This month we’re handing mixing duties over to Stoke based producer and DJ Levi David. Levi’s latest EP Lust, was released on New Years eve. The Ep strikes a balance between introspective deepness and high octane excitement. Listen to his mix, read his interview, and get your copy of the EP below.
Download Levi’s EP Lust on the Bandcamp store now.
Hey Levi, thanks for coming on the blog, I’m really looking forward to catching up with you and chatting about all things music. You’re also the first mix on AMF in 2021, so congratulations too.
I always like to start these interviews with our guest’s story. Could you tell me about your music journey, what led you to production and DJing?
Thanks for having me on, the pleasure is all mine! I feel honoured to be your first guest of 2021, hopefully it’s the start of a great year we all deserve.
So my story began quite a few years ago, from the age of 10 you would most likely find me glued to a computer screen in my spare time. I remember learning how to sequence drum patterns for different genres on an old ICL 486 my uncle had built for me as a christmas present.
I don’t remember the software I used but it was very basic. After a few months my uncle had seen what I had managed to figure out and installed a fresh copy of Propellerheads Reason version 1 on my PC, that was the start of a very long relationship with the digital rack mount we all recognise today.
I would stick with reason all the way through to Version 10 when I made the grown up decision to switch to Ableton, through that time producing all sorts of crazy sounds/genres and really understanding the fundamentals of sound design. This is the point when I really started to get serious about sharing my sound with the world, and creating projects that could be marketed by record labels.
Listening to your EP I can pick out a few familiar sounds and genres, who would you say are your musical inspirations? (If you have any that is)
This is probably going to be the hardest to answer. I have taken influence from so many genres/artists due to growing up surrounded by 80’s/90’s pop/dance/electro/rock and everything in between.
I am lucky to have a family who are all very much into their music so as a child I heard it all, and I think because I started to produce so early this would be transferred to what I was creating.
Through school I would listen to a lot of 90’s/00’s trance/dance and still do now, I feel the euphoria created by those gated synths or a massive reese bass is timeless, and lends itself really well to the kind of leftfield, euphoric breakbeat sound I have adapted for the Lust EP.
The second track on the EP ‘Entropy’ is a homage to a scene which graced my hometown of Stoke on Trent through the 90’s. Stoke had a huge rave culture with Shelley’s in Longton being rated as the number 1 spot for parties in the UK at the time, Entropy was another night which ran alongside Shelley’s but with a harder sound, what we would call old school rave now.
Although I was far too young to be out partying at the time, in the past few years old club promoters have come back into action and Stoke has started to regain a name for itself once again, turning old ceramic factories into warehouse parties and things like that.
It would be almost rude not to mention Bicep at this point, they really are my music idols and have to say a lot of what they do has influenced me in some way or other. I’m really looking forward to getting my copy of Isles.
You released the Lust EP on Zone Focus, how did that relationship come about and do you have any tips or pointers for other producers looking to team up with local labels?
Going back a few years, again! Haha. I’m actually close friends with the founder of ZF and we used to run nights together in and around Stoke, so it’s really great to have a release on a label which I have seen grow from just an idea.
I love how it has come about, as my debut release it is nice to have that personal connection. Through the years of being a bedroom producer I had a lot of friends who always got excited when I showed them new music, or pestered me to commit more time to pursue a career, the guys at ZF were some of those people, it’s probably not the usual relationship an artist would have with a label but I definitely like it like this.
To producers looking to get on with labels, I would say to give yourself the best headstart as possible. The more hard work you put into the EPK for the label, e.g. press shots, mastering tracks, writing a bio, etc. the more you will be taken seriously and that is key! There is a lot of competition out there and especially now with everyone spending more time at home, so you need to stand out and really look like you mean business.
Lust is out on Bandcamp now. Can you tell us a bit about how you produced it? It’s a three track EP and each track has a slightly different vibe and mood. What was you approach, musically for each track? (Feel free to get pretty technical here)
Track selection for the EP was a joint collaboration between me and my 2 sidekicks of the project, my manager and ZF founder. So the tracks weren’t essentially built to suit their place on the EP, although minor changes were made after we had decided on the tracks to polish them off and make it a more rounded experience.
Starting with Divine, this was actually a track I had sat for a while unfinished and got lost in the archives. I went searching through some old tracks for inspiration and instantly fell back in love with the synth line, so really that was the starting point. I wanted the track to feel like a calling, like the listener is being instructed to join us on a journey, which then slowly transforms into something more substantial over time.
The second track Entropy began life as a sample of people laughing, I felt like this energy replicated the emotion I got from watching old rave footage from the Entropy nights in stoke in the 90’s, and this energy is what decided it to be the middle track on the EP, almost like the height of the trip. I asked my partner to play some chords for me on my midi controller while I recorded, she’s pretty handy on the piano, then using them chords I made the arpeggiated synth melody and reese bass, playing around with the drum breaks and structure after I had all of the other elements down.
Lastly, the title track Lust carries the energy through but in a more sophisticated and chilled way. I think I started with the drums on this one and must have had over 20 tracks open with various drum samples and break loops on the go, chopping and changing like crazy. It took a lot of time to balance out the sound but it was worth it!
All in all, I feel I created the exact feelings I was hoping to achieve in the overall sound, mixing a few different styles and techniques to create something original.
You released the EP on New Year’s Eve. Was that a deliberate move. Start the new year with a bang. Put 2020 behind us?
It is definitely a statement for sure! I think the timing of everything this past couple of years, for me personally, has been just crazy and ultimately everything has led to this EP, whether that be intended or not. With the excitement of what’s to come in 2021 and the great things we have to look forward to, I felt it was a perfect time to get my music out there and join the party once and for all.
What are you looking forward to most Post Lockdown? Clubbing, DJing, record shopping etc. Just getting back to normal?
It has definitely got to be playing live! There’s no better feeling than being stood at the head of a crowd and seeing the love and happiness shared through my music. I’m really looking forward to going away on holiday too!
If I could play in Ibiza in the summer that would make it worth the wait. I also have a close friend who is due to get married in Mexico later in the year so really excited for that too!
What’s on the horizon for Levi musically? Have you got more releases on the horizon or any events you’re planning in the New year you can tell us about?
So far it has been pretty hard to make any kind of plans as you’re probably aware so I’ve kept the diary pretty quiet for the time being. Although I will constantly be working on new music and already have a nice selection lined up for another EP.
There’s a couple of other projects too which i’m not sure I can divulge just yet, so yeah, music wise is looking pretty good, events wise, not so much, but I will be hoping to play as much as I can once the restrictions are lifted and we are back to party mode!
Download Levi’s EP Lust on the Bandcamp store now.
