Download an Ableton Live Set From DJ Gigola

Have you ever considered the role that rhythm plays in shaping our health? Beyond the beats that accompany our favorite tunes, rhythm permeates every aspect of our existence, from the steady cadence of our heartbeat to the rhythmic flow of our breath. 

DJ Gigola’s inaugural solo album, Fluid Meditations, draws profound inspiration from these intrinsic bodily rhythms. Rooted in her academic background in medicine, her work reflects on a world going out of sync while guiding us back to the healing potential of music, meditation and spirituality.

As a teenager growing up in Berlin, Gigola—real name Paulina Schulz—discovered her passion for DJing. Joining the international collective Live From Earth in 2016, she found a network of like-minded artists whose unwavering support helped put her on a path towards a globetrotting music career. After a series of successful collaborative EPs, including “No Es Amor” with Kev Koko and Perra Inmunda, she has been meticulously honing her craft as a solo artist producing notable tracks such as “In The Mood” and “Gigi Groove”.

In partnership with Ableton, we interviewed Schulz about the conceptual and technical approaches underpinning her work. For a direct look into her creative process, she’s also shared the Live Set of her track “Unfolding Practice II.”

Download the Live Set to DJ Gigola’s track “Unfolding Practice II” here*

*Requires a Live 11 Suite license or the free trial.

Please note: This Live Set and included samples are for educational use only and cannot be used for commercial purposes.

Paulina, thanks for talking with us today. First of all, can you describe how your experience as a DJ inspired your move into music production? 

When I would transition the songs I mixed, it was always this aspect of my DJing that felt like music creation. But obviously, I couldn’t take those creations away and release them afterward. As my music selection is very genre-fluid, I was also always looking for songs that could connect the genres elegantly, but I often couldn’t find any. So it was the lack of songs I needed for my sets and the inspiration I experienced when mixing, that first made me want to explore music production. 

So how did you get started producing your own music?

I met Kev Koko, who is a very experienced producer. He used to be with the techno band FJAAK. I told him I wanted to explore production and that I had all these different ideas. He said, “Why don’t you come to my studio and we’ll just do a session.” That was basically how it started. He taught me the basics and encouraged me to write lyrics. He taught me a lot about vocal mixing. He introduced me to Ableton Live, to plug-ins, to writing melodies, and everything like that. After three collaborative EPs and one remix we did together, I felt comfortable enough to do my first solo project, “In the Mood,” which I released in 2022. Fluid Meditations followed in 2023. 

What steps did you take to prepare yourself for releasing solo music?

Before I could release any music by myself, I needed to know what I was doing. No matter what, I would rather practice something for a long time before putting it out there because then I can be proud of what I do. For me personally, I grow confident from competence. 

You’ve developed that competence relatively quickly. Did you have any musical training beforehand?

Yes, I learned how to play the piano, so I already knew about keys and melodies. I still feel like I’m on a learning curve though, I still have my work mixed and mastered by a professional. This is just to double-ensure that the sound experience will be at its best. Rhythm comes quite naturally to me because I also used to be a dancer. In medicine, we learned a little bit about sound synthesis, frequencies, and decibels—but more from the neurological aspect of how sound is processed in the brain.

Your academic background in medicine followed by your transition into professional DJing must have felt like a significant shift in career trajectories. 

I think the job of a DJ and a doctor both capture something that I wanted to do in terms of work because they are both about the human body. Both are about making people feel good. They are especially about making people feel good who are in a vulnerable state. For example, in medicine, it would be about the vulnerability of people who seek help because they might be injured or sick. In DJing it’s about people who are getting into a trance state while dancing. This can also be a very vulnerable state which one has to be careful with. I like that in both jobs I can connect to this vulnerability and help people elevate themselves in a certain state of being. As a DJ you can start a healing journey on a dance floor, at the very least by giving people a good time who are maybe escaping the stress of everyday life. 

Do you think your knowledge of medicine has imparted any unique influences on your approach to music?

I was always quite strict about separating my DJing from my medical background because I wanted to be respected as an artist for that reason only, not because I am a doctor. I don’t want people to book me because they think, “Oh you’re so cool, you’re a Doctor/DJ”. This is not at the core. I did medicine because I love medicine so much, and I still do. I was quite conscious about not mixing these two up. But obviously, I understand that people are interested in this aspect when they ask me

“How can you be this but also that?” So in Fluid Meditations, I allowed myself to express my own point of view as an artist. But I also have to admit that this body of work is influenced by my medical background too. I think this was the first time I was not afraid to fuse both.

Can you pinpoint a specific catalyst in your music career that compelled you to commit to the path fully? 

If it had just been me alone, I never would have said, “Oh I’m going to be a DJ,” I only did DJing on the side. But in 2016 I met the people from Live from Earth and here I found a community that was encouraging me to do more. They gave me a platform to play at parties which was also really difficult at that time, especially as a woman. Meeting my collective was the greatest catalyst and still is the greatest catalyst for my music career even after seven years. We have grown together. Everybody helps each other. I love the community we have created and the work we have done. I don’t think there would be DJ Gigola without Live from Earth. 

Let’s take a look at the Live Set you’ve shared with us. What’s the story behind the track’s title “Unfolding Practice II”?

It’s called “Unfolding Practice II” because it embodies the idea of opening up our physical and mental state to connect to the greater source, which is the spiritual source connecting and unifying everything in the universe. For me, it was a reference to philosophical practice, Buddhist practice, and meditation, where often the idea of spirituality is just the idea of connectivity. It is a transitional state where you open the borders of what you perceive as yourself to let in that which connects you. 

Do you perceive an intersection between music and meditation?

I used the topic or the field of meditation to comment on a world I feel is getting faster and faster. A world where you lose your connection to the moment. I practice yoga, where breathing synchronizes everything. It sets the rhythm. This is followed by asanas, which are the body movements done in a collective movement. It’s the same for me in a club. The music sets the rhythm for everybody. Everyone experiences the same rhythm and moves to it in a collective experience. There’s a similarity in finding yourself in meditation to what you can experience on a dancefloor. I love to play with this. This is where I see a parallel between music and meditation.  

