interviews

TM Shuffle: Finnish Dub Techno Master & Purveyor of Black Gold

Hello readers, Eric here.  Over the last couple years I've been really into dub techno sounds - especially some of the material only out on vinyl. It's not everyday one of your favorite new producers pops by for an in-depth Q&A.  So I'm very fortunate to have such talent open up on a ton of topics below.  

His release called "Midnight Dubs" is probably my favorite EP in a long time and it's definitely the favorite piece of vinyl I've added to my collection in the last couple years.

This just got released on Bandcamp for those of you without turntables or those vinyl super fans like me who wanted a digital copy without the hassle of recording vinyl to digital. 

Tell us who you are, where you're from, how long you have been DJ'ing Producing

My real name is Jukka Hänninen and I come from the forests of middle Finland. I produce and dj as Tm Shuffle. I also do/did collaborations being half of Shuffless and Sleazemaster. I got into djing in 1991, first in school discos and local restaurants. Techno got me pretty soon and I stopped playng commercial music.

First it was techno and trance (Harthouse, Rising High records etc) but the moodier techno with dubby and Detroit influences got me around 97. From there on ”the basic sound” has remained somewhat the same. I took a break from about 2004 to 2014 but been pretty active since that. I've stayed pretty much under the radar and that will probably stay so too as I'm not into pushing myself into the spotlights. But I do want to do my best to promote the music I love.

What labels do you represent? Vuo/Ranges Dubs - anything else?

I've been fortunate to have my music released on some pretty cool labels. I've released an ep on Irenic, another on Mouche, also tracks on Ranges, Stardub, Berg Audio and my own Vuo records. As Shuffless we have released on Synchrophone, Feel Raw Audio and HPTY. I'm very proud of all these and every release always feels special. As a vinyl head I value highly especially the vinyl releases. Cant beat the feeling of putting a piece of black gold on your 1200.

What is your signature style or sound?

If needed to pigeonhole it, it would be dub techno. And that does sum it pretty well but then again I dont like to just do the same track over and over again. Sometimes it goes more techno, sometimes more house, sometimes it's nocturnal moods, sometimes beach sounds. But every time there are quite a lot of delays, echos and perhaps a certain trippiness and deepness in there.

The Shuffless tracks are a different story altogether; they derive from the classical techno cities' sounds and are thus more ”organic” than my personal production.

Let's talk about the excellent EP "Midnight Dubs" - initially released only on vinyl and now for sale digitally on bandcamp - what was the concept and thought process?

Thanks, cool that you like it! The concept was first doing a split EP together with my friend Monoder. We listened to each other's fresh production trying to find tracks that would spark ideas for remixes (the idea from the beginning was to do cross-remixes. I somehow love the concept of split EP's a lot). When we finished the remixes we looked at cool labels that release similar-sounding music. We made a list of 3 labels to approach. Ranges was the first on the list and as they loved the tracks, it was clear that the music had found its home.

Who is Monoder - and his interpretation of Dream State is also amazing - thunderous hypnotic and drummy - is this his style in general or how did his variation come about?

Monoder is a longtime friend of mine, Jussi-Pekka Parikka. He has done a lot in the field of music; releasing tens of EP's, playing in Jori Hulkkonen's experimental 303 orchestra, running his labels and so on. Of his productions I always loved the Monoder stuff the most. Its his output for dubby, more technoid experimental stuff. On that alias he has done some serious groovers like the Ikikieriö EP on Statik Entertainment and terrific stuff for Pakkaslevyt.

Nice detail is that I taught him to mix on 1200's sometime around 1994. We have gone quite a long road together...

His remix was what he wanted to do to Dream State. It sure is thunderous and very very powerful – I love it.

The track "Dream State" is the stand out for me - what kind of chord progression is this, can you give a brief music theory lesson to the readers?

The chords are pretty basic, the base is minor E chord. Heh, I almost always go minor. Perhaps its the Slavic musical influence of certain melancholy. I played with the chord, made a few lines around it and selected the one that worked best and then loop, loop, loop with minor modifications. I have a 4-hour rule. It means that when you make a loop and can listen and work on it without pausing for 4 hours, it's powerful enough. In that 4 hours you can do quite a lot of basework for the actual track too.

