Features

Marlow

Marlow is by no means a newcomer to dubstep. His debut release The Rope back in 2006 on Storming Productions received big support from some of the scene's major players.

This went on to secure him releases on influential labels including Boka, Hotflush, & Scuba. Machine and Butterfish Remix in particular got massive support from N-Type & Caspa, and received significant Radio 1 play.

Fast forward to 2009 and Marlow has a very impressive collection of artist 12"s & remixes under his belt. We tracked him down to find out what he has in store for the rest of the year and beyond...

Please introduce yourself briefly...

My name is Chris Marlow and I'm from Wimborne, just off the south coast of England. It's a quiet place full of proper freaks but I'm too slow-motion for city pace.

My parents bought me a ukulele when I was three. I used to dance around the front room in a pair of Y-fronts and sunglasses strumming along to Eddy Grant. I've still got a picture of that somewhere, any paedo's dream.

I got into producing though when I was 18 - I'd been playing instruments from an early age, but after frequently attending free parties and clubs I wanted to try and recreate the sounds I was hearing in these venues when I was off my head. I'm 29 now, I've been releasing dubstep for three years and I'm still learning a lot every time I go in the studio.

One side of your latest 12" is called Bandwagon Junglist, is this aimed at all the drum and bass producers that have jumped on the dubstep bandwagon the last few years?

Yes, that's exactly what it was aimed at. I'm not saying I've got a problem with it though, just that a lot of DnB artists were trying to latch onto something new and more exciting, and expecting just to slot right into the scene. Some of them have made brilliant dubstep, The Upbeats for example have a track on their forthcoming album called Macabre which I've been playing in every set.

Tell us more about the track itself...

It's a track that I wrote over a year ago, and is based around the Hans Zimmer string sample running throughout. I'm influenced a lot by musicians such as Hans Zimmer i.e. Ludvico Einaudi, Philip Glass - this is where most of my inspiration comes from. Though I was speaking to someone the other day that worked with Hans Zimmer and said he was a complete wanker, proper arrogant apparently.

The other side, Back 4 More, has an early hardcore vibe was this the intention when making it?

No not at all, I'm not into that stuff but I did set out to try something a little different, the usual half-step rhythm can get a little tiresome. It started off as a 2-step track, then started to sound more like breaks as time went on.

I always consciously try and make my music a little more uplifting than the usual dubstep tune, it makes them stand out on the dancefloor. That vocal loop is now starting to annoy the hell out of me though.

You have a unique sound and your tracks have crossover appeal and get support from the likes of Toddla T, Kissy Sell Out, Rob Da Bank, Adam Freeland, Annie Mac and Howie B. Why do you think this is and was it a surprise initially?

Yes I was surprised, I honestly never expected so much Radio 1 support but it's helped me take my music more seriously. This sound is getting so much more radio exposure at the moment, a lot of DJs are having to take notice. I've always wanted my music to sound more energetic and musical than the average dubstep record – something that people can really dance to, so I guess this is what appeals to the DJs you've mentioned above.

Tell us more about your remix of BYOB's My Best Shoes forthcoming on Skint Records.

I was stoked when I was asked to do this. I grew up listening to a lot of artists on Skint, it's a great label and a great opportunity for me, I'm assuming it happened off the back of the Black Ghosts and Stereo MCs remixes.

The original track is brilliant, he's a great vocalist so I wanted to keep most of the vocal in. The remix is a lot harder and grimier than my usual tracks, but I've been consciously trying to sound like DZ, Chimpo and Excision as much as possible. I might even invite them down for collaborations so I can learn all of their production secrets and copy them note for note.

How does remixing compare to making your own tracks?

To be honest, I prefer remixing to writing my own material, simply because I have elements already there to work on. Starting a piece from scratch can be tedious for me. I spend a lot of time mapping out beats and making sounds, it can be a while before there's anything musical going on. So, to be able to put my impression on something already written can often feel more artistic.

It's inspiring to see how other people work too. I try to get people to send me the Logic projects whenever possible - it's a good opportunity to rip off everyone else's ideas and steal their samples!

You're launching your own label No Comply Recordings in November. Tell us more about the concept behind it and what we can expect on it...

I'm just putting the final pieces in place. It's been a lot of work but also a lot of fun. I wanted to give the buying public something different and a bit more collectible than the usual 12". Each vinyl release will be hand-numbered, extremely limited, and complete with hand-made cover art.

Each 12" will also include an A5 insert and sticker. It's generated a lot of excitement and interest from stores and the general public, probably because people aren't putting as much effort into the visual aspect of vinyl releases anymore. But I remember buying Parliament / Funkadelic records as a kid and spending hours looking at and reading the cover art. The logos, artwork is very tongue in cheek. I never want it to become too serious but I am looking at it as a long-term project.

What have you been working on in the studio recently?

I've been asked to remix 'Aztec' by The Neptune Project. For those of you not familiar with the track, it's the biggest trance tune of 2009. So I'm taking my time with this one, I want it to be the best thing I've done to date. Expect something a lot more gnarly than normal.

How do you think dubstep has changed in the last few years as it's become more popular?

When I first started listening to dubstep nine years ago it had a distinct vibe not found anywhere else in dance music. The emphasis wasn't on production, just the space and rhythm. Now, I feel that it's taking a similar path as DnB did four or five years ago - it's now more about production, almost a battle to produce the stupidest bass sounds possible.

Which in my opinion is great, it stops the scene from getting so serious and boring, but I do feel that this is where DnB went wrong. The production battle sucked the life and soul out of the music. Now the minimal movement is happening in DnB and it's the most exciting thing to happen in that genre in a long time.

What tracks, producers and labels are you feeling at the moment?

Anything by Koan Sound at the moment has blown me away. He's a new guy from Bristol that I'm expecting big things from in the future. He'll be putting a lot of stuff out on Screwloose Records. I'm really big on Excision too, a lot of his forthcoming stuff is disgusting. Also, Walsh is launching a label called Biscuit Factory Records very soon. Watch out for this one.

Anything else you want to tell us about?

Water therapy and cold showers, followed by a Neti – the secret to eternal youth.

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