Sumsuch (Colour & Pitch) Interview

It’s no secret I love of bit of Will Sumsuch’s musical class. He’s featured on my own UM Records deep house label a few times and every time it’s been a joy to hear his take on the sound. He’s busy guy in the music business, with fingers in many pies, a journalist, a DJ, a label owner and more. I caught up with Will knowing his insights on this interview series would be interesting…

Thanks for taking the time Will - do you want to kick off with the ‘who is Sumsuch’ story - where you came from, how you got there?

Thanks Richie! So… I grew up in between the wild moors of Cornwall and the rolling hills of Devon- physically isolated on a small farm in sight of the Atlantic coast for most of my childhood. I’d stay up all night listening to the radio, hearing music from London, New York, Chicago; the words and sounds seemed so alien and far away but the music felt like a passport right to the heart of the culture. I became obsessed with my first tape recorder- the ability to document my world through sound seemed so completely magical to me. I think making music was a natural fit for me: as somewhat of an outsider, it was something creative and expressive that I could learn and work on by myself, and as it turned it brought me out of my shell and helped me develop some social skills, too. I played piano and then drums in school, then learned guitar, wrote some songs with my best mate. I remember moving someone to tears with a song we’d written and realising I could actually do this- that maybe I could affect people the way my favourite artists had affected me. Dance music and electronic production appeared in my life during my late teens. It combined my early love of recording/creating/manipulating pure sound with the melodic composition I enjoyed. I found my niche. Years later, studying Digital Music and living in a house full of creatives in Brighton, I was given the nickname ‘Sumsuch’, due to the vague replies I would give to questions I’d not listened to when I was fully concentrated on EQing a snare drum or de-essing a vocal…

Tell us about Colour and Pitch - how that came about?

Colour and Pitch started in 2013 as an outlet for my music and that of my good friend Cenzo, better known to deep housers as Finest Wear. Having released on a number of imprints over the years, very few labels had ever sent either of us any sales figures, let alone paid us for our work. We’re all aware that, especially in underground music, incomes are often embarrassingly tiny, but there are principles at stake here- I became sick of giving my music to people who clearly had no intention of honouring contracts or building a partnership. Enter Jason Wohlstadter and the Proton Radio team, who’d created a really elegant solution: essentially an online label platform, which splits the income automatically at the point of sale and provides the same sales and streaming data to both the label and artist, in realtime. Knowing admin isn’t my strong point (which was the main thing stopping me from self-releasing in the past), Proton’s system allowed me to concentrate 100% on finding great music to release without getting mired in royalty payments and queries- it also ensures every artist who signs their music to Colour and Pitch (or any other label using the Proton platform, from DeepWit to Electronic Tree, to Silk) can see exactly how their music is performing. The music policy on C&P has always been about melody, humanity and feeling- something sorely lacking in most electronic music production since it went ‘mass market’. The the rise of ‘shortcuts’: sample-packs and chord generators have brought is to the very brink of utterly computer-generated content requiring no human touch at all, and that’s terrifying to me. Colour and Pitch is not a money-maker, it’s a true passion project. I’ve gained so much from this music over the years that I think it’s important at some point to give back and be a patron- to invest in the music and artists you love; to support it in a real way, help make sure it’s packaged and released properly and that artists get fairly compensated for their work. The label’s journey has been a bit of a dream- going from a very humble beginnings to releasing music from some of my musical inspirations: Q-Burns Abstract Message, Richard Earnshaw and Gavin Hardkiss to name just three. It’ll be exciting to see what happens next.

You work with BBE - what’s the story there?

In 2014 I recorded an album in Philadelphia called ‘Ten Letters From Home’ under the alias Mega Jawns with my musical partner and brother-from-another, Will Brock. A good friend passed the record on to BBE and the next thing we knew we found ourselves signing one of my all-time favourite labels, alongside John Morales, DJ Spinna, Louie Vega and the late great J Dilla. It was quite surreal. At the time I’d just finished up a day job doing social media marketing and writing copy, and the label manager needed some help with those exact tasks. I went into the office for a day to consult and advise… that was 5 years ago and I’m still there, building campaigns and writing sleeve notes. It’s amazing to work with such eclectic, inspiring music everyday: from reissuing rare West African Highlife and Soukous albums to discovering a previously unheard Charles Mingus concert recording- there is never a dull moment. It’s a small team so we are all constantly just going at 100 miles an hour, but when I find the odd moment to stop and reflect on it, it really is a privilege and a joy.

