LEIF
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
BERLIN. Detroit. Ibiza. London. House and techno heads are well familiar with the key cities, hubs and stopping points on the global electronic music map. So perhaps it’s high time some well-earned credit and kudos were given to a new pretender: Wales.
That’s right, Wales. And it’s by no means as delusional a suggestion as it might appear at first glance. With the country’s highly-regarded Freerotation festival [masterminded by Steevio, head of local label Mindtours] named by Resident Advisor as the must-have summer event and the likes of Tom Demac [Sthlmaudio/Electronique Audio], Tom Ellis [Moon Harbour/Morris Audio] and Joe Ellis [Floppy Funk] all currently plying their trade from and flying the flag for their home nation, there’s clearly something in the Welsh air.
Very much a central figure in all this is bright young producer and DJ, Leif. Still only 27 years old, he cut his teeth as a DJ playing outdoor parties in Wales, has been successfully recording his own music since 2003 for labels such as Moon Harbour, Morris Audio and Fear of Flying, whilst also finding time to run the charming UK imprint Trimsound with close long-time friends, the aforementioned Ellis brothers Tom and Joe.
Home for the instantly-likeable and quietly-spoken Leif is in the middle of a beautiful forest in the north of Wales, five miles from the nearest town and a million miles from the fickle and ever-changing whims, trends and tastes of the more obvious musical and cultural hotspots. It’s perhaps one reason why he’s been able to craft, hone and shape his own unique trademark sound that is fashioned meticulously from deep dubby techno, bleepy minimalism, delicate chords and Chicago house nous.
Seclusion hasn’t hampered his DJ skills either, as anyone who caught him rocking the floor at the outstanding and ultra-friendly east London Sunday session You Are We will testify. Highlight of the set was when he dropped his own recent production Designed With That In Mind, a track that was ably backed by a delightful homage-to-Larry Heard remix from Two Armadillos and has been picked up and supported by such respected spinners and producers as Anja Schneider, Clive Henry, Sascha Dive and M.A.N.D.Y.
And Leif – who definitely mustn’t be confused with a recently-emerged American producer making a very different brand of music – is clearly a man of many talents given the number of live instruments he’s been introducing to his productions of late from bongos to congas and guitar to Japanese flute. Not to mention his own vocal talents. He’s also working on a new solo project Classmate, an outlet for his slower, deep house leanings which may also necessitate him starting his own label. And lest we forget, there is also the acclaimed and burgeoning live project he also performs, again with fellow producer and business partner Tom Ellis.
So with a warm, vibrant and bustling Brick Lane in the heart of London’s east end, a five-hour drive from home, as the backdrop, bringdownthewalls collared the laidback Welshman to discuss amongst many things Tokyo, Trimsound Live and house production down his neck of the woods.
How did you get interested and involved in house music?
I grew up in North Wales and got out and about at a lot of outdoor parties that were happening at the time [around 2000-2001]. In fact, there was quite a vibrant scene there. It was nice at the time but the parties focused very much on the faster, hard techno sound. Then I met Steevio in 2001 and he was a big inspiration for me. He had a really interesting studio setup and the stuff he was doing was really different. I met him at an outdoor party and he was playing really intelligent, soulful, deep and slightly slower techno grooves compared to what I was used to. He introduced me to his mates and I started using his studio to master my tunes. I had my first release on his label Mindtours in 2003, which was Contentment. It was a great introduction for a first release really. Also meeting Joe Ellis at that time and hearing the style of music he was playing was a real eye-opener; his blend of deep house and slower techno was a welcome contrast to the faster, harsher techno sound I had been used to up until then.
You hadn’t been producing that long then before you launched Trimsound in 2004?
Meeting Steevio was one of the things that made us decide we should start up our own label and try to get some releases out there. We’d only released on Mindtours and I had an idea about the labels I wanted to send music to, but Steevio talked us into starting our own label, as it’s a nice way of doing it since you have total control over what goes out. You don’t have to wait around for people to decide what tracks they want, and then change their minds etc. And as long as you have a little bit of money to start it off there’s no reason why you can’t have your own label, your own identity really. That’s what we tried with Trimsound, so it’s more of a vehicle really for our own material. We don’t actually produce that much music together but we do a lot of split releases.
But you do work together as Trimsound Live. Tell me about that.
We’ve played as Trimsound Live quite a bit over the last couple of years and it’s a really nice project to work on. We try and incorporate a lot of live elements. Me and Tom have always worked together musically and it just made sense really. A lot of people when they were trying to book us as artists were looking to book us together, so it made sense to have a live set with both of us together to offer to people. A lot of the time I will go out and do a bit of DJing, while Tom does a bit of a solo live set and then we’ll do a Trimsound Live set. So we can offer quite a variation of stuff between us both.
There are two laptops, a few controllers, a couple of effects boxes, live bass guitar and congas. So it’s quite a colourful set up. The congas are something we’re introducing now so there are a few logistics involved with microphones and all that kind of stuff. It’s good fun, definitely. I like working live.
