Redlight recorded his debut artist album in three studios spread on either side of the Atlantic.
It's an ambitious undertaking, but then Redlight could hardly be accused of lacking ambition. Fusing underground sounds with an innate pop touch, the producer has spent 2015 blazing a trail around the globe.
Debut artist album 'X Colour' will be released on November 13th (pre-order LINK), with the producer explaining: "When I'm writing music, I'm always thinking about visuals, colours, emotions – a whole range of feelings and pressures. I wanted to create an album that was sometimes light / sometimes dark. I wanted it to be abrasive, uplifting and rich – through the journey and the collaborations, I've been able to create a final product that is something I really believe in."
A fascinating document, 'X Colour' is informed by a diverse array of sounds – Clash invited Redlight to namecheck a few of his Influences.
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New Blood – 'Worries In The Dance'
I suppose the whole idea for this album was to make something fresh that fitted into the space between a full vocal album and a club music album, trying to blend the best of all i can hear and mashing up genres to create new vibes. I think I get that inspiration from early jungle records that seemed to do that effortlessly. Take this track for instance, it blends bits of Mary J Blige, Michael Rose and speeded-up beats from James Brown together, as well as probably a Roland 808 or 909 drum machine, to make something that definitely defined British dance culture in the mid-90s. Ruff, rugged and raw!
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Brandy – 'I Wanna Be Down'
I've always been heavily influenced by 90s and early 2000s American R&B vocals, so tracks like this are always in my mind when I'm making music. I think what made Brandy and other artists of that era so special was the vocal delivery and melodies they were experimenting with. I'm still really inspired by it all myself, but I like to make lyrics a little more melancholic and give them a British edge.
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Midland – 'Check Bob'
Percussion and rhythms are always the first point of call for me when I'm producing a beat for a record. I love big hats and bongo perc, wide-as-fuck tambourines and shakers flying everywhere slapping you in the face, sliding in a out of my music as if they were fucking each other over the kicks and claps – this track by Midland does exactly that. I love this jam and still always find a space to play it in my sets.
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Portishead – 'Roads'
Rhodes, melancholic vocals and strings – vibes from the southwest don't come better than Portishead for me, especially when looking for inspiration for my own music or trying to make full-length, widescreen album music. I don't use beats like this on X Colour but Portishead's music has always been a big influence on me when I'm making music. It might not come out in the stuff I make directly, but it's definitely in my head.
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The Weeknd – 'Thursday'
When The Weeknd first came onto the scene, I could really feel like he had connections with Portishead's vibe – way more drug-based, but still vibes. The production on his first mixtapes really inspired me more than anything else, how they used reverbs to fill the spaces – it was sick. Again, none of these examples really sum up what I do on X Colour, but music for me is about feelings – trying to get all the feelings you carry with you in life and putting them on a musical canvas to make something positive. I think The Weeknd has always done it so well.
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'X Colour' will be released on November 13th.