Is there any contextual link between “Unfolding Practice II” and your Fluid Meditations album?

Yes, there’s an ambient version of the track on the album. I presented the album for the first time in Berghain, as a live show. At the time I had broken my leg, I felt vulnerable because of my injury, so the ambient version spoke to me more than this one. “Unfolding Practice II” was actually meant to be the original version. Now, a year after the injury, I’ve included it as an additional track on the album’s vinyl release. It’s kind of like a full-circle moment in my healing journey.

What does the breathing we hear in the track’s intro symbolize?

Studies have shown that not every culture perceives a song in a minor or major scale as positive or negative or sad or energetic. However, the perception of rhythm and tempo is more ubiquitous among people from different cultures. So I wanted to focus more on rhythm. I think the breath is the embodied form of rhythm. It’s like the most obvious rhythm that we have. The whole body works in rhythm so I’m generally fascinated with this. Your heart beats in a certain rhythm, your hormones and your breathing are in a certain rhythm. You can influence the way your body works through the rhythm of your breath. 

There’s a common assumption that the rhythm of the body starts with the heartbeat. Are you suggesting that the heart could defer to the rhythm of the breath? 

Mostly we perceive the heart as the beat maker. But we talk about breathing frequency in medicine so, there’s a rhythm to it too. And even in yoga practice, there are different breaths you can use to get to a different state of being. But in general, the whole body is about rhythm. Funnily enough, my thesis is about autoimmune diseases of the brain, like epilepsy. Epilepsy is a disease where the brain is out of rhythm. Everything in the body is very orchestrated. The moment something changes in this orchestrated way it sets the body out of rhythm. It can be in hormones or neurons, neurotransmitters, breathing, or the heartbeat. So just thinking of the body as a rhythmic subject is a beautiful way to connect to it. I love that music picks this up. That’s probably also where music and medicine find their intersection. 

And you’ve also featured a heartbeat within the track too. 

Yes, the heartbeat is the same as the breathing where I wanted to juxtapose the rhythmic percussion with original body percussion.

What do the spoken words in the track represent?

The words “I reconnect, my mind, my body, my soul, myself” reference a repeating mantra. In the sense of this meditative tradition, it’s about being open to a transitional space in order to connect with the greater source.

At bar 31 there’s a short rest before a powerful kick drum takes over. Can you talk about why you made this choice?

The track in general has a lot of hardcore elements from the ‘90s which are very tempo-driven. It’s very exhausting when you dance to it. I remember my first gabba party, I was so exhausted. That’s when I realized it actually makes sense that there are such epic breakdowns in the genre itself. Because for the dancer it helps to recharge and refuel before dancing again. So I have this breathe-in, breathe-out moment to take a rest before this very intense, high-tempo kick comes in. 

Can you explain how you processed the kick drum?

I feel like adding warmth to the drums makes them more organic. This again references meditative practice and the very organic rhythms I play with throughout the album. I added a warm color to the kick with the Damp function on Drum Buss. With the Drive function, it’s more about adding a little distortion which goes in more of a hardcore direction. But I didn’t want to have too much of a distorted kick as I wanted to keep it simple. And then there’s the Boom function where you can enhance the low end, which was nice for this kick because I don’t have any bassline in the song, so it was a good way to give a little extra depth to the mix. 

You used the 909 Core Kit from Live’s drum library. Can you talk about your processing techniques, like compression and EQ?

It’s all very similar. The Saturator adds warmth. There’s a low-frequency EQ cut because I don’t need it in the 909 kit. Then there’s a Compressor to squeeze the signal and I have sidechained it to the kick because that’s better for the overall mix; so the impact of the kicks are not masked by my 909 drum kit. Because some noisy resonances are coming through, I like to use subtractive EQ. On EQ Eight, the Audition function is nice because you can solo the filter and search the whole frequency range for resonances that you don’t like. Then you can turn them down.

DJ Gigola uses the Audition function on EQ Eight to search and attenuate unwanted resonances.

You’ve created a transition effect at bar 97 with a flanged hi-hat. How did you make this?

This is a really good example of how accidents can turn out beautifully. I just duplicated the 909 Core Kit Track, but it had a different plugin chain. Because of the different processing, there’s a slight shift in how hats are played, and with that shift, you create the flanging effect. It was so nice I kept it. Sometimes when you change a rhythmic pattern or you just copy something like that, it can create the best parts of a song. It’s the same as introducing grooves or moving notes slightly to the left or right.

Is everything quantized to the grid in this track? Do you ever experiment with grooves?

Sometimes I experiment with grooves, yes, but this one is on the grid because it’s supposed to be drum-intense. It was not about going into the hips, you know? It was more about creating this feeling of urgency and about being a dance floor filler. 

But sometimes, yes. I am working on a project now where I have three bassline layers and I change every layer a little bit. It helps to give a certain bounce to the track. 

Sometimes, if I like the rhythm of a drum loop I use it to see where the hits are played so I can put my MIDI notes in the same position. Then I can mimic the sample’s rhythm, but I am not bound to that sample. I can put my MIDI part on any synthesizer I want. 

Do you use the Extract Groove function in Live for this technique?

No, I like to do it by hand because this allows me to learn grooves. To recreate grooves faster, I like to translate them by myself. Then I’m like “Ah, this is how I do it, or this is how I do a psytrance bassline,” for example. 

Does the percussive woodblock that comes in at bar 49 have any conceptual meaning? 

The woodblock is a little bit like a metronome, or clock. It’s like an element to reference the continuity and eternity of time; which plays an important role in meditation. If you look at the automation, there’s a panning of the woodblock to the left and right. These are little tweaks I do to give it a three-dimensional reality.

How did you create the arpeggiated choral synth that comes in at bar 65?

