Introducing... Distal

Mike Rathburn is one of those guys whose hard work has paid off. Releasing music as Distal, the Atlanta based producer has touched a lot of people engrossed in the current rigmarole of the post-dubstep-whatever-you-want-to-label-it sort of dance music. Taking cues as much from quicker dancefloor styles like juke and footwork as much as he does from southern hip hop and the 140bpm spacious half step sound of 4 years ago, Distal’s music has made many a friend in the UK. Signing with labels like Glasgow’s Fortified Audio and Sinden’s Grizzly imprint for 12” singles, he recently aligned himself with Tectonic - a very forward thinking bastion of that original dubstep aesthetic.

‘Angry