Sinistarr… The Man From Motor City
Detroit’s musical legacy reaches far and wide. The birth place of musical visionaries like J Dilla, The Stooges, Derrick May, Aretha Franklin and many others… Luckily for us, we’ve been able to get hold of the motor cities drum & bass representative Sinistarr. Read on…
1. You hail from Detroit Michigan in the US and are one of the latest artists off a seemingly endless conveyer belt of musical talent that the city produces. From Motown to Hip Hop to Techno, throw in some drum and bass and this place has got it covered. So whats the secret? Is it something in the water? What makes your home town so special when it comes to music?
Detroit is a very known city when it comes to all styles of music because of the fact that most, if not all of us, are literally surrounded by it in general, from the projects, all the way to the end of the suburbs, and the talent here is really unlike any other US city I have seen so far, without any bias whatsoever. If we aren’t writing it, producing it, or spinning it, we are listening to it.
Detroit, as the BBC recently just showed to the rest of the world, is a city with a pretty dark past, and I’m not afraid to admit that. However, the future of music here (and the economy, but that’s another interview), has always been bright – we’ve never given up, and we never will. In terms of the given influences in your question (which are the three of the four things we are known for, fourth being rock), those genres are pretty much just a label, we tend to work with everyone (Example: US Platinum recording artist Kid Rock’s very first record was cut in a studio almost 20+ years ago. The owner of said studio?? Juan Atkins).
At the end of the day, the same mindset applies to any musician brought up here – we are all from Detroit and we live and breathe music.
2. What was the defining factor that made you want to get involved with drum and bass when there were undoubtedly many more popular genres you could have pursued?
The one thing that set me apart from joining other genres is the fact that I fit in with drum & bass as a whole. I came from a somewhat extensive house and techno background (shocker!!!), but I started with drum & bass when I was old enough to have a discerning ear for what I enjoyed listening to, and eventually writing drum & bass is not as formulaic as other genres. Upon getting into the drum & bass here in Detroit about 5 years ago, the other genres pretty much saw us at the bottom of the spectrum. There were only a big handful of drum & bass DJs and two producers – Soundmurderer & SK-1. I felt like I wanted to be a part of some change in how things were done, and later on down the line, represent my influence of the city in my productions.
I think it’s working so far, not sure though. :p
3. Having grown up in Detroit I’m sure your not short of inspiration when it comes to making music. Can you explain how you have gone about using this inspiration in your productions? What is your approach to making music?
I like messing with weird sounds, pads and effects to see what kind of rhythms I can get out of it; I tend to use Reaktor a lot in my latest works, the sounds and things that I’ve tried out have been next-level and the effects modelling is second to none. I’ve been listening to a lot of minimal also, so that idea of taking that one simple sound and tweaking it so that it’s completely full and different is something I’m looking to get down to a science!! Less is more!!! Working with Ableton helps too, I can put ideas down faster and more efficiently.
4. The deeper more forward thinking side of drum and bass is enjoying a resurgence at the moment. Helped in no small part by artists such as yourself raising the bar in terms of quality and trying something different. What is your take on this and how do you see things progressing going forward?
I love the fact that the deeper, experimental side of our music is coming back into fruition. I feel that there’s a level of sophistication that has been reached to the point where the music can safely cross genres and be appreciated by other audiences, which is the kind of music I play when I DJ to larger audiences.
5. What are you working on at the moment? What can we expect from you in the future?
Currently, I am working on an EP for Metalheadz, and I’m halfway there… got some things coming up on my home US label, Peer Pressure Recordings, a remix for John Arnold (Transmat) on local label Exchange Bureau Music.
Perilelle – Damages (Sinistarr Remix) [Exchange Bureau Music] by sinistarr
I am currently in the process of starting a small DIY label called Shapes Audio, this will be for my other styles of music that I’m in the process of making, mainly hip hop and house, and an outlet to release other unreleased projects and collabos with local friends. Gonna have few things for sale, and lots of free tracks and mixes based around that label.