Music always seems to become classified and sectioned into group's people and different areas, but Sam KDC is breathing new life in to drum & bass, pushing through those invisible walls and by injecting meaning and emotion. With forthcoming releases on DSM and 31 Records leading the way, we caught up with him to find out about his music and to see what he thinks of this ever-changing industry...

In today's world, the majority of people wouldn't give a second out of their day to listen to music that is not "their kind of genre", but not all music is as stereotypical as it appears. How would you describe your music to someone who didn't even know what a genre was?

I like that question, although I find it a little difficult to answer. My music, to me anyway, is driven by emotion, however I'm feeling at the time. The bulk of it is quite melancholic as that's the time I feel most driven to try and capture it. I guess I would say it is music for the mind, I use my music as a meditation, to hypnotize myself, get my thoughts in order and my feelings in check. There are a lot of sustained chords, sounds that are layered, stretched and echoed to set the vibe I'm on. I guess it's all a little self indulgent, but it is what it is.

A lot of producers are jumping around into different styles of music showing off their versatility. Is this something you plan to explore or are you content in the world of DnB?

To be honest, I probably make more music of other genres than DnB, but very few select bits ever leave my hard drive, as it's just music for me. I don't think other people would understand it. Saying that, I'm working on a lot of ambient soundscape type stuff, just experimenting with atmospheres and sounds, but still, that's all very personal to me. There is some house / tech type stuff that I've finished, but I'm not sure what I'll do with it. I'm very cautious of what I let people hear, so maybe it'll all just collect dust, who knows...

Millions of people who write music want to know how you make atmospheric and emotional tracks like you do. Is there a certain formula in the way you make your music or does it just come naturally?

There's no formula in the way I make music, no. I don't have a set instrument or anything I start with, but nine times out of ten I'll start with a sample I think expresses what I'm feeling. Like a piece of spoken word, or a particular pad or string and build around it. It's rare for me to start with beats, I just find if I do, I'm battling against the drums to write music around them, and to me the music is where the emotion lies and therefore is the most important part to me.

Your EP Six Degrees of Separation released on DSM is incredible and really puts a new perspective on drum & bass. Tell us how it came together and also about your latest release on Doc Scott's 31 Records...

Thank you, it's really nice to think that people feel like that. That EP came about over the course of a couple of months, I'd been in talks with Jonny Stumasta (the founder of DSM) about doing an EP and we chose the four pieces as they came through, the ones which felt right. I'd like to say that I'd written it as an EP, but the truth is, it's more a collection of tracks that just worked together. Left Behind is the oldest piece on there, from around 2007 and the others are all around the same kind of time, between mid and late 2009.

With the 31 thing, that was written for exactly what it is. Scotty had wanted to sign Selfless and we'd spoke about Six Degrees as well, both of which ended up going to other homes before we'd got round to talking. I've always admired 31 as a label, when I was first getting into DnB as a genre, 31 and Doc Scott as a DJ introduced me to a lot of my favourite pieces and artists, so I was really humbled that he would want to work with me like that. I had written Detached and Perish around the same time and could imagine them as a 12", but didn't know if people would really get them. With a little push from my housemate, I eventually sent them exclusively to Scotty in hope of them becoming a 12" for 31.

 

Sam KDC - Detached [31 Records] (31 046) by Sam KDC Sam KDC - Perish [31 Records] (31 046) by Sam KDC

 

Have you got any big plans for the future that you feel we should know about in the way of releases?

There's a couple more 12"s to come out over the rest of this year and the beginning of 2011. I don't really have any big plans at the minute. I've moved around a lot since October 2009, I've only had a steady studio set up since July, so there hasn't been much movement on new material, DnB wise anyway.

I've always had my laptop with me, which is great for house / tech stuff and ambient pieces, which is a lot more about repetition, meaning you can bounce stuff down and loop it, saving on processing power, maybe part of the reason I've been writing more of that stuff...

