Features

Forensics

I first met Krystian in 2005, when he was co-hosting the prestigious Ruffnek Diskotek parties in Bristol. A thoroughly nice chap, he was pretty much at dubstep's helm from its first incarnation. I got to know him through our love of death metal (!) and gave him a copy of Carcass' Heartwork, which he still has to this day.

Krystian releases under two monikers, Forensics and A Bridge Far Away. He's currently working on the second ABFA album, with this more recent project now being his main focus. But he has an extensive back catalogue and new releases forthcoming under his Forensics identity, and has also constantly released sublime mixes, which stretch into the hundreds.

I caught up with him to chat about the dubstep scene in his eyes, along with what he is currently working on.

What originally got you into the dubstep scene?
The first time I realised I wanted to be involved with the scene was when I heard Horrorshow by Loefah. Bought DMZ 1 and 2 straight away, and started thinking about producing. Another thing that had a big impact was seeing Plastician (then Plasticman) at the first Subloaded in Bristol. His set blew me away, loved the minimal angular beats. Prior to dubstep I was involved with UK hip hop, before that jungle, and before that I was playing in bands.

Do you still catch up with Tim (Dub Boy) a lot and what were the Ruffnek parties like?
Have been mates with Tim since we were 12 or 13, so am still very much in touch. I still involve myself with Ruffnek here and there too, I just decided to take more of a back seat a year or two back – because I hadn't lived in Bristol for ten years or so, and it was getting a bit silly travelling back there from London all the time. The night was also really starting to take off, so I didn't feel that it needed my attention so much. Anyway, in terms of the early nights... We'd put on a few parties in Bristol prior to Ruffnek, when I'd just started to play dubstep, which were a lot of fun. The first actual Ruffnek was in honour of Tim's birthday, and it seemed like a winner so we just kept at it. We've got a big bunch of close friends pitching in and getting involved, so it's always very enjoyable.

How have the remixes to Drift featuring Indi Kaur been received so far?
Indi's a pleasure to work with, a lovely person and an outstanding vocalist. The Drift remixes [from Grievous Angel and Demon of Macabre Unit] have gone down really well. Plays have come from Friction and Jus Wan, amongst others. Drift is one of three tracks featuring Indi on Enchanted [the first ABFA album], and we previously recorded three tracks under my Forensics identity, Exile, All To Waste & Trauma, so we've worked together quite extensively now. She'll also be appearing on the second ABFA album, so more from us to come.

Can you explain what the difference between the two monikers is?
Forensics is just me, ABFA is more of a collective enterprise – involving a range of friends here and there. Forensics tracks have always been around the 140bpm mark, whereas ABFA can be anywhere from around 80-160. Those boundaries could be stretched even further in future! Similarly Forensics tracks have a dubstep focus, whereas ABFA covers a lot of ground - ambient, industrial, electronica, trip hop, post rock... Oh, and I'm not planning on DJing under the ABFA name. Beyond that there are definite similarities in terms of mood etc., the overall vibe isn't all that different. ABFA's just a progression really, as well as a clean slate.

Could you tell us a bit about the 111bpm movement?
It was spearheaded by Two Oh One, an English producer living in LA. He recruited a bunch of producers from different scenes to work at this tempo, with a focus on art and meaning. It's not a scene or a genre – more of a collective, or as you said a movement. So as you can imagine our output is quite eclectic, it's just all at 111bpm. You can expect to see some releases in the not too distant future, including three tracks on Enchanted [out 1st Feb 2010] - Drift, All Fall Down and There Is A Map.

How do you see dubstep evolving in the future?
That's a tricky one, because I have quite a narrow view and am not up to date with the scene in general. Have never really been into the mainstream of anything, I guess you could call me a snob! Or rather I just enjoy things more before the masses discover them, if that makes sense. I can say that the producers I still follow are going from strength to strength, so that's good. And I imagine the scene will continue to grow. But I'm not really in any position to prophecise!

Words: Joe Goldsworthy

Here's an exclusive mix from Krystian (as Forensics), alongside fellow producer Two Oh One. It's a showcase for their new 111 'movement'...

Tracklisting