It’s from a sample pack. I’ve processed the original sample and I’ve transposed parts of it. I don’t like to use samples right out of packs, because other people will use the same sample, which I find quite annoying. So I try to extract certain parts, transpose certain parts, and rearrange them. I put a little delay on this one too. There’s a low-cut EQ and I sidechained it to the kick. 

When you talk about changing pitch or rearranging these samples, do you edit the audio clips directly in Live or are you chopping them up in samplers?

Sometimes I convert audio to MIDI which is kinda cool. Sometimes I just work with the audio, cut it up into fragments, and change the pitches. Ideally, you don’t use any samples when it comes to melodies. Because the problem with samples is that it can be really hard to change things. I like to use a sample if it adds a certain air to a song but if it’s something I want to evolve within the song, I write things myself. There are beautiful ways to write melodies. It takes time to write a nice melody and usually, this is what I start with. Then I try to develop different layers of the melody and find different synths that fit together. Because it’s just easier if I want to change something about it later. I can also reuse them in other tracks, and rewrite them a little bit if needed. It just gives me more freedom in the expression of the song and the arrangement. 

Could you explain the effects you’ve used on your three Return Tracks?

Return track A is like a main reverb. I used this reverb in the album a lot because it gave a certain roominess to the sound. The low-cut EQ is there for safety to make sure the reverb is not adding any unwanted low frequencies. 

My vocal reverb is on return track B. Here I used Hybrid Reverb as it allows you to blend different rooms or different reverbs. I then use a Compressor and sidechain it to the vocal because if I didn’t, the effect would overlay the vocal itself. So every time the vocal is playing the reverb ducks out and then it comes back in. So the vocal always stays clear. It really helps. 

I did the same on Return Track C. There’s an Echo which is again, sidechained to the vocal. It controls the clarity of the original vocal.

DJ Gigola uses sidechain compression on her Return Tracks to balance the effects against the clean, dry signals of her sounds.

That’s an interesting technique. Sometimes when you add spatial effects it can also muddy the mix. Does this technique help with reducing that problem too?

Exactly that. And speaking of mud in the mix, when you look at the device chain in the Master Track, first of all, there’s an Auto Filter which I use to filter out a certain part of the choral melody. Then there’s a Compressor which again brings some warmth. Then comes some subtractive EQ, the same as I did with the 909 Core Kit. Again, it was about using the Audition function on EQ Eight to find the resonances I didn’t like and tame them. And then comes the second EQ Eight. My vocals sit at around 1KHz on the frequency spectrum, so it always helps if I do a little boost there. Also with music that has such a heavy kick, it’s always nice to bring up the highs a little bit. The Utilty device is just for checking the bass is in mono and a Colour Limiter is added on top. 

Your Utility device is set to mid-side mode, enhancing the stereo slightly. What’s the reason you’ve done that? 

It’s for the roominess. It brings out the side signal and helps with the mix. It’s just something I learned that tends to sound better.

DJ Gigola processes her music using EQ Eight, Utility, and Color Limiter on the Master Track.

Paulina, thanks for sharing such interesting concepts and tips with us. As we look ahead to 2024, are there any exciting plans on the horizon that you’d like to share?

I took a leave of absence from music production after bringing the album to life. It was such an intense period also with the injury. I needed to get space. I’m working on new club-focused music now which I’m excited about. It’s always easier for me to start with that because it’s less conceptual. I’m working on a bigger EP for next year that is more on the conceptual side and is also probably not what anybody would expect. And I’m just enjoying exploring the creative journey, my artist persona and my sound for 2024.

Interview by Joseph Joyce. Photography by Charlotte Ernst.

Podcast 829: DJ Tara

The intention of DJ Tara, a resident of New York, is too “amplify artists and uplift the crowds,” she says—through a collage of soulful sounds. She came into music through her childhood, learning from her father, and in particular she fell in love with hip-hop. But through party promoting she decided she wanted to try her hand at DJing. Today, you can hear her spinning records on The Lot Radio on Sunday morning and on Soho Radio, where she steps up the gears by blending dance music that is both new and old, familiar and unknown, across eras, genres, and continents. When she’s not doing that, Tara is a college professor and works in urban planning where she advocates for nightlife as a vital cultural and community building tool for cities. As a member of Rare Form, she helped originate Donuts are Forever, an annual fundraiser and tribute to hip-hop producer J. Dilla. For this week’s XLR8R podcast, DJ Tara has spun a mix of feel-good, vocal laden house—that’ll warm you up as the festive season begins.

01. What have you been up to recently?
I became a college professor this year so right now I’m working on finishing up this semester! I love teaching but on top of DJing, my regular nine-to-five, and just plain old life, this was a lot! I look forward to teaching again but next semester I’m cutting back so I can dedicate more time back to music.

02. What have you been listening to?
It’s Fall, so a whole lot of new music! The latest Danny Brown album is really good and the latest Sampha has me in my feels.

03. When and where did you record this mix?
I recorded this mix late last week in my apartment in Brooklyn.

04. What setup did you use?
I used my controller and a laptop! I have a Pioneer DDJ-SB3 that I connect to my Pioneer DJM850 mixer to record. I’ve made so many mixes using my turntables, CDJs, Ableton, etc., but it has been an exhausting time so it was fun making this mix on my couch.

05. How did you go about choosing the tracks you’ve included?
I DJed one of my favorite parties, Back to Life, recently. I love it because it’s a party where it is guaranteed I won’t know half the songs because it’s rooted in UK music, but I will love them all and dance my ass off. I love hearing new music and the creator and resident, Khalil, is such a dope DJ. It really made me happy preparing my set and I knew I wanted this mix to be an extension of that joy. I started to think about some happy points this year because it’s been a tough year. I thought about my experience playing my first overseas festival over the summer (We Out Here) and the music I heard over that weekend and the tunes I played in my own set at the festival. I had a particularly joyous moment earlier this year dancing to DJ Shannon’s set at Dweller Festival at Nowadays at 6am and a song from that set found a way into mine and there are some tracks in the mix that I’ve just loved for years and always put me in a good mood that I wanted to share.

