Interview & Free Download: Module Module & Mono.Mental

We're back on an interview hype, this time with the frequent collaborators that are based oceans apart, Module Module and Mono.Mental. They've also kindly given away a stunning free download in the form of Kinematic. Read on, and grab the download at the end.

NT: Hey, introduce yourselves! Tell us a little about your backgrounds. How long have you been producing, and why did you first start? Was there a particular moment that kicked it off, or was it something you gradually worked into?

Module: I'm Alex - living in Nashville with my roots in Chicago where I studied Sound Design. I definitely have a behind the scenes personality. I'm most comfortable having a conversation in the corner of a house party or running a sound board in the back of a room.

I've been producing for 12 years. I bought my first synthesizer when I was 11 after listening to Joy Electric, a synth-pop artist from California. I started writing really bad snyth-pop tracks for a couple of years until I heard Flim by Aphex Twin. I copied that track to a cassette and wore the tape out playing it over and over. My brother gave me a copy of Fruityloops 3.56, that's when I started producing daily.

Mono: It all started with this band I had with a few friends of mine, where I played the drums. I already listened to more and more electronic based music at this time and was very interested in this, for me, more or less new sound.

The moment I started DJing was about 5 years ago. I first came into touch with it at a friends place. It really fascinated me, how you can mix tracks and create something new with it. So I wanted to do it as well. A few weeks later, I bought some turntables and a mixer and started buying records. The first records I bought where actually all drum and bass since I mostly grew up with that kind of sound. When I was 14, a friend of mine gave me a CD with Aphrodite's Urban Junglist and Shy FX Original Nuttah, which really infected me. Maybe two years later, I started playing more 130 bpm stuff as well, all the things like House and Garage.

To Producing itself, I came about two years ago. I guess it was kind of a natural progression from the DIing. After one year, I got into serious productions, when I checked everything out and learned how to use a DAW.

NT: Following on from that, who and what are you influenced by, within music and outside of it?

Module: I feel really lucky to be part of such an awesome community of artists. I don't want to name anyone because I don't have time to list everyone, but anyone who follows Night Tracks or anyone producers in the community will know the circle of people I'm talking about. That is my inspiration, hands down.

If I didn't feel like I was a part of something bigger, it would be a sad journey. Outside of music my main inspiration would be minimalism. Living a minimalistic lifestyle is key to who I am. Moving to Nashville and getting rid of 90% of my possessions has allowed me to focus on my music in a new way. I contact juggle as well, which has been a great way to calm myself down before sitting in front of my DAW.

Mono:The CD I got from this friend with Aphrodite and Shy FX were actually a big influence. It was the first thing I heard in drum and bass and I began to dig deeper into these music genres. Later I listened to a lot of House, Garage and Techno and also the early Dubstep things.

Outside of music there are a lot influences of course. My biggest influences are probably my family, friends and my girlfriend as well as weekend club nights and sunday hangovers. I like being in the nature, I like being alone during the night, listening to music and sometimes just bathing in melancholy…

I think the whole life around me is kind of an influence.

NT: How did this cross-Atlantic collaboration come about? Will there be any other collabs from the two of you? Can you tell us about the tune you're giving away, Kinematic? 

Module: I had heard Mono.Mental's stuff he did with Gasface and really connected with his style so I sent him a message on soundcloud and luckily he was open to working with me. As for future collaborations from the two of us, well, I've already got the next batch of stems! All great things seem to start with a soundcloud message haha.

So, I think Kinematic is an appropriate title for this one on a few different levels. In mathematics Kinematics concentrates on the movement of objects. I feel like this track drops you in the middle of a movement that's been going on for hundreds of years. It comes from the Greek word Kinema which simply means ‘motion’ and is where our word Cinema is derived from. I do production audio for films and there are a lot of field recordings from films in this track. I sent Mono.Mental the first batch of stems, and when he sent them back to me I was blown away. His use of FX and bass work really put the track in the world it needed to be in.

NT: Any plans for the future? Can we catch either of you playing out anywhere? Do you have any releases we can grab soon?

Module: I've got a collection of ambient tracks I did about ten years ago, and a crate of cassettes to release them on. I've just been waiting for the right time. 2013 feels like that time. As for playing out, it's never appealed to me. I've been lucky enough to be friends with a lot of DJs to get my stuff played.

