KRL (Wolf Music, UK)
KRL is guy out of the UK that is still quite new to house music, although his name is associated with all the right things. If you've heard his music you will know what im talking about. Funk and soul samples are combined with a twist of hip hop running along side some classic drum work to provide some truly memorable tracks. Find out more about the man behind KRL in our interview with him.
Butter: You’re well known to do alot of great work with Wolf Music. How did this partnership come together and how has it stuck together so successfully?
KRL: I met Matt Neale through work when living in Brighton. He was working with a music download site in the same office. We were mates, and one afternoon he called me up to ask If I had any music to send him as he and Stu Clark were starting a label... I sent over an idea id been working on (Recession Beat) and they loved it. It just rolled on from there really, taking it on a casual release-by-release basis. It has always been driven by the music - there are no deadlines or rushing tracks through. This seems to work well, as it keeps the quality high on all levels.
KRL: I met Matt Neale through work when living in Brighton. He was working with a music download site in the same office. We were mates, and one afternoon he called me up to ask If I had any music to send him as he and Stu Clark were starting a label... I sent over an idea id been working on (Recession Beat) and they loved it. It just rolled on from there really, taking it on a casual release-by-release basis. It has always been driven by the music - there are no deadlines or rushing tracks through. This seems to work well, as it keeps the quality high on all levels.
Butter: Your primary involvement in music wasn't necessarily dance or house music, which I think gives your sound a leading edge and infectious diversity. At what point did you shift over and start making house records?
KRL: I only got into dance music properly a year or so before the first 12" came out. I spent about 10 years DJing & listening to HipHop, soul & disco music, with a brief hiatus into Brazilian. I had been trying to produce hip hop too, but not to great effect. The HH scene dried up and I was musically lost. It was getting increasingly difficult to get people to dance to HH unless you played the jiggy shit, which was not for me. There was nothing fresh coming out, nothing that excited me like it did in the mid-late 90's. It wasn't until I was at the Rizla Arena at one of the UK summer festivals that house music really hit me and I finally got it. I thought id try my hand at producing it and I was hooked. House is infectious. It brings the good times! It's so satisfying playing out your productions & seeing people dance.
" Dilla is my hero "
Butter: Sampling obviously has a strong presence in your music. How do you approach a new track and does it all start with the sample?
KRL: It is the basis of every track really, and is a direct lesson from the Hip Hop days. Dilla is my hero. Donuts is one of my favorite albums of the past 5 years, and that's kinda the way I approach producing & sample chopping. Sometimes there will be a track I want to sample, so I split it into several bars or hits and the build it from there. Other days I sit & write the drums bass & keys then find a sample to fit.
Butter: Seems like alot of artist these days are running a laptop and some shitty monitors at the core of their studio. Is it the same case for you?
KRL: I do most of my production in the corner of my flat. I have a pretty low budget 'studio', running a powerful desktop PC with some half decent KRK monitors and a few midi controllers. I have a list of hardware I would love but money is the usual issue. I never restrict productions there though, I always bounce tracks down asap and listen on as many sound systems, clubs, stereos, laptop speakers as possible before release. I have a few smaller studios I sometimes use for mix downs & Wolf Music get everything separately mastered for both vinyl and digital. I'm a bit of an audiophile, and take pride in making tracks sound the best I can with the resources available. And anyway, no matter how good your monitors are, they mean nothing if the room you are in is unsuitable. That's why dedicated well designed music studios will always be the best.
KRL: I do most of my production in the corner of my flat. I have a pretty low budget 'studio', running a powerful desktop PC with some half decent KRK monitors and a few midi controllers. I have a list of hardware I would love but money is the usual issue. I never restrict productions there though, I always bounce tracks down asap and listen on as many sound systems, clubs, stereos, laptop speakers as possible before release. I have a few smaller studios I sometimes use for mix downs & Wolf Music get everything separately mastered for both vinyl and digital. I'm a bit of an audiophile, and take pride in making tracks sound the best I can with the resources available. And anyway, no matter how good your monitors are, they mean nothing if the room you are in is unsuitable. That's why dedicated well designed music studios will always be the best.
Butter: In, let's say the last decade, many genres and sub-genres have come and gone but none have quite stood the test of time like house and disco which have also evolved and explored many boundaries. What do you think it is that keeps the scene strong and fresh?
KRL: I think humans love the familiarity of repetition. It gets in your head and is easy to dance to, its a great release on the dance floor. It has to be heard in context - on a good sound system - or it doesn't work properly. I don't listen to a lot of house on headphones as it isn't the same. You need to be able to feel it in your stomach. I think the scene is still fresh as so many of the sub-genres cross over into house. You now have the dubstep & broken beat guys of past turning their hands to house & drum machine based music. What I love at the moment is the revival of the 90s house sound with new production techniques, sampling & trends that didn't happen the first time around (so I hear!). I am new to house music, so its is all fresh to me. I think that is also the case with many younger producers coming through. There is a lot of dance music history to explore, and it's exciting.
Butter: The UK seems to be at the peak of all things house related at the moment. What is it like living in such a thriving city that has so many great artists? Is there some rivalries and competition going on?
KRL: London is a great place for creativity. I wouldn't say there is any rivalry or competition, its the opposite really - support, appreciation, collaboration & sharing with other artists. It's a really friendly scene. Everyone is generally excited about new & current projects. Ive met some amazing people through music in the last few years, be it producers, promoters or djs.
Butter: The past year or so have been huge for you. Where is KRL headed in 2011, what can we expect?
KRL: 'Chase' is released this week on the monster WOLF008 EP, along with huge tracks from Greymatter, Medlar and Chicago Damn. The first Wolf compilation came out Monday, and I have a brand new track 'Intro' on the unmixed CD. A remix 'Fever' for J Philp on Catz n Dogz Records, a few other remixes and I am working on and my own full EP for summer 2011 release. Plenty go be getting on with.
Butter: And finally can we expect to see you in Melbourne in the near future?
KRL: I am hoping to make a trip in 2012 as haven't been to that part if the world before. Seems like Melbourne has a good scene at the moment.
Links:
Wolf Music's new double CD compilation 'I Wanna See All My Friends At Once' (in association with the Sleazy Beats team and mixed by Cosmic Boogie)
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