Portsmouth born, but London based, Grammy nominated engineer, producer and songwriter Steven Weston prepares to launch his new label ‘Blank Dust’ this July with his 5 track EP of the same title. Steven has worked as an engineer at Metropolis and Strongroom, as well as at Major Toms in Hoxton; where he was studio engineer for Rudimental and also garnered a Grammy nomination for his mix engineer work on Chronixx’s album Chronology. Ahead of his label launch, we’re super excited to be talking to Steven Weston today…
Hello Steven! Great to have you with us today. First off, how are you? Where are you based at the moment and how have the last 18 months or so been for you?
Hey, thanks for having me. I am good, my music is out, the weather is shining and some sense of normality feels not too far away. I live in Walthamstow, but my studio is in Stroud Green, N4. At first lockdown was tough, all my touring and music directing work disappeared and it looked quite bleak. However, it gave me the time to do this project, and also the Ronin album for UNKLE with James Lavelle. So with that in mind the last year or so has been great for me.
This July your new label Blank Dust is set to launch with a 5 track EP of the same title from yourself. Can you tell us a bit about the label and the inspiration behind launching it?
So the label was started as a platform for me to put out my own music. I wrote a track called Blank Dust and loved the name, so decided to make the label that name instead. I wanted to call the EP All In Static, but Dan Avery released Together In Static before me so I’ve got that title on hold. I thought it would be a nice start to have the Label and EP the same name.
I’ve been working with some visual artists and we are hoping to make Blank Dust a collective of music, arts and science. So putting out music, videos, installations and the like.
The EP sounds amazing and your years of experience as a studio engineer are clear to hear. When it comes to working on your own music, does your approach differ at all from the way you would approach working on another artist’s music?
Thank you! My approach is definitely different when working on my own music. This is for me, so I do what I want to do. As an engineer, programmer, music director I am working for said artist (Mikky Ekko said I was the best ‘hand of the king’ as a GOT reference) so I facilitate them, and help them. Of course I have my own input, experience and guidance but it is ultimately their decision. With my own music it is mine.
Some stuff transfers over. My sessions are very tidy and I like stuff to be recorded as well as possible.
Where did you make the Blank Dust EP? Can you talk us through some of the key bits of equipment involved?
I made this all in my own studio Static Room in N4. I have lots of toys in here from working in music over the years. Roland Juno 60, Moog Little Phatty, MicroKorg (my first synth, which I used in Ladyhawke), OB6, Prophet REV2, Korg Minilogue XD, a modular synth, a few guitars and a 60s Premier Drum Kit. My main pieces of gear for this EP where the Dave Smith OB6 and Prophet
The EP features brilliant vocal performances from Taė on Everything Is Beautiful and Callum Finn on Angel Saint Claire. How did these talents come to feature on the EP and what was it like working with them?
I have worked with Callum on UNKLE, so we have known each other for a little while now. His voice is amazing and really brought the track to life. His band Thinkpiece are incredible, everyone should go check them out. Taė wrote a track called Be With Me with our friend She Moves, and I produced it for her. She didn’t really know what to do with it, and I had this instrumental already, so we took the chorus and a few words and turned it into a track for me.
What does the future hold for Blank Dust? Will it remain a home for your own releases or will you look to release other artists’ work too?
At the moment it is just for me. If all goes well then I would definitely work with some other artists to release their music too
We hear that you have also been preparing a live show recently. We’d love to hear a bit about that…
I have. My main job for a long time was as a music director (I still do it but not as much), putting live shows together for bands and artists. Live is so important for me, so it’s natural I want to perform this music. At the moment it’s Ableton at the heart of the music, and Resolume Area at the heart of the visuals. It’s a combination of Ableton, synths, drum machines, my modular synth and visuals all talking to each other. So if I do something on the Minilogue or Prophet, something will happen to the visuals. I want every movement to adjust the visual, even if it’s only small. I have set structures at certain moments in the tracks, but I am also free to develop these live and improvise musically and visually.
In your career so far you’ve been an engineer at Metropolis and Strongroom, as well as at Major Toms in Hoxton with the likes of Rudimental and Chronixx. You’ve also toured playing keyboards for the likes of Ladyhawke, Charli XCX and Mikky Ekko. It’s a hugely impressive list and we’re sure there’s a lot more to it that we’ve not mentioned too. Aside from your current solo efforts, are there any other projects you’re working on at the moment?
I have been working with James Lavelle in UNKLE for the last 6 years or so. We just put out the new Ronin mixtape which I produced with him at my studio. I love working with James and I see this being an ongoing collaboration indefinitely. I’m working on a virtual reality art experience with Tupac Matir at Satore Studio. I’ve known Tupac for a long time through UNKLE, and I composed the music for a virtual reality play called Cosmos which Tupac wrote. We performed this at the Venice Film Festival in 2019 and it has won a few awards. I’ve been doing some song writing with Rhodes, Lapsley, Rose Gray and a few others which is always fun, and a couple of MD jobs now it’s looking like gigs are going to start happening again.
Thanks for your time today Steven! We wish you all the best with the launch of Blank Dust and with the live show and hope to catch up again soon.
Thank you so much and cheers for having me. Nice one.
Steven Weston – Blank Dust. Released 2nd July 2021 on Blank Dust BUY LINK