06. How does it compare to what we might hear you play out live?
This mix is a more UK-focused than my typical mix but I always stick to playing music I love and want to share. My live sets will always be a mix of new and old tunes, across genres and continents, just like this mix.

07. What’s next on your horizon?
Planning and resetting for 2024! I have two radio shows—one on The Lot Radio which is chill and eclectic on Sunday mornings. My Soho Radio show, UpBeat, is more dance-music focused so I’m working on growing that into my own regular party. I did one earlier this year with SEVYN from Salon Recordings out of Los Angeles and it was a great time! I want to get back to throwing parties more regularly and working with other DJs and bringing them to New York to play. I’d also like to create some experiences where folks can just come listen to music by lesser-known artists in a setting outside of the club. I’ll also be working on getting myself booked to play parties in New York and abroad. I played London a few times and I also played Lisbon this year. I hope to return to those cities and hopefully a few more in 2024!

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Shaun Escoffery “Let It Go” (Jazzanova Mix) (Oyster Music)
02. Rochelle Jordan & Keys N Krates “What You Done” (Late Nite Extended Mix)(The Remedy Project)
03. Christian Rich “Compromise” feat. Sinead Harnett, Goldlink & Secaina Hudson (Lucky Number Music)
04. p-rallel “Brakes” feat. Finn Foxell & KiLLOWEN (Different Recordings)
05. GAYANCE “Moon Rising (10 Years)” feat. Judith Little D (Rhythm Section)
06. Brucka Khan “I Know You! (Dr SIBI Brukt Jawn)” (Unknown)
07. Zaki Ibrahim, Kid Fonque & DJ Whisky “Be” (Atjazz & Jullian Gomes Remix) (Atjazz Record Company)
08. Cleo Sol “Why Don’t You” (Murder He Wrote Refix) (Unknown)
09. ELIZA “Abandon the Rule” (Ahadadream Remix)(Nehza Records)
10. Cloonee “Sun Goes Down” (Big Beat Records)
11. DJ Fudge & Hallex M “Simpatico” feat. Omar (Yoruba)
12. Critical Point “Messages” feat. Vikter Duplaix (MAW Records)
13. Ben Westbeech “Hang Around” (Karizma Deepah 1ne Remix) (Brownswood Recordings)
14. Daz-I-Kue “Pedigree” feat. Hadiya George (Foliage Records)
15. FCL “It’s You” (mousse T.’s Teef Vocal Mix) (Defected)
16. SMTHNG SMTIME “Morning Love” (Jonny Faith Bruk Beats Mix) (Feedasoul Records)
17. FWE “Can’t Hide Brukt 2” (Unknown)

DJ Narciso Releases Soundtrack Piece

DJ Narciso has released a new track on Príncipe.

Narciso will be familiar to XLR8R fans because he contributed “Saudades,” a deep and moody track, to XLR8R+018 alongside DJ N*gga Fox, BLEID, and Serpente. He also delivered an XLR8R podcast in 2021.

He’s one of the youngest members of the Lisbon label and most widely known as the head honcho of RS (Rinchoa Stress) Produções, a collective of artist friends he founded in 2014, aged just 15.

After “Saudades, Narciso put out “BOB” on Príncipe compilation Verão Dark Hope, and now he’s back with “10 Minutos,” a soundtrack to a dance piece by choreographer Catarina Miranda produced in 2021.

Tracklisting

01. 10 Minutos

10 Minutos is available now. You can stream it in full below and buy it here.

Lou Reed’s Ambient Solo Album, ‘Hudson River Wind Meditations’ Set for Definitive Reissue

Light in the Attic Records, in cooperation with Laurie Anderson and the Lou Reed Archive, will present a definitive reissue of Reed’s Hudson River Wind Meditations.

Originally released in 2007, the album provides the best example of Reed’s decades-long exploration into drone and ambient music. It’s Reed’s final solo album before he died in 2013.

The ambient compositions were initially created for Reed’s personal use, to accompany spoken-word meditations that his acupuncturist recorded for him. Over time, they transformed into music for Reed’s Tai Chi and yoga practices. Eventually, the artist chose to share them with his fans, crafting them into an album with the late producer Hal Willner.

Hudson River Wind Meditations is comprised of four parts: “Move Your Heart” and “Find Your Note,” both of which clock in at around 30 minutes each, plus two shorter selections: “Hudson River Wind (Blend the Ambience)” and “Wind Coda.”

“Listening to Hudson River Wind Meditations as a whole piece is moving through several modes and states of a 65-minute meditation,” explains Reed’s wife, artist Laurie Anderson.

The recording have been produced for re-release by GRAMMY®-nominated producers Laurie Anderson, Don Fleming, Jason Stern, Matt Sullivan, and Hal Willner; restored by GRAMMY®-winning engineer Steve Rosenthal; and remastered by the GRAMMY®-nominated engineer John Baldwin.

Also included in the physical editions is a conversation conducted between journalist Jonathan Cott and Anderson, who discusses Hudson River Wind Meditations, as well as her husband’s devotion to Tai Chi, one of the album’s primary inspirations.

Hudson River Wind Meditations marks the latest release in Light in the Attic Records’s Lou Reed Archival Series. You can read more about that here.

Hudson River Wind Meditations Tracklist (Double Vinyl) 

Side A
01. Move Your Heart

Side B
01. Move Your Heart, Part II

Side C
01. Find Your Note

Side D
01. Find Your Note, Part II
02. Hudson River Wind (Blend the Ambiance)
03. Wind Coda

Hudson River Wind Meditations will land on January 12, 2024. Meanwhile, you can stream an unboxing video below and pre-order here.

