IYRE

For this interview, I had the pleasure to enjoy a long chat over zoom, with the one and only Iyre.

Critically acclaimed, and touted as DJ Mags ‘One to Watch’ 2024, his creative trajectory has been life changing. I hope we’ll all get to see him on regular basis at a UK residency soon.

Intro

I’m a Sri Lankan DJ and producer, with released tracks with labels including Goldfat, Hospital Records, Soulvent and UKF.

I originally started making Dubstep in the 2010s, under ‘iClown’ before moving into drum and bass.

What music has initially inspired your creative journey? 

I’ve always been involved with music. I moved to a Methodist school and music was always a part and parcel of our education. Then influences from friends; during the teenage years, we started getting ourselves exposed to rock music, metal music and hip hop.

At school, I played in a western-like brass band and also led it, for about three years. At the same time, my father came to understand that I was musically talented. So he made sure that I had a had a formal musical education. It was amazing, and included me being put forward for London College exams.

When I was at university, one of my friends showed me a collaboration project that Skrillex did with a band called Korn. And that was probably when I realised that electronic music could be amalgamated with like acoustical elements.

Then acts like Noisia, Kill the Noise, 12th Planet and Knife Party. It motivated me to become then really invested. And then when I heard Pendulum, I could see how they seamlessly emerged rock and metal elements into drum and bass.

What are you finding challenging right now?

Being a Sri Lankan artist and trying to navigate in the UK scene is quite difficult.

It would be easier for me to make bangers right now. For artists who are more unique, they have to kind of step back and keep on what they believe is the right path to tread.  For people like us, it's a little bit difficult now in comparison to about two years ago, because when COVID was here, people had the time to digest more serious music.

Right now it feels as if, it's a little bit difficult to navigate within the drum and bass scene. What they're looking for is a little bit different to what we produce right now.

That's how life is, you have ups and downs. But the important factor for me personally, is to stay true to your lane and stay true to what you believe in as a musician and stick to it.

What artists do you feel a strong connection with, musically, spiritually and in terms of being aspirational?

Most probably Tesseract. They're a band from the UK and I've been a huge fan since forever.  I saw them in India - I flew to Bangalore to see them live. And in terms of Sonics, probably Tesseract and there's a band called Textures as well.

They're from the Netherlands. Those two bands probably are my biggest inspirations and bands like Meshuga, for example, love them. And these aren't necessarily drum and bass.

And the way I see it, it helps as a producer, if you source inspirations from genres other than drum and bass. And if you like what they do, eventually those sonics, get integrated to your workflow as well.

You use some of the sonics into your music and the outcome is inevitably going to be very different from what you hear.

So that's basically going to help you as a producer to come up with like a really different kind of a sound.

How can the current scene and clubbing experience be improved or supported further ?

First and foremost, as DJs, it's our responsibility to introduce new music to the dance floor. And sadly, most of the time it's basically people looking for those social media moments and playing the same songs all over again and doing those double drums and triple drums.

It doesn't make sense to me. I just want to be a DJ that can be trusted with good and new music. It's basically what I'm looking at right now.

And luckily, in terms of places that I've played, most of the places gave me freedom to be myself.

For example, on my UK tour last year, I opened for Worship who’s artists are all superstars. They were like, ‘just do you’ play whatever you believe is ideal.

I just pulled out like the deepest grimiest set I could imagine. And people resonated, which is the amazing thing.

So in terms of what we're seeing right now in the UK scene, maybe the promoters have to give a chance and see what happens. Go for a varied lineup in terms of the sonic.

I understand that selling tickets can be a little bit difficult as well with the economy right now. But maybe have a few of us guys into the lineup too.

What are you releasing or working on right now?

There's a few soulful bits which are probably going to come out with UKF, about four to five tunes with them, hopefully looking at an EP kind of a scenario.

There's the UKG tune which is going to drop on the 18th April, which has Pavan from Foreign Beggars too.

Support, Iyre

instagram.com/iyre_dnb

tiktok.com/@iyrednb

spotify.com/artist

soundcloud.com/iyrednb

beatport.com/artist/iyre

Love, Shaun

Intro

Meet Love, Shaun a Scottish producer and DJ in the electronic dance music scene.

What music has initially inspired your creative journey? 

My creative journey properly started after seeing a Caribou and Four Tet gig in Glasgow many years ago and being blown away by the sound and the emotion they created.

I grew up on indie music and had been in a few guitar bands but after this gig I was inspired to start making electronic music.

What are you finding challenging right now?