Do you know how to play piano or do you use various tools or sequencers to play chords and such?

Yeah I have basic piano skills. I can play from notes somewhat and play chords etc. That is the base for all work but still most stuff I produce comes by ear. I also love using samples, and also using them for different things; using just a small bit of a bassdrum sample for a clap, using a chord sample for a bass and so on. Generally misusing samples is a nice way to get tracks started. Also when you sample from vinyl, you get a nice warm sound that might be crucial to the groove of a track. But on Dream State, I played the chords in and only did a bit of quantizing for them. If you quantize it totally, it loses liveliness. So it's gotta be tight enough but not 100%.

And also what about the patch of the chord itself?  Is it a hardware or soft synth?

The chord patch is done on Subtractor of Reason (my one and only Daw). Quite many folks who use Reason nowadays dont touch Subtractor as there are a lot of way more advanced ones available but hey – it's their loss. You have pretty much all that is needed in it and you can make sounds fast. Sometimes you need to be very fast to catch an idea that comes to mind. After the patch plays, it goes to a chamber of different echoes. I like using a lot of different reverbs and delays, they really warp the sound to outer space when (mis)used properly.

I have a thought of having the track pretty simple if written to notes, but on the course of the track the notes just sound very different. Would be cool to have thought of that myself but unfortunately no, heh. When you listen to for example Basic Channel stuff you have it; for example an eternal classic TrakII by Phylups; the notes stay exactly the same for 13 minutes but the moods and atmospheres change so much with the use of effects and slight modifications to the sound. I just love it.

Those spicy 16th note dirty shakers love them!  Are they in fact shakers - never really heard percussion like this and they really stand out - perhaps they are hi hats

Yeah, they do jump on you a bit... They are shakers, played really low and they have a ton of delay and reverb on them. The fx bring back the lost highs. Pretty basic twist but how it sounds alltogether (also mixed pretty upfront) makes the sound.

And the bass - definitely has that walking bass - sing/song vibe - similar to above - are you proficient on the keys or did you program that in?

The bass theme is quite common in dub / dub techno. Heartbeat bass, walking bass, whatever everyone likes to call it. A few extra notes added in there so it doesn't sound too monotonous. It comes from a sequencer but it has some tweaks on it. The patch on this one is also from Subtractor, triangle+sawtooth waves, a bit of detune and filtered real low + some tube damage to make it round but punchy.

Speaking of studio & production - tell us about your approach - is it in the box, hardware, all of the above?

It's all that and none of that... Sometimes it's only Reason, sometimes it's all hardware jammed live in. It depends on mood and feeling of the day. I have a basic way of working in Reason so catching a quick idea is most times done with that. But for the jams I have some trusted pieces of equipment; TR8, Korg Es-1 and ESX samplers, SH-01A, Akai Miniak, Emu XL7 and of course a BX mixer to bring in the warmth.

You mentioned you like to break the rules and have some un-orthodox methods - can you give some examples from this Dream State or the other tune Tracks Name?

Yeah, it sounds a bit cliche but sometimes breaking the rules gets you nice results. No risks – normal outcome and no excitement. On Dream State and Tracks name remix, maybe not so many uncommon tricks besides going all wet on the shaker fx but nice things can be gained for example sending the whole drum machine to a verb or a delay or using a sample for something totally different than it was aimed for.

tm shuffle

Let's talk vinyl - how often are you putting records out? Are they purely vinyl only or do most get reborn sometime later on digital platforms?

It depends quite a lot. I do music all the time and send it to labels I love in bursts. It might take 4 months without sending anything but when I have some nice tracks, I might send more demos in a short time. It's always to labels I love and buy records from. The music has to come naturally and when it does, I check what labels it would suit and approach based on that. I'm definately a vinyl junkie so I'm looking for labels that release vinyl. It's tangible, feels nice, smells nice, you know if your favourite was A1 or B2... and also that is what I always have loved. The music is tied together to the piece of black gold it is on. I have no problem with digital but for me it's just not the same.

Then again, I think the music should be available to everyone so digital release should be included too in the perfect scenario. That's what I do with Vuo records; first the releases come out on wax and after some months digital. I haven't shouted too much of the digital releases of Vuo so far, it's been more so that ”one that seeks, finds”. But Vuo will get more into the digital game too.

