Caught up with this lad a few days ago. Head over to the Baltic Room on Sunday, Oct. 1 to catch his versus set with Kid Hops. Part of the Onset Showcase
DD: Hello there Quadrant. How’s the weekend going?
The weekend is going well so far, thanks. I mean it’s only Saturday, so anything could happen, but I have a leftover sandwich from Paseo in the fridge, so things are looking pretty awesome from where I sit. How’s yours going?
DD: What started your interest in Drum & Bass? I am not very knowledgable with this genre, but have been exposed to some rad sounds from artists such as Noisia and Nero.
I was slow getting into electronic music, even though the year it really hit me, 1998, seems like the ancient past at this point. I think the real eureka moment for me was hearing a tune from Photek on the soundtrack to the video game Wipeout XL. His breaks were so precise, and meticulously crafted– I was at a loss to explain exactly what I was hearing, so of course my natural response was to spend next 10 years of my life learning everything I could so that I could do the same thing. Along the way, I caught wind of Ed Rush & Optical’s seminal Wormhole album, which was a prime influence for all future “Neurofunk” artists (including Noisia), and got more into those sounds, which were creepy and cinematic, but still dancefloor. Those are aspects I’ve striven, at one time or another, to bring out in my music.
DD: You’ll be playing on Sunday at Decibel Festival as part of Onset’s dBridge showcase. What can festival goers look forward to at this event?
It’s an exciting time for Drum & Bass. While the last decade was characterized by what I affectionately refer to as the “midrange synth arms race,” whereby everyone was trying to outdo each other by coming up with the sickest, and most startlingly grimy twisted out sounds, I feel as though a lot of the funk and swagger was thrown straight out the window in favor of technical prowess. That’s all changed now. The genre is re-exploring its roots, crafting tracks that stand on their own with just the building blocks of sparse breaks, sub, and well crafted basslines. It’s a joy to behold, and dBridge has been pushing this type of sound the entire time, certainly throughout the time when it wasn’t fashionable.
Kid Hops and I will be representing this style of D&B, heady and minimal but still danceable. I’ll also be dropping some new and unreleased tracks that I’ve been working on, and some collabs and original tunes from really talented up and coming producers from right here in Seattle, like Homemade Weapons, Dubtek, John Glist, and Iris. We’ll try as best we can to warm things up for dBridge, who I’m sure will be amazing.
Also, the lumpia place across the street is pretty bangin.
Moar sounds from Quadrant on Soundcloud
– Jimi Jaxon
dd 