There are certain artists out there whose work is deliberately meant to feel like a distuption; a purposeful glitch to the matrix of those lucky enough to collide into these weird codes. Amongst them in the modern era are Bavid Bowie, David Choe, Arca, Oliver Tree and, of course, bass music’s own disruptive darling, Moody Good. Most fans who have followed through his early FKA Kidnappa and as part of the equally breakthrough duos 16bit and Broken Note will already know that the name of this producer’s game is switch-ups. With his newest EP, the decidedly mluti-genre, multi-vibe SPEEDBUMP 01, however, Moody Good’s creating more than a disruption: he’s forcing audiences to slow down and look at a whole new world he’s creating.
Enter the SPEEDBUMP universe, as MG and co. have dubbed it. It’s no surprise, based on his strong visuals in past work, that Moody Good has a penchant for all sorts of media and the potential to push the boundaries therein. Punters who really follow him will also know he’s worked in games and film, so it may not be surprising that he’s created a project that brings all his passions together, expands the distuptions to other realms and turns a few glitches into a multimedia rumble strip.
There have been a few foreshadowy clips on Instagram about what all this will entail, but with the first SPEEDBUMP EP released only late last month, fans will likely have to wait and watch this universe unfold before them. In the meantime, the Mag managed to get a partial scoop from the enigmatic artist himself.
The upcoming SPEEDBUMP 01 EP is, if research is correct, your first solo multi-track release since Goofball in 2019. Have you been holding onto these tracks this whole time or was putting this one together more spontaneous?
Definitely not been holding onto them that long. I gave myself time and space for it to build and then at some point I stopped trying to force a format and just made what I made. These tracks are the first of a whole new batch of creativity I’m finding myself in
You’ve not exactly been inactive the last six years: loads of singles and collabs have kept you busy in that time. Do you feel like this EP is a return to focus on your own projects? Why did now feel like the right time?
There was a period where I was pretty deliberately putting everything else first. Being present for my family, working on other people’s stuff, doing game and film stuff. The timing now is less about a decision I made and more about a convergence of things I’ve been building and are coming together at once. The music and the SPEEEDBUMP stuff started pointing in the same direction. That felt like a sign to move.
To that end, the EP being titled SPEEEDBUMP 01 implies this will be part of a series, and you’ve said you’re building a ‘SPEEEDBUMP universe’. What does that entail exactly? Will there be a multimedia piece to it?
Yeah, SPEEEDBUMP is the place I’ve found where it can all exist, not just the music. As we developed characters and IP, things started to morph and mutate into other things. We’ve built a live performance tool that’s designed for making short-form content, but it’s become so much fun that its’s branching off into an interactive game and playable experiences I want other people to get to use. SPEEEDBUMP is also the record label and we’re very excited to make physical 3D collectibles too.
The Instagram stuff people are seeing is the early surface of a universe that’s been in development for a while and has lots to come. Music is the core always, but since I work a lot with other media, I wanted to bring the music and the IP universe together. I didn’t want to keep those creative explorations separate anymore; it suddenly made sense that SPEEEDBUMP is the world to bring it all together.
Speaking of the visual art aspect of the work, how did you come up with these characters and the single art? Did you work with anyone on the concepts?
I work with an amazing character designer and animator Ethan Demarest. The 2D aesthetic is developed collaboratively with him. I’ve brought those 2D designs into 3D because I love both but I actually think 2d is harder to do well – but worth the effort.
Coming back to the music, you’re mostly in the 140 realm on this EP but your style takes reference from all over the place, from funk to hip hop to riddim. How is it creating multi-coloured tracks in a time where bass music genres are becoming so strictly defined?
I’m not too good at staying in one lane, which has honestly been a liability at points in my career. Electronic music becoming overly genre-policed is lame but I understand why people want to do that – or find it easier that way – especially for the business side where music is just the product on the shelf which needs a nice simple label. Sometimes people find a thing that works and they build an identity around it and I respect that. But I wanna be in a scene that pushes people forward who wanna be different or do things that are unexpected. The best stuff always comes when the person making it doesn’t care if anyone else cares and is just doing it because they’re obsessed with it.
After so many collabs in the past years, fans might be surprised there’s only one collab, on SPEEDBUMP 01, on ‘Mouth Piece’ with Karan!. Why did you decide to include that track and why mostly working alone?
I have way, way too many collabs to count. But ‘Mouth Piece’ with Karan! has a total SPEEEDBUMP vibe and happened to come together at the right moment. Karan! is a really exciting producer. He’s been sending me all sorts of madness and I felt the track was giving SPEEEDBUMP energy without compromising it. The reason it’s mostly solo though is more about holding collabs back to make sure we’re (myself and the other artists) happy with them and the timing is right.
In terms of your process, do you have a preconceived idea of what you want a track to sound like, or do you start with a sound and build from there?
Both. Some on this EP started with a very specific idea I was trying to recreate or capture. Others started with a sound that unlocked something I didn’t know I was looking for. I’ve made a lot of dark, heavy stuff in the past; I love it. But I also love beautiful ethereal things. And then I love silly ridiculous stuff too, with tracks like ‘Super Lager’, which is basically one big piss take. I’m pretty sensitive to cheesy things though and for the longest time I’d gravitate to the darkest sounds for my own sense of safety. But yeah, when I have a super specific idea, once I get to work it never ends up exactly how I imagined it anyway. Plus nothing’s ever truly finished, you just have to decide when you’re ok to let it go.
Since SPEEEDBUMP will be a series, is there a concept you’re planning to create it around? Is it more personal or a nod to a larger community or cultural theme?
It’s really just an ongoing outlet for all of the audio-visual stuff. Can’t help but be personal because I’m working in it daily. There’s also just a fuckload of ideas I have that I haven’t seen done, and that I wanna see especially with audio-centric animation. I love comedy and I love putting stuff in music that’s so absurd it’s funny to me. Most things I make have an edge of un-seriousness to it. I wanna make stuff that makes me laugh but also be like ‘damn that’s sick’. I think that’s probably kinda an English thing. But the music is global and I love bringing elements of different genres together and sampling in creative ways to try and make something new. You can hear that all the way back to my 16bit productions.
For the characters we’re making, they are just a normal bunch of kids growing up and tryna stay from getting bored: hanging out and fucking around with mates/homies/squad/crew/besties whatever you wanna call it, getting up to no good and generally fucking around taking it as far as you can without getting caught or (badly) hurt, putting the loudest soundsystem that will fit in the car with your mates. That’s not just a UK experience. I love Japanese street car culture, I love lowrider culture. What was the question? haha
What else can you tell the audience about the upcoming EP and the SPEEEDBUMP universe?
I’ll just say that there’s a lot more coming and we’re developing and releasing in real time so it will be a journey for sure. Let’s see where it all ends up.
SPEEDBUMP 01 is out now on Deadbeats.