What are your thoughts on BandCamp and selling direct to fan?

I like a lot what Bandcamp does. The division of money is pretty fair to me. I also love how they have program for bands and record labels, and in the agreement text of the band program they say ”we know that some record labels use this program but no problem, we wont sue you” or something along the lines of that. So yes, I think they are the good guys.

For people wondering how they can go about putting their own music out on vinyl - how much cash should they have if they want to do a nice 180 gram  disc with a proper sleave?

It all depends a lot but as a rule of thumb; the pressing for 250 records is somewhere in the ballpark of 1100€, mastering some hundred €:S, shipping etc some hunders too and so on. If you want to do business, do something else. But if you are passionate about it, it is the zen-level of things for sure. But, pressing a wax of music that doesnt have passion in it doesnt make it any better. So music first, medium second is my opinion.

Do you find a distributor first who may say "yes" or do you go right to mastering for vinyl and send the distributor test presses and cross your fingers they say yes.

I think it's best to first think the whole thing through pretty well; have an idea of what your label does, who is the music aimed for, have the 3 first releases planned etc. When you have that, you upload the EP's (as private links) along with the gfx and your ”story” and approach the distributors. Again here its important to approach the ones that distribute similar sounds to yours. There is no point whatsover in sending a million mails to random companies and relying on your luck. It's a waste of time for everyone involved. Do your homework and approach the ones that already work with something close to your sound and thing.

Can one expect to make any money or should it be expected to lose/break even?

You can make money of music but I dont think its the way to look at it. If you are passionate about it and would do it for fun anyways, then you should look into it. For making money there are better ways like copiers and greenbacks (I didnt say that...)

Can you let us know about any upcoming events/broadcasts and releases?  

I do a monthly podcast (last Sunday of every month) called Ruutana By Night for Timeline Music. So the next one is on the 26th of April. It is a soundtrack for what the streets of Ruutana sound by night; distant, mellow, nocturnal but on the other hand things might change for at-your-face too. So it's mellow techno if you want to say it simply...

The next release of Vuo records is released on 12” in the beginning of May. It is called Nocturnal Mood Series Vol3. It is the 3rd in the Mood Series and has some serious mindbending, hiptwisting music by Octaedre, Ohm, Halbton and Tm Shuffle. It's dubby and deep but has a lot of ruling power over your hips. I'm very proud to have the incredible tracks from producers whose sound I really love on the release.

I also have some EP's planned for some favourite labels of mine but as there are no release dates, it's best to limit that info to this at this point.

Any last words or parting words of wisdom?

Stay deep, stay real.

Links

Luckily for you readers the Midnight Dubs EP just got released digitally on Bandcamp. Great to have for those of you without decks. 

Follow TM Shuffle on Soundcloud

Jukka's Lable Vuo on Bandcamp

Get the latest release on Decks.de

Catch his podcasts live at this link.

Meet Diana May from Berlin

Diana is an in-demand DJ residing in Berlin & beyond.  She does a number of parties, teaches and writes for amazona.de.  Catch her in the mix below. Her new single is out now.

Meet Diana Mau from Berlin - ▼ DJ ▼ Artist Coach @ Music Pool Berlin / Noisy Academy ▼ Producer.

Devil's Bells is her new single which is out now. Check it out on Beatport. 

In her own words, "Devil´s Bells is produced in Ableton, all automations I made with the APC MK 2, main synth with Serum VST.

Main Sounds are the reversed bells, a split hit hat ( which was the actual starting point, every sound is build around that) and the serum synth. 

Name of the track is referring to the bell sound ( original name of the bells is: „cursed bells“), plus my mom used to call me devil´s child - somehow it reminded me of that time 😀

Next release „Murmur" is out on 3rd of Oktober on Kellerbeats."

https://www.beatport.com/track/devils-bells-original-mix/12331004

Diana's Upcoming Events:

19.08 Crack Bellmer - Berlin

06.09 FridayHappiness - Tojeiro Portugal

12.10 Technoklstsche, Oldenberg (DE)

Nicola Baldacci On The Move

Nicola Baldacci returns to the blog with some news!  While there's a bit of a language barrier, I love Nicola's passion for the music.  Thanks for stopping by again, congrats on your latest news and best wishes.