Artist Tips: Samuel Kerridge

For more than a decade, British producer Samuel Kerridge has been carefully turning techno inside-out. Through his releases on labels including Blueprint, Contort, and Regis’ Downwards, where he’s found a home, Kerridge has earned himself a reputation as an outlier, a renegade producer who dismantles any preconceived notions of electronic music, placing them in an incinerator before piecing it all back together in unorthodox, but highly rewarding, way.

It’s an approach towards making music that dates back to to his childhood, which he spent exploring unlicensed raves and record stores, journeying through house, jungle, drum & bass, and experimental rock to the noise-infused soundscapes in which he currently operates. His music is powerful and brutalist, and built to challenge its listeners, and we thought it was about time that we learned a little bit about his thinking behind it. (For more information on Kerridge, check out his XLR8R podcast here.)

Don’t Lose Sight of the Bigger Picture

You might’ve seen me bang a drum, play a keyboard, or strum a guitar on stage but I’d get laughed out of any music school. I don’t know how to play any musical instrument in the traditional sense and I’d have more of a chance understanding braille than reading sheet music. But I don’t think any of that is important. This stuff can’t teach you soul and that’s the point of art. To come from an inner sanctum, to let your muse inhabit you. This is something that can’t be attained via any school or university.

In a strange way I think that it helps me because I don’t get bogged down in the details of anything I am making. My music is all about trying to formulate an idea in sound and I must protect that idea at all costs. I must cherish it. That means I have to keep that idea as fresh and clearly defined in my head as possible. This is the main element of the track. In most cases it’s a melody or a bass sound. (I don’t think I’ve ever started a track with a kick drum.)

I guess subconsciously I can see or feel this element at the beginning of any piece that I’m working on. I can feel instantly when I’m in that moment, when I’m working towards realising that idea, and it feels great.

I always try to record the framework for it as quickly as possible. One creative idea will usually lead into another, and then another. So I’ll save those core elements as individual tracks, and then keep exploring further, sticking at it until I’ve reached my limit. This process also allows me to sit on a track for a while before carving out its future. I’ll spend hours each day listening to that original idea, sometimes across many weeks or more, completely succumbing to its presence and letting it feed into me.

Part of protecting this idea, however, is avoiding the temptation of trying to finesse the minor details of the track. Like a kick drum or a hi-hat. There has to be a core structure to the track, it is the main element driving that inspiration, but the parts branching off that don’t need hours spent on them, yet!

Because if I focus too much on those I will lose sight of the original idea. So what I’ll do is either jot those ideas down quickly using whatever equipment is at hand, or make some notes in Logic and revisit them at a later date once that main source of inspiration is properly fleshed out.

It isn’t always easy to do this, because in certain aspects of my life I am a perfectionist. I’ve made mistakes and they tend to eat me up. There have been countless times where I’ve had this great idea for a track and I’ve spent hours in the studio looking for a particular sound, but in doing so I’ve lost the creative buzz and the track feels flat and ill defined.

I can think of several examples where I’ve had this great idea for a track but in the studio I’ve spent hours looking for a particular sound, and in doing so I’ve lost the creative buzz and the track feels flat and ill defined.

With all this in mind I actually find it helpful to limit my time in the studio. More is not always more.

I know I am most productive in the morning, so I’m normally working from around 9 am until the early afternoon. These are the only hours when I really get creative work done. If I push the time further it becomes administrative work, and my inspiration dissipates. It can feel like you’re being productive but the next day it turns out you’re not; creativity isn’t something you can rush.

When I am in that moment I constantly tell myself to keep focused on what’s important. To avoid spending hours getting those hi-hats sounding right because that’s not how I make my best music. That’s not the message I am trying to promote. There’s a different picture and I must stay true to that.

Really, it comes down to perspective. I also think it’s especially important for the kind of music I produce. When you’re making business techno, or DJ tools, it’s not so much about the musicality, and those finer details are perhaps the only thing giving your track definition and character. I’m trying to do something more personal. The technical side of things, like whether a kick drum is tuned perfectly isn’t something I am so bothered about. I am more interested in the soul and message.

Always Trust Your Instinct

In 2014, I put out a track called “Paint if Black” on Blueprint. It’s a broken beat track with a whole load of bass on it. When I was making it I distinctly remember I began to overthink.

One of the reasons this happened was because I was trying to second guess what the label would want. I was thinking: “Maybe this needs to be more techno.” I ended up making all these different variations with a 4/4 kick drum and James Ruskin at Blueprint had the EP ready for release. But a week later when I listened to it with fresh ears I realised we needed to go back to the original version, which we did, thankfully.

Instances like that have taught me to always stick to my gut instinct if I want originality. Like I said, I have this feeling deep inside for where my music should go and what it should represent and it’s easy to erode that if you begin changing your sound or style based on what other people might say or think.

Looking back on that Blueprint release, the process I went through still haunts me and it’s made me realise that authenticity is the most precious thing I have as an artist. It’s me who has to look at myself in the mirror and I want to be proud of that.

My guiding light is always going to be my ears and gut, and I roll with it. I’ve claimed in interviews in the past that “I really don’t give a fuck what anybody thinks,” which is a statement lacking in maturity, but it’s still true.

There’s nothing more upsetting for me than when an artist has built this really good career to a point and then they take a turn because of outside influences. It repulses me a bit. I can’t do that.

To help me stay authentic I remind myself that I am creating art. Evoking a strong emotion is what I value. But you can’t make true art whilst vying for acceptance and validation.

You can hear when an artist isn’t being true to themselves. Sometimes they can’t see it, trapped in their echo chamber, but it’s clear; it becomes business and there’s no soul. In the end you’re creating music for a purpose; it’s a tool that goes well with a line of pub grub. It is not art.

The way I look at it is that I’m going on this journey and if there are people who want to join me on it then that’s great. But I’m not going to change to try to find more people or appease anyone else.

It’s important to be aware of where these pressures are coming from. It might be a manager telling you to accept this booking request or to make an EP that’s more dancefloor-orientated in order to get more bookings. Or even your friends and family.

