Einerlei

No Escapin’ one of the most exciting talents right now


You’re from London, right? Was it a good place to experience electronic music as a teenager? What were your first experiences of it all?

“I’m from Manchester, so unfortunately I can’t say much about London based on my earlier years. Fortunately, I moved to London just this September (2014), so I have plenty of time in the next few years to experience the scene here. Most of my exposure to electronic music at a younger age came through the internet. The scene is great in Manchester, with some fantastic DJs and nights, but I’ve not yet experienced anything there quite as inspiring as, for example, my first visit to Fabric.”

Do you think it’s better or worse than it used to be in London for house music these days? Or just different?

“To be honest, I have more of an interest in techno than house at the moment. I can speak about house now, but honestly I have little experience of house in London even a few years ago. As for now, I think nights like The Hydra are pushing through absolutely fantastic lineups in a great venue, and there are several promoters and nights that keep it very real. I think these are still good times for house heads.”

What was your first clubbing experience? And how has your sound changed in that time?

“I’d been to festivals such as Parklife before, but my first real clubbing experience was at the Warehouse Project, where I saw Sven Väth, Marcel Dettmann, Chris Liebing and Nina Kraviz play. Undoubtedly, each time I go to an inspiring club night my sound changes. I’d say this is typically to incorporate the percussive elements that, when accentuated on speakers, really groove up a track, and it inspires me to work more and more on my sound design to make tracks which are going to sound banging in a club.”

So where are the best clubs to go to if we’re visiting then?

“There are clearly wonderful clubs all over the world, but from my experience in London I have to give Corsica Studios a mention. They tend to have fantastic lineups, an intimate atmosphere and really good sound setups. Fabric is also quite a special place, but seeing clubs like Gare in Porto, Berghain and Tresor in Berlin and Trouw in Amsterdam means that there’s clear diversity, and many wonderful clubs to visit.”

Would you ever consider leaving to further pursue your music?

“It’s in the back of my mind. I have a lot of time to decide on my future, although I’m sure it will creep up on me faster than I realise!

You’re studying law at the minute. How do you find time to produce music too?

“Ha, I think it’s more about if I find the odd minute to do my law degree amongst all the music making. Really, it takes organisation and planning – but that’s nothing unique to a law degree. If I dedicate a few weeks to studying hard, then I know I may have to book the studio in Leeds one weekend and work hard on tracks so that I can fulfill whatever shorter-term musical goals I might have at any given moment. Fortunately, my setup is allowing me to get my musical ideas down quicker than ever before. It’s tough to balance the two, but with dedication it’s perfectly possible at the moment.”

Is a career in law or music more in the offing then?

“I have absolutely no idea what I want to do in the future, but I’d love to carry on making music in some capacity. With regards to law, we’ll see. Unusually, I’m actually doing it because I enjoy the degree, and the thought of longer-term motives really seems a little surreal to me at this current moment in time.”

Do you see any parallels between how you approach your studies and your music?

“No, not really. To contrast them in a wider context is really interesting, though – take networking, for example. As I implied before, networking in a law degree still seems like an overkill right now – as I have no idea what I want – but it is nevertheless encouraged of us. The ways of networking in law and music is so different, though – the contrast of law-firm drinks and food receptions with 3AM smoking area meet and greets at the back of the club is nice, and one begins to feel like an alternate reality from the other.”

Are there ever times were you struggle for inspiration then? What do you do in those instances?

“With law? Or with music?  If with law, I think of the opportunities in the immediate future (if I do well in my first two years, then I will spend the third year of my four year course at Humboldt Uni in Berlin). My only motivational struggle with music thus far has been finishing tracks. Setting self-imposed deadlines and realizing the opportunities finishing certain tracks will have to me seems to be enough motivation right now! I have so much to learn that it’s hard not to stay motivated. It’s an interesting one for the future, though.”

And aside from yourself, what other young British DJs should we be looking out for?

“An obvious one for anyone following Slipstone, but look out for Kesper. He’s only a few years older than me, and a fantastic guy. “Re-Entry” was one of my favourite tracks of 2014, and influenced the way I produced quite heavily. He’s got a big future, and has garnered a lot of support after his excellent debut EP. For those who like house, James Sison of Bade records (a really nice label) has a really good EP forthcoming with really nice spacy sounds and bass drones. Watch out for those two!”