How was your Summer?

Good Good Good Summer, we did my fourth party NICOLA BALDACCI & FRIENDS in my country Magione (Pg)

it was really nice to share moments with my friends a 100% tech house party (Guest Dj MARCO PAS From Reverse Party)

now I'm waiting to return to my second home ME CANCUN where I expect two beach party I love Mexico there is nothing to do.

and my calendar is always open for the winter season.


What are your thoughts on the present and future of electronic music?

The future of electronic music is moving fast; There are many producers and lots of excellent music.

It’s hard to stand out from so many real people.


I noticed you signed to a booking agency - how did that work?
After much work the booking agencies arrivedI new entry on booking agency in brazil

SUBSOLO BOOKINGS they sell nicola baldacci in brazil on festival club ecc

now I'm also closing with a French  agent Lyone,I'm really happy about this..


How is the music coming?

Me and my bro Francesco lately we have focused on techno music, we're working on tracks both techouse and techno

we have had the support of so many artists techouse and techno as JORIS VOORN / NEVERDOGS / MARKANTONIO / RICHIE HAWTIN

AND MORE....so it means things work fine I also have to thank my promotion agency POOL PROXY (GR)

you can find our productions: www.soundcloud.com/nicolabaldacci / https://soundcloud.com/kecko93

Are you now part of a production Duo - Baldacci/Romano? What made you stop flying solo?

My project is always active,I'm also working singly in my projects Gigs and Track.

the union with Francesco Romano serves to be more complete as far as the tracks are concerned.

we are inside the family NERVOUS REC / ADUNANZA REC / and we decided to join in to aim higher.
so we can create everything

What do you have planned for the rest of the year?
We have several track is outpot an ep on Be Color Music 2 track Techouse and an ep on Ride Music
containing 3 tracks and remix pack by joshua puerta artist by Music On.

One ep and one single track on Nervous Records a track has been supported by Neverdogs @ music on party.

and our calender is always open.

Do you have any upcoming collaborations, or is there anyone with whom you would like to work in the future?

I have several open collaborations, but I will not say anything until they are finished (LOL).

Meet Simon Watkins aka Saffaboy

Who are you?  I have been a DJ for well over 25 years now. I started producing my own stuff about two years ago and have not looked back since! I spend as much time as I can producing- on the train, during my lunch hour, over the weekends basically whenever I have a few minutes spare you will find me plugged in.  

Tell us about your and your background in dance music? I originally started out as a radio presenter back in the mid 90's in South Africa. Rave had just hit the scene and I covered (for the radio station) most of the big parties that took place at that time. I had the privilege of interviewing Tony De Vit watching Carl Cox mix on 3 decks up close, met Frankie Knuckles and many other great memories from that time.

 I decided to move to the UK in 1998 but could not find any work as a radio presenter. So I decided to lock myself in a friends basement in London for 4 months and teach myself to mix using vinyl and an old Gemini 626 mixer. In those days it was all about hard house! Following that I left the UK to go travelling and ended up playing in Thailand - Indonesia and Australia. I landed up back in the UK where I played professionally and promoted gigs in one of the best towns in the U.K. For dance culture and live music: Brighton that is where I find myself today- not playing professionally any more but I do get out at least once a month - the DJ bug never lets go 🙂  

 Describe your skill level as a producer? I would say that I am at an intermediate level. My skill set improves all the time. To quote one of my favorite producers: Maceo Plex: " Make a lot of shit music and you will eventually start to make good music" I have made a lot of crap music! I am happy to say that I have started to turn a corner and every next tune I make is better than the last one! 

 Where did you look for production related tips and tutorials before finding the Underground Elite course and ItsTheDJ.com? I am a course junky! I have used : Producer Tech / Sonic Academy / Fader Pro and loads of you tube videos in the past. 

 What was/is your #1 sticking point? My number one sticking point was moving away from what I call clip based production and using midi to create my own sounds and patterns. 

 How has the course helped you over come it? The course cut through the noise and uncertainty by being a no BS one stop shop to finishing music quickly whilst achieving great sound. 