Mono:I have a release on Loveless Records soon. It's called Reflections EP and it will come out in December. A few other Releases will come in 2013 and another collaboration with Alex.

I usually play every month at this event called “Deep Contact” in Munich and some others gigs in and around Munich. Just keep your eyes open.

NT: Finally, if you had to pick your three favorite "Night Tracks", what would they be?

Module: Besides my 3 track release with Gasface? Well, I drive the 500 miles between Nashville/Chicago quite often, many times through the night and I keep findig myself play the same handful of tracks. Some of those are Ghost Ark's remix of Sipp's CF 2191, Delete - M8 and AtsuBox.

Mono: Gasface & Delete - Pucinella's Secret, Module Module feat Sissy - When I Look and Venture - Sunset Silhouette.

NT: Thanks dudes! Appreciate your time. Show some appreciation and grab the stunning Kinematic by clicking here or on the artwork below!

Artwork by T. Kelle

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Introducing Muroidea....

Today we've got the purveyor of cavernous bass, Muroidea, in for a chat about his music, but not only that, he's also giving away TWO free tunes, which you can grab below. This interview has been in the works for a while, ever since he sent me a tune called "Rain" with heavy bass and messed up drums that caught my attention straight away, so glad to finally have him down. Check it out...

NT: Hey man, give us an introduction to Muroidea...

M: I produce under the name Muroidea. I make tunes usually ranging from 110 BPM to 140 BPM, but sometimes I like to mess around with 170 BPM as well. My sound is dark and typically beat driven; big bass and strange percussion.

NT: Your music, whilst having the clear unifying theme of bass, seems to draw from a lot of separate places. Tell us a little about your tastes and where you draw influence from?

M: For a while I dedicated my attention to figuring out what electronic music was all about, because I had entirely ignored and scoffed at it until then. I realised what I had missed and now I spend all of my time looking for new music, I don't do much else.

So my influences for what I do with my productions are always Shackleton, Old Apparatus and Horsepower Productions / El-B, and a few different ambient artists. Although I tend to go through phases of listening to certain types of electronic music and being influenced heavily by the main aspects of those genres as I see them, whatever it may be. I see it as research... For the last few months I've been learning a lot about techno; that kind of deep, dark and sometimes industrial aesthetic is great, it's what I enjoy most. Generally what I try to do with my tunes is to pack as much atmosphere, darkness and feeling (maybe a bit of terror / horror) into a few minutes as possible, and a big bassline with dramatic samples tends to do that well. I guess I want my tracks to highlight the parts of music which I enjoy when I hear tunes on a system, so the physical effect of bass is a big part of that.

Catching Up With Venture... (Free Download)

We took some time to catch up with Night Tracks stalwart, man like Venture when we managed to catch him for a rare moment where he wasn't slinging rock or just generally gangbanging in the ends. As he is immensely kind, he also chose to give away a free tune, a collaboration with Crimean. Read on...

NT: So Venture, how's things?

V: I'm good thanks. I have got a bit of a dodgy back at the moment though, pretty sore from time to time, getting old I think.

NT: What have you been up to lately, music-wise? Any new releases?

V: Production wise I've been very quietly lately, had a bit of a rest. My desire to produce just comes and goes in waves, so when I'm on it, expect to see like three to five new tunes up on the cloud. But at the moment, the new football season has started, so that has priority. I have just recently put out my 3rd album though, it's a collection of tunes I had lying around, so I decided to bunch them up and put them out for free.

NT: Anything planned in the near future?

V: Plans for the future... I have a couple of releases forthcoming I believe, but the majority of labels are real long bods. They pester you to write something, sign it, and then don't bother contacting you for months, especially Night Tracks (nah, you're the best). 

So there's a couple of one track releases on some charity/channel compilations, one or two two-track EP's, and a fourth album which ironically was written and finished off at the end of last year, just waiting for the label to release it, which will be towards the end of the year. You'll most likely notice it sounds quite different to my recent stuff, as it's much older material.

NT: So, tell us a little about your collaboration with Crimean? How did it come about? Will you be working together more in the future, or was this a one off?

