To many, Mydas would appear to be a name that has popped out of nowhere. It just so happens though that he’s had several releases in the past and has tracks which collectively, have a view count well over the three million mark. That is because Mydas once produced under the name of Slof Man – well-known for his remixing and more recently for his production of 'Listening To Burial' for Context MC.

We talk to Mydas about the recent name change, his new EP for Caspa's Dub Police label and what it is specifically that gives his music the golden touch.

Your debut release, the 'What I Do EP', has finally surfaced on Dub Police, you must be proud of this one?
Yeah, as collective they are my favourite tracks I've produced/released so far. Had a couple of them sitting around for ages and to finally release on such a big label was great.

There are a wide variety of sounds on this release. How much say did you get in the selection process for the EP?
One thing I don't like doing is re-using the same synths/sounds a lot of the time, so I try to find new or different ones but within that try to keep some continuity between the tracks.

Which of the tracks off the release have been sitting around on your hard-drive for the longest and which is the most recent addition?
I think 'What I Do' is the oldest, I made it in my dad's kitchen last summer whilst in-between moving houses, which was a nightmare! The newest are 'If I Ever' and 'Fall' which I completed at the same time around Christmas.

 

 

Many will know you by your previous alias, Slof Man. Does the name change to Mydas represent a new direction in your sound or is it simply a fresh start?
Yeah, I see it as both. I want it to signify a maturity in my music as feel I've found my sound now and plus there's a lot of tracks I previously put out that I don't like anymore.

Your music has gained you a lot of recognition over the recent years. At what point was it though that heads started turning over at Dub Police?
I sent Caspa a demo which had early versions of 'Where The Rivers Flow' and 'What I Do' on it among others and he started playing them out and then things just rolled on from there.

'Listening To Burial', which you produced for Context received some great support across Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra and MTV to name a few. Are there any more vocalist collaborations planned for the future?
Yeah I see that's one of my main goals, at the moment when I'm making music, I put the samples in to fill the gap of not having a vocalist. So hopefully in the future I'll get a chance to work with some vocalists.

 

 

All artists approach production in different ways. Where do your original ideas stem from and how do you then build on those?
Almost all of my tracks start from chords that I've played in on a synth, piano or organ. I then play around with loads of different melodies that fit the chord structure, once I've found a nice loop I see what sort of synths I can fit the chords and melodies into and work from there by adding a beat and setting a tempo. After I've got the main structure of the song and if I think it needs it, I'll look for a vocal I can manipulate in around the chords.

When your mind is not occupied in the studio, how would you describe your typical day?
As this is what I'm doing full time, I'm hardly ever not writing music. Apart from that I'm either at the gym, out with my mates or DJing.

If you were to pick a handful of artists, past and present, who have played a big part in inspiring you to produce, who would you choose?
Well I first started to produce to record me playing guitar in a band sort of environment so I guess bands like Portishead got me into it but as I carried on producing I got more into electronic music like Massive Attack, which then lead onto artists like Goldie and Shy FX.

The first dubstep song I heard was Skream's remix of The Klaxons 'Not Over Yet' which after that I sort of found the tempo which I was most comfortable to produce in. From then artists like Breakage and Burial & Seba I would say have inspired me the most.

What can we expect from you in terms of releases and DJ dates in the future?
I'm currently working on my second EP which I'm really excited about and the next gig lined up is Dub Police at Fabric on August 31st with a couple to follow on later on in the year.

Words: Jake Salter

Related Links:

• Podcast 28
• THTC Smiley Culture T-Shirts
• Dub Police In Store Event
• Free Caspa Fabric Mix
• Podcast 27

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