 How long did it used to take you to complete a track? It used to take ages to finish tunes mostly because of procrastination and self doubt. 

 How long are tracks taking you now? I knock them out super quick now. I have a six month release schedule of tunes all ready to go. With at least 3 more in the pipeline. My main focus right now is getting the social media stuff in order to increase my followers and fan base. 

 How has the course save you time, money, or frustration? The price was super reasonable and Eric is always on hand to answer any questions and feedback that I have. Being on hand to discuss is what sets this course aside. I haven't done another course since this one and have completed at least 4 records in a couple of months. 

 Can you name 3 other things, good, bad about your experience? Good: very informative and easy to understand. Bad: not having access to all of the plugins! 

 Is there anything that stands out that you'd want others to know? Do the course spend a little money and you will get so much more in return! Hands on help and weekly updates with plenty of useful free stuff that will assist you to make better music quicker! 

 ---

Here's a track Simon recently finished. Check it out.

 

5 Questions with (Dj) Agent Orange from New York City

Big thanks to (DJ) Agent Orange for dropping by to discuss his influences, workflow, and his new "Overshadow" EP out May 22nd on Bitten.  Ara (aka Agent Orange) and I have been connected on Facebook for a little while now.  We're both Maschine users and he supported my track "Friction" that was released late last year, dropping it during an after hours set on New Year's Day.

Agent Orange has an impressive resume and long history behind the decks.  From his bio, "He has had over 40 releases and tracks land the Beatport Techno Top100 – two of which rose to #1 – for labels such as Tronic, Toolroom, Bitten, Nervous, Deeperfect, and Terminal M."

Since NYC is close to home and near and dear to my heart, feel free to explain how the scene influenced your work over the years

I was born in NYC and grew up here. In the 80’s it was a really exciting time for the new music genres of House, Rap and Latin Freestyle. They all really struck a chord with me as a kid as far back as I can remember, from around ’84-’88. I really fell in love with this music. Then in ’89 at 12 years old I started to collect records and practice as a DJ. I started to play parties all over Queens and then eventually Manhattan. Over the next few years I got to experience many clubs, crowds and venues in the city. Also as a clubber, I was lucky enough to catch the early 90’s era of clubbing and raving, which was probably the greatest dance music moment this city had to offer, only second to the previous Studio 54, Paradise Garage days of Disco. In New York we were exposed to a lot of great music so basically I would go play raves on Fridays, go to underground house clubs on Saturday and Body & Soul on Sundays. I did this for many years. All these influences and amazing DJs like Louie Vega, Todd Terry, Roger S, Joey Beltram, countless Rave DJs, Francois K and co., taught me a lot about both the music and DJing.

You have a massive catalog on Beatport, but the volume really ramped up in the past couple years, while moving away from house/tech house. What do you attribute that to?

Since I began to make my own music in the mid 90s, I was always making Tech-House, House and Techno. Things started picking up with my Tech-House productions around 2013 when I got signed to UMEK’s 1605 label. It really opened a lot of doors for me. I continued with that sound for a while until I got kinda bored with it, as a lot of stuff started to sound very similar because of lazy producers that were over using loop packs. I found darker sounds more interesting again and decided to mix a more groovy sound into darker Techno and that seemed to gain a lot of fans and labels that liked that sound.

What advice do you have for people who are not beginners, but don’t have any releases out but want to - aside from the handling the basic do’s and don’ts, what’s the best approach for newer producers - send demos?  Network?  Make connections?

All of the above! You have to do a bit of everything in the business. Def do what you are best at and enjoy, the most. There are some things that should take priority, like focus on things that are part of the global scene, releasing music, trying to meet bigger artists and labels, even if you don’t have music ready to shop around. The DJing part is fun but in reality if spending all of your time working on getting small gig it won’t give you so much exposure, so go for things that make a big impact and also get some gigs here and there to stay relevant in you local scene. Travel around as much as you can too. The main thing about this business/lifestyle is the way it can bring so many awesome people together.

What was your approach to this EP and what inspired it?

I’m feeling really dark grooves with some tribal/latin influences and some nice vocals here and there, at the moment. I just love the way those elements come together on a big sound system in a nice dark room. So I start with putting a good groove together and take it from there.

