After releases on Horizons, Linden is branching out with a series of releases on Inside Recordings. He's teamed up with Blocks, Quantum Soul and more on the 12"s, and is set for continued success. We cornered the man himself for this interesting interview, delving into this production habits, his inspiration and where he is headed now. He is also giving away copies of the releases, so read on to find out more.

 

Hi Linden, how are you? A remix you have done of Data's - The Sprawl has recently been released on Inside Recordings. Tell us a little more about the remix, and how it came about.

I’m very well thank you, yes The Sprawl remix has just dropped on Inside Recordings with the Stray remix of Passive Aggressive on the other side. The original featured on a Data EP a few years ago and it was a tune I had always been into. Horizons Music wanted more material by me and Blocks to follow on from our Empires EP and we thought a Data remix would be an interesting challenge for us. When we auditioned the atmospheric samples that Data provided they were immediately reminiscent of the classic Photek LP Modus Operandi.

 

Blocks and I are both huge fans of Photek and there’s definitely a nod to his earlier work in this remix. Firstly we decided on the original samples to keep for continuity, I got a snappy break running and wrote a new bassline whilst Blocky gathered an array of atmospheric samples and textures. The project was written over the period of a month or so and has had great support within the scene with Bailey playing it on 1Xtra on a regular basis.

 

I understand that there is also a new EP by yourself set to drop soon. What should listeners expect from that one?
Yeah next up is an EP which follows a particular theme and draws inspiration from Eastern music. The vinyl will feature two collaborations with good friend Quantum Soul who is probably better known for his dubstep productions and his work within Cymatic, but has also been writing a lot of dnb material so keep an eye out for him as he’s very talented. Tradition and Mindstates are both built around eastern instrumentation with intricate percussion arrangements and the use of a lot of "found sound" samples. The release will also feature a tune by myself called Zhu which is a more aggressive offering but again incorporates zither strings, taiko drums and cinematic atmospheres to good effect. I think the tunes are really cohesive as an EP and as per usual the artwork that Sig Vicious has prepared is visually stunning so I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy!

 

 

Who do you cite as influences on your music?
I’ve always listened to a wide variety of music outside of drum and bass and whilst this doesn’t always influence my production I am inspired by people like Bjork, Flying Lotus, El-P, Bat For Lashes, Nitin Sawney, Cliff Martinez etc. I always want my tunes to have longevity so attention to detail is really important for me and in that respect my biggest influence within drum and bass has to be Noisia. The amount of effort that goes into their tunes is staggering and having grown up listening to them I still have difficulty knowing when to call it a day on my own projects, there’s always room for one more edit! People like Ulterior Motive, Rockwell, Octane & DLR and Xtrah all deserve a mention here too as they all combine impeccable production with attention to detail.

 

I really like music that takes the listener on a journey. I’ll never forget hearing Timeless by Goldie for the first time and being enthralled for 20 minutes, it’s such a daring piece of music in terms of its arrangement and melds industrial with ethereal in a way that only drum and bass can. I was exposed to tunes like this along with Platinum Breakz and Logical Progression era stuff long before I could go to clubs and I think this influence still prevails and means I write from the perspective of listening somewhere other than a rave. Although it’s risky from a financial point of view it’s really important for our scene that people keep making music that isn’t solely intended for DJs to play in clubs and I find inspiration seeing people like ASC, Sam KDC, Blocks & Escher sticking to their guns and writing the music they do.

 

How would you say your sound has evolved over time and how do you capture this sound in your production methods?
The fundamental essence of what I want to achieve hasn't changed that much over the years. I just really enjoy incorporating a variety of my own influences into my work and hopefully with each tune I'm also expressing something that is individual to me. In earlier years, I think that my ideas and ambitions exceeded my capabilities as a producer but I’ve worked really hard on my engineering and am now reaching a point where I’m happy with how my music sounds sonically. I want my tunes to have detail and complexity and I think the one thing that helps me to achieve that is patience. I fully accept that I will never be somebody who can finish tracks in a weekend session, so having the patience to persevere with projects over a longer time span is crucial and helps me to achieve the results that I want.

 

What other projects are you working on at the moment?
I’ve literally just wrapped up a 12" for Total Science which will be released on CIA Deepkut later this year which I’m really excited about, that’s with a new producer called Detail. There are a few other collabs on the go at the moment, one in particular I’m looking forward to finishing with a guy called Fade. I’ve also been working really hard on solo projects and I’m gathering a batch of new material so hopefully that will start to see release in the near future.

 

I will be giving away copies of Inside Recordings 17 (The Sprawl/Passive Aggressive) and 18 (Tradition/Mindstates) to two competition winners. To enter the competition all people  have to do is "like and share" my Facebook artist page:

www.facebook.com/Linden85

The two winners will be announced in August when Inside 18 is fully released.

Related Links:

• In The Box: Blocks
• In The Box: Blocks
• Basher Launches Proximity Recordings
• Horizons Music Production Q+A
• Blocks Guest Mix

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