V: Well, I've been a big fan of Crimean, since I first discovered him, and he's definitely a big influence on my sound. We'd been speaking here and there, I'd sent him some sample drafts, and then when he finally found the time, we got started. I wouldn't rule out collabing with him again, but I find collaborating incredible difficult, I prefer to work alone, but who knows.

NT: Who are you enjoying listening to at the moment? Anything you're looking forward to?

V: I listen to a wide variety of stuff, so it's hard to narrow it down. The one main person though would have to be ZiD. Jay's one amazing producer, all his music really captures my attention, it's very emotive and moving. I'm not as on the ball with music and future releases as I used to be, but I am looking forward to the new Bat For Lashes album, which is out in October, I believe.

NT: Big up, and thanks again for the free tune, which you plebs can grab by clicking here (if you're on a Mac, you might need to add '?dl' to the end of the link), or on the artwork below.

Thanks to Taavi & Lucy for the artwork.

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Retral

Today we've managed to get an interview with a producer that I think seems to get better with every tune I hear from him. He's also very kindly chosen to give away his collaboration with EPLP entitled "2012", which you can grab at the end. Welcome, man like Retral...

NT: Hey man! Give us an introduction...

R: Yo! I'm Retral, I haven't been producing for that long, probably around a year properly and about eight years on and off. I am also a part-time DJ, mixing when I get the opportunity. I come from Southampton and grew up in a completely different music scene to the one I'd say I was in now. I am a drummer and I played drums in a hardcore band called Kerouac for a few years, playing around UK and Europe. It's funny, because I'd kill for the music I make now to get cut to vinyl, but with Kerouac all of our releases were put out on vinyl and CD. 

I was always into the heavy side of music since a real young age, partly to do with my parents introducing me to classic Dad music like Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy and Metallica. I think my first journey into the electronic side of music was with Aphex Twin. My Dad had tapes upon tapes of his early ambient works that I always used to steal off him. As a drummer I was naturally drawn to the breakbeat/DnB style of his productions. I would always download stuff off of Kazaa and Bearshare round a mates and burn it to CD because I didn't have the internet at home. I was always into Garage music too, but I never actively searched for it due to the lack of internet or music stores where I lived. I'd always catch some decent mixes on late night Radio 1 shows though. Not quite as iconic as pirate radio in London, but it did the job for me.

Retral - Without You

I can't really remember where I went from there, but I do remember stealing a load of music off a friends Windows Media Player, including Ital Tek & Burial. Then came Phaeleh, Clubroot, Rusko, Caspa, very quickly going off Rusko and Caspa. The Dubstep sound blew my fucking mind. I really lost my shit over it. I'd always play it to as many people as possible but they were always like, 'What is this shit?'. Just look at them now...

Sipp

What up. Posting to you from the past today! Getting all technological to bring you today's interview with one of the most versatile producers out there today, Sipp. Not only that, but he's also very kindly chosen to bless your ears with a piece he created with the aid of Zelda and Ghost Ark, called Strawberry Fool. Bliss...

NT: First up, introduce yourself dude!

S: Hello. My name is Giovanni Randisi. Known as Johnny to most. I'm from Montreal, Canada

NT: So, you're from Montreal. Montreal, and Canada in general seems to have quite a reputation for underground/alternative music, and even seems a fashionable place to be musically. How does living in a place like that affect you?

S: My apartment is a great environment for me. Steamgoat just moved in. There are great vibes between the two of us. We have 2 cats here. It's just a very calm and peaceful vibe that I think is very key for producing.  It's in a small town away from everything, a long bus ride to the metro and a 25 minute car ride down-town. It has its pros and cons living here. What I like about it most is that I can sit on my balcony at night and not hear cars driving by. Tranquility...

Shemo Neat - Kinjii Osak

See You Around...

Night Tracks is going on holiday until May 30th, so find your own damn music! Jokes, I'll be back as soon as possible, but until then, Night Tracks extraordinaire and all round don Gasface has very generously chosen to give you ANOTHER free tune. Major thanks to Jerms!

Check it out, the very aptly named, "See You Around..."

Thanks to Taavi for the artwork! Click here or on the artwork for the download...