From a business perspective there have definitely been times where I’ve been tempted to override my gut. There have been opportunities presented to me that have certainly made me ask a lot of questions, especially when I’ve been struggling to pay rent, but like I said I just can’t do it. It goes against everything I stand for. You might have lots of money in the bank or a heavy touring schedule but that’s not what makes me happy in life. Having a son has validated that. It’s originality that I strive for. What it is that you value?

Burn Your Manuals

I have never read a manual for any musical instrument I’ve owned. I’m a big believer that reading manuals for instruments sucks the fun right out of the music making process. Music making needs to be based on freedom!

The only machines that stay in my studio are those I can use intuitively. Like the Dave Smith Instruments OB6 or the Pioneer Toraiz SP-16 Drum Machine in my live performances. With both of these machines the workflow is so easy. This enables me to experiment because I am not getting bogged down in menu diving. If the piece of equipment is basic I find that I work harder to find unique sounds.

I also value happy accidents.

When you don’t know how to use a piece of equipment how it was intended to be used, you get all these really cool happy accidents. You’re bastardising the equipment and that is exciting to me. I think that’s when you start to discover sounds that other people won’t and a common question I get asked is: “How the fuck did you manage that?: It’s all about putting different equipment in the signal chain. Gear that is not meant to be there, exploring the process. In the end you make it work!

I think this links back to my DIY background. I’ve always felt aligned with the whole punk scene of the ‘70s. Working class heroes picking up instruments and having a go. Most of the time coming up with extraordinary results that stand the test of time; that is such a romantic idea to me. It’s that kick back, tearing up the rule book, finding your own path and pulling it off. It is true art of the highest order; pure authenticity. That’s what I aim for in my own music and what I seek from others. I’ve somehow blagged it for 11 years now, some may argue to what success, but I’ve done it my way!

It’s also a matter of timing. I’m a parent now and that limits my time. I’m not sure an afternoon in the studio trying to program a sequencer for hours is the best utilisation of that time. You could spend four hours reading the manual learning how the machine is supposed to be used or you could spend those four hours using it incorrectly and in the end finding a whole array of things you never knew you wanted. Plus, you’re exploring the machine and its workflow at the same time. Everyone works differently, and no either way is right or wrong, I just try to cut out as many obstacles to my artistic expression as possible.

I like to pick gear up and immediately start playing with it right out of the box. If it’s not clicking, because it’s too intricate, I get turned off and I’ll never pick it up again.

A lot of manufacturer videos produce a great advert, that’s their job, but the reality tends to be very different in the studio. That initial excitement of opening up a new piece of gear soon dissipates when I realise the machine isn’t capable of what I thought.

I’ve had to sell loads of hardware because the learning curve is just too great, taking time away from actually writing music.

I’m wary of naming individual machines by name, but there’s some equipment I’ve had, like the Squarp Instruments Pyramid sequencer, that is too complicated and long winded for me. On paper I was sold; it looked fantastic, exactly what I wanted to do, but in reality it definitely was not intuitive. It didn’t feel natural at all.

Everyone was banging on about the Elektron Octatrack years ago and I tried it and thought it was shit. What’s mental is that I went and bought the Dave Smith Tempest Analogue Drum Machine which is one of the most complicated machines out there but somehow it kind of works for me. I still don’t know how to use it by the book but it works how I want it to work. I get what I want out of it.

Still today, that’s the only machine I’ve ever taken the time to learn. I’ve had so much patience for it; obviously a greater power knew what that machine had in store for me. It has been used extensively on my records since 2016 and I can’t envisage letting it go!

Always Listen to Advice—But Be Careful

I’ve picked up various studio tips over the years through collaborations and overheard conversations, and I think that’s really important. I don’t think I know it all, because I definitely do not, and for this reason I am always open to technical advice. In fact, I search for it, and I think everyone should. It can really help you to evolve your sound.

Most of the advice I’ve picked up has been quite basic, a lot relating to EQ in regards to cutting certain frequencies and clashing. My music has always used the full spectrum of the frequency range, so as my sound has developed I’ve become more tuned in to giving sounds their own space within that spectrum.

More tips have been gained from earwigging sound engineers or fellow artists. Juan Mendez (a.k.a Silent Servant) encouraged me to use my own vocals in those first few years and gave me the confidence to do that, and Russell Haswell guided me early on, for example on the importance of putting kicks and bass in mono. This is basic knowledge to a lot of engineers, but being self taught I didn’t know any different.

In those early days I’d chuck pretty much everything in stereo, for instance on “In and Out,” “Auditory System,” and “Waiting for Love 1.” Those little nuggets of information have enabled me to progress musically and given me a deeper understanding technically. It’s made me a better artist.

In hindsight all of those tracks could be better balanced but they all form part of my story as an artist and there’s pure beauty in that. I would never go over old ground and work on these tracks again. I’m not embarrassed by them, the complete opposite; I’m proud of all my work. There’s nothing to correct about them, they are integral to my history.

My first EP is riddled and dripping in distortion and reverb. Yet following any other process wouldn’t have got those specific results and to this day that EP is one of my favourites. That sound was specifically what I was trying to attain: washed out, filthy, dragged through a disused mill. It led me on to exploring a cleaner, direct sound as heard on my later work. Because as things have evolved I’ve tried to show a side of my work with more restraint as can be heard on Possession Control. Toning down those outlandish reverbs for a cleaner, refined sound. I still use all methods, but it’s completely dependent on where my head is at and what I need to achieve.

It is, though, important to emphasize “technical” advice here, because I’m not open to all advice. Be careful! I specifically don’t think you should be open to other people’s advice on what direction you should be heading musically. That’s a different ball game and not something I entertain in my own work in any shape or form. It’s your art and your vision, and that gets compromised once you start taking other opinions into account.

As I said earlier, other people will have different motives for why they want you to go in a certain direction. There’s been so many examples of artists who have been pushed down routes and they’re not happy. Because you’re then going into the process with preset formulas. You’ll follow certain workflows and practices to get certain results. Don’t be a robot.

