The best debut electronic album of the year?
Interview : Dan Prince
Mr Abdilla welcome to DMCWORLD…where in the world are you today?
“Hello Dan, thank you for the invite! I’ve been in Malta for the last few months, it was important to have some time here so I could concentrate on getting the album out, preparing everything around it, the album art too. Last week we had our first Sixtysevensuns label night with Fairmont, which we were very happy with, so that added some extra work too.”
So, what an entrance into the dance music world…some are saying the best debut electronic album of the year. Please give us a few words on each of your ‘Imagination Creates Reality’ babies…
01. Escape
“This track started as a completely different one that I thought was too ‘happy’ to make it onto the album. I removed all the drums, bass, reduced the tempo (by a lot) and added some new pads. Then I had to choose between this and another track, but I thought the other one was too much of a downer to start the album, so chose this.”
02. A Happy Tale
“As the name implies, this is the happiest track on the album, I think it gives you a sense of direction and hope. All the sounds in the background at the end were recorded. With an iPad.”
03. Magic
“The sound of this is a bit more emotional, but being the first 4:4 kick drum to arrive, it could draw you in to continue listening to the full album.”
04. Long Distance Telephone Call Ft. Kntrl
“I think the melody on this is one of my favourite parts, it was recorded as a whole from start to finish, I just did a few takes which were all different, but ended up going with this. The vocal is from a friend of mine who forms a part of a very good local band called Dolls for Idols.”
05. Strangers Ft. Yews
“The instrumental version of this was made first, and it was the track which gave me the drive to make an album, there were more of the keys present on the original track, but I reduced them to make space for the vocal. I had heard about Yews some time before and sent her my request, everything worked perfectly without ever having to meet hahaha. Yews also has a fantastic EP just out on the Sixtysevensuns label a few weeks ago, so you should also check this out.”
Video here : http://youtu.be/eUfUjkQXUI4
06. Ocean Traveller
“This is a short piece I wrote and made in a few recordings, there’s no real structure to it just a flow of electronic sounds. It’s like a gateway to the more uplifting tracks on the album.”
07. Prophets Are Dead
“I had something like three other versions of this, all with different basslines and drums. I wasn’t too happy with them so reworked the ideas into this. At the end I was playing around with the mic and ended up putting my own voice on it hehehe. I think it fits well, even though I hate listening to myself when recorded.”
Preview : https://soundcloud.com/deepfunkmusic/deepfunk-prophets-are-dead-exclusive-preview
08. Obscure Intelligence
“Obscure Intelligence has to be my favorite track, I don’t know why, but I feel too close to this track. It progresses slowly until the end, it’s a bit dark but emotional in the same time, kind of a small adventurous journey into space.”
09. Murky Lake District
“I wrote the first ideas for this track in Garage Band on my iPad, and it sounded good, until I transferred the sounds to Logic… So I re-wrote all the bits with some of the gear in the studio. The track just builds up from one synth line, the last thing I did was adding the bassline.”
10. Drifting Away
“I totally don’t remember how or when this was made…I think I had the bass line from a previous project that I never finished.”
11. Sixty Seventh Sun
“All the track was done in one day – I think I was in a very good mood that day 🙂 I had some bits to fix and cut off some other pieces because it was more than 10 minutes long initially. For some reason I picture this track as an 8bit Computer game, consisting of a rocket going through space and its obstacles.”
12. Seeing Everything Through Glasses Ft. Milk Mi
“Milk Mi is another local band, more of an indie/rock type of band, I found out about them through a friend and liked their work, we met a couple of times, and they’re really nice people, so it was nice working with them too.”
13. Celestial Manifestations
“This is the album version. I’ve got another edit that I never managed to finish, but I will someday… This version fits best with the other tracks. I sent the track to a friend and his reply was ‘this track has to be called Celestial Manifestations… So ok, great! And that’s where the name comes from!”
14. What You Have Become?
“This was made during one of those rainy, moody days (which you can listen to in the background of the track).”
15. Nostalgia Ft. Amelia Hope
“This was the track that took me the longest to decide about. I kept changing stuff, processed the vocal completely, then finally it came together. But it was nice to work with a singer who’s in a totally different scene from me.”
You can listen to the Album Audio Preview here: https://soundcloud.com/deepfunkmusic/deepfunk
How long did the album take to create?
“It took around 8 months in total, I did a few other tracks during that time too, two of which I released on the Beachcoma label in May. During the 8th month, I started making some decisions about the tracks and finalizing others, then, it was off for mastering.”
Who is the person you bounce most of your music off?
“Probably, Hernan Cattaneo. I have a really good relationship with him, apart from being just one of the best DJs, he’s an amazing person to speak to and learn from, not just in a musical sense. When you get good comments from Hernan, it means you’re doing something good.”
You state your musical loves as being…”Hypnotic, Melodic, Intelligent.. Electronic Music with a human touch!” Who are the producers and artists doing it for you at the moment?
“I’m into artists who are different and who don’t follow trends. There are a few artists that you never get bored of, everyone from Apparat, Josh from Telefon Telaviv, Fairmont, James Holden… Luke Abbott and Petar Dundov are also two that I follow.”
You hail from Malta…an island that all of a sudden is getting on the dance music map with festivals and producers cropping up. But in a recent interview you claim the island was better musically when you began?
“Yeah, definitely! Now there are more events to go to, but surely anyone who remembers the scene in like 2000, will agree that there was much more excitement and love before. Today, a few events remain that attract real music followers, but it’s still different. Music in festivals has also changed – I remember festivals with 8,000 people (which is a good number to have in an event here) at which techno DJs were headlining the main stage, and with small house and trance tents supporting. Today, on the main stage you’ll see David Guetta or Afrojack. So, for me personally, it’s become much worse. Everywhere you go you can listen to shitty music being played and the kids growing up have too much of it. The good scenes are very small.”
