Great music is hard to come by and with the availability of the tools and technology today it is easy to sink into the saturated sound of the average creator. Very rare is it to find someone that is brave enough to go beyond the norm and experiement with new sounds and new styles. Very rare is it to find someone that is passionate about the music and creates solely for the feelings it brings him or herself, not to please others. In order to find great music you have to dig (or should I say dive) deep, real deep. The deep end is exactly where I found UK representative and bass specialist DiamonD Eye. This extraordinary experimentalist is the truth. I had to dive so deep into the abyss that I almost forgot to share this interview with the world. Without further adue, here is DiamonD EyE...
First off, I wanted to say thank you for being so patient with us and working with us. Over the course of the last few months, we have a had the privilege to share some of Diamond Eye’s unreleased tunes with the SoCal nocturnal infrasonic lovers on our show and in December, Christmas came early with a special mix from Diamond Eye featured on our dive deep Into the Abyss (Part 2).
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| DiamonD EyE |
Please Introduce yourself to the Dank Radio community, What is the meaning behind your name? How long have you been producing? Do you play any instruments?
Hi I'm DiamonD EyE from North London, UK. My name originated in 2001 in school after writing DE together and putting a dot and creating D.EyE, I decided Diamond sounded cool and the rest is history. Producing, I've been at it since 1998, started working on DNB in late 2003. I don't play any instruments but i've learnt how to follow notation from my years in my Church Choir!
It looks like you have been creating for quite some time now. Who are some of your biggest influences (artists/producers/humans) that first inspired you to become the creator you are today? Who was that one producer / what was that one release that made you think: “I want to make music.” ? What music are you enjoying currently?
It was 1998 and I had a software program called Ejay, which was the lego for music making; without having any musical knowledge, just a 8 track sequencer and samples to choose from. My musical influences came from hearing Micheal Jackson's productions, always something unique, UB40, Dennis Brown, Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind & Fire, The Whispers, Dennis Bovell etc. For Drum and Bass, I actually discovered DnB in 2001, Jungle I knew from late 1994 with tracks like Incredible. I always knew it as Jungle, not DnB, but 2001, I had heard DJ Marky & XRS's 'LK' on MTV Dance (a UK channel) and was blown away by the video and the sound! DNB had always been dark and rough for me, so to hear some light hearted soul was a change. I then found my hero, Calibre in 2003 when his first releases were surfacing, I was lucky to be in the record shop at that time. Currently I'm learning the old school intelligent jungle, and enjoying listening to Deep House, also producing it.
Your sound on the Moments In Life LP is definitely extraordinary and experimental, in the best of ways. The music blends perfectly and it feels almost as if I am looking at a new world through your eyes where there are no boundaries for vibrations, just feel good music for all to enjoy. What artists or experiences in life inspire you to experiment? In what ways do you like to experiment?
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words. It's always been my job as a producer to tell my own story as it were, It's natural when writing music that it goes any direction I usually think up more ideas once I have a basic groove going and build upon it or depending; keep it simple and it works. I take inspiration from the city I live in, London, although for some it's competitive I look past that and see what's really there, a vibrant space for creativity, and a need to do something different, also books help, as I adore reading; I've got names for tracks just from doing a lot of reading.
DiamonD EyE - Goa by DiamonD EyE / LBP
After seeing your video on Modern Urban Jazz TV, I noticed a couple hardware synthesizers and keyboards. With the technology today, do you experiment with software synthesizers and plug ins? Without giving away any secrets, what is your preferred DAW of choice and do you have a preference of analog vs. digital when making sounds?
Those lovely bits of gear belonged to Miles who mastered the album and many other works for MJAZZ. I do experiment with Software synths, not as much as I used to as I've gone back to using samples as well incorporated in the music as I find that synths can leave the music cold without a body, and music needs body to make an impact on the soundsystem, so samples to add some realism and authentic percussion. I use and have been using Logic Pro for sometime, there's no preference for digital vs analogue on sounds but when it comes to putting music out, I believe in Analogue because of the high quality that comes with it, and I like natural sounds.
The last we spoke you said you were in crutches. We hope you are all well by now and back on your feet! Did any of those moments during your injury inspire you to create? Did you enter a new state of mind and/or gain any insight during your recovery?