Speak soon goons and goblins, I've got a guest mix on Ting's show on Rood.FM on Thursday 24th at 4pm (GMT +1) and if all goes to plan and Blogger's scheduler works, you'll have a special treat mid-week, courtesy of Sipp...

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FOG

You may have gathered by now that we at Night Tracks quite like dark music, and today's feature is all about one of the darkest around, FOG. Read about the man behind the music, and bag a special treat, a free download of a dreamy, ethereal and surprisingly light tune called "Care For You"....

 

NT: Hey man, can you give us an introduction to FOG?

F: Umm, well, I'm just a dude that writes beats on my computer really. FOG was originally a doom band a friend of mine and I were starting and we only got as far as making a Soundcloud. Since then I started to upload beats and stuff I'd been making and it kinda changed into something else and people started taking an interest...

FOG - About A Girl

Delete

I was recently contacted, and offered a tune as a potential give-away. The tune was by Delete and Gasface (who we interviewed recently) so naturally, I took them up on their offer immediately. I managed to score a pretty sweet interview with Delete too, to add a bit of meat to the delicious, delicious bones provided by the free track, 'Pulcinella's Secret'...

NT: Hi, can you give us an introduction to Delete?
D: Hi.
I produce experimental electronic music under the name of Delete.
Was born and still live in a small Russian town near Moscow.


Delete - A Letter To God

Gasface

Today we're lucky enough to get the producer Gasface in for a few words, and it makes for interesting reading. Not only that, you're even luckier as he's kindly given away a free exclusive tune, 'The Hemingway', a slower-than-usual, incredibly deep roller with Gasface's trademark bass pressure, which you can grab at the end.

NT: Hey man, can we get an introduction for those that don't know Gasface yet?
G: Hi guys, my names Jermaine, I'm from London and I'm 29 years young, I produce Future Garage under the name of GASFACE.

Gasface - Love Don't

Interview with Sangam & Free Tune

I came across a guy fairly recently on Soundcloud who goes by the name Sangam, and I've been hooked on his tunes since. After he sent me the most hench promo pack ever, I decided to get in touch with him about an interview. He's kindly put together a tune to give away with the interview, so make sure to bag that. Read on and see what he's got to say...

NT: Hey man, give those that don't know you yet an introduction.

S: Big up Night Tracks, I'm Sangam, a producer from Manchester

NT: How long have you been producing? Why did you start?

S: I've been producing for just about over a year. I make music late at night and I tend to play around with lots of pads and synths, sample a lot of stuff I find on youtube, movie soundtracks and that. Basically started making music at night just to get stuff out my head that I see in reality and the more I keep making it, I feel like I'm expressing a different side to me.

Sangam - Inadequate levels

Interview with Graciellita & Free Download

Today we've got an interview with Graciellita, somebody who makes interesting and most importantly unique music. She's kindly included a tune that you can grab for free, called "Rhetorical Questions", a track that definitely suits Night Tracks, and one that will defo unsettle you, probably best for you to check it out! Grab it by clicking on the artwork below (or click here) and read on...

Graciellita - Rhetorical Questions

NT: Hey, can you give everyone an introduction to Graciellita?
G: I'm graciella, alias Graciellita, pretty straight forward I guess, you know it's still me just sorta givin' myself that free flow to dig deeper into the creative side of the mind and spend most time on my musical playground.

NT: What's the process behind making one of your tunes. Where do you start? How long have you been making music?
G: The process of makin' a tune for me can actually happen all at different times, and once I sit down I put the pieces together to allow for an audible expression. Inspiration is an amalgamation of the many scattered thoughts and energies that surround me or are within me, feelings of all sorts, especially that of inner despair/cryout and confusion.

Graciellita - To Happy Tree

Free Venture Download & Forthcoming Night Tracks Stuff

You're in for a treat today goons and goblins. To celebrate nailing down what I consider to be his best work yet to Night Tracks, Venture has decided to give away one of his older tracks as a free download.

'A Special Kind Of Love' is an archetypal Venture tune, with lush pads fading in and out over shifting minimal drum patterns. It's a pretty old tune, but definitely worth a download, so click on the artwork below to download it or check out the preview below.

