Featuring: Cogidubnus

With the ever-increasing apparent necessity for music to come with a genre label there comes an increase in the number of artists seeking to push past these boundaries and defy taxonomies by blending a wide variety of sounds. It is not often, however, that this is done successfully as it is all too easy to either go to far and lose a sense the essentials of rhythm and melody; when done well, though, the results can be thought-provoking, immersive and even danceable. Cogidubnus is one producer who is consistent in this and works to defy genre categories in both his own tunes, his DJ sets and will soon be providing a solid platform for other artists with the launch of his label, Broken Bubble. We caught up with him for an interview and he laid down an exclusive mix for us, which can be streamed and downloaded below.

Hedmuk: For those who don't know, what's your name, where are you from and how would you describe your sound?

Cogidubnus: I’m Guy, I’m from and have spent most of my time in and around Manchester. Hmm, my sound…deep, ambient, percussive electronica that could vaguely be-called post-dubstep.

H: Would you describe yourself as from a musical background, or is it something that you have picked up yourself?

C: Yeah, both my parents have spent their whole lives playing in orchestras and my mum’s a music teacher so it’s always been a strong presence in my growing up. I played the piano, guitar and oboe at various stages of childhood, but wasn’t very committed with any of them at that time. Fortunately I can just about still remember a few piano chords which has come in handy recently.

The Pan-Galactic Memory Bank by Cogidubnus

H: Where or from who would you say you take the strongest influence?

C: My brother introduced me to The Orb and Future Sound of London when I was about 13 and some of those early-90s ambient albums made a huge impression and I still listen to them a lot now. I’ve always been a bit of sci-fi geek too, so the music from a lot of film & TV stuff has wound its way into my consciousness, particularly Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack and the sounds the guys at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop were coming up with in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

H: Your output is very varied in terms of the mood it carries, do you find yourself setting out to make beats for a particular environment (e.g. club, bedroom etcetera) or is it a less controlled process?

C: It’s not really that controlled from the off, I just bounce ideas around until they form into something cohesive. I don’t write in a highly structured way at all, I’ve got a young daughter so I rarely get the time to spend several hours at once making music. Having only short bursts to produce can be incredibly frustrating, but it also yields some little moments of inspiration and new perspectives on a sound or tune that I might not have had otherwise.

Bisquitine - featured on "Lost" (Methodology Recordings) by Cogidubnus

H: Manchester seems to be one of the few places with a large number of artists, such as XXXY & Damu, who are willing to push things forward irrespective of genre boundaries: what's your take on this situation? And, as part of this loose collective, can you shed some light on what is behind this experimentalism?

C: I’ve DJ’d with those guys quite a bit at Sicknote and This City is Ours, two nights that always had a very open musical policy, vaguely aligned to the dubstep scene but basically giving DJs carte blanche to play whatever they want. Given that a few of those early nights (one in particular I can remember all 3 of us being at) were, er… less than well-attended, many of us have got experience of just playing our own stuff through a decent system just to a handful of other DJs and producers and playing in those kind of situations encourages a bit more risk-taking. But mainly I think, we’re all independently making the music we want to be making and the Manchester scene over the last couple of years has seemed particularly receptive to people who want to push the boat out a bit more and not necessarily play to genre expectations.

H: You're about to launch the new Broken Bubble label; what has inspired you to make this move and can you shed some light on any future releases lined up?

C: After putting together the Pan-Galactic Memory Bank EP, I felt really happy with it as a collection of tracks but couldn’t see a natural home for it on any other labels, there’s quite a wide range of bpm’s going on and as something I felt very attached to, I wanted to keep full control over how it was marketed and distributed. I’d also been in contact with Duskky & Hurtdeer from the Mothers Against Noise collective down in London for a few months whose tunes I absolutely adore and they were really into the idea of getting involved and have each delivered stunning 4-track collections that I can’t wait to get out there for people to hear. We’re also putting together a free compilation of new tunes plus some remixes of tracks of the first 3 EPs from the likes of Wagawaga, Second Line, Muteqx and Manc band From the Kites of San Quentin - I’m hugely excited about the way that’s shaping up so far, and all being well we’ll try and get that out by the end of March. There are plenty of tasters of our sound on the mix…

Squidlore by Cogidubnus

H: Your mix is an expansive one in terms of the variety of sounds represented, how did you go about selecting a tracklist for it?

C: There’s tunes from my last couple of sets at This City is Ours and a few tasty beats that have hit my inbox in the last week or so. I always try and cram a lot of different styles in these days – I love my chilled beats but wanted to make sure there was plenty of dancefloor energy in this set as well, so I’ve tried to blend things around making sure that it’s never stays at just one particular vibe for too long and hopefully maintains interest throughout.

H: Seeing as it's January, what do you want to have achieved by this time next year?

C: Getting a vinyl out would be nice, but I’m not really setting myself any major goals at the moment beyond getting the label up-and-running and continuing to enjoy making and playing music.

H: Finally, is there anything forthcoming or in the pipeline that you want to put the word out about?

C: Wagawaga and Hurtdeer will be coming to Manchester to help me launch Broken Bubble at This City is Ours at An Outlet on March 12th. It’s a great intimate little venue round the back of Piccadilly Station and Waga’s doing a brand new all-hardware live set, so it’s one not to be missed.

Download: Cogidubnus - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix

Tracklist:

Phaeleh - Sundown [Afterglo]
Cogidubnus - Open Shape [Exclusive Dub)
Second Line - Hush [Dub]
Lone - Ultramarine [Magic Wire)
Mr Gasparov & G.Rina - Transient Love [Forthcoming Iberian]
Acre - Deaf Ears / Swirling Lights [Free]
Cogidubnus - Hoag's Object (Hurtdeer's Ace Job, Ghost! Deermix) [Forthcoming Broken Bubble - Exclusive Dub]
FBOM - I'm So Serious [Dub]
Duskky - Unterseeboot [Forthcoming Broken Bubble]
LA77 - Cubed [Mind On Fire]
Dub From Atlantis - Silly Little Things (Kahn Remix) [Forthcoming Ranking]
Commix - How You Gonna Feel (Pedestrian Remix) [Metalheadz]
DFRNT - Relentless [Dub]
Hurtdeer - Horselover [Forthcoming Broken Bubble]
Cogidubnus - Robophobia [Dub]
Grave Architecture - Hassium [Mind On Fire]
Shackleton - Hackney Marshes [Tectonic]
Duskky - The GQ6 [Forthcoming Broken Bubble]
Macka - Chanticleer [Amenorea]
Cogidubnus - The Pan-Galactic Memory Bank (Duskky's Rodent Raver Remix) [Forthcoming Broken Bubble]
Hurtdeer - Katzenjammer [Forthcoming Broken Bubble]
Macka - Liverpool Sirens [Free]

Cogidubnus - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

.Preacha.