Having taken a year out to teach music in Thailand, Outrage is back on the beats and feeling happier in the studio than he's ever been. He explains why the time is right to relaunch his label Backlash.

"I'm old school," says Outrage, as he explains his love of vinyl. "There's nothing like having a physical piece of music in your hands. And I'll fight till the end."

They're strong words at a time when record sales are declining and many labels are struggling. But it's an appropriate response from the manager of Backlash, a label whose very name implies willingness to battle current trends.

"I'm relaunching because I'm finding my feet again and I'm the happiest I've been in a long time in the studio," he says, adding that he's inspired by the artists he's working with: "A lot of them have been inspirations to me as an up-and-coming producer back in the day."
 
These artists include Amit, Digital, Raiden and Source Direct, among others. Of these, Outrage cites Digital as one of his biggest influences. They collaborated on last year's Red Letter album, an experience Outrage will "treasure for a long time".

In fact, he's so hyped about his studio work with Digital and others that he's cancelled a seven-week tour of Australia and Asia to concentrate on "sitting down and making a load of music."
 
Outrage says part of the reason the studio work is going well is the new perspective he gained spending a year teaching at a music school in Thailand. "Teaching opened my eyes to a lot of things," he explains. "My mixdowns in my mind improved 101% during the time I was teaching. I studied a lot about EQing and stuff."
 
The experience was important for the completely self-taught artist, who confesses that in the past he "never really gave a shit" about the fussy, technical side of production. But teaching youngsters to program beats prompted Outrage to rethink his own technique, and he's now more assured and comfortable at the controls.
 
"My thing is that there's a lot of kids out there that want to make music," he continues, explaining what drew him to teaching in the first place. "They're not necessarily going to get good grades at school, get into a college or have the money to pay for college. But it doesn't mean they can't make music if they're shown how to press the right buttons."
 
So what can listeners expect from Outrage's new material? "I want to make people dance, at the end of the day … I'm into full-on rollers and energy in tracks," he explains. "I've always gone against the grain and done what I want to do but [now] I feel it's got more identity, or will do in the coming months."
 
Finding a recognisable identity is important to Outrage, especially as he's now experimenting with different tempos. "I want people to be able to recognise my sound no matter what tempo it is," he says. "That's my aim for this year, just to be noticed as an artist and not be pigeonholed in one kind of genre."
 
The new tempo experiments include music for the J-Tek project, which Outrage set up with Digital, Modular and Randall. The idea is to showcase music at 140-150bpm that calls to mind the 1992-94 period when producers mingled early jungle with 4/4 techno beats.

Despite jointly setting up the J-Tek label, Outrage says he hasn't had time to write much jungle techno. Now he's back in the studio he hopes this will change, and may even release some of his experiments on Backlash.
 
So what inspires Outrage to write new tracks? "If I've got time to listen to music it'll be anything but drum & bass," he explains. In fact, Outrage takes inspiration from a wide range of genres, listing Aphex Twin, Radiohead and Sonic Youth among his favourite artists.
 
"I think the difference between the kids of today is they get influenced from drum & bass whereas I'll sit and listen to Sonic Youth and come up with an idea for a track," he says. He suggests young producers should learn from his approach. "Listen to all types of music and get influences … get a feel for how other people are doing things."

Outrage admits that succeeding as a producer is hard in the current climate. But in characteristic style, he says that's no reason not to try. "Just be yourself," he advises.

For his part, he'll certainly be leading by example. "I'm happy to get vinyl out there and support the cause. It is a bit of a risk but at the end of the day I think it's got to be done."

The backlash has definitely begun.

 

Words: George Mitton

 

Download Outrage's exclusive mix

 

Tracklisting

1. K Zero 9 - Outrage (Backlash Records 003 - full release Feb 22nd 2010)
2. Make Or Break - Outrage (Backlash Records 004 - March/May 2010)
3. Stampede - Digital + Outrage (Backlash Records 004 - March/May 2010)
4. Twisted - Outrage (Backlash Records 005 - March/May 2010)
5. Work For It!!!
6. Final Demand - Digital + Outrage (S.P.Y. Remix) (Function Records Dub)
7. Lifeline - Digital + Outrage (Function Records Dub)
8. Rhinosaur - Outrage + Phil Source (Dub)
9. Armshouse - Outrage (Tech Itch Remix) (Function Records Dub)
10. Pinch - Digital + Outrage (from Red Letter LP on Function Records)
11. New Faces - Outrage (Backlash Records 005 - March/May 2010)
12. Tokyo - Amit (Dub)
13. Last Chants - Amit + Outrage (Dub)
14. The Joker - Outrage + Phil Source (Dub)
15. Weather Man - Digital (Function Dub)
16. Logged In - Digital (Function Records Dub)
17. Eclipse - Digital + Outrage (Backlash Records 003 - full release Feb 22nd 2010)
18. Darkest Fear - Outrage (free download at www.backlashrecords.co.uk available Feb 22nd 2010)
19. Absit Omen - Outrage (Backlash Records Dub)

 

Outrage - K Zero 9 - Backlash Records 003 (Feb 2010) by Digital and Outrage

• Outrage
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• Backlash Records

Related Links:

• Temah Launches
• Digital Guest Mix
• Digital & Outrage Interview
• Outrage To Release Zer0 BpM EP
• Vampire Release Drumz Of The Damned LP

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