I think finding a good balance between everything I’m up to right now is a challenge. I’ve started a new journey as an independent artist after just leaving Astralwerks records and there is always the fear of going from a major label to now releasing music myself without that kind of support network.

The challenge is trying to balance all the things I want to do like making new music but also having to spend days finishing music I want to release and prep for gigs etc. 

What artists do you feel a strong connection with - musically, spiritually or aspirationally?

I love what Barry Can’t Swim is doing right now. He’s blending genres but it all feels part of the one project which is a difficult thing to do, and I just love that about him!  

I saw him recently at the Barrowlands and his set was huge. I’m also into a newer artist called Duskus who I’m supporting in Glasgow at the end of the month who makes atmospheric kind of house electronic music.

I also love digging through old music for samples and the surprise when you find something special. I had an app called Radioooo I was using which is a Radio Time Machine and you choose a place and year, and it plays music from that country and year. It’s cool!

I guess the last song I released ‘I’ll Carry On’ was a bit like that as I found the sample on a rare unheard-of gospel compilation album.

How can the current scene / clubbing experience be improved or supported further (thinking about up-coming artists especially)?

I’ve started a club night with fellow Scottish Electronic producer Rory James, and we’ve started collaborating with other nights. I think Collaboration is important.

I like this idea of holding open deck nights too with newer DJ’s coming and doing shorter sets. It gives people who are trying to get in the scene a chance and having more DJs on the bill bringing different crowds can start to build a community.

I think the difficult thing is trying to think outside the box as well from the classic clubbing experience.

I think daytime raving feels like something I want to get into after I saw a coffee shop rave recently which I thought was a great idea! 

What are you releasing/working on right now?

I think I tend to always feel more of a connection to dance music which just goes that bit deeper than just making you want to dance, and I feel like that’s what I want to do when I make music.

There’s a Spotify playlist ‘Crying on The Dancefloor’ which I think sums it up!  I just love the power music must transform your landscape or emotions.  

I remember when I was making ‘I’ll Carry On’ and I first played the strings over the vocals I felt such a strong emotional connection to it.

I was going through some difficult times and making the song genuinely got me through it and I thought maybe someone else might be going through something similar and it’ll help them.

In terms of new music, I have a new single ‘Waiting’ to come in a couple of weeks. I’ve posted a lot on Soundcloud the last year which I’ve kind of been using as a bit of a focus group where I can see which tunes react and which don’t.

I posted ‘Waiting’ over a year ago and I’d kind of forgotten to check back on it and I saw the other day it was one of the most popular ones, so I thought it was time to get it out there! 

Support Love, Shaun

https://www.instagram.com/thisisloveshaun/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@thisisloveshaun

https://soundcloud.com/love-shaun

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4qvKSBd9PKGZQ7cmWdOllu

sTage Manager

Please introduce yourself..

I’m Stage Manager (an alias of Dan Proxy). I’m London-born and currently spending time living and working in Sri Lanka.

I blend musical genres from a sonic palette of trip hop, garage, breakbeat and house, showcasing a deep love for lower-end sub-bass frequencies. Soundtracking atmospheric drops with liberating contrasts, time stretches a selection of tempos and rhythms from dub reggae all the way up to jungle drum & bass.

What music initially inspired your creative journey?

I was born in North London but grew up in Milton Keynes, which was home to The Sanctuary, a legendary warehouse venue that hosted large scale raves in the early 90’s - Dreamscape, Helter Skelter, Slammin’ Vinyl and Godskitchen.

I was slightly too young to attend the early raves, but I had a mate who had an older brother, and he’d bought the tape packs, the recordings from the raves.

That was how it all started for me - Randall, Slipmatt, and Carl Cox cassettes.

Right now, what are you finding challenging?

Firstly, big up all the promoters who know the importance of programming!!! I am finding a lot of other DJs are really inexperienced.  They aren’t really DJ’s, as they have never jockey’d  a disc.  I heard this new phrase the other day that describes them quite well – US-BJ’s.   They turn up with their same set as everyone else, all the biggest tunes from this weeks Beatport, they make sure to setup their camera phone so that they are recording themselves playing their set, then they don’t look up again during their set.  

They mix every 2 minutes, inappropriate banger to inappropriate banger.  They have no musical knowledge beyond the genre they have chosen to mix.  Haven’t taken the time to learn anything about engineering a good sound, or even have an understanding of the different type of sets that are required throughout the same night.  

It’s becoming more and more common, and more and more upsetting to see that the entry level standard has dropped so significantly.  

