The rapid evolution of electronic music, fully enabled and encouraged by the ability to create studio quality sounds in your own home, has led to a dense saturation of all branches of the genre.
As soon as someone pioneers a particular recognisable sound, legions of fans-come-self-styled-producers tap away tirelessly to replicate it. It is human nature of course to emulate what inspires you, but the expanding world of production means individuality is worryingly scarce.
To find a producer that creates a soundscape that is absolutely unique to them and them alone, is all but unheard of. Enter Feint… With his “Always Here EP” making waves wherever it goes having dropped at the very end of last month, the Manchester producer’s inimitable sound has earned him a reputation of being individuality personified.
Elements from a widely eclectic palette can be identified in his music, but all are fused together in a white-hot concoction like no other.
“I listen to pretty much everything and I really do get inspired by a combination of tons of little things in my playlist. Though for live stuff, I would say I’m really inspired by composers like Olafur Arnalds and bands like Bon Iver. As for electronic stuff, I would have to say that my main influence was probably Rob Swire – its been years and I still can’t get over Girl in the Fire. Outside of that kind of scene though, I’ve always had a have a massive thing for M83.”
One of the most distinctive features of Feint’s sound is the impression of huge live orchestral outfits melded with the huge rumbling synths of their electronic counterpart.
“I think that having been inspired mainly by a lot of live or live sounding music means that I try and emulate that. I think that a combination of the two can combine the best of both worlds, and I’m always trying to achieve a satisfying balance of them… Actually not that much of the EP was recorded live instrument wise – however the majority of Wasted was recorded live. Eric (the vocalist on that track) is also a pretty bangin guitarist so he really went to town on that – as a guitarist myself, it was really easy for me to work with that. I really enjoy that kind of workflow where even though you may not in the same room, you can treat it as a kind of jam session.”
This exploration of different worlds and the process of bringing them together is a risky one that many have tried but few have succeeded in, although it is undoubtedly a factor in creating a sound like no other.
“I think that people who do a great job of the really ‘organic’ sound rooted in electronic music are people like Asa and Stumbleine – they make incredible soundscapes using a lot of very natural sounds. KOAN Sound and Asa’s tune Tetsuo’s Redemption I think is an incredible combination of the two – such a huge track.
Then of course again there’s people like Pendulum who had a great live sound to a lot of their tracks. In a similar vein I think Memtrix is smashing it too – I think a lot of the instrumentation he uses hits that spot, especially on his latest EP.”
Whatever your taste in music, it is always special when something you’ve never heard before reaches your ears, it is after all these talents who pave the way for what is next to come.