And if that wasn’t enough you also write for 5 Magazine right?

I do write the occasional ‘ranticle’ for 5 Mag, yes. It’s an honour to work with the team there- in a world of ‘advertorial’ content and pricey PR hype, Czarina and Terry focus 100% on the music. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Reinboth, founder of Compost Records, which should be out before the end of this year.

How do you see the industry right now given the range of platforms and reliance on social media to push promotion?

I feel extremely conflicted about it all to be honest. The artist in me hates how much we’ve become distracted by social media and the importance of ‘building our brands’ instead of just making awesome music and releasing it. Whether or not we admit it to ourselves, we are all working for Facebook and Instagram for free, providing them with valuable content which they then monetise and give us nothing in return. On the other hand, the Internet allows our music to reach a global audience. It’s fascinating for me to look at my Spotify data today and see that large numbers of my listeners are in Estonia, Brazil and Lithuania- countries I’ve never even visited. I’m concerned about social media’s impact on the mental health of artists and also on the quality/diversity of art being produced, when what once would have been slowly-evolving unique local scenes, sounds and movements are immediately labelled, branded and sold to the world. Homogenisation, isolation and the dreaded online ‘group-think’ are of huge concern to me, and to assume the disturbing battle between authenticity and illusion now happening in politics across the Western world didn’t first start in popular culture is naive to say the least. As underground artists and fans, we have the ability to dictate where things might go next, and I’m kind of hoping that place isn’t online at all. The resurgence of vinyl and record shops as well as all the arrival of new ‘audiophile’ bars and cafes is heartening- touch wood we will all remember how important it is to connect in real life again soon.

What’s been the highlights of your career so far?

So many! From that first time hearing my track on the radio, to playing ‘that tune’ on a perfect beach at sunset surrounded by a crowd of people completely present in the music together with me, to getting to travel to faraway places I could only dream of as a kid, to working with heroes and making lifelong friends.  I think we all set out on this journey into music with some idea of where it might take us. For me at least, learning to let go of the wheel was the biggest change and it impacted absolutely everything in my life. Whether working on a remix or mapping out a career trajectory, being too focussed on a specific destination will make you miss all the incredible diversions that might be on offer. When I started off in music, I never expected to work for a label or run one, let alone write about it. Being open to every opportunity that comes your way takes you to amazing places and teaches you so much. Music taught me how to keep my ego in check. Every time I thought I was special or felt I was owed something, music brought me right back down to earth. I believe real contentment can only be achieved if you really devote yourself to something and allow yourself to fully experience all the highs and lows that come with it. Many people have said the music is bigger than all of us, and it might sound trite, but it’s so true.

Greatest influences? DJ’s, people, labels…?

As mentioned above, I love Compost. Michael and the team lead where others follow and they’re not scared to take risks. My boss, Peter Adarkwah has had a similar approach during his nearly 25 years running BBE. I love his unswerving support for great music and his tenacity when it comes to protecting his vision for the label. In terms of artists, there are simply too many to name. Great art will always move me to react in some way, whether I love it or hate it, and that’s a gift- it stimulates the mind, comforts or provokes. Art that I find inauthentic, derivative, cynical or designed to be consumed passively therefore feels like an insult to my very humanity and I genuinely believe the mass of music like this being shovelled into our ears on a daily basis is reducing the intelligence of the populous.

Favourite place to DJ?

Honestly, anywhere people are open to hearing something new. Those venues feel thin on the ground these days, but a room full of people willing to trust a DJ and enjoy the journey is always going to be the best, even if it’s a shit-box.

What’s your usual preparation for a set? Picks tracks, sleep…?

