Artist Spotlight! Callum Murray
Introduction
My name is Callum Murray. 28 years old and I’m from a place called Essex which is located on the outskirts of London in the south east of England.
My passion for music started when I was very young. I couldn’t put an age to it but I’ve always been around music. My family have always had music playing at home, in the car pretty much everywhere. As I got older, I started finding my own styles of music. Hip Hop & Rock music were the first genres I fell in love with. The Stone Roses, Oasis, The Who & Led Zeppelin to name a few bands. And rappers such as Wu-Tang Clan, Nate Dogg & Eminem. Then I got into drum & bass & jungle music and that’s when I started mixing. I got into through family and haven’t looked back since. Over the years I’ve mixed a lot of different styles but it’s safe to say I am definitely into Techno more than any other electronic music at the moment.
Tell us something about your EP, what was the idea and workflow behind it?
Well the tracks “Halo” & “Legion” are very much the style I described. Heavy kick and bass with a very melodic breakdown. I always imagine if I was in a club would I be throwing my hands in the air and in both breakdowns I most certainly would especially when the beat drops and the bass kicks in. There very much my signature sound so to speak. “Pollination” is slightly different. It’s a bit more underground type of techno. It’s a lot more basic than the other two records but by no means has any less energy. Definitely one for a dark underground party at midnight to get the rave going.
Style of production
My style of music is a blend of dark techno and melodic. I love dark beats with big kick drums and rumbly baselines but, I love very melodic almost euphoric breakdowns. Its a contrast of dark and light music that’s how I see it in my head. Inspiration can hit me anywhere sometimes I’m not even listening to music. If I get an idea and I’m around my studio I try and get it down as soon as possible. Sometimes I get ideas from listening techno, or other forms of electronic music. I have had it in the past where I have thought of a good name for a tune and decide to make a record to suit that name, which sounds bizarre but it has worked for me in the past.
Which software do you use?
I’ve always used Logic Pro, mainly because I had a MAC and it made sense to use apple products. I use a variety of digital synths to make my sounds such as Massive, Sylenth, Spire & Serum to name a few. I also love to sample. Every record is different in a sense of how much is sampled and how much is Synthesized but I always like to keep my sound solid.
Producing or dj-ing
I’m definitely more natural at DJ’ing, maybe because I’ve been doing it so much longer than producing. I can get frustrated with producing when I can’t get something right but on the other hand that’s why it’s exciting. With production there’s always something new to learn. Writers block is a terrible thing but if you have patience the creativity always comes back. But which do I prefer? I really couldn’t choose there both my passion.
Which other producers/DJs inspire you the most and why?
Well over the years many artists from different genres have kept me inspired and motivated. From drum & bass artists like DJ Zinc, Andy C, Goldie, Roni Size, Ed Rush & Optical, Logistics, Marcus Intalex I could go on. Most recently regarding techno I’ve had my ear on a few artists that I go to for inspiration. Jay Lumen, Enrico Sangiuliano, ANNA, Victor Ruiz, UMEK, Spektre are artists who’s style I love. Also, I have to mention the old school artists that I got into at a younger age such as The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack & The Crystal Method.
Ingredients for a top techno song
Well for me, Big, strong, bassy kick drum, a real rumble for the bass that compliments the kick. Some nice percussion in the back which you may not even notice until you listen to the tune a few times which I love. You can listen to a tune 100 times and all of a sudden you hear something you’ve never heard before there the best. I do love big melodic breakdowns but it doesn’t fit in to every techno track so that depends on the mood of the record.
What more can we expect of you in the future?
Well along with this release I’ve got another 3 track EP called “Terraform” which is going to be coming out later on in the summer and a remix for a good friend of mine so keep an eye out for them. I’ll be putting out some free tunes on my Soundcloud as well in the next few weeks. Keep doing my podcast. Got a few bookings over the summer mostly in London and of course keep the new music coming.
