Interview | DJ Madd

Unchained Recordings Operations Manager, Kian Chong, catches up with DJ Madd for a quick snapshot of his take on Covoid, production and some of his fave artists at the moment.

Kian: How has coronavirus affected the way you interact with your fans?

Madd: I have always been on the quiet side online, I prefer meeting people on my travels really. The current situation definitely made me think about music in general though. No huge epiphanies, but even just seeing how fragile and archaic the industry can be has been eye-opening.

Kian: You’ve started off in dubstep and with this EP we see much more dnb flavours, what direction do you see yourself taking sonically in the near future?

Madd: I’ve been mostly writing dubstep and dnb this year actually. I’ve been rediscovering the nerdy-techy sound design side of things during the lockdown, been lots of fun getting lost in some deep / minimal vibes. That combined with some dubby flavors of course.

Kian: Most memorable set?

Madd: Too many to mention, but Shambhala Festival in BC is always a highlight. I played there twice at the Grove stage, pretty different sets, and both times went down great. Shout out to the Shambs crew!

Kian:How did you get your start into producing and djing? Were you always a dance music guy?

Madd: I started production very early, always dance music. I was lucky enough to be exposed to early Prodigy and jungle music, so it all stems from that. I was collecting vinyl before I could even finish a tune, so djing was a great way to feel like I’m already part of the scene, even if just in my bedroom. I still have a good couple of crates of jungle / dnb records in Budapest that I need to bring over to the US.

Kian: Where do you draw your inspiration from? Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process?

Madd: My inspiration for music usually comes from a certain sound / sample. I can mess around with a blank project and eventually get somewhere with it, but all the quick and fun tunes have one great sample to start and build around. I have been toying with the idea to have a tv running on mute with various videos on loop while I’m coming up with ideas. Think I’ll give that a shot sometime, especially for the more techy tunes. I’ve never written music to visual cues, could be a fun little experiment.

Kian: Favourite up and coming producers?

Madd: Myth, Navigatorz, Groves, Mystic State to name a few – crazy amounts of fresh music out there right now.

Kian: If you had to organise a festival line up who would be your top three headliners

Madd: Green Velvet, Skeptical and Bakongo / Roska.