Features

Mutated Forms

Mutated Forms are a trio of drum & bass producers signed exclusively to Twisted Individual's Grid imprint. Get the latest on what they're up and download their exclusive mix.

You guys are riding high at the moment what with smashing the Estonian awards and with your tunes receiving praise and heavy accolades from a lot of angles, how do you intend to build on that?
Thanks, we're really happy about getting all this attention right now. Feels like those years of hard work are finally paying off! We're also quite pleased with the new EP, mainly because it received support from very different 'camps' of the drum & bass scene: from people like Hazard to Marky and S.P.Y. and Dieselboy, etc.

We're also quite happy with some of our latest beats, so there are no intentions really – gonna keep doing what we do best and see what happens next!

I know recently you have mentioned a slight move away from purely making jump-up, what's the reason behind this and how will things differ going forward?
That's right, but we were never really a jump-up only output... in fact, our first two vinyl releases were liquid tunes as is almost half of our back catalogue.

We used to be a lot more radical and put out either one thing or another, but now we produce a wider range of music... but music that goes well together, unlike the two extremes we used to be associated with. It was either something very melodic or something nasty and soulless and very dancefloor-oriented, but now it's time to combine these two things together.

We want our music to sound loud and punchy but with a delicate touch to it (a certain vibe so to say). We started making music at a very early age and I think that might have something to do with it – we matured and so did our sound.

We're also trying to work with vocalists a lot more now and one of the vocal tracks will hopefully get a video done for it as well – possibly the tune with Jenna G, we're working on at the moment.

With two of you based in Estonia and with one of you in the UK how does the whole production process work?
Thanks to the technology nowadays it's really easy to send project files to each other and work on the tunes from a distance. Ableton Live's collaboration feature helped us a lot, it makes sending projects so easy.

In a way our production process became even more effective as G is in the UK and we don't have to argue about every single effect or snare/bass drum EQ! Now we have time to sit down and add our own ideas to the tune quietly. As our music preferences match most of the time we always achieve a result that we're all happy with.

What does your studio set up consist of right now... and can you share one studio secret?
We never really used much hardware to be honest, it's a very basic setup: PC + pair of monitors + midi keyboard + ears + headphones and, most importantly, Ableton Live! And the studio tip: don't let your cat sleep on the midi controllers. Fur all over it – not cool.

There are a lot of Eastern European Artists coming through and you were kinda the first, how does it feel to have paved the way for new producers for the region to gain recognition?
We're not sure if we were the first ones but it is a good feeling, because we kind of proved that location isn't really important, music does all the talking really.

What's the scene like out there right now?
We'd say the scene in Estonia is healthy and versatile and the vibe is great. There are several regular big d&b nights which feature some of the biggest and interesting names. So we have nothing to complain about. We even had Pirate Station here – the world's biggest d&b rave.

You have firmly embedded yourselves within Twisted Individual's Grid camp signing exclusively, what is it about the Grid stable that works for you?
Signing with Grid exclusively was a great opportunity for us, mainly because no limits were set. We were always making music to please ourselves in the first place, not to please others – and they give us the freedom to do whatever we want to and don't try and push us towards a certain sound that could sell better or suit the label better.

Twisted is a great guy, he feels the music really well and often gives us valuable advice, so it's all working out well. There will be a track from us on the 10 Years of Grid LP and we're also DJing at the LP tour gigs. So keep your eyes peeled!

With your own move away from jump-up, how do you see the whole scene evolving?
There are quite a few people who are tired of hearing the same thing. We believe the jump-up scene is going in circles right now, which means nothing new is happening.

It's a sad fact that it's probably the only subgenre of drum & bass that hasn't really progressed much in the last couple of years. Therefore it's time to look for something fresh and more exciting.

We are all big music lovers and we listen to a very wide range of music, drawing inspiration from a lot of them – it gives us so many ideas that we can't be bothered with making one style of music for longer, we get tired of the same sound too quickly!

There's a lot of experimentation going on right now with producers switching up tempos, producing dubstep, etc. Is this something you've considered and what do you make of it all?
Yes, we have been experimenting a lot as well recently, in fact there is a half-tempo d&b (can't stand the term 'drumstep') tune, which was inspired by hip hop and dubstep. And there is definitely more to come.

We've done a few dubstep things as well but not sure if they will ever come out. What we do like about slower music production is, unlike with drum & bass, all that space you get in the mix! It is a lot easier to mix down and make each individual sound really loud and punchy.

There's a huge amount of artist albums due this year, any album plans?
Yes, we have been considering making an album, but probably we are not quite ready yet. We decided that this year we will release some more singles and maybe another EP. A debut LP is a serious project which is really important and it must be perfect.

Therefore we need to master our skills and build our name before we take it to the next level. What we hate about some drum & bass albums is that they sound like a bunch of random unsigned tunes thrown together to get some album tour dates – and we don't want that! So no rush really.

Where do you see Mutated forms in five years time?
On MTV with a Mutated Forms live band! But seriously, as we said earlier, we'll just keep making the music we love and keep pushing the name forward and see where it gets us.