The scene exploring areas between dubstep, techno, house and minimal has produced tunes of real depth, variety, swing and bass; take Appleblim and Ramadanman's 'Justify' , for example, or Jus Wan's 'Action Potential'. Arkist is among the producers, which also include 2562, Al Tourettes and Martyn, pushing this sound forward; but where his music differs is in the seamless integration of his 2-step and Drum & Bass (the Autonomic influence is clear) influences into his music: making it distinct, organic and refreshingly defiant of boundaries. With an upcoming US tour alongside fellow Bristol producer Wedge and a release on Deca Rhythm coming in August, Arkist has found the time to answer a few questions and lay down a mix showcasing his own production and that of producers on a similar vibe.
HEDMUK: Firstly, what's your name, where do you hail from and how would you describe your sound?
Arkist: Hi, my name is Adam, I live in Bristol, UK and I produce bass-driven electronica with influences from across the musical spectrum.
H: Would you say you were from a particularly musical background, or was it something you found yourself drawn to naturally?
A: I'd have to say that I'm not. My dad was a trader in the city and my mum was a podiatrist so there wasn't a lot of musical influence coming from my parents. I think most of my early inspiration came from my friends and their siblings and their friends and so on.
H: The quality of your production is excellent: when did you start to make your own music and what were your early influences?
H: Would you say you still bear these early influences strongly, or has your musical taste, influences and the direction of your music changed as you've developed as a producer?
A: Both! I Still enjoy listening to those bands and I still love Drum & Bass but there have definitely been changes as I have learned to appreciate other genres of music such as House, Techno and Electro, and that has really rubbed off in the studio.
H: What do you think of music right now? Does new music inspire you, and if so, what scenes or particular producers make you want to produce the music you do?
A: I think its great, there are lots of very talented old and new producers that are still managing to do something different and I find it inspirational and very motivating. The people that are doing it for me right now, I'd have to say, are James Blake, SBTRKT, Scuba, Al Tourettes, the whole Autonomic Crew, June Miller and so on.
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H: Your tunes seem to fit really well with much of the Applepips catalogue, how did you come to be involved with the label?
A: Appleblim and I became good friends when I first moved to Bristol in 2008 and I found him and the label both very interesting. I especially respected how he was doing something different to what a lot of other labels were doing; so I did a little bit of experimentation in the lab, made a few tunes and Laurie liked them.
H: Bristol is a city with a rich bass music culture; with so many innovative producers based there, what does being part of the city's scene mean to you?
H: Bristol is a wonderful city to live and produce in, I think I owe a lot to its culture and the amazing artists that reside here. There is no way I would be where I am now without people like Komonazmuk, Gatekeeper and Wedge who have been extremely supportive technically and stylistically.
H: There is little information about you available and you often use a cartoonesque image instead of a picture of yourself, is anonymity important to you as a producer?
A: Anonymity is not massively important to me, I think the reason I leave a lot of information out of websites and such is purely because I want the music to do the talking, and as a listener I really couldn't care what star sign and favourite meal an artist that I'm listening to has. As for the 'cartoonesque' image, I use that just because I think all the photographs I have of myself are rubbish!
H: What can we expect from you in the future? Any releases forthcoming or big projects in the pipe-line?
Jus Wan - Warrior Remix - Dub
Arkist - Rendezvous - Apple Pips
Menik - Feel - Dub
Arkist - Until Next Time - If Symptoms Persist
Trutek - Crossrhodes - Dub
Give - Ruckspin & Visions - Transistor
Joe - Untitled - Apple Pips
holy mother of f**k, Arkist is awe inspiring and i wish him all the best in the future, i will certainly be hunting down the 12"s that come out... thank you Hedmuk for a great interview, im only gutted i didn't find out about Arkist earlier.
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