You took Trimsound Live to Tokyo. How did that come about?
It was a night called Minimal Tokyo. The promoters were really nice guys. They were into the releases we were doing at the time and really wanted to get us over to play. We flew over and we stayed for a week or so and played a couple of gigs for them. It was really good fun, really enjoyed it. It’d be great to get out that part of the world again. Really nice people, fantastic place, and the crowd were really appreciative of what we were doing musically.
Tell me a bit about how you work on your productions.
I used to work entirely on a Yamaha RS7000 Groovebox, completely from start to finish. I used to write the tunes all on that one groovebox, which is very restricting but it’s all I could afford at the time. Basically working mainly with samples. I sold that a couple of years ago and moved onto a computer-based setup. So I’m using a mixture of software, Reason, other bits and bobs, sequencers and plug-ins to create what I’m doing at the moment, with of course live recording on top of it.
Do you find it easy working on new material?
For me, it’s important be in the mood to make music. I can’t go in the studio and force myself to make music. At the weekend if I get an idea for a tune in my head then I think ‘right, I’ll go into the studio and just try and get this down’. It’s got to be fun, that’s the main thing.
I’ve got the day job so the amount of time I can spend making music is limited what with other things in life as well. When I get in the studio I’m fairly productive. I like to work on a tune and finish it. I don’t have lots of half-finished tunes on my hard drive. I tend to get a project then work on it until it’s done. I’m lucky in that most of the stuff I have written has been released. I don’t have many tracks left over at the moment.
What is your part of the world like for someone producing underground house and techno?
I love it there. It’s really beautiful but there are downsides especially with having to travel so far for gigs. It’s a long way to go anywhere and the music scene for our type of sound in North Wales is pretty much non-existent. At the moment me and my wife [Jade, who also DJs under the name Jakooky] live in the middle of a forest, literally, five miles from the nearest town so it’s really isolated. It’s a fantastic location especially if you want to have parties or blast out the music, there are no restrictions in that sense.
With yourself, Tom Ellis, Mindtours and Tom Demac all based in Wales, there seems to have developed something of a loose creative collective.
There are a gaggle of musicians making a similar kind of sound. It’s a very different contrast from London where there’s loads and loads of people in a small area concentrating on a similar sound. In North Wales there are maybe a handful of us spread out over a relatively large area, so we’ve got a good connection with those people as they are few and far between.
Although there is a group of you making a similar style of music, is it important nonetheless that labels have their own sound and identity?
I think so. There’s obviously a certain sound people associate with that label. There are exceptions, there are some great labels out there that do a massive variation of music but on the whole I think it’s quite important to have a general kind of sound you go for with a label. It makes sense I think.
And how would you describe your own sound?
The cliché would be house and techno, somewhere in the middle of deep house and a techy edge, slightly minimal but not too minimal with a Chicago house element in there somewhere as well. I’ve always liked a melody in there, something with a real hook. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the minimal sound, but I do like to keep something of a funk element in there, some deep chords or something melodic.
So which artists have influenced and inspired you then?
What really changed my life, the album that turned me on to the sound I like now was Daniel Bell’s The Button Down Mind of Daniel Bell on Tresor. That was a real eye opener, an amazing mix CD. Just incredible music. Also Akufen, early [Richie] Hawtin was an inspiration too. Matthew Herbert, Rhythm and Sound, Aril Brikha. Also other styles such as roots and dub reggae, I-Roy, King Tubby etc., and chilled sounds like Kruder & Dorfmeister, Jazzanova and Saint Germain have all been a big inspiration to me. I guess moving on to Moodymann, the more housey sound as well and obviously Tom Ellis, Steevio and Joe Ellis, the people I’m surrounded by.
Tom is a big inspiration musically. He’s such a talented guy. When we finish a tune we send it to each other, get some feedback and bounce ideas off each other. It’s good to have that synergy with someone.
And how about your wife?
She’s been an inspiration musically in terms of the stuff she buys and plays, but she’s also a great creative muse. If I’m working on a tune, I can play it to her and get some honest and constructive feedback, which is really important.
What’s up next for you?
Just got a new release out called Tone EP [on Trimsound]. It’s just fun to release our own stuff now and again. We’ve got a few more plans for the label in the pipeline. There’s a couple of guest remixes of our music coming out which I’m really excited about. Also Martinez is doing a remix of Designed With That In Mind soon on Fear of Flying. And there’s a split EP with Tom on Frankie Records.
Finally, I see you’re playing Freerotation?
Freerotation is a really special event. Steevio and Suzybee organise it; it’s been pretty much their focal project over the last couple of years. It’s a great party to play at and it’s also good to be involved with the organisational side of it as well. It’s an amazing line-up. It’s a perfect place for a party, a stately home in the middle of nowhere. It’s like a giant house party really. A serious quality sound system and some superb artists. It’s just a really awesome event.
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Photos: Jade Knowles