Joey Beltram on the remix? That’s huge, how’d that happen? Once I finished the track I sent it to Sandy Huner at Bitten records and he felt Joey would like it being that he charted my previous release on Bitten and since we came from the same scene in NYC absorbing the same influences.

Listen to the full EP Here

 

 

Young talent on the rise - Interview with Connor Skidmore

Connor Skidmore (aka Mikronaut) and I connected on Soundcloud several years ago, then Facebook, and he signed one of my tracks for a compilation last year.

His music is techno, very polished, melodic and high energy.  You can find his stuff on labels like Funk'n Deep and 2 of his own imprints.

All seemed to be on the up and up for the young producer & label owner and then I saw a status on Facebook that read,

"2 more remixes, 3 more EPs, and 1 more compilation, and then I'm out.

Thanks, everyone, for all of your support. It has made me realize that I still have a long way to go to become the artist I truly want to be. Until then, I'm locking myself in the studio and working day and night, you probably won't be hearing much from me, and you won't hear a trace of what I'm working on before it's ready. Thanks again! Mikronaut signing off."

So I figured I'd reach out to learn more about his planned hiatus, and studies abroad. That's right, Connor has produced a lot and isn't even 21 yet.

So Connor, congrats on what you’ve accomplished so far, to me you’ve got a lot under your belt, what do you want the world to know about IQ140 & Soul Storm and did I miss other notable accomplishments?

Thanks for inviting me to do this interview! I have a lot in store for both iq140 and SoulStorm. First, iq140 is the label I’ve been managing since the end of 2014, and I’m already very happy with where it is going. It has recently undergone some big changes. Originally we had a “sublabel” called iq140 Ltd. for more underground and experimental releases, but we recently decided to merge the two, so from now on releases on the label will go out every two or three weeks, and they will be much more of a mixed bag. I’m not trying to make this label into anything huge, so I intend always to release whatever I want, from whoever I want, no matter whether it’ll help the label to grow. That has been one of my biggest joys in running this label, discovering new talent who produce some really special music, but haven’t gotten any exposure because they’re music breaks the norm.

SoulStorm is a bit different in that it will only feature a very specific style of music, club-oriented melodic techno. I’m also using this name to brand my events, and I intend to evolve the name over the next few years (since I’m a college student, as time/money permits) to become a label, event platform, and booking agency. Releases for this label might even be as infrequent as 4-5 per year at this point, because I want to be sure every release is as close to being perfect as possible, both the music and the artwork. I am also very hyped for what’s in store for this label, as already we’re working on EPs with some of my favorite producers, and a lot of the tracks I’ve been sent are ridiculously huge.

You’re just getting back to the States from a semester abroad. Mostly in Italy, or where else did you stay?

Yeah, I spent three and a half months in Rome. At the time of writing I’ve only been back in the States for just over a month, but I already greatly miss Italy, and Rome feels like a second home to me. I did some traveling on the weekends as well, mostly within Italy, but also in London.

So you’re from Minnesota, what is the scene like there and what have you experienced?

The scene in the Twin Cities is great, full of many extremely talented and devoted DJs and producers. Techno legends like DVS1, Dustin Zahn, and Woody McBride have helped to shape the scene. I haven’t experienced a lot since I’m too young to get into the 21+ events, but the few events I’ve attended have been very special, very high energy and great vibes. My only regret with the scene here is that my production and mixing style is quite different from what most people are playing and producing here, but in a way it’s nice because it means that I’m surrounded by lots of diverse sources of inspiration. A couple of years ago I’d say I was striving for pretty much a straight festival/peak-time sound, something like the mainstage of Awakenings, and since hearing a wonderful techno radio show here which keeps things chill most weeks, I’ve been inspired to try to keep those underground, chill, and psychedelic vibes in everything I produce. You can hear that in most tracks I’ve released if you listen closely, but it’s most prominent in tunes like “Pandora’s Box,” “Acid Machine,” and “Delusion.”

I see you on the socials and you’re a devoted Drumcode fan, what was the party like that you went to, it was at Gashouder in Amsterdam right?

