Seth steps into the Labs
Italian producer Seth first came to our attention in November when we heard his “Cloud Gazing” EP on Skint Records offshoot Under 5′s. Composed of a variety of cross genre sounds it was an excellent debut which was also accompanied by an excellent video.
Fast forward a couple of months and we have managed to catch up with the producer to get the low down on what makes him tick while also securing an exclusive mix for our Test Tube podcast series.
Download Seth’s Test Tube mix or stream via the nifty Mixcloud player below (jump to tracklist) and read on to hear what he had to say.
There is not too much out there about you so can you give us a quick rundown of who you are?
I’ve been doing music for quite a while, going through different genres from dnb to electrohouse for example with the alias Pink a pad’s (a duo with the producer Iamseife). Then I started my own solo material.
I signed my first tracks to a label in 2009 but unfortunately they waited over a year to release it and I almost forgot about it. Now I’m producing, djing and working as sound designer for advertisments, movies and installations.
You have worked with Under 5′s, sub label of the legendary Skint Records? How did that come about?
I didn’t know whether to send my ep to Skint or not as I didn’t think I’d ever hear back. After less than three days however I got a mail from Richard at the label telling me he really liked the material. Shortly after that I was offered a remix for Skint, they believe in my music and their team is great, they’re a bit “like a family”.
Do you hang with the Fat Boy much?
I remember I was in secondary school listening to his music, I was drawing out a kind of sequencer on paper to try to understand how he put the snare in “Push The Tempo”. Then I was coming back home and trying to do that on my MC-505. It was what turned me from rock’n'roll to electronic and resampling music.
What do we have to look forward to in 2012?
I’m getting a new EP together, then I’m working on a very special collaboration, it’s still in construction for the moment, but it’s going to be finished soon.
What was the music that ignited the DJ and production fires in you?
In the beginning it was The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Aphex Twin and so on. I grew up with that when I was 15.
Then I started to turn more in club music like breakbeat (Atomic Hooligan, NAPT, Stanton Warriors etc) then Drum’n'Bass and I fell in love with Hospital Records releases from London Elektricity, Nu Tone, Logistics, Cyantific then onto a bit of everything from the UK scene to the Berlin’s vibes passing all over the “good music”..
You have put out some great videos with your tracks so far, how did that come about and who is responsible for them?
Her name is Rahel Ali. We worked on a short movie together for a University project and she was the sound engineer. We had great time working together and I knew she was a talented photographer and film maker.
When we finished that project we decided to work together again in the future, but in a more creative way.So as I finished the tune “Coquette”, I sent it to Rahel to find out what she though. She immediately had an idea for an underwater vibe for the video and shot between Istanbul and Dub. I think she’s great and I’m looking forward to working with her again soon.
How does your production process work? Program and equipment wise?
I’m working much with Ableton Live rewired from Logic and a couple of hardware synths. I’m working a lot with software though so when I play out I like to use CDs or vinyl, I’m spending too much time in front of a computer monitor and like to get away from it.
Who are the producers and DJ’s at the moment who are really pushing your buttons?
Sepalcure, Submerse, George Fitzerald, Anex, Crypt, 2562, Joy Orbison, Ghostek, Volor Flex, Encode, Dark Sky, Powder Hill, Hybu, Made and much more!
Tell us a little about the mix you did for our podcast series.
I just turned up the mixer and started to play some tunes that I was in the mood to mix and to listen to. I usually adapt my set for the club, crowd, line up etc but when I do mixes like this one here, it’s just me, so it’s more like the music I like with no rules, I hope your gonna like it.
What advice would you give to any budding bedroom producers?
Right now it’s so easy to find ways to do music, I mean, one pc, two pieces of cracked software and that’s it, you don’t really need a studio, professional gear etc. All you need is passion. The music is already inside you, you just have to find your best way to create it.
If you were to be transported to a Lab in the Phuture and a mysteriously crazy scientist were to grant you one superpower – which would you choose?
Since I was a child I’ve known the answer to this question! If being invisible includes even to pass through the walls, I’m going for that! Otherwise I wanna fly
1 Intro – Cyrus – Manhatten Blues
2 Mike Dehnert – Moment
3 A Made Up Sound – Cange
4 Sepalcure – Love Pressure
5 Submerse – 2ru Groove (Duncan Powell Remix)
6 Cosmin TRG – Now You Know
7 Mosca – Orange Jack
8 Beastie Respond - Syncopy_(Blawans Trecther Mechanica)
9 2562 – Yes/No
10 Martyn – Vancouver (2562 Remix)
11 Havantepe – Butterfly
12 Zack Marullo – Pumpydum (Domyan Remix)
13 Hatikvah - In The Spirit (Rod Modell Deepchord Detroit Kinematic Mix)
15 Lusine – Two Dots
16 George Fitzgerald – Don’t You (SCB Edit)
17 Scuba – Lights out
18 Starkey – Lost in Space (ft.Charli XCX) (Darling Farah Remix)
19 Roof Light – Around Here
