Dreadmaul interview
I caught up with Dreadmaul about the new Blood Magic ep on Boundless Beatz.
DB: I have to say am scared to ask but what influenced the Blood Magic ep overall?
DM: Most of the songs ideas were laid down in 2012 and 2013. I was watching a lot of documentaries about voodoo culture at that time and I always liked the dark, scary vibe of voodoo rituals. So I tried to incorporate that vibe in my tunes.
DB: Is this the particular sound that we’re hearing that you always wanted to hear come through the speakers at a club, as opposed to ‘normal’ D&B? I feel like it is very much ‘your own’ take.
DM: I wouldn’t say it’s opposing to normal D&B; it’s just adding a bit to the deep, experimental side.
I try and do that at my live sets, too: Merging tribal-drumming deepness with crazy breakbeats supports the vibe and keeps it interesting.
DB: I hear very nice influences, bits of Amit, 31 records, of Autonomic for eg, so what things influence you?
DM: Yeah, Amit is a certain influence. Just like nearly every artist on 31 Recordings, Clarity, Thing, Overlook, Vromm, Gremlinz… endless! think Loxy, Resound and Ink’s tunes always had a big impact on me.
But in the end it is important to keep a broad horizon. My influences come from many different musical styles and genres, including trip-hop, metal or hip-hop.
DB: Can you take us through ‘Volcano’? The tone on this, the style of percussion is amazing.
DM: I tried a new way of sidechaining I call ‘reverse sidechain’ on this track. Instead of reducing the volume I increased it with every hit of the sidechained signal.
This way the pad-sound gets a percussive vibe, which works well with the other added ‘real’ percussion-sounds.
The vocal-skit is cut out of a documentary. After finding it I designed a bass sound that has an underground-earthquake-like feeling to suit the overall topic.
The source of the sub basses are actually some heavily effected field recordings.
DB: In terms of ‘dark’ ambient atmospheres and tones, what sort of music of that style do you like?
DM: My roots are in trip-hop and hip-hop beats, like Portishead or Massive Attack. One of the most influential artists for me is Glen Porter. I got very inspired because of his chopped up drumbreaks and simple guitars. It always gets me! Check out the Project: Mooncircle label for that stuff!
Other names I have to mention are: Björk, Trentemøller, Amon Tobin, Eskmo, and so on.
The darkest atmospheres I ever heard come from The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, though in general it’s all about the vibe.
DB: What’s another tune you like? In general.
DM: If you don’t know it you definitely should check out the Track ‘Into the Sun’ by Lockjaw:
The sound design and programming is on point on this one. I play it a lot. And it’s out for free, what more do you want?
DB: What’s next for you in terms of live dates and news in your world?
DM: Next dates are February 28 in Mannheim at Mohawkbar and May 1 in Frankfurt/Main at Nachtleben. Oh, and I will be in New Zealand Mid-March until Mid-April, so if you happen to be a promoter there send me a message.
Shoutouts to audite, the incredible brain behind the whole Boundless Beatz operation and to Tobi for the sick artwork!