Now, onto the track that's forthcoming on Night Tracks. Called 'Together We Fall', Venture sent it over to me, and immediately I had to check that it wasn't scheduled for release by somebody else (he's a very in demand man), and as soon as I knew it was available, it had to happen, so yeah, at some point, there will be a Night Tracks release of Venture - Together We Fall/??? (I'm not being mysterious with the '???' there, we just don't know what the other track is going to be yet). Check the track out here:

A bit of news on the other forthcoming releases now. There's a release by London and Leeds based production duo Mosket planned, Tek Som/Knock Turn All, which you can check out below, but the tracks are currently being reworked, so who knows how it's going to sound when it's finished?

Also being worked on is a release by my man, eplp (who I interviewed before and he gave away a free tune), who is, quite confusingly, releasing an eplp EP through Night Tracks. I'd love to one day release an eplp LP, but who knows. Meanwhile, check out one of the tracks from the forthcoming release below, featuring Alpenglow, called 'Blue Evening'.

There's another track that's being kept on the down low for now, but I can assure you, it's quality stuff. I'm also getting sent some quality tracks too, have discussed releasing some of them with the artists, so hopefully that'll come off, because man, they are good. More on that in the future!

LOL

I had to make a post about this. Earlier today, I was looking through the stats for Night Tracks, and I happened upon the search terms people had used to end up here. A few caught my eye.

• Bhava Immerse Mediafire
• Bhava Mediafire
• Venture Heart Strings Rapidshare

LOL. In case you haven't been following, both of Night Tracks releases are Pay-What-You-Like downloads. That means if you like, you can pay absolutely nothing. You don't need to try and search for pirated downloads if you really, really don't want to pay. So for all those people who want to listen to some sweet, sweet, night-time music, check out Night Tracks' Bandcamp page.

(NT001) Bhava - Immerse/Irradiate

(NTLP001) Venture - Heart Strings

A Recommendation: Roof Light - When You Sleep, I Turn To Rust (Free Download)

It's good news over at the Night Shift Collective, as member and prolific producer Roof Light has put his track 'When You Sleep, I Turn To Rust' up for free download as 'a 'thank you' to everyone who's shown love supported etc. over the last couple of years'. It's a real epic, coming in at over 11 minutes, and it's well worth kicking back and hitting play.

This is definitely one to grab, and is close to the epitome of night time music.Check it out.

Out to Roof Light for his generosity.

Interview with Recess and Free Download

Today we've got an interview with the Australian producer Recess who has also kindly chosen to give away his remix of Archive's track 'Lights'. Check it out...

NT: Hey man, can you give us an introduction?
R: Hey all, my name's Louis (or Ahilleas if you can pronounce it) Papantos I'm an 18 year old dude from Melbourne Australia with a huge love for all things experimental and hip-hop.

NT: How long have you been producing, and what was the spark that made you start?
R: Um I've been producing for just over a year I think. Well on my own that is, I used to play all the melodies for a electronic-duo 'Pola Bear' which was made up with a fellow local Melbourne cat who now is half of the deep-house 'Sleep D' group.

 

NT: Your productions you feature on your soundcloud profile are really varied, from the deep experimental nature of your remix of 'Lights' to the almost Lounge-style hip hop of 'Morning Feed' to your more straight up Trip Hop stylings. Do you prefer producing one style over the others? Is there any other styles you'd like to work with?
R: Good question, well I love old-school hip-hop and jazz hence my songs usually been sampled but I'm also a pretty-decent pianist so sometimes I like to just smash out some chords on a synth and see what I can make of it. I really prefer the electronic and experimental genre more than anything, but I'm not really technical so I struggle to create the sounds I want and that's why I usually just dig for old records and sample the sound I want.

free005: Joy O - Jels (Budeaux's Last Good Night Out Remix)

Hey all. Just something quick to keep things ticking over. A free download from me, of Joy O's house track Jels. I always really liked the pianos in that track, and wished they featured more. Anyway, I recreated them and put them in this ambient track. Click the picture above to download and listen below.

Interview with Triggy, Night Tracks 015: Guest Mix & Free Download

Today’s interview is with Triggy, the London based producer pushing the eyes-down sound of dubstep (and more). He’s taken the time to put together a mix showcasing some of his favourite sounds and also gave us his remix of ‘Filth’ by Skream to give away! Read on a learn a little more… 

NT: Hey man, can you tell us a little about yourself?