Thanks again! Yes most definitely, anything that puts you out from doing what you normally do, run to work, just get about the house, the first two weeks were very painful and upsetting in someways. I managed to after a month get back in the studio and have written many tracks since that, mostly Deep House and more lately DnB, so trying to balance between the two genres. It's been emotional in the studio as of late. I didn't enter a new mind state as much as some people would have, I just let all the pain release through the music and it's helped put things into perspective, I had met Bailey before Christmas and he said and I quote, "It was something saying to you to sit down, and write tunes".
LBP - Hindi by DiamonD EyE / LBP
I see you have been working with new grooves and experimenting with new bpm’s, as an artist what are you thoughts on thinking outside of the box and going beyond your “comfort zone” of what you’re usually creating? As our roommates at KPFK Radio Bomb love to ask their guests, why Drum and Bass? What is it about the sound that makes you love it and want to create it?
There is no comfort zone, I had a talk with a friend of mine and said if I built my own studio, that's the key I gave myself to write whatever I like, it comes when you're not thinking, don't think and create, just create, you think about it after it's done. Drum and Bass, well to me, it's the most dynamic genre, anything goes with it, and it was the genre that broke all boundaries in terms of structure. Half Time, Jungle from the early days, Rollin' and sometimes in HipHop form. It's fast enough to create something slower or fast, where as House is straight to the point, solid groove with little flexibility, any more flexible, and it gets called 'Figet' because it moves. Also once a Junglist, always a Junglist.
D.EyE - Elements Of an Era by DiamonD EyE / LBP
Here in America we often look to the UK for the freshest new music and artists. How do you feel about the world of music today? Is music getting its feeling back? Are artists becoming more unique or do you feel artists are becoming even more similar?
I'm not sure if i'm in a position to say artists are similar, but I will give my opinion and say it's harder to find unique tunes than a couple years ago, as even though it was all rollers, most of it. Each track had something about it, and with Liquid Funk being at the peak in 2003-2006, each summer you looked for the anthem summer tune, or a tune which said this is the one for this year. Now I think the direction has shifted, people are more serious (a sign of the times really) and putting more emotion into the music but at at the same time, leaving out all the elements and just putting out the bones of the track with a vocal thrown in.
DiamonD EyE - Beneath The Layers by DiamonD EyE / LBP
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| http://www.modernurbanjazz.com/ |
The power of the interweb has brought your music to my ears from the UK all the way to the otherside of the world here in Los Angeles, California. What are your thoughts on the future of music in terms of distribution and promotion?
I am quite surprised to be honest as I didn't think my music would reach that far, but I've got to give it up to ST Holdings for putting that connection together with the world and believing in my product as well as Tony Justice & Scott Metro for believing in myself and the music. I'm glad it's done better than some people may have thought, as it shows there's a call for thoughtful, time taken music production. Promotion now is a lot better, but then again I'm new to this all so I only know the interweb, the traditional promotion of going around to different shops to promote music did it's thing too, but you can now grab someone in the U.S. or Europe and tell them about it weeks before the release to spread the word.
What are your plans for 2012? How do you plan on making a difference in the world?
It's early days, but this year is working hard on what I want to hear in music, I spent a lot of last year doubting myself and It had a negative turn on the sound, I'm a lot happier since this injury. Also hopefully launch my own label to be able to have creative and musical control over what I want on the shelves around the world.
Finals words:
Shouts to my Mum, Sis, Mark (Jah Butch), Mr Elysee (for his feedback and a good friend), Jon Digger (for being a good friend and having my back on opinions), Jazzy Jazzy, Heny G (soul brothers), Tony Justice & Scott Metro and all my MJAZZ family, Chris Inperspective, DJ Spindall (long time partner in crime), Lady Flava, Slin, Mikk (Broken Fingaz), Onyx, Fekt, Merimell, Fuse, Data, Bailey, Mr Joseph and everyone else i've missed and to the guys at Dank Radio and all the crew in LA, California for conducting the interview, much love. Respect.
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| Moments In Life LP out NOW!!!! |
Follow DiamonD EyE on Sound Cloud to dive into all of his latest creations and check out his blog to for deep and atmospheric thoughts!
[e]njoy
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