What artists do you feel a strong connection with - musically, spiritually or in terms of aspiration?

As a former manager of Fabric, Village Underground and The Cause and a familiar face on the UK and European festival circuit, I’ve enjoyed exclusive access to some of the world’s very best record collections.

Freerotation, Houghton, We Out Here, and Dimensions are my non-negotiables. They have become spiritual homes. These are my people. Favourite DJ, Ben UFO

How can the current scene and clubbing experience be improved or supported further?

I think it’s common knowledge amongst the more headsy members of the scene..

Getting rid of the mobile phones, living in the moment,  consciously going offline for IRL adventures, and interacting with random strangers who share similar passions.

If I also think back to my early clubbing days,  attending Passion, in Coalville, regularly in 1997 – The crowd then was multi-generational.  We used to think it was really cool that there were a couple in their 50s or 60s who used to wear UV glow paint and go every weekend.  

Elders in the rave meant that there is something to be learned, knowledge and wisdom to be passed down.  

People looking out for each other, and looking after each other more.  The shared experience.  

Annabel De Melchiori

Please introduce yourself..

I am Egger Annabel, in Art Annabel De Melchiori, an independent Techno producer, singer and songwriter from Northern Italy.

I started in 2015 by publishing my Songs on YouTube and SoundCloud, I used to record vocals and mix them with my Music. I always had inclination for electronic Music, so I decided to follow my passions and now I actively produce Techno.

What music initially inspired your creative journey?

I grew up surrounded by Music, my Mom used to leave the radio turned on, to make me fall asleep, the radio station mostly played old Italian songs from the 60s - apparently it was a great way to calm me down.

As I grew up, my Interest in Music expanded and I looked for something new everyday....Rock, Metal, Traditional Music, Jazz and Classical. Discovering styles I didn’t know, was so funny to me.

I still research Music, but at the end of the day, I always go back to Techno. You can take practically everything to make rhythms and melodies, sounds that form an atmosphere. Thats why I love Techno so much.

Right now, what are you finding challenging?

My biggest challenge right now is to truly create a track that really represents me 100%. I always come close to my expectations, but never fill them completely.

The positive note about it is, when I hear my tracks on my computer, or the unmixed version on my Phone, I get new Ideas, a big charge of creativity to do more and to get better for my personal satisfaction, it gives me so much motivation and I love it!

What artists do you feel a strong connection with - musically, spiritually or in terms of aspiration?

I don’t really feel connected to artists, more so to an era.

The golden 90s, the early Rave scene, the music I absolutely enjoy the most! The tracks have so much individuality, starting from Techno to raw sounds like the early Hardcore.

I find much inspiration and try to bring it into my Music.

How can the current scene and clubbing experience be improved or supported further?

I think Music is a very important part of society, it represents entertainment and fun, a break away from the routine but it’s also a good way to socialise.

I have the feeling living now, is more of a stress than an enjoyment. First you have to go to school, then you need to find a job, time runs out fast and everything seems so empty.

Through Music, I discovered great people I probably would never have known about, I think we will see some great artists coming through. DJs are still a very important part of the scene. I don’t think the night culture will ever die, every century had his highlights sometimes more sometimes less.

I can assure everything passes, and everything comes back.

What are you releasing or working on right now?

I’m thinking about performing live, it’s a very important part for an artist, it’s like bringing your feelings to the crowd, I really want people to feel my dimension when they listen to my Music or my voice. I would like they to feel the same way I feel when I listen to Music.

I have a lot going on this Month, many releases lot’s of projects and collaborations I am super exited about.

Living my passion makes me really happy, I bring it a step forward everyday more. I litterially started from nothing other than a dream.

I remember my mom and I sitting in the car driving home, I always had my little radio with me, I used to look out the window and just listen, and now I’m not just a listener but the one who makes the music.

Support Annabel

Annabel De Melchiori | Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6nnvJdwTdprpy2dPazWQiA?si=TPI4zUZFQ62-1xVC-iVGew

https://soundcloud.com/demelchiori

https://www.youtube.com/@demelchiori

https://www.instagram.com/demelchioriofficialmusic

https://music.apple.com/it/artist/annabel-de-melchiori

https://www.beatport.com/artist/annabel-de-melchiori

https://www.tiktok.com/@annabeldemelchiori44

Tracks 

Chaos: musica e testo di Annabel De Melchiori | Spotify

Taken form the Ep Underground Bite

https://open.spotify.com/track/4Hh3LwlEm205jialzPjtWu