We recently caught up with Sam Ellison, another extended Wizard Sleeve family member and Guildford resident. We first featured his music on volume 1 of our compilation series, which he contributed to with a brilliant track called ‘Let Go’.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you started writing music

Well I’m Sam Ellison, I’ve been a musician since I was a little kid, but I only began writing my own music when I started a band at school. I sang and played guitar, though I was way more interested in effects pedals than guitar. I became interested in music technology and sound recording and eventually started learning how to make songs using just a computer. I’ve been making this sort of music as Lisson for about a year and a half.

Who are some of your biggest influences? 

Ooo thats a hard one, there’s too many… When I started out making songs like Let Go I was into dubstep, so I made tunes at 140 and was still learning… After that and through following labels like Hessle Audio and Hemlock recordings my influences developed. Probably the biggest influence on my sound is my peers – I’ve learnt a lot while studying and discovered new music through people at uni, Wizard Sleeve and Presha. Some particular producers I follow closely at the moment include Randomer, Dark Sky, Paleman, Mount Kimbie, Objekt, Dauwd, Joe, and all the producers I know at uni. Usually if I hear something I like I’ll look into who else is on the label they released on and listen some more. I don’t know how much they all influence my sound… I get hooked on elements of each of their sounds and attempt it myself and usually things evolve from there. Through Objekt’s dubstepforum Q&A I learnt quite a lot and still use the same spring reverb and tape delay plugins he uses quite a lot. That said, I heard about that Q&A through Wizard Sleeve.

How do you go about writing music?

I’ve recently got a Native Instruments Maschine. They’re great for composition – they make beat making really fluid, something I had problems with when I was just using Logic Pro since it’s so linear… I’m sure I’d like Ableton if used it, but I only have the lite version so I don’t play with it much. Maschine however is not a replacement for DAW, and I wouldn’t really want it to be anyway, so my technique recently has been to build beats in Maschine then record them live into Logic as 16 stereo tracks, changing patterns and scenes to create my structure, then I’ll add the fine details and edit in Logic.

 What have you got lined up for the future? 

I’ve got a new tune out for free download with Bad Panda Records tomorrow [now out - check above], so thanks go out to them. I’m also on the bill for Pride & Joy in Guildford next Thursday at Bar Mambo – one not to miss… Then I’ll be back to back with Ahadadream a week after for the last Presha of the year, in the Living Room. I’ve just started a new job too, working in a new studio opening up in London, so soon I’ll be moving up there and we’ll see what happens!

Any producers we should look out for?

Well producers at uni have been a big influence on me and I think have good futures ahead. I’m keen to see what happens for everyone. In particular keep your eyes on Tarquin – I’ve heard rumours of some big, big things coming soon…

Check out more of Sam’s music at soundcloud.com/lisson.

Tracklist

1. Lisson – Umbira
2. Mount Kimbie – Made To Stray
3. Zed Bias – Music Deep Inside
4. Boxwork – Specifics
5. Lusine – Inside/Out
6. Lisson – Not Looking
7. Randomer – Stalker
8. Mickey Pearce – Socks Off
9. Zed Bias & Paleman – Furrrball
10. Thefft – Third Year
11. Randomer – Freak Dub
12. Joe – R.E.J. Bit

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We had the pleasure of chatting to up-and-coming producer-turn-DJ Greig Tweedie AKA FleshCat about his forthcoming EP for the Summer, MCing and his penchant for K.C. and The Sunshine Band.

You’re based in Brighton – tell us about how the FleshCat concept evolved there.

Well I’ve been down here for just over five years, I moved down from the highlands in Scotland where I’m originally from. FleshCat’s a name I came up with when I was pretty young, about 11 or something. My sister, her friend and I used to record a few songs back in the day as ‘The FleshCats’, so I basically just stole that name haha, kind of a goofy one. In terms of Brighton, I’ve really been enjoying just bubbling away in the bedroom-studio and getting these ideas together. I’ve just started working on this new EP, continuing the vibe, and once it’s all ready to go I’ll be getting my live show together to bring it all to the masses. I currently live with an artist called Ambassadeurs who’s pretty established in the electronic scene down here – it always helps being around like-minded people.

What’s your musical background – what do you remember listening to growing up?

My mum’s side of the family is the musical one. My uncle used to build guitars and was always playing accordians and all that sort of stuff. My mum used to try and get me into guitar lessons and accordian lessons but I never really took to the flame when I felt like I was being pushing into something. As a result it wasn’t until I got a bit older that I started liking that kinda thing. I played in a few bands, and actually did some stuff as an MC for a while – it’s around that kinda time I started making beats and stuff with electronics. I really found an affinity with sampling and geeking out over stacks of records, so where I am today has just stemmed from there really.

The stuff you’ve put out there so far has almost been a crazy twist on 1980s throwback electro-funk. Where did that vibe come from?

When I was a younger teenager I listened to a lot of Hip Hop, mostly West Coast actually, so a lot of that G Funk sound which samples so many 80s records started coming back around and I was really pleased about it. There’s a few other influences that have a bearing too. I lived the first 5 years or so of my life in the Middle East, so maybe some early constant sun with classic 80s tracks are embedded in there somewhere haha. K.C. and the Sunshine Band and all that sort of stuff. Jean Michael Jarre certainly had a big influence too, his album Oxygen being one of the first electronic records I really got into.

What sort of things are you feeling at the moment, are there any artists and labels you’ve been following very closely?

Yeah there’s a few artists, a guy called Bearcubs, my flatmate Ambassadeurs, and Soosh.

Cool, can you quickly tell us about the mix and when is your EP out?

I’m aiming for Summer, latest I should think. The mix has a few of mine, one or two Com Truise tracks and lots of other similarly vibed little gems.

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I have fond memories from a couple of years ago of sitting in a computer lab at 4am, working at some programming coursework, and listening to Apparat’s The Devil’s Walk. That being my only previous experience of his music, Krieg und Frieden, a composition for a 2012 theatre production, has a familiar feel, but isn’t just more-of-the-same.

By his own admission, Krieg und Frieden is a record made up of “not many beats and lots of drones”, but that description leaves out how contrasting the tracks really are. While predominantly made up of luscious orchestral strings (the sort you’d expect from a John Williams score) and his more typical droning shaped noise, the album still has the occasional vocal line or drum groove that cuts through the dense textures like a dagger. ‘PV’ is a prime example of this, being over halfway through, and the first track on the album with a tangible drum groove, and even then taking almost 4 minutes before the groove actually kicks in.

The real stand-out track for me is ‘A Violent Sky’, which, although available as a free download from MUTE, I urge you not to listen to out of the context of the rest of the album. I say that because it sounds very different from the rest of the record, and that stark contrast is far more prominent if the listener has been immersed in the noise and drones for the previous hour before listening.

As a whole, the album does require a welcoming ear (I wouldn’t recommend putting it on at a party . . . but then again it might be that kind of party), but Krieg und Frieden flows well, and despite its dark, brooding mood and slower tempo, at no point does it drag. In short, if you want proof that cellos and fuzz can produce as much bass as anything else you care to mention, then look no further!

Review by Lazarus Thrift

It’s a well known fact that cats often seem to enjoy their solitude, but when another one comes along with a message claiming.. ‘throwback sounds, warped synths, boogie, synth-funk, ambient soundscapes’ - the curiosity might get the better of one.

Brighton-based producer FleshCat delivers what is promised, particularly on the retro-afro-wonky side of things and guarentees to nod your head. The track entitled ‘It’s Like This’ can be heard and downloaded below, or alongside two other tracks of a similar nature on Soundcloud.