What constitutes success for you as a producer? Who influences your work the most?

“As a producer, success for me consists of being generally happy with my tracks, receiving nice praise and lots of support, and especially seeing people want to cop my music on wax. Also, having the opportunity to meet amazing new people, as I have thus far in my time producing! My sound is influenced by a huge breadth of techno, which makes it hard to pick individuals out. At the moment, it’s especially those producers who are able to get slamming kicks and still give the tracks roomy, spacey feels and textural interest. Edit Select (who recently did an excellent remix for Slam on Soma) is really good at this. On the heavier side of things, I’ve been really influenced by DJ sets by DVS1 and Rødhåd, leading me to produce some heavier tracks since Escapism.”

So can you tell us a bit about your relationship with Slipstone? How did it come about?

“Sure! Starting with how it came about – I heard Kesper’s “Re-Entry” in a mix. I searched for what it was (starting with a listen through almost the entirety of the Innervisions back-catalogue and forthcomings) before resorting to Shazam. Once I found it, I searched for the label, finding out it was a debut release. I was genuinely really impressed, and just wanted to say well done, as it’s a real achievement for a label to unearth a gem like that for a debut release, especially on wax. I ended up sending a rough demo, and things picked up from there. A few months in and it became apparent that it was highly probable I’d release with Slipstone. I went down to Leeds, met the guys, and put some hours in producing at Kesper’s place. I remember thinking “these guys are fantastic, and really care about the music they’re putting out there.” They knew people, and put in a huge amount of effort into making the label how they wanted it. It was quite inspiring for me to meet people like that. Now, I feel very much part of the fabric of the label, and hope that our affiliation lasts together for a very long time in some capacity. I want to help them grow and continue to release music they’re happy with.”

Can you tell me a bit about your latest EP? Is there a story behind it at all?

“The concept wasn’t decided before I lay down the first hat or melody note. I had started ‘Sind Wir Echt Frei?’ before the label asked what I might associate my latest music with, and listening to the arps and ethereal intro, escapism sprung to mind. The other tracks weren’t bound strictly by the concept to start with – it was a bit more natural than that, because the music I was making naturally had an escapist feel, anyway. Instead, once I had the basic grooves down (this apples particularly for Berg), I began to add little things that highlighted the escapism element a little more. Ensnared, though, was more inherently linked to the concept, with staple elements such as the vocals and the white noise forming a lot of the fabric of the track. It’s quite funny, because if I had written it a few months later the escapism would have been particularly relevant, as I’ve been doing anything possible to escape from law school*, but I was still in sixth form at the time I started to write the EP. The only thing I can say is that the bulk of the material was produced after hearing Kesper’s “Re-Entry” and the arps and space within. This really inspired me when making, for example, Ensnared. Really, though, I don’t like to identify myself with law school. Other producers my age are doing much more interesting things outside of music, and I’m generally keener to talk about myself in light of the music I make and am inspired by.”

Did the EP end up as you hoped it would? Or do you generally go off on tangents when you’re producing?

“I’m happy with it. I didn’t follow any strict formula, and I just trusted my creativity the best I could, to try and make something unique in a natural and organic way. I feel like I achieved that, and I was satisfied I’d done things right when we sent the tracks off to the mastering engineer. For the reason I demonstrated in the previous answer, going off tangent wasn’t an issue, as I didn’t follow a formula or a plan.”

What 5 tracks are you playing on constant rotation right now?

Red Royalty – Spirit [SECOND VOYAGE]
Slam – Cirklon Bells (Edit Select Remix) [SOMA]
Tripeo – Qwerty [CLONE BASEMENT SERIES]
Luigi Tozzi – Bioluminescence (Deepbass Remix) [HYPNUS]
Simon Haydo – Step Inside [STUDIO BARNHAUS]

…with some near misses from Tin Man, Jonas Kopp, Antenna, Annanan and Breaker 1 2!

Einerlei’s ‘Escapism’ is out soon on Slipstone Records