I usually have a stash of new promos ready to go into a set, as well as a selection of ‘old faithfuls’. Recently I’ve done a few vinyl-only gigs, and the preparation for those is so much more fun. I suddenly remembered how enjoyable it is to scour the shelves and get excited about particular records, all tied up with memories of where I found them, or a particular gig I played them at back in the day. Exporting folders from iTunes to Rekordbox simply doesn’t give you the same buzz…

Top tip/s for up and coming DJ’s?

Take your time. Don’t rush any of it. Believe it or not, once you’ve spent a few years gigging, you’ll find yourself reminiscing about the days of playing tunes in your bedroom with a couple of friends, dreaming of the future, and you’ll realise they were actually the best times of your life. Concentrate on the music. Technical expertise, promotional tools and all the other peripheral noise will come more and more into play as you progress, but stay focussed on what’s important. Never stop getting excited about music, and feeling grateful for it. Always remain a fan and never, ever demand freebies from your friends if you intend on ever getting paid yourself.

What’s your sound for production and how does it differ from the label sound (if at all?)

My sound, I hope, is very much my own. If I start to sound too much like someone else, I try to steer away from that and infuse as much of my own personality and feeling as possible. It’s an inexact science, but I find I’m being less and less technical, playing live guitar and keys more and even singing on occasion. I want to make music that nobody else could or would make, for better or worse. It’s got to have my fingerprints on it, and it makes me so happy when people tell me they heard a new track and knew it was me before they Shazammed it or asked the DJ. I guess my approach means I’m probably a bit more hit and miss than many artists, and you’re probably not going to like everything I make, but I’ve gotta at least try for something original. Copying someone else’s blueprint doesn’t remotely interest me, no matter how much more successful doing that might make me. In terms of the label, the criteria are simple: Would I play it in a set? Would it go on my playlist at home? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then it’s a yes for Colour and Pitch. The label has evolved from deep house to encompass more downtempo and even classical sounds. I don’t think I’ll be signing any country songs in the near future, but I’m pretty open-minded and letting it evolve naturally. Ideally I’d like to hear more than one chord, and if it sounds like it’s built from sample-packs it’s a hard ‘no’. If you’ve got some lovely unsigned music that’s perhaps quite personal to you, and doesn’t really fit the sound of any other labels you can think of, it might be worth sending it over.

How do you feel production has changed over the years (good or bad) - do you still get as much pleasure from it?

Good question. The short answer is yes, I still get immense pleasure from it, but also yes, things have changed over the years. Time pressure these days (pressure that I simply didn’t experience when I was starting out) means that sometimes I feel like I could do without the technical ‘cleaning up’ and ‘polishing’ stages of production, but I still adore composing and arranging music, and playing around with sound. When I was younger, I’d tweak and fiddle for days and weeks and a track was finished when it was finished. I just don’t have that luxury any more. Sometimes I think that in an ideal world I’d get the track to a certain stage and then pass it on to a trusted engineer to polish and mix for me, but also I’m a bit of a control freak so I’m not even sure I’d be able to let go. Finishing the thought is important, and mix decisions are part of the creative journey too. Some parts of the process are simply not fun for me, but pushing through the pain and getting a track across the line all by myself gives a sense of satisfaction like no other.

How do you get inspiration for new music?

I often wake up with fragments of melody in my head. I think of ideas when I’m out in nature, when I look at photographs and artwork, and during thought provoking conversations, stories and the like. I’m quite a visual thinker with a vivid imagination, even though I can’t draw or paint to save my life. I try to listen to a lot of music well outside the genres that I work in. Jazz is really helpful to listen to, as it expands my melodic horizons and constantly reminds me that it’s OK to play with structures and push boundaries.

What’s your production set up?

Very simple. Logic X loaded with a bunch of self-built EXS24 sample libraries I’ve had for over decade, a keyboard, a Drumbrute (analogue drum machine) and an old analogue monosynth. I also have my trusty guitar and a nice mic, as well as a lovely outboard tube compressor to run digital plugins through and give the signal path some reality and warmth.

Top tips for aspiring producers?