It’s my uncompromising belief and single mindedness that helps me block out any outside noise. Of course people will always form their own opinions, and they’re entitled to them, but some strange humans will think you want to hear all about it. Whether you choose to massage their ego or piss in their pint is your call.

I’ve been fortunate to be on Downwards with Karl O’Connor (a.k.a Regis). I’ve sent him half-finished demos and he’s taken what I do with no questions asked, pure faith from the start. It’s important to find a label with that belief in you, to see exactly what you’re about without needing the polished studio version of yourself. They are buying into you as a whole package. If they can’t see past a dodgy demo and envisage the bigger picture, fuck them.

Be Patient and Have Faith

If you’ve reached this point of the article without Tweeting insults at me, I salute you! Brothers and sisters in arms!

However, I will assume some of you reading this might be perplexed that as a professional I should perhaps invest the time into learning or changing some of these things……but why?

The old adage of “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” fits appropriately here. If I’m content with my sound, whatever the means of getting to that point makes no difference whatsoever. And in reality there’s never anything I want to do that I can’t. Sure, I can’t belt out a Hendrix riff or recite some Beethoven but I’ve never wanted to.

None of this means I take it any less seriously than anyone else. I prepare thoroughly, I love what I do, and feel fortunate to be able to show the world my sound. How profound that is will never be lost on me.

What I’m trying to convey, and I hope it’s clear to all who are reading this, is that nothing in this field is unattainable. If you want to go to college or university and learn music that’s fine, I’m not attacking anyone else’s approach, but anyone reading this and feeling like their dreams are out of reach because they don’t fit certain criteria either financially, academically, or socially, think on! My message to you is beg, steal, or borrow what equipment you can, and get to work making the album we all need to hear!

I’ve never had any doubt in my sound; the belief I hold is unwavering, perhaps it is misguided, but I’m blinded by my own desires to speak my language. The most surprising thing for me at the beginning of my career was the fact there was an audience ready to join my fight. Of course there have been ups and downs along the way, and currently the scene feels far removed from anything challenging the status quo, but music comes in cycles, so be patient and bide your time.

There’s no need to force it or get frustrated that no one is listening. Trends change but true quality is timeless and the right audience will seek you out. Position yourself correctly, make yourself heard, and be true. Most recently artists are measured by streaming numbers, luckily in the beginning of my career that wasn’t something I had to contend with, but is that a true measure of art?

Believe that your time will come. Or perhaps it won’t in your lifetime and you might be huge when you’re dead. Does that matter? No. You’re making this for yourself, not to get plaudits and fame and some social media hype. Hopefully you’ll have an army following you, or maybe it’ll be just your mum and dad in your shed, but if you manage to keep that unshakable faith in your art you’re a fucking success! Rest in peace.

For more information on Samuel Kerridge, check out his XLR8R podcast here.

All photos: Artist’s own

Kerridge’s Tour Dates

Madrid, Spain • 8th Dec 2023
A Coruna, Spain • 9th Dec 2023
Glasgow, UK • 15th Dec 2023
Barcelona, Spain • 16th Dec 2023
Hong Kong, China• 19th Jan 2024
Shenzen, China • 20th Jan 2024
Hangzhou, China • 26th Jan 2024
Shanghai, China • 27th Jan 2024

E-Saggila Next on Northern Electronics with New Album

E-Saggila will return to Stockholm’s Northern Electronics label with a new album.

Gamma Tag is E-Saggila’s third album on Northern Electronics, following on from 2022’s Blaze.

We’re told that the release “refreshes expectations” by “making more space for melodic conditioning and inculcation, whipping ultraviolet harmonics into uncanny plains for a wide range of tempos and cadences.”

“While breaks remain staccato hammers, and kicks are cast to negate cardiac systems, E-Saggila’s modulation of rhythmic dynamics is more pronounced,” the label continues, “affording a resonance and balance that had previously been mentioned but not yet entirely explored.”

From her base in Toronto, Canada, E-Saggila, real name Rita Mikhael, covertly binds industrial music’s rhythmic intensity with club-wise shock tactics to create a dark and emotive soundtrack. Her discography includes a collection of tapes from her own label, as well as releases on Opal Tapes, Hospital Productions, and Anthony Linell‘s and Varg2™’s Northern Electronics imprint.

For more information on E‐Saggila, check out her XLR8R podcast here.

Tracklisting

01. Amnesiac
02. Every Voice at Once
03. N3N
04. Gamma Tag
05. Tick
06. Profiteer
07. Stalking Star

Gamma Tag LP is scheduled for January 26 release. Meanwhile, you can stream the title-track in full via the player below.

Podcast 828: Sean La’Brooy

Sean La’Brooy is an Australian musician based in New York, perhaps best known for his work as part of the duo Albrecht La’Brooy—a collaboration with Alex Albrecht. Aiming to showcase “the gentle side of electronic music down under,” the pair have been putting out a bewitching hybrid of techno, house, ambient, experimental, and jazz for nearly a decade. Most of this has come through Analogue Attic, the label they share, but their two albums—Tidal River in 2018 and Healesville a year later—have come through Apollo, the ambient division of R&S Records. La’Brooy has been putting out music solo, including two albums: Out Moving Windows and There’s Always Next Year, which earned him a reputation in Australia’s electronic music community as one of the finest acts to emerge. On his most recent record, a debut on Francis Harris‘ Scissor and Thread label, La’Brooy has delivered a collection of deep and dreamy tracks but with a more driving groove than some of his other work—and the same could be said for his XLR8R podcast. Tune in for just over one hour of emotionally charged deep house.

01. What have you been up to recently?
I’ve had two records released in the last six months, one on Analogue Attic and another on Scissor and Thread. I’ve been making lots of music and DJing a bit, too. I also spent most of September in Europe and I’ve just returned from a trip to New Orleans.

