His new EP, production and that Jamie xx collaboration...
Slow burning - that's Fantastic Mr Fox.
A Wolverhampton native, the Manchester based producer has had an insidious effect on bass culture for a few years now. Taking his time over each release, the beatsmith manages to maximise the effect that every new idea has.
'San'en' should be a breakthrough moment. Four lengthy bass musings, Fantastic Mr Fox takes a massive leap forward. Perhaps his most ambitious, fully formed statement yet the producer takes elements from Grime, R&B, dubstep and avant electronics without fully succumbing to any one genre.
Out now on the always reliable Bristol imprint Black Acre, Fantastic Mr Fox toasted the launch of his new EP by answering our nosy questions. He's ever so kind...
- - -
You began by making hip hop is that right? What drew you to that sound?
When I first started producing- I wasn't making any type of music in particular- but hip-hop was the main genre I first got into as a teenager. The drum sounds are what drew me to it initially. I used to listen to a lot of Madlib, Prefuse 73, Def Jux, UK hip hop etc along with the Timbaland and Neptunes beats that were always on the radio.
How did the Alby Daniels collaboration come about?
The whole 'post dubstep' R&B thing had started to emerge as a genre in itself and my initial reaction was to try and take a step back to make sure I didn't get caught up in it. I'd gone through quite a long spell of trying to completely change how I worked, trying to scrap all vocal samples and keep melodic work to a minimum. It took almost a year of trying to make music without vocals and melodies to realise that those were the parts of making music I got most enjoyment from. I decided that if I was going to move back towards vocal lead tracks - it would be much more of learning curve to work with a vocalist instead of sampling. It took quite a long time to find the voice I was after for the EP but Ian, who runs Black Acre, discovered Alby on Soundcloud and put us in contact.
Were these tracks always intended to have vocals?
Yeah - the three vocal tracks were always being made with vocals in mind.
Did the vocal takes inspire you to re-work the tracks?
The majority of the work for the EP was done before the vocal stage, so the vocal takes didn't impact much - although 'Yesterday's Fall' was a completely different track before it was vocalled. I'd finished the rest of the EP at that point so had a better idea of had the final track should sound. That track was originally intended to have a full verse-chorus vocal on, but it ended up being more effective revolving around a couple of short vocal phrases.
‘Pascal’s Chorus’ is extremely long, what draws you to longer tracks?
I've listened to a lot more slowly developing house, techno etc over the last year which has helped improve my musical attention span and cut down on the hyperactivity of my own productions. I didn't set out to make a seven minute track, but once the main idea was put down, it felt like it would work best developed gradually.
How do you think these work in a club format? Have you played them out?
They all work to varying degrees within the context of other songs in a set, but 'Speak Nuh' probably has the most impact.
There’s a big R&B influence to what Alby Daniels does, is this something you’re inspired by as well?
Yeah, R&B is something that's always had an influence on me, along with alot of other types of music, but has become more prevalent in what I've been making recently. When I first started making music I was much more in denial about enjoying pop music, so never really explored making anything resembling rnb. As I completely avoided trying to make R&B / pop & house when I was younger, they're the genres I get most excitement from working with at the moment. As I'm sure is the case with most producers my age - the influence of The Neptunes and Timbaland over my approach to production is inescapable.
There’s a Grime influence on ‘Speak Nuh’, is that a big part in your music?
Not that much to be honest - Grime's a genre I've always enjoyed but I've never really kept up with it. I didn't intend for 'Speak Nuh' to become a |Grime tune, but an Eski-type melody seemed to fit the beat best when I was messing around on the synth.
There’s a great use of texture, of varied sounds on this EP – is that something you intentionally try to do? To layer different, contrasting elements?
To a certain extent, but most of it's trial and error. I never really sit down with a particular plan for a track, I just slowly piece together different sounds and try and make something that feels like it has a personality. I usually end up using completely different sound sources for each song, but work with them them until they feel like they have a similar personality to the other tracks I'm working on. I've got much more used to EQing (I didn't know what it was until after my first couple of releases) and thats helped me incorporate much more interesting noises that I didn't use to be able to work into my songs.
You’re closely associated with Black Acre, is that a label you feel a connection with?
Black Acre always put out interesting music and don't get too drawn into trends, which has helped them build slowly. Working with Ian (who runs Black Acre) is really easy - I always have complete control over every aspect of my releases- and know I can send him a finished release and get it put out straight away. He also never puts any pressure on me to finish music for the sake of putting a release out.
You worked with Jamie xx on ‘Miss You’ - what was this like? Are you an admirer of his work?
I sent Jamie over a beat to work on around the time we first started exchanging music. He sent a beat back I started working on, but it was around the time I was beginning to work out a new sound, so was never finished. I'm a big fan of the XX's work and of all Jamie's solo stuff and was lucky enough to go on tour with the band to the US. Its been really nice to see Jamie's music gain so much attention over the last year or so.
Will this gain a full release?
No - it was going to be at one point, but I didn't finish the B-side and I quite like the idea of having a few songs that people can only hear in DJ sets.