Keep it simple. Ideas win over equipment every single time. If you’re struggling with chords and melodies, get a book like ‘Music Theory For Dummies’ - it’s cheaper than a chord generator plugin or sample pack and might ensure that your music doesn’t sound like everyone else’s. Learn an instrument. Start finishing tracks as quickly as possible, whether they’re good or not. Learning to finish is the hardest thing, and watching too many YouTube tutorials can paralyse you. When you’ve finished a track that you think is good, don’t send it out right away. Sit with it. Put your ego to one side and ask yourself if you’d play it in a set. Would you spend money on it? Send it to a producer you respect and ask their opinion. Do not take their feedback personally if it’s negative- welcome it and learn from it. Yes it hurts, but the goal here is to make something undeniably great, isn’t it? You’re not there yet, and that’s OK. Make sure you have something proper to contribute before putting music out, otherwise you’re just adding to all the noise.

What labels are killing it for you right now - tracks you’re playing and loving?

Compost, Be Adult, Still Vor Talent, International Anthem, Freerange (always and forever), Electronic Tree, Afroterraneo, Jazz Refreshed, Offering.

Any DJs you’ve seen and think we should check out?

I have to be honest and say I rarely go out these days, but my favourite DJs are ones with truly unique tastes and sounds, regardless of genre. Most inspiring over the last few years would be Boddhi Satva, Kiko Navarro, Myles Serge, Mark Grusane, DJ Spinna, Tibor Dragan and Detroit Techno Militia’s Tom Linder & DJ Seoul. All play with pure passion and love for the music.

What’s on the cards for the next while - gigs, releases, articles to watch out for?

My Colour and Pitch Session mix-show airs monthly on Proton Radio and you can subscribe via Apple Podcasts or find it on Soundcloud or Mixcloud. I have a series of releases coming on BBE in early 2020, more downtempo soulful stuff. First up is ‘Don’t Go’, a track I made with singer Matty Eeles, which has already got some airplay on BBC Radio 6 courtesy of the original Fun Lovin’ Criminal, Huey Morgan. Colour and Pitch has some lovely music lined up for 2020 too, with a new 4 tracker from Finest Wear entitled ‘Lo Fi Grooves’, and singles from Latch and PJ Principle.

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Sumsuch (Colour & Pitch) Interview

It’s no secret I love of bit of Will Sumsuch’s musical class. He’s featured on my own UM Records deep house label a few times and every time it’s been a joy to hear his take on the sound. He’s busy guy in the music business, with fingers in many pies, a journalist, a DJ, a label owner and more. I caught up with Will knowing his insights on this interview series would be interesting…

Thanks for taking the time Will - do you want to kick off with the ‘who is Sumsuch’ story - where you came from, how you got there?

Thanks Richie! So… I grew up in between the wild moors of Cornwall and the rolling hills of Devon- physically isolated on a small farm in sight of the Atlantic coast for most of my childhood. I’d stay up all night listening to the radio, hearing music from London, New York, Chicago; the words and sounds seemed so alien and far away but the music felt like a passport right to the heart of the culture. I became obsessed with my first tape recorder- the ability to document my world through sound seemed so completely magical to me. I think making music was a natural fit for me: as somewhat of an outsider, it was something creative and expressive that I could learn and work on by myself, and as it turned it brought me out of my shell and helped me develop some social skills, too. I played piano and then drums in school, then learned guitar, wrote some songs with my best mate. I remember moving someone to tears with a song we’d written and realising I could actually do this- that maybe I could affect people the way my favourite artists had affected me. Dance music and electronic production appeared in my life during my late teens. It combined my early love of recording/creating/manipulating pure sound with the melodic composition I enjoyed. I found my niche. Years later, studying Digital Music and living in a house full of creatives in Brighton, I was given the nickname ‘Sumsuch’, due to the vague replies I would give to questions I’d not listened to when I was fully concentrated on EQing a snare drum or de-essing a vocal…

Tell us about Colour and Pitch - how that came about?