Oh, I wish it was the Gashouder, but I couldn’t make it out to that unfortunately because of a conflicting visit to Naples that weekend. I ended up going to Drumcode Halloween the next weekend, and it was incredible. That venue is honestly probably my favorite so far, and Boxia’s set in particular just blew my mind. I also loved being able to hear some of my favorite tunes played over a great sound system. When Marco Faraone played he dropped his tracks “Replace,” “Boost,” and “Over The Clouds” back to back, and hearing them in that context it was clear that every element of these tracks was built to work well in a club.

I’m sure this party was unreal. I’m curious, compared to what you’ve experienced in the states, what is the scene across the pond like?

There is a great scene in Italy, and I’d say techno is far better known there. The crowd felt a bit more rowdy than at a typical night in the Twin Cities. (Maybe that’s our Minnesota nice!) But my favorite thing about the scene in Rome was that it’s a big enough city that my favorite DJs came through pretty much every two weeks, and that’s something that never happens in Minnesota.

Did you have a chance to play any parties?

Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to play there, though. I was working with a couple of buddies and promoters to put together a SoulStorm label night, but the scene is very competitive and I had limited funding, so it fell through.

And now on to the meaty stuff. I’ve heard your tracks and bought a few from IQ 140. You have a hard yet melodic sound and your tracks sound very clean and open. How did you develop your sound as it is right now?

. I’d say my sound started from a different angle than that of a lot of techno producers. I grew up listening to early works from Philip Glass, and I loved his melodic soundscapes that slowly evolved over the course of sometimes up to an hour. I also really enjoyed the music of Shpongle, a psychedelic duo that is still one of my favorite groups today. So when I began to produce music it was very eclectic and psychedelic.

And then I was introduced to deadmau5 and began to produce some progressive house. By the time I became serious about production I was still very much influenced by these sounds, and as a result I have a very hard time producing anything without melody. On the other side of things, when I discovered techno music it was through Adam Beyer’s Drumcode radio show, so naturally I fell in love with the heavy peak-time-style beats of his productions and label. I try to balance these two elements in all of my productions, and even have them in mind when I try to produce something softer or more minimal. Finally, as I mentioned before, particularly in the past year I’ve been taking influence for some more underground sounds. I see Drumcode techno and underground “true” techno as two fundamentally different genres.

The former has breaks and drops, just like forms of EDM and tech house. The latter is more about hypnotizing the listener rather than building and releasing the energy to keep things interesting, or it relies on the DJ to do that. I want my productions to have the hypnotic effect of the underground, but I still love breaks, builds, and drops too much to get rid of them.

What about the projects you have lined up, that’s not a small under taking. Can you share details and when can we expect them to be released?

As you mentioned, I don’t have a lot lined up anymore, but I do have three more things lined up. First, at the end of the month I’ll be releasing a remix of Disco Dirt’s “Colony” on bubblejam. The original is a track that I really love, and I’m sure you’ll hear it in my sets for months or years to come, because it’s very deep and almost has some tech trance vibes. I have one more remix coming out eventually, no date planned yet.

Finally, as my way of “going out with a bang,” I’ll be releasing an 8-track EP (four originals and four remixes from a few of my favorite artists) on the midwest-based label Kinetic Records. 3 of the 4 remixes are nearly finished, and all of them have exceeded my wildest expectations.

After that, I go into full studio mode. In the past couple of months of focusing on my sound and style I think I’ve already found the elements that I love to use most in my music. I don’t want to limit myself to using these elements in every track, so instead I’m working to make them as strong and unique as possible. That way, when these sounds inevitably show up in my productions they sound unique and interesting.

For these last tracks will you be bringing something different to the table or will you be putting your current mark on it? So the hiatus…what prompted it, why the break and what do you want to accomplish?

I’d say most of these tunes have that signature Mikronaut sound, however, bubblejam and Kinesis both have very diverse styles, so they’ve allowed me to experiment far more than many other labels would. I’m definitely branching out for my final EP, a couple of the tunes are quite different than anything I’ve tried before, and I think it’s a small taste of the major experimentation that’s going to take place during this hiatus.

Thanks Connor we look forward to what you have in store.

In the mean time check out Connor's Music Here

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