T: My name is Ceiran, 20 years old and I produce under the name 'Triggy'. I've been messing around with music and sound design for roughly 4 years but have only really taken it seriously for the last 2. I also run a monthly studio mix feature entitled 'The Labyrinth Mix'.

NT: Have you always produced the sub-heavy, “eyes-down” strain of dubstep, or do you work on a variety of sounds? What drew you towards producing in this style?
T: No not at all, I'm really open minded with music and I've got a string of other styles that I produce, my tracks with PBMR are always completely different to the last and I dunno who else is making that sort of sound, I've just finished a track with a producer called Rofh which has a more Addison Groove/Boddika feel to it, I'm very very experimental with my tracks. These tracks just take a little longer to see the light of day as it's hard for me to feel fully satisfied with them and I'm pretty critical of my work. The darker deeper 'eyes-down' sound will always be my main area though, The fact that there is so much you can do with it, for me it's very emotionally driven, There's so much depth and character in certain tracks that you can really connect with the tracks and it can really change the mood your in (if that makes sense?). Its the same with any track of any genre for me, I need to feel something for me to enjoy it, and this style does that perfectly.

Interview with J-One & Night Tracks 012: Guest Mix & Free Download

J-One is a producer that has really impressed me since I discovered his music. He’s had releases on Spanish label AvantRoots and Phaeleh’s label Urban Scrumping. His remix of FaltyDL’s “Brazil” far surpassed the mighty original and he’s taken some time out to answer a few questions, and he’s been kind enough to give out a mix and free download.

NT: Hey man, can we get a quick introduction for the people that might not have heard of you yet?
J: My name's Simon Jones, I live in a small seaside town in Kent. I produce music under the name J-One and make web sites for a living. So far I've had releases on Urban Scrumping and Avant Roots.

NT: You’ve released 3 albums (including one for free, big up!) so far. This kind of goes against the grain of a lot of dance music producers, who tend to release 2 tracks at time, even if only digital. What was the thinking behind this?
J: There was never really an initial decision to make an album, but I think it all happened quite naturally. My release 'Fragments' on Urban Scrumping started off as an EP, but the track list was in constant evolution up until release and we had to narrow it down from 15 tracks in the end.

Interview with Venture & Night Tracks 011: Guest Mix & Free Download

Today’s interview is with a good friend, the producer Venture. Included in here are the latest guest mix, and a free download of the Night Tracks exclusive “Shadows of the Night”. Read on...

NT: How’s it going man, you cool though? Can we have a quick introduction for the people that haven’t heard of you yet?

V: Hey. My name is Daniel, 20 years old hailing from Aston, Birmingham. I’ve been producing for just over 2 years now, but only recently have I started to get better and focus more on my production. I focus predominately on the minimal side of Drum and Bass, it just feels right.

NT: What was the driving force behind wanting to produce music?

V: Well it’s only been over the last few years, since I left school that I started to delve in to and have a real passion for music. I used to listen to mainstream commercial stuff all the time. I suppose the time I started to take more of a real interest was when I got the Pendulum, In Silico album. Listening to that album I just loved the breaks and the basslines that are associated with drum and bass. Another CD that pushed me further into the world of 170bpm was the Innovation – In the Sun 3CD album. It had big tunes of the time such as High Contrast – If We Ever and old school bangers like Roni Size - Snapshot. Around 2 years ago I decided to have a go at making my own music. I started off in some freeware called Magix, and then stepped up to Reason 4. As my favourite music at the time was Drum and Bass, it made sense for me to have a crack at it. I sucked hard, as everyone does at the start though.

Get on it...

Birmingham producer, Be-1ne has remixed Angie Stone's soulful RnB tune "Wish I Didn't Miss You". He's giving away to people signed up to the Area Recordings mailing list. Area has put out some top tracks so far, so it's worth being on it anyway.

Angie Stone - Wish I Didn't Miss You (Be-1ne Remix) by Be-1ne

You can sign up to the mailing list here.

Check out the original here. Still a sick track today, and evidently very popular for remixes.

Angie Stone - Wish I Didn't Miss You (J Records)