Robin Wylie creates music that works in all settings and transcends genres. His openness to a wide range of sound is what has both made him a widely loved favourite, but also someone who operates in his own parallel musical world. We had a chance to talk to him, so enjoy your reading and check out his latest releases.
Hi there ! Where can we find you right now? How did you start your day?
Morning, I am currently sitting in my studio in Belfast. Coffee and a bowl of porridge always starts the day.
When did the idea of starting a project start to take shape? Has it always been something you wanted to do?
I always wanted to be in a band but I’m really not that musical 😉 I can make the machines do what I want tho, I have been at this since the mid 90’s. To be honest it’s really only the last 10 years or so that I have really started to push myself, should have really got my arse in gear a long time ago.
Most projects start with a loose idea, wanting to use a certain break, a certain tempo or just hitting play on Ableton and jamming on the machines. There’s always something that comes out of those jams that can be progressed further. I’m not the type of person that already has a song completely formed in my head.
How would you define the sound of your latest work? What is the concept behind?
The Acton East release is definitely inspired by 90s jungle, all around the 130bpm mark. I just wanted to try and capture that vibe, I used an MPC2000 to sequence a lot of those tracks, the swing and 16bit sound from those machines is lovely, it was then bounced back into Ableton and processed further
What artists are you interested in these days?
The Club Glow guys are really doing it for me at the minute. Lmajor, Denham Audio, Mani festo. The mix of styles they are incorporating into their productions is right up my street.
How do you manage to combine such disparate genres? How do you manage to give them unity and harmony? What do they have in common for you?
I don’t really try to overthink stuff too much, if something works together I keep it, I find it good to always have some noodling time in the studio, happy accidents are the way forward.
How would you define your sound?
It’s all over the place in a good way. The releases lined up for this year are ranging between acid and electro on Nez’s Computer Controlled label, I have some Jungle and break stuff on a new Label from London called Devons Road, a UK Garage Cut on a white with Prestige Cuts and some 130 jungle inspired stuff on my own Belfast Pressure label.
Can you tell us something about your current or future projects?
I’m putting the finishing touches to a 4 track EP, some dark 2 step bits and some breaks. Hopefully out by the end of the year. I have a local vocalist called Becky McNeice on one of the tracks, she is really amazing. It’s not normally a track she would put her vocal on, but she is always up for a challenge. Keep an eye out for her. I always have plenty of mixing and mastering work that I do with local artists in Belfast.. It keeps me out of trouble 😉