Your first release came back in 2007 with your ‘Process’ EP on Superbia Recordings. Your interest in music began though when you were 12 years old. What were the sounds / producers / artists that first grabbed your attention?
“If I had to name one artist who sort of got me into electronic music, I would say Plastikman, though I already knew who The Pet Shop Boys were from a cassette my dad had in his car. But the Plastikman sound had something that grabbed my attention in a more artistic way. I also knew about other great artists of that time, like Aphex Twin and Surgeon.”
Tell us about your studio set up…
“I recently made some changes, I’m almost happy now, but there is always something to adjust. I like to change how things are connected and rotate positions every once in a while, keeping things interesting, otherwise I’ll get bored. At the moment I’m using the Roland SH201 as the main and only keyboard connected to Logic. I have one large display in the middle where I have the arrangement section on Logic, two smaller ones on the sides, with a mixer section and plug-ins respectively. I removed the control surface which until last week I was using to control EQ, reverbs etc. on Logic, now I’ll be using that with my Live set-up (on my left side). On my right is the iPad section, a couple of midi keyboards sending on different midi channels to control various apps simultaneously. A few other synths and keyboards going through a mixer, with external effects going through a couple of guitar pedals, then to the audio interface. I could then send the signal through a couple of tape recorders and back. As I said, on my left is where I’ll be putting up my Live set-up, which I’m still choosing and making changes constantly to find the best way for me to be able to carry to shows. Then I’ve got a few acoustic guitars that I use to record a lot of the hits and thumps that I use in drum parts etc. I also have a toy section that I do circuit bending on and anything else that makes noise. The sofa and AC…and a fridge, but no toilet! Lol”
A recent quote from a certain superstar DJ…“I believe true DJing is actually an art, but it’s a dying art, as everyone is pushing the sync button…it’s a real shame when you see a ‘DJ’ plug his laptop in and call this DJing. Music will always evolve but sometimes not in the best way.” What are your thoughts on that?
“I agree to a certain point, DJing is an art and yes, I think it is losing it’s meaning. I believe that any DJ playing (in any way) should have good knowledge about how to actually DJ. I started out using vinyl and I loved it and still do. It is also important – just for the fact of learning how to build a set, it helps you think fast and most importantly to use your ears while you’re going through the vinyl looking for that track to mix in perfectly with the one playing. It’s a fact that today it is more difficult to play with vinyl because sometimes you can’t even find a pair of Technics decks in some clubs. Personally, I don’t enjoy playing with CDs, I get bored. In the end, for me, it doesn’t really matter how you are playing, whether it be with vinyl or laptop, you will know if the person has a good knowledge about DJing based on the way the set is built and the way he manages to read the crowd in front of him.”
You kick-started your own label Sixtysevensuns as a platform for your own music plus other artists that interested you. What are the changes in the music industry you have noticed since starting the label?
“More than ‘since starting the label’, it’s more about the changes I saw that drove me to start something of my own. I was seeing a lot of labels that I followed getting drawn into the trap. There was a time, 2 or 3 years ago when everything sounded the same, and I saw a lot of artists and labels that I used to like, drifting towards that loopy tech-house sound with the same fucking groove as a million other tracks. So I just wanted to make something that doesn’t follow any structure or trend or whatever. The Sixtysevensuns label is still getting its shape and I think the next couple of years will be nice. Now that I’ve started the label, I’ve learned that it’s very difficult to build something on your own and it can only be successful if it’s done slowly.”
If you could sign any producer in the world to your label, who’d it be?
“Nils Frahm. No doubt.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
Total Order of Being (Original Mix) – Wesley Matsell
Open Eye Signal (Luke Abbott Remix) – Jon Hopkins
Glare (Sid Le Rock Remix) – Max Farlane
Haumea (Original Mix) – Fairmont
Acean (Original Mix) – SwitchSt(d)ance
Still Enough (Original Mix) – Flowers And Sea Creatures, Agents Of Time
Freud and the Oceanic Feeling (Original Mix) – Deepfunk
Cuatro (Original Mix) – Deepfunk, Van Did
Obscure Intelligence – Deepfunk
Apples and Apricots – Deepfunk
Where have some of the standout gigs been for you recently?
“My latest Argentina tour was great! All the dates were fantastic, definitely one of the best moments of 2014 for me. Another memorable gig was in Malta with Hernan Cattaneo, where I did a Live set. I should also mention the warm-up I did for John Digweed – playing with someone you have idolized from the beginning is just an amazing feeling.”
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
“So, first up is the album, we have the Pre-Orders going on now, the CD will be shipping on July 28 and digital release one month later, at the end of August. I will also be working on a few remixes I had promised, and am currently working on-and-off on a slightly different music project which I still don’t know where it could end, so better keep my mouth shut! J I’m also writing a lot of electronic tracks but not finishing anything completely, I just want to concentrate fully on the album release for now. We are closing a couple of releases on the label too, Mesafe EP (Remixes) and an EP from Low Manuel. There will also be a remix version of my album, which I’m very excited about.”
Deepfunk – Imagination Creates Reality (LP) (SIXTYSEVENSUNS) is released on CD 28/07/14, followed by the digital release 29/08/14.
You can pre-order the Limited Edition Numbered CD Album Now at: http://sixtysevensuns.bandcamp.com/album/imagination-creates-reality-lp
Further Information:
www.facebook.com/deepfunkofficial
www.soundcloud.com/deepfunkmusic
www.mixcloud.com/deepfunkmusic
www.beatport.com/artist/deepfunk/42701/tracks