That said, Hydro and I have finished whole DnB pieces on that laptop and I've just had an overhaul done on it (thanks Anthony!) so hopefully I'll be able to push DnB a bit further on it, as it's a great way to get ideas down and to capture feelings and moments when you can't get in the studio...

You're playing at Organic in September which has an absolutely mouth-watering line up! Tell us about the event...

It's nice to be playing for Organic. I went to their first event at Plan B in Brixton, with Instra:mental and I've always been interested in their line-ups as they're pushing the side of DnB that I'm involved in. I played for them in April this year at Rhythm Factory when they hosted the second room at Technicality and really enjoyed myself, it's always good to be working with level headed promoters.

This one coming up is on September 25th at Gramaphone, which is a wicked little London venue, always gets good a crowd of people and the sound in there is always crisp. The line-up on this one, as you said, is special and I personally think it's their best yet: Jubei, Sabre, Ulterior Motive, FD, Genotype and myself...

What advice can you give to an undiscovered producer that wants to be where you are? Is it a matter of being in the right place at the right time, or years of hard work?

For me it was a combination of the two. I'm only 23 and I've been making music electronically since the age of 15. I started sending music to people around 2005 and receiving feedback from people I had met, either in clubs or through mutual friends and some even just online. It wasn't until 2007 that I started to get some genuine interest from established DJs and labels, and it wasn't until last year that I started to release anything.

I think doing it this way I built up an understanding of what music really meant to me and what I wanted to do with it... Also meaning I could have my first 12" single on a label like 31. With me music has always been for me. Don't get me wrong, other people's opinions are important, but music is so different from person to person and such a personal thing, I've never really bothered listening to other people...

It's important to learn the basic theories / principles of sound engineering, as they will almost always be relevant, regardless of genre, but to apply them in your own way. I've always found from listening to a range of genres that they tend to have their own sonic definitions, their own engineering / production guidelines and sometimes it's nice to step away from those paths, and I think doing this is when I really started to develop a sound of my own.

For me music is like cinema. Some people like films that have amazing aesthetic qualities, CGI and special FX, and others (like myself) aren't so bothered about the technicalities and care more about the story, the emotion, the idea, the sentiment. And that's like music, in the sense that some care about how loud it sounds, what impact it has on a dance floor, and others care about what it makes them feel, think, remember...

I think it's vital to find what's important to you as a producer and to hone in on those areas and make them your strength. People often tell me of the emotion my music makes them feel, and it's nice to think that maybe other people feel the same way I do when they listen to it... I guess what I'm trying to say is, that once you have perfected your sound, worked out who you are and what you're about, the right place at the right time will turn up...

Words: Richard Heath

Download Sam KDC's guest mix

 

Tracklisting

1. Getz & Nuage - Modern Times [Xtinction Agenda Dub]
2. Flatliners - Faith Too Much [Broken Audio]
3. Dot - Secure Zone [Dub]
4. ASC - The Touch [Auxiliary Dub]
5. Abstract Elements - PMS [Dub]
6. Getz & Nuage - Brain Lock [Eternia Music Dub]
7. Synth Sense - Soulstice [Deep Soul Music Dub]
8. Triad - Utopia [Xtinction Agenda Dub]
9. Nuage - Kind of Lost [Absys Dub]
10. Sam KDC - Frittering [Eternia Music Dub]
11. CJ Weaver - Untitled [Dub]
12. Eveson - Life in the Balance [Channel82 Dub]
13. Blue Motion & Clarity - When the Branch Breaks [Dub]
14. Sam KDC - Back Where I Met You [Dub]
15. Mindmapper & Flatliners - Lemon Haze [Dub]
16. Eveson - Numbers [Channel82 Dub]
17. NotioN - Searching For an Answer [Nu Directions Dub]

Mix hosted by www.digital-tunes.net

 

• Sam KDC

Related Links:

• J Majik & Wickaman - In Pieces Video
• Podcast 01
• Interview: Starkey
• Elite Force Interview
• Introducing: Admin

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