Colour and Pitch started in 2013 as an outlet for my music and that of my good friend Cenzo, better known to deep housers as Finest Wear. Having released on a number of imprints over the years, very few labels had ever sent either of us any sales figures, let alone paid us for our work. We’re all aware that, especially in underground music, incomes are often embarrassingly tiny, but there are principles at stake here- I became sick of giving my music to people who clearly had no intention of honouring contracts or building a partnership. Enter Jason Wohlstadter and the Proton Radio team, who’d created a really elegant solution: essentially an online label platform, which splits the income automatically at the point of sale and provides the same sales and streaming data to both the label and artist, in realtime. Knowing admin isn’t my strong point (which was the main thing stopping me from self-releasing in the past), Proton’s system allowed me to concentrate 100% on finding great music to release without getting mired in royalty payments and queries- it also ensures every artist who signs their music to Colour and Pitch (or any other label using the Proton platform, from DeepWit to Electronic Tree, to Silk) can see exactly how their music is performing. The music policy on C&P has always been about melody, humanity and feeling- something sorely lacking in most electronic music production since it went ‘mass market’. The the rise of ‘shortcuts’: sample-packs and chord generators have brought is to the very brink of utterly computer-generated content requiring no human touch at all, and that’s terrifying to me. Colour and Pitch is not a money-maker, it’s a true passion project. I’ve gained so much from this music over the years that I think it’s important at some point to give back and be a patron- to invest in the music and artists you love; to support it in a real way, help make sure it’s packaged and released properly and that artists get fairly compensated for their work. The label’s journey has been a bit of a dream- going from a very humble beginnings to releasing music from some of my musical inspirations: Q-Burns Abstract Message, Richard Earnshaw and Gavin Hardkiss to name just three. It’ll be exciting to see what happens next.

You work with BBE - what’s the story there?

In 2014 I recorded an album in Philadelphia called ‘Ten Letters From Home’ under the alias Mega Jawns with my musical partner and brother-from-another, Will Brock. A good friend passed the record on to BBE and the next thing we knew we found ourselves signing one of my all-time favourite labels, alongside John Morales, DJ Spinna, Louie Vega and the late great J Dilla. It was quite surreal. At the time I’d just finished up a day job doing social media marketing and writing copy, and the label manager needed some help with those exact tasks. I went into the office for a day to consult and advise… that was 5 years ago and I’m still there, building campaigns and writing sleeve notes. It’s amazing to work with such eclectic, inspiring music everyday: from reissuing rare West African Highlife and Soukous albums to discovering a previously unheard Charles Mingus concert recording- there is never a dull moment. It’s a small team so we are all constantly just going at 100 miles an hour, but when I find the odd moment to stop and reflect on it, it really is a privilege and a joy.

And if that wasn’t enough you also write for 5 Magazine right?

I do write the occasional ‘ranticle’ for 5 Mag, yes. It’s an honour to work with the team there- in a world of ‘advertorial’ content and pricey PR hype, Czarina and Terry focus 100% on the music. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Reinboth, founder of Compost Records, which should be out before the end of this year.

How do you see the industry right now given the range of platforms and reliance on social media to push promotion?

I feel extremely conflicted about it all to be honest. The artist in me hates how much we’ve become distracted by social media and the importance of ‘building our brands’ instead of just making awesome music and releasing it. Whether or not we admit it to ourselves, we are all working for Facebook and Instagram for free, providing them with valuable content which they then monetise and give us nothing in return. On the other hand, the Internet allows our music to reach a global audience. It’s fascinating for me to look at my Spotify data today and see that large numbers of my listeners are in Estonia, Brazil and Lithuania- countries I’ve never even visited. I’m concerned about social media’s impact on the mental health of artists and also on the quality/diversity of art being produced, when what once would have been slowly-evolving unique local scenes, sounds and movements are immediately labelled, branded and sold to the world. Homogenisation, isolation and the dreaded online ‘group-think’ are of huge concern to me, and to assume the disturbing battle between authenticity and illusion now happening in politics across the Western world didn’t first start in popular culture is naive to say the least. As underground artists and fans, we have the ability to dictate where things might go next, and I’m kind of hoping that place isn’t online at all. The resurgence of vinyl and record shops as well as all the arrival of new ‘audiophile’ bars and cafes is heartening- touch wood we will all remember how important it is to connect in real life again soon.

What’s been the highlights of your career so far?

