Thomas Mondel and Mathias Rauter, aka RoyGreen & Protone, tell us all about their new Jazzypants EP for DJ Marky’s Innerground Records.
As this is your first sole release on Innerground, how did the project come about?
P: Speaking for both of us, we have been fans of Marky for a very long time. As a result his label was an influence on our sound since day one and therefore we are really happy to have the opportunity to release an EP on it.
RG: We’ve been sending Marky tunes for quite some time and after a while we started collecting some tracks for a small EP with jazz influences. I am really happy with the final product and we put a lot of time into it to make it sound right.
Jazzypants has some authentic sounds across the EP including jazz piano and fret-slapping bass. How did you go about creating the tracks?
RG: Protone laid down the basic idea of the track which includes the beat, bass and sample. After that we sat down together and cooked up something good, gave it a proper mixdown, arrangement and added some more sounds to keep the interest alive.
P: The second session when we started to record a lot of weird live sounds at Thomas’ place really brought a new flow to it.
https://soundcloud.com/innergroundmusic/sets/inn067d-roy-green-protone-jazzypants-ep
Your previous releases tend to have a darker edge to them whilst staying within the liquid parameters. What was the thought process to doing a release with brighter, jazzier, vibes?
P: I think there have been a few deeper tunes from us, I especially like a lot of the dark and dub influenced tracks that came out throughout the last years. Sometimes it just feels good to do something completely different so no one can expect what’s coming next.
RG: When we are in the studio, we really don’t know what type of track we are going to make at first, it really depends on our vibe, on the samples we pick and the progress whilst producing a track. To keep it interesting we go into different directions of drum & bass as we also like a diverse range of music ourselves.
Having met in Vienna’s Flex Nightclub how did you then decide to start producing together? What is the dynamic between you two in the studio?
RG: We met there and talked about producing for one or two hours straight, a couple of days later we met at Protone’s studio. After our first meeting, we had such a good connection that we decided to keep on working together, for about 4 – 5 years now!
P: I think the most important thing is that we both still really enjoy working together and laying ideas down. We have a similar taste when it comes to listening and making music, which is very important when trying to find the right path when starting new ideas.
There are some fantastic producers from Austria: DKay, Ill Skillz, Paul SG, and, of course, Camo & Krooked. Who are your favourites and who are some new names we should check out?
P: For me DKay’s early works are still classics in D&B. I think he is a great musician and I appreciate a lot of tracks he has done over the years. Paul SG has been a friend of us for a long time now and he is continuing to go his way doing soulful beats with a more laid back feeling to drum & bass.
RG: For me Paul SG and Jay Rome are really doing a good job, they support the soulful, jazzy type of drum & bass and DKay has done some amazing work. There are artists like Dual, Skore, Natural Flavor, Carter, Dorian and many others who are doing great things, you should definitely watch out for them in the future.
What does the future have in store for you guys?
RG: Drum & bass wise we will keep on working together on some interesting new music forthcoming on Liquid V, Fokuz, Demand, Occulti, Fizzy and others. Apart from that we have quite enjoyed producing some hip hop instrumentals recently, but we are not sure where this will take us, we just enjoy it and you’ll definitely be able to hear some of it in the near future.
You’ve put together an exclusive Kmag mix, which has some lovely rollers…
RG: You will find some exclusive material by us accompanied with released music that we really like to listen to at the moment. And yes, we do love a roller!