Barely a few months into 2023, Evolution Chamber is already taking the year as its own with fresh and inspired energy. First came the arrival announcement of Joe Ford and his powerful new opus with KNARS – ‘Unforgiven’. Then came Scottish maverick Ekwols, now an exclusive member of the label’s artist family. Their most recent release comes via The Czech Republic as Qo (Petr Vicher) marks another behemoth-stature offering on the imprint with ‘Insectoid’. With his new single getting heating up across stores and streaming platforms, we caught up with Evolution Chamber’s latest signing for an immersive conversation…
QDMC: Hey QO, thanks so much for joining us here at DMC World; it’s a pleasure to have you onboard. Let’s begin with an exploration of your background and journey so far.
Qo: Hi! First of all, thank you for having me; it means a lot! My name is Petr Vicher, and I am a drum and bass addict from the Czech Republic. I have been listening to DnB since 2001 or something like that. At that time, I fell so in love with it and instantly wanted to make my own music like this. That means I have been in DnB production for over 20 years now, as well as djing. I am so grateful for being a part of the scene as I saw a lot of countries, visited cool places, met new faces over time and maintained my love for music itself. In 2016, my friends and I established Hoofbeats Music, a music label for our music and looking for new talents & established producers/friends. What else to say here? I like beer – 😀
DMC: You recently released a killer D&B single on Evolution Chamber. What can you tell us about the release, and how has the reception been so far?
Qo: All I can say is that creation of the track and release itself was both a super quick process, and I enjoyed both. I have started a new project with the intention to create something purely for the dancefloor; as much as “old-schoolish” regards the vibe of the track – groove is the most important thing. I was a huge fan of older techstep legends like Konflict, Stakka & Skynet, Moving Fusion and technnoid sounds like Raiden, Proket, and Current Value, and in “Insectoid”, I wanted to mix these influences with 2023 kind of sound. The reception is really nice so far, personally, something like when I did “Push it to the limit” with Trilo – this one still got a lot of plays everywhere. Maybe people want to listen to more dancefloor drum and bass rather than too-complex producers’ show-offs. Maybe not 😀
DMC: ‘Insectoid’ matches the label’s running stream of robust and unforgiving releases. How does this single stack up against your other releases regarding weight and how happy you are with it?
Qo: I think that in comparison with my latest release, “Oscillate”, and stuff I am planning to release in future, it stands like in a row with others. Lately, I feel much more confident about my sound (or maybe I just don’t really care anymore), and I always love to deliver such weighty bass and wall of sound-style tunes.
DMC: What are the most influential factors that make up the QO sound, be it other artists, experiences, specific instruments, techniques etc.?
Qo: I always listened to all kinds of music, but what possibly can have an influence on my production was mainly hip hop, rock, metal and electronic music; nowadays, I am turning back to my old love – techno.
DMC: What do you do outside of music to help keep you productive, creative and mentally maintained as an artist?
Qo: I run “Hoofbeats Music”, mainly a drum and bass label based in the Czech Republic. I am meeting and discovering a lot of new talents and also established artists, which keeps me somehow “connected” with the scene. Also, I am making wooden acoustic panels – QO Acoustics (qo-acoustics.cz) – always had a love for working with wood, and this process definitely keeps my mind in better condition. And the most important thing – I am a father of two beautiful sons and husband to the most beautiful woman on this planet. They make me better.
DMC: If you could change one thing about being an electronic artist in 2023, what would it be and why?
Qo: I don’t really like the actual state of music promotion and social media. You have to “create content” and take care of being up to date. This takes a lot of time which I rather spend working on beats.