So many! From that first time hearing my track on the radio, to playing ‘that tune’ on a perfect beach at sunset surrounded by a crowd of people completely present in the music together with me, to getting to travel to faraway places I could only dream of as a kid, to working with heroes and making lifelong friends.  I think we all set out on this journey into music with some idea of where it might take us. For me at least, learning to let go of the wheel was the biggest change and it impacted absolutely everything in my life. Whether working on a remix or mapping out a career trajectory, being too focussed on a specific destination will make you miss all the incredible diversions that might be on offer. When I started off in music, I never expected to work for a label or run one, let alone write about it. Being open to every opportunity that comes your way takes you to amazing places and teaches you so much. Music taught me how to keep my ego in check. Every time I thought I was special or felt I was owed something, music brought me right back down to earth. I believe real contentment can only be achieved if you really devote yourself to something and allow yourself to fully experience all the highs and lows that come with it. Many people have said the music is bigger than all of us, and it might sound trite, but it’s so true.

Greatest influences? DJ’s, people, labels…?

As mentioned above, I love Compost. Michael and the team lead where others follow and they’re not scared to take risks. My boss, Peter Adarkwah has had a similar approach during his nearly 25 years running BBE. I love his unswerving support for great music and his tenacity when it comes to protecting his vision for the label. In terms of artists, there are simply too many to name. Great art will always move me to react in some way, whether I love it or hate it, and that’s a gift- it stimulates the mind, comforts or provokes. Art that I find inauthentic, derivative, cynical or designed to be consumed passively therefore feels like an insult to my very humanity and I genuinely believe the mass of music like this being shovelled into our ears on a daily basis is reducing the intelligence of the populous.

Favourite place to DJ?

Honestly, anywhere people are open to hearing something new. Those venues feel thin on the ground these days, but a room full of people willing to trust a DJ and enjoy the journey is always going to be the best, even if it’s a shit-box.

What’s your usual preparation for a set? Picks tracks, sleep…?

I usually have a stash of new promos ready to go into a set, as well as a selection of ‘old faithfuls’. Recently I’ve done a few vinyl-only gigs, and the preparation for those is so much more fun. I suddenly remembered how enjoyable it is to scour the shelves and get excited about particular records, all tied up with memories of where I found them, or a particular gig I played them at back in the day. Exporting folders from iTunes to Rekordbox simply doesn’t give you the same buzz…

Top tip/s for up and coming DJ’s?

Take your time. Don’t rush any of it. Believe it or not, once you’ve spent a few years gigging, you’ll find yourself reminiscing about the days of playing tunes in your bedroom with a couple of friends, dreaming of the future, and you’ll realise they were actually the best times of your life. Concentrate on the music. Technical expertise, promotional tools and all the other peripheral noise will come more and more into play as you progress, but stay focussed on what’s important. Never stop getting excited about music, and feeling grateful for it. Always remain a fan and never, ever demand freebies from your friends if you intend on ever getting paid yourself.

What’s your sound for production and how does it differ from the label sound (if at all?)

My sound, I hope, is very much my own. If I start to sound too much like someone else, I try to steer away from that and infuse as much of my own personality and feeling as possible. It’s an inexact science, but I find I’m being less and less technical, playing live guitar and keys more and even singing on occasion. I want to make music that nobody else could or would make, for better or worse. It’s got to have my fingerprints on it, and it makes me so happy when people tell me they heard a new track and knew it was me before they Shazammed it or asked the DJ. I guess my approach means I’m probably a bit more hit and miss than many artists, and you’re probably not going to like everything I make, but I’ve gotta at least try for something original. Copying someone else’s blueprint doesn’t remotely interest me, no matter how much more successful doing that might make me. In terms of the label, the criteria are simple: Would I play it in a set? Would it go on my playlist at home? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then it’s a yes for Colour and Pitch. The label has evolved from deep house to encompass more downtempo and even classical sounds. I don’t think I’ll be signing any country songs in the near future, but I’m pretty open-minded and letting it evolve naturally. Ideally I’d like to hear more than one chord, and if it sounds like it’s built from sample-packs it’s a hard ‘no’. If you’ve got some lovely unsigned music that’s perhaps quite personal to you, and doesn’t really fit the sound of any other labels you can think of, it might be worth sending it over.