- - -
'Sen'en' is out now.
A Wolverhampton native, the Manchester based producer has had an insidious effect on bass culture for a few years now. Taking his time over each release, the beatsmith manages to maximise the effect that every new idea has.
'San'en' should be a breakthrough moment. Four lengthy bass musings, Fantastic Mr Fox takes a massive leap forward. Perhaps his most ambitious, fully formed statement yet the producer takes elements from Grime, R&B, dubstep and avant electronics without fully succumbing to any one genre.
Out now on the always reliable Bristol imprint Black Acre, Fantastic Mr Fox toasted the launch of his new EP by answering our nosy questions. He's ever so kind...
- - -
You began by making hip hop is that right? What drew you to that sound?
When I first started producing- I wasn't making any type of music in particular- but hip-hop was the main genre I first got into as a teenager. The drum sounds are what drew me to it initially. I used to listen to a lot of Madlib, Prefuse 73, Def Jux, UK hip hop etc along with the Timbaland and Neptunes beats that were always on the radio.
How did the Alby Daniels collaboration come about?
The whole 'post dubstep' R&B thing had started to emerge as a genre in itself and my initial reaction was to try and take a step back to make sure I didn't get caught up in it. I'd gone through quite a long spell of trying to completely change how I worked, trying to scrap all vocal samples and keep melodic work to a minimum. It took almost a year of trying to make music without vocals and melodies to realise that those were the parts of making music I got most enjoyment from. I decided that if I was going to move back towards vocal lead tracks - it would be much more of learning curve to work with a vocalist instead of sampling. It took quite a long time to find the voice I was after for the EP but Ian, who runs Black Acre, discovered Alby on Soundcloud and put us in contact.
Were these tracks always intended to have vocals?
Yeah - the three vocal tracks were always being made with vocals in mind.
Did the vocal takes inspire you to re-work the tracks?
The majority of the work for the EP was done before the vocal stage, so the vocal takes didn't impact much - although 'Yesterday's Fall' was a completely different track before it was vocalled. I'd finished the rest of the EP at that point so had a better idea of had the final track should sound. That track was originally intended to have a full verse-chorus vocal on, but it ended up being more effective revolving around a couple of short vocal phrases.
‘Pascal’s Chorus’ is extremely long, what draws you to longer tracks?
I've listened to a lot more slowly developing house, techno etc over the last year which has helped improve my musical attention span and cut down on the hyperactivity of my own productions. I didn't set out to make a seven minute track, but once the main idea was put down, it felt like it would work best developed gradually.
How do you think these work in a club format? Have you played them out?
They all work to varying degrees within the context of other songs in a set, but 'Speak Nuh' probably has the most impact.
There’s a big R&B influence to what Alby Daniels does, is this something you’re inspired by as well?
Yeah, R&B is something that's always had an influence on me, along with alot of other types of music, but has become more prevalent in what I've been making recently. When I first started making music I was much more in denial about enjoying pop music, so never really explored making anything resembling rnb. As I completely avoided trying to make R&B / pop & house when I was younger, they're the genres I get most excitement from working with at the moment. As I'm sure is the case with most producers my age - the influence of The Neptunes and Timbaland over my approach to production is inescapable.
There’s a Grime influence on ‘Speak Nuh’, is that a big part in your music?
Not that much to be honest - Grime's a genre I've always enjoyed but I've never really kept up with it. I didn't intend for 'Speak Nuh' to become a |Grime tune, but an Eski-type melody seemed to fit the beat best when I was messing around on the synth.
There’s a great use of texture, of varied sounds on this EP – is that something you intentionally try to do? To layer different, contrasting elements?
To a certain extent, but most of it's trial and error. I never really sit down with a particular plan for a track, I just slowly piece together different sounds and try and make something that feels like it has a personality. I usually end up using completely different sound sources for each song, but work with them them until they feel like they have a similar personality to the other tracks I'm working on. I've got much more used to EQing (I didn't know what it was until after my first couple of releases) and thats helped me incorporate much more interesting noises that I didn't use to be able to work into my songs.
You’re closely associated with Black Acre, is that a label you feel a connection with?
Black Acre always put out interesting music and don't get too drawn into trends, which has helped them build slowly. Working with Ian (who runs Black Acre) is really easy - I always have complete control over every aspect of my releases- and know I can send him a finished release and get it put out straight away. He also never puts any pressure on me to finish music for the sake of putting a release out.
You worked with Jamie xx on ‘Miss You’ - what was this like? Are you an admirer of his work?
I sent Jamie over a beat to work on around the time we first started exchanging music. He sent a beat back I started working on, but it was around the time I was beginning to work out a new sound, so was never finished. I'm a big fan of the XX's work and of all Jamie's solo stuff and was lucky enough to go on tour with the band to the US. Its been really nice to see Jamie's music gain so much attention over the last year or so.
Will this gain a full release?
No - it was going to be at one point, but I didn't finish the B-side and I quite like the idea of having a few songs that people can only hear in DJ sets.
- - -
'Sen'en' is out now.
