Flwhy ft Sound Shifter - High Speed by Sound Shifter

 

Barcelona based producer Sound Shifter and US rapper Flwhy recently won our Unsigned Track Competition for February with their hip hop / dubstep track High Speed. We sat down with them to get to know them a bit better...

 

 

Please introduce yourself...
My name is Chase Hall aka Sound Shifter. I'm a producer / DJ / song writer from South London but I currently live in the highly inspirational city of Barcelona.

How long have you been making music?
I've been a producer / DJ for just over ten years now and I have recently got into writing lyrics to be performed by other artists.

How would you describe your approach to making music?
My philosophy on production is that "music creates emotions and emotions create music", so I try to touch as many different emotions as I can in one song. There are so many instruments and sounds that appeal to one's ear and I think that blending those sounds together is what really inspires me to produce. For example, if you take a soothing female vocal, mixed with a piano and a nice fat sub, it's going to cause a reaction in the brain that makes you feel good. So, to sum it up without going too deep, my approach to music is based on creating and shifting sounds that provoke a positive feeling for the listener.

What's your studio setup like?
Well, I left London five years ago with a hard drive, Cubase SX, a few VSTi's and a handful of samples. Not much has changed since then other than an update on Cubase, some new VSTi's and a ridiculous amount of samples from here, there and everywhere.

Talk us through High Speed... what did you have in mind when you made it?
Well, the beat started up as my first real attempt at dubstep. I had no real idea where I was going with the track, I was just trying to find my feet with a new style. Then I found Flwhy on SoundCloud. I listened to a few of his tracks and I was highly impressed by the quality of his work so I approached him with regards to working on a few beats and that's when the song really started to take form. I wanted to keep the dubstep feel as I love the UK underground scene but I thought this could be more interesting with a rap thrown over the top. I did not prompt Flwhy with any ideas for the lyrics as I trusted his skills to come up with something fresh and I was not let down! As it was our first production together you can say that it was more trial and error than anything else but, not so much error in the end!

What else have you been working on recently?
Funnily enough my remix of Seba's Painted Sky for the Knowledge remix competition is almost complete but, if I am honest, it's more about being gifted the chance to destroy such a beautiful track by an amazing legend. So Long by Seba & Paradox is firmly in my top ten jungle tracks and to work with Painted Sky is an absolute treat, trust me! I'm also working on a dubstep remix of a really great tune called SlowDown by a German group called Das Berlin. This is more on the chilled side and should be up on SoundCloud by the end of March, if not before. There are a few other projects that I am working on at the moment, mainly drum & bass as I have neglected her recently, but nothing else that is worth shouting about for now.

Got any releases in the pipeline we should look out for?
A dubstep remix of Black Ink by Whitenoise (an electro, dubstep and breaks producer) for Broken Records UK is coming out on April 4th. I also have three drum & bass beats coming out in the next few months on a new label called Armageddon Beats, who are all about the jungle sounds. The only other thing I can say for now is watch out for the return of Bay B Kane!

Do you DJ? If so got any dates you can tell us about?
I do DJ but the vinyl has been put to one side to accommodate the hunger of my production. I will be working on pushing jungle and drum & bass a bit more in Barcelona in the future with DJ Refold, but at the moment production comes first.

 

 

 

Please introduce yourself...
My name is Flwhy (Fly), I'm 24 and reside in Poughkeepsie NY, USA.

How long have you been making music?
I've seriously been recording music a little over a year. Trying to be modest here. Music is the first thing I feel I can say I'm mastering. Remember I'm trying to be modest!

How would you describe your approach to making music?
Production is key! Shout out to my bloke Chase. Lyrics are just a mixture of truth, emotions and creativity.

What's your studio setup like?
I have small studio space in my apartment.  And a studio I hit up that's maybe five minutes from where I stay.

Talk us through High Speed... what did you have in mind when you made it?
I got pulled over while I was listening to the production. I hate getting pulled over! A lot of the times cops are overly assholelish. Just made that word up! The way they act, you would think I'm breaking 17 laws. If I was I never would have stopped!

What else have you been working on recently?
I've been working on an album, Memories From My Future. My plan for 2011 was to record 200 songs but I've been so focused on making this project perfect. I'm spending a lot of time being too critical. So maybe I'll do 100.

Got any releases in the pipeline we should look out for?
A song called Serial Kill-Her should be the first single from my Memories From My Future album. I definitely need at least two Chase Hall productions on the project, which might end up pushing Serial Kill-Her out of the first single slot.

 

Related Links:

• Introducing: Flwhy & Sound Shifter
• Kmag Unsigned Competition Feb 2011 Result
• Video: D1 ft. Jenna G - Flood Of Emotions
• FS Releases Half Android LP
• MC Tali Interview

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