How do you feel production has changed over the years (good or bad) - do you still get as much pleasure from it?

Good question. The short answer is yes, I still get immense pleasure from it, but also yes, things have changed over the years. Time pressure these days (pressure that I simply didn’t experience when I was starting out) means that sometimes I feel like I could do without the technical ‘cleaning up’ and ‘polishing’ stages of production, but I still adore composing and arranging music, and playing around with sound. When I was younger, I’d tweak and fiddle for days and weeks and a track was finished when it was finished. I just don’t have that luxury any more. Sometimes I think that in an ideal world I’d get the track to a certain stage and then pass it on to a trusted engineer to polish and mix for me, but also I’m a bit of a control freak so I’m not even sure I’d be able to let go. Finishing the thought is important, and mix decisions are part of the creative journey too. Some parts of the process are simply not fun for me, but pushing through the pain and getting a track across the line all by myself gives a sense of satisfaction like no other.

How do you get inspiration for new music?

I often wake up with fragments of melody in my head. I think of ideas when I’m out in nature, when I look at photographs and artwork, and during thought provoking conversations, stories and the like. I’m quite a visual thinker with a vivid imagination, even though I can’t draw or paint to save my life. I try to listen to a lot of music well outside the genres that I work in. Jazz is really helpful to listen to, as it expands my melodic horizons and constantly reminds me that it’s OK to play with structures and push boundaries.

What’s your production set up?

Very simple. Logic X loaded with a bunch of self-built EXS24 sample libraries I’ve had for over decade, a keyboard, a Drumbrute (analogue drum machine) and an old analogue monosynth. I also have my trusty guitar and a nice mic, as well as a lovely outboard tube compressor to run digital plugins through and give the signal path some reality and warmth.

Top tips for aspiring producers?

Keep it simple. Ideas win over equipment every single time. If you’re struggling with chords and melodies, get a book like ‘Music Theory For Dummies’ - it’s cheaper than a chord generator plugin or sample pack and might ensure that your music doesn’t sound like everyone else’s. Learn an instrument. Start finishing tracks as quickly as possible, whether they’re good or not. Learning to finish is the hardest thing, and watching too many YouTube tutorials can paralyse you. When you’ve finished a track that you think is good, don’t send it out right away. Sit with it. Put your ego to one side and ask yourself if you’d play it in a set. Would you spend money on it? Send it to a producer you respect and ask their opinion. Do not take their feedback personally if it’s negative- welcome it and learn from it. Yes it hurts, but the goal here is to make something undeniably great, isn’t it? You’re not there yet, and that’s OK. Make sure you have something proper to contribute before putting music out, otherwise you’re just adding to all the noise.

What labels are killing it for you right now - tracks you’re playing and loving?

Compost, Be Adult, Still Vor Talent, International Anthem, Freerange (always and forever), Electronic Tree, Afroterraneo, Jazz Refreshed, Offering.

Any DJs you’ve seen and think we should check out?

I have to be honest and say I rarely go out these days, but my favourite DJs are ones with truly unique tastes and sounds, regardless of genre. Most inspiring over the last few years would be Boddhi Satva, Kiko Navarro, Myles Serge, Mark Grusane, DJ Spinna, Tibor Dragan and Detroit Techno Militia’s Tom Linder & DJ Seoul. All play with pure passion and love for the music.

What’s on the cards for the next while - gigs, releases, articles to watch out for?

My Colour and Pitch Session mix-show airs monthly on Proton Radio and you can subscribe via Apple Podcasts or find it on Soundcloud or Mixcloud. I have a series of releases coming on BBE in early 2020, more downtempo soulful stuff. First up is ‘Don’t Go’, a track I made with singer Matty Eeles, which has already got some airplay on BBC Radio 6 courtesy of the original Fun Lovin’ Criminal, Huey Morgan. Colour and Pitch has some lovely music lined up for 2020 too, with a new 4 tracker from Finest Wear entitled ‘Lo Fi Grooves’, and singles from Latch and PJ Principle.

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