For most people, a freight train horn is merely background noise. For Point B, it becomes an idea that is twisted and reshaped into an ominous electronic composition. Read our fascinating discussion with the artist below!
Describe your sound in 3 words
Adventurous, authentic, deep
Can you share the story of how hearing a freight train horn in Colorado sparked the production of Liquid Territory?
I went on a mind blowing road trip around the south western US states with my wife. We started in Denver and our apartment was fairly close to a railway. The jet lag meant I woke up at dawn and couldn’t get back to sleep. The sound of the freight train horn was quite alien to me and really underlined how far from home I was. Despite my fatigue, It made me smile because I just knew I was going to have so many new experiences. I always take my sound recorder (Zoom H2n) with me, so I captured its distant call. Years later, I was reminded of it somehow and decided to try and emulate it with my Minilogue XD. Its support for alternative tunings meant I could really hone that ominous sound. I wrote a simple beat based on whatever the LFO happened to be set to. The arpeggio I played in 6/4 so that there was another rhythm that ran across the beat and created a meandering, hypnotic groove that represented the train and its route across the country. A train doesn’t care about borders, only the track in front of it and that’s kind of how I feel about musical genres.
If you were to divide your music career into two periods, the Electro/IDM years and the dubstep/post-garage London scene, could you provide us with one album that represents each period?
A Previous Version of Myself definitely represents the IDM years the best. It was also one of the last albums SCSI-AV released, so it marks the end of an era in a way.
Three years later and a lot had changed. With Suicide Beauty Spot I felt I was carving out my own sound and really telling a story. I’d been captivated by the subtlety of early dubstep (before it became a pissing contest), which left plenty of space for other rhythmic layers. It came out on Combat, which was a label that really supported the more experimental bass music emerging.
Adding to our previous question, artists and people that have influenced you?
As a teen it was FSOL who first turned my head towards electronic music. They were able to effortlessly switch between euphoric dance music and other worldly soundscapes. Their albums were immersive experiences that had an element of unpredictability. It’s amusing to me how the whole new age sound has come around recently too.
Sonic Youth were and still are a big influence on me, particularly the early records. I used to open the curtains so I could see the night sky and listen to Bad Moon Rising before I went to sleep. Their use of non-standard tuning systems and their whole attitude towards playing instruments in new ways was inspiring. In my recent single Journey Inward Together I used a microtonal tuning for the main melody that, without the filter, could be a riff of theirs.
When I started going to DMZ in Brixton, Benga was my favourite DJ and producer. He was almost the only DJ who would let records play through without rewinds, which I really respected. Around that time I was definitely influenced by some of the people I rubbed shoulders with when playing live such as Actress, Tipper, Keith Tenniswood and Scorn.
I have an old group of friends who have always shared interesting music with each other and that’s a really valuable source of new ideas as well as something that bonds us.
Your music has an experimental touch. Should music as a form of art always challenge the listener?
I think there’s a place for every kind of music as it all serves different functions. I’m not a purist or a snob even though I gravitate towards the novel. However, challenging music is often the most rewarding and durable in the long term. The results of experimentation are what keep art moving forward. Even the most superficial and insipid pop has often benefitted from what the underground has moulded.
Which is your go to synth (analog or digital) when you start a new project?
If I want quick results I use Reason’s Europa. Later I might swap it for something with a more refined sound but I love it’s flexibility. It has some neat waveform modifiers that can produce wildly different sounds from lush pads to retro basses. My next single, Hologrammer, uses it exclusively for all the melodies.
If your fresh music, the new material of Point B was a film, which film would that be?
Great question! Some of my favourite films are defined by their soundtrack and some soundtracks are almost steal the film. Very hard to pick one. Given that my new material is quite quirky and intense I suppose it might suit the next Gasper Noé film.
If you were arrested, what would it be for?
Haha. The political situation in the UK right now means it would probably be for protesting, which is being virtually outlawed by a frightened and dangerous elite. I’m a republican too, so it might even be for holding up a blank piece of paper. Worrying times here in the ununited kingdom. Hopefully better days will come our way.
Thank you
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