The Outerworld, aka Bass'Flo & Nemanoe, are an atmospheric drum & bass production duo that, in their own words, "represent the frequencies from deep space, planetary landscapes, synthetic visions, and inner-feelings". Since joining forces in early 2011 they've been going from strength to strength with tracks like Prometheus and they're now set to release their debut compilation album, AM Producer 01. With a gig forthcoming at our Kmag Presents Advection Music event we sat down with them to get to know them a bit better.

When did you first try your hand at DJing and producing?
Bass'Flo: I started DJing when I was 15 and started producing music when I was 17. I became more focused on producing music as there's just something spiritual and magical when you're in the studio composing music from an inspiration that comes from another dimension of space & time. Atmospheric music takes me places far away into the unknown, I guess that's the beauty of making music, it's a blessing that music makes me feel like this.

Around 2005/2006 I was discovered by Galaxi [Advection Music USA], he asked me to send some tracks over, I sent him about 8 dubs and he was blown away. He signed the tracks immediately and also mentioned he was performing in the UK that following weekend and asked to come down. This was to be my first ever Central Projection experience. This actually was a night that changed my life, the music inside took me to another world, the atmosphere was so deep that even the people on the dancefloor were hypnotised by Galaxi's performance. A few weeks later Galaxi introduced me to Tidal [Advection Music UK].

Nemanoe: The starting point was in 2008 when I made my first tracks. I think the main thing that inspired me to make my own music was the huge desire to be heard by people around me and worldwide audiences. I'm more of a music producer rather than a DJ, only because I was producing first. I started mixing my first beats in 2010. I really like DJing as well because I get to hear my music loud on a club soundsystem and it's good to check for any mistakes in new mixdowns from a quality control point of view.

How would you describe your approach to making music?
Bass'Flo: I always close my eyes before starting a music session around midnight. I always spare five minutes of pure silence, sometimes I just play classical music, it really depends on my mood. I have a window on the top of my studio where I can see the stars at night, this helps me a lot when it comes to deep inspiration.

There are a lot of emotions I feel before I even start making music, ambient drone soundscapes are the key to my music. I always start with a drone that helps me drift away into deep space; I spend hours or even days so that the ambience is close to perfection. I also have a telescope in my studio with a map of the universe, looking at stars and planets from long distances, this is another strategy that helps me think about deeper visions.

My external influences are science fiction movies and space documentaries, I have always admired the philosophy and concepts of alien spacecrafts entering Earth's atmosphere and questions like "does life exist on other planets?" I find these reflect my emotions in music on a deeper level, I really take my music into a dimension where it takes my listeners on a journey into the deep cosmos.

I believe atmospheric drum & bass can take you places far away from earth. There is a spiritual feeling towards this specific genre, that really helps turn my visions of deep space into galactic soundwaves. When I'm working with Nemanoe it's very different, our sounds have a lot of similarities, when both combined, a new sound is born The Outerworld.

Nemanoe: My creative process varies, but when I get inspiration for a track I try to keep it in my mind for as long as possible so next time when I work on music I already have a loose idea of what to make. Generally a lot of my inspirations come from movie soundtracks, documentary programs, life sounds and even human emotions.

Tell us more about the AM Producer01 LP compilation and how you approached making it...

Bass'Flo: This is a project that started after we both finished working on 12 tracks individually and then we started on  The Outerworld project. I already had a lot of solo material in the studio locked up for many years, at least 1500 tracks that were unreleased and same with Nemanoe.

So we both thought it would be a great idea to release a compilation album with three CDs: The Outerworld, Bass'Flo and Nemanoe. We wanted each CD with an ambient drone introduction, this would really reflect our emotions as a story, so it would take our listeners on a journey to understand where we are coming from. The compilation is available to buy now on pre-order via the Advection Music website and there will be a special digital extended version of AM Producer 01 with four bonus tracks due for release in August.

 

 

Got any other releases / remixes in the pipeline we should look out for?

Bass'Flo: I'm currently working with Nemanoe on our next Outerworld album for 2013 entitled 'Origins of The Outerworld'. We are looking to work with Aural Imbalance, Ethereal 77, Future Engineers and Deep Gemini.

I have also been working on a special collaboration project with Ziyal from Sweden who is also featured on disc two of AM Producer 01 and we have recently finished our 'Timeless Travellers' album for Cosmic Origins Records, a new sub label on Advection. That label is very reminiscent of those who remember Orange 'n' Blues label Cintamani. It's basically original atmospheric drum & bass with no rules. The album also features a special guest remix by Aural Imbalance.

I'm currently working on another album with Ziyal who goes by the name of Purl in the realms of ambient drone music, look out for collaborations projects from Purl & Sinius forthcoming on AM4 Productions late 2012. Also forthcoming also is Bass'Flo - Dark Horizons EP, Advection Music DVD File 1 and my solo album is in progress for 2013! Future collaborations include working alongside Kirsty Hawkshaw and Robert Manos.

Nemanoe: I've recently started working on a remix for Bass'Flo on a track entitled 'Jungle'Flo' which will be finished very soon and forthcoming on Advection Music UK. It's an old skool jungle tune with fantastic atmosphere and kinda raw jungle subs and Amens that takes you on a deep journey into inner space. As Bass'flo mentioned we're currently working on our debut album 'Origins of The Outerworld'.

 

 

Are you making any other styles of music apart from drum & bass?
Bass'Flo: I have been working under Sinius on ambient drone film score music, this is an external project for upcoming movies. I'm also setting up a new record label with Tidal called Along Way From Detroit, we have been inspired by dub-techno for many years and decided to set up our own label focused on the alternative deep side of our ambient visions, this is a label affiliated with Advection Music UK.

We have currently signed Fingers In The Noise, Zzzzra, Miruga, Rob Velasquez, Axel L, F.L.O, Devecly Bitte, Subforms, Kogyo, Dirk Lienig, 8_four and many more for the project! Look out for AWFD nights in Birmingham, we are looking to book artists such as Jeff Mills, Derrick May and Deepchord Echospace.

Nemanoe: Yeah, I do different experiments in electronic music under the new name Nopast. This is my alternative electronic project. Here I don't care about the rules and borders when I make such tunes. It's more about good experimental electronic music that takes a listener to another dimension. This project is targeted for AM4 productions, which is oriented to make soundtracks for movies.

What do you get up to outside of music?
Bass'Flo: I don't really get time to go out much, I spend most of my time in the studio producing tracks, the only time when I step out, is when I have gigs with Central Projection. When I do get free time I try and catch a movie with a few of the lads from Advection Music, it's nice to catch up with each other.

Later on when I get free time in the future, I would like to visit Antarctica with the Advection crew as an expedition, this would help inspire me on a whole new level. I have always been inspired by documentaries about Antarctica, there's something really mysterious about this location that really attracts me.

Nemanoe: I like to link up with my mates, go gym and also I'm a big fan of tennis, I play and watch tennis regularly.

Anything else you want to tell us about?

Bass'Flo: We'd like people to support the AM Producer 01 release, there has been a tremendous amount of hard work put in to produce this LP, and anyone curious about how this sound translates to the dancefloor we encourage you to check out an AM Producer tour date in your area.

Nemanoe: We would like to thank everyone that has believed in the music, it's the deep followers like you that keeps us going, and it keeps the scene alive. Special thanks to Knowledge Mag for featuring us, we have been working for years non-stop to get to this point.

 

 

Related Links:

• Tidal Releases Soul Expressions EP
• Phace & Misanthrop Release Joint Album
• Phace & Misanthrop Interview
• Space Cadets Label Profile
• Space Cadets Label Profile

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