JoeFarr asks.. Ansome

Hey Kieran, How is lockdown treating you? Are you currently sat in your pants playing xbox? 

I LOVE IT, think some time off was needed but its so hard just to dip out of touring. Its hard to initiate yourself, can’t / don’t want to turn down gigs but touring nonstop can be a bit mental so I’m enjoying it. 

Anything you miss?

The only thing I'm really missing is a lot of my friends are in the techno scene and I'm lucky to play almost every weekend with some one I know, also probably doesn't help that I just moved to Glasgow so I'm very isolated ATM.

Tell me about your production process, how do you start a track and where does it go from there? 

I always start with a kick or a groove, I never use the same sound or sample more than once so this process can take a while. I don’t use 909 kicks or any generic “techno” samples so I spend a lot of time trying to discover new sounds and try makes them work on the dance floor. This is difficult most of the time as the sound may have a cool texture and thats what grabs me but in fact it has no place in a dance floor record, so I have to sculpt it and make it work, for example in the track hunger from my last album I was watching hunger games and there is a part where some one taps the microphone before speaking. I sampled this and it became the kick and the entire groove.. the sound was not great, it had this feel and texture to it so I wanted to use it but it had no power and I spent a long time making a "bad sample” work - I do this a lot.

How has the process changed over the years?  

If you work so long using these bad samples and stuff that isn’t meant to be be there you get good a polising turds. So you learn a lot.

You did a lot of YouTube videos of your live stuff when you started out. I think from there there was a wave of terrible live acts, do you take some responsibility for that? ;)

I have been one of them many times, when you play “live” it can happen. there is not even hand full of people I believe who actually play live like I did/do.  For a long time I would turn up with just a modular. No presets nothing pre prepared and just improvise. When you think about it is mental.. but when it works its the best feeling ever.

Do you find yourself referencing other tracks to see how your track is coming along in terms of loudness and production? 

I started to do this more and more to get the loudness , Scalameriya is always a good one. Loud but not to squashed and always clean as fuck.

I agree with you there, sexy beast as well. I see on Instagram you’re making some new modular bits.. obviously you’re a modular fanboy but tell me how you got into actually making the stuff, that’s quite a step.. and when are you going to send me mine?

Yeah I needed another outlet apart from techno as its in a horrible place right now and needed to step back, always wanted to make modules so just over 6 months ago I started to learn. Its been very intense but I’m like that with every thing, spending every day reading and building, I learnt a lot over this time. I have so many ideas of what I want create to I just need too figure that out.  Yours will be with you soon.

I take it you jam stuff live and then edit in a daw? Is it all in one take, or do you go back and forth layering bits? Tell me about that. 

I have used the modular so much live its more instant for me, I tent to experiment in Ableton more and then go to the hardware when I know what I want and whip it up fast. I do record a lot off stuff in one big take. And just cut bits out and resample it. 

Hounds of the Harbour sounds like a grown up Ansome, wtf is happening I hear a melody. 

Just a little, I had too make some thing different. I try never to repeat myself but also keep my style. So it led me here. 

I love the latest Album, how do you find the process of writing an album?

I love it. Don’t think I will do an EP again for a while.. writing my 3rd album as we speak

Melting Point is another of my favourites. It’s like rage against the machine meets the prodigy.

Which is your favourite track from this album?

Hounds of the Harbour or Manifesto for me were the most exciting make. They are all so different I like them all for different reasons. Melting point is up there though, wanted to go for some thing like the electro clash style I used to love.

What monitors do you use? 

I got the Barefoot Sound Footprint 01 

What one plugin could you not live without? 

Ill use what ever is there. Most of the time I’m cleaning up sounds so EQ. 

How do you know when a track is finished? 

When I hit the deadline. 

If you are stuck on a track do you put it to one side and come back to them? Or bin it?

I think I finish 90% of the tracks I start in some way or another. 

What’s coming up in your schedule when can we hear your next release?

Making another album. Need to finish a record me and Ali are making.

Thanks big boi. Hope you get back on the horse when this is all over.