02. What have you been listening to?
I’ve got two albums in-particular that have really stuck with me recently: Matthew Hayes Embrace on Best Effort, and Lena Douglas Friends of the Future on Lena Douglas. I highly recommend.

03. You’ve just signed to Scissor and Thread. How did the relationship with the label come about
I’ve known Francis Harris who runs Scissor and Thread for many years. He’s been a big supporter of my music for a long time. He and Anthony Collins would play our music out and reach out to Alex Albrecht and me to encourage and support, which felt like a big deal when we were starting out. I’ve seen him more since moving to New York and we’ve been talking about doing a record for some time. It’s great to finally have something out with one of my favorite labels!

04. When and where did you record this mix?
I recorded it at my friend Matty Ching’s place on a Friday night last weekend. The mix took a bit of a turn, but I cut it off to keep only the most lively bit!

05. How did you choose the tracks you’ve included?
These are a collection of more dancefloor-oriented tracks from artists and labels I’ve been enjoying recently. They all feel like they work together to maintain a consistent energy throughout.

06. Where do you imagine it being listened to?
It’s a crisp and clear-skied autumn evening around 8:50pm, and you’ve just finished dinner with some family members. You’ve had a few drinks and are heading out to see some friends. You’re wearing headphones—walking briskly, but not rushing. Solitude is nice for the moment. You’re looking forward to the promise of the night ahead, but you also have commitments you need to be up early for.

07. What’s next on your horizon?
I’m sitting on quite a lot of new music that I’m eager to get out in 2024, but with nothing quite locked in yet. Probably something on Analogue Attic at some point.

XLR8R Subscribers can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R subscriber, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. 2 Bit Crew “Dub” (SAFE Recordings)
02. James Dexter “Wire” (S.A.S.H.A)
03. Neil E “No Fred” (Neil E)
03. Arkady Antsyrev & Legit Trip “Saint” (Black Sea Side Music)
04. Sijay “Spontaneous” (Jump Recordings)
05. Tuccillo “City Lights” (Tuccillo)
06. Lost.Act “Dialog” (Lost.Act)
07. DJOKO “Overflow” (Original Mix) (Rawsome Deep)
08. Andrew Azara “Arp City” (Original Mix) (Heavy House Society)
09. Traumer “District” (Berg Audio)
10. Tommaso Pizzelli “Take Me To Utopia” (Mike Sharon Remix) (Ultra Knites)
11. Genius of Time “CS70 House” (Aniara Recordings)

Ivy Lab Next on Australia’s Future Classic

Ivy Lab, also known as Sabre and Stray, will release a new EP on Future Classic.

Demon Dust stems from a love of UK bass but “plays with tempo and collides hip-hop with jungle, LA humidity, and London grit,” we’re told. It follows releases on Dirtybird and their own TWTW London imprint.

“We’ve built a hunger to unleash a solid season of dancefloor material and to do so in spaces we’ve either neglected in recent years or yet to have turned our hand to,” Ivy Lab said in a statement. “We’re still always gonna carry our baggage as bass heads with a love of hip-hop with us, but the genre pool where we can explore those themes is deeper than ever, and we have so much to say in that conversation.”

Alongside the announcement, the pair shared “Backshifting,” a joyous blend of dusty breakbeats and pitched-up vocal hooks. The EP comes with a remix from Nikki Nair.

For more information on Ivy Lab, check out their XLR8R podcast here, or their feature here.

Tracklisting

01. Backshifting
02. Fool
03. Demon Dust
04. Backshifting (Nikki Nair Remix)

Demon Dust drops on Future Classic on December 1. Meanwhile, you can stream “Backshifting” in full via the player below and pre-order here.

Mexico’s Microhm Next on Infinite Machine

Mexican artist Leslie García, better known as Microhm, will release a new EP on Infinite Machine.

On Desvanecer, Garcia takes a glimpse into a world of abandoned spaces and hollowed structures. Across seven tracks, she explores the limits and crossovers between noise and ambience, utilizing rhythms of the Latin diaspora to conjure “an electroacoustic future.”

Each track is “beautifully mesmerizing and uniquely introspective,” we’re told, “a fearless gaze into a space where absence is not devoid of change.”

García is an experimental sound artist associated with Static Discos, where she released her debut album—oscillating between noise, minimal wave, ambient, and techno—in 2017. Raised in Tijuana, Mexico, she went on to study integral design, a strange hybrid of industrial and graphic design, but left the career early to begin working in the media arts domain.

Tracklisting

01. Memorias Distorsionadas
02. Nostalgia
03. Espacio Temporal
04. Silencio Cómplice
05. Sueño Premonitorio
06. El Despojo
07. Sin Despedirse

Desvanecer EP is scheduled for January 26 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Nostalgia” in full below and pre-order here.

Iglooghost Debuts on LUCKYME

Iglooghost, real name Seamus Malliagh, has released a two-track single on LUCKYME®.

Malliagh, who is Irish but based in London, makes untethered, detailed electronic music, throwing juke, footwork, punk, electronica, hip-hop, and pop into a blender and hitting infinity. You can read more about his work in his XLR8R feature here.

Collision Data / Diode, which is his debut on LUCKYME®, is a one-two punch, throwing you headlong into the frantic and meticulous world of Iglooghost.

The title-track sees Malliagh team up with Catalan composer Marina Herlop, as his rasping, whispered lyrics collide with bell-like vocals and an utterly relentless beat.

In “Diode Teeth,” Malliagh takes on the role of frontman as his voice ducks in and out of a sea of white noise and ticking percussion.

“‘Collision Data’ is a very fast song about germs and larvae. I made it with my friend Marina Herlop over the world wide web. The song was made on an illegal type of computer that runs on engine oil,” Malliagh says. “The other song called ‘Diode Teeth’ is an angry laptop punk song about hiding in a hydrothermal vent.”

Tracklisting

01. Collision Data feat. Marina Herlop
02. Diode Teeth

Collision Data / Diode Teeth is available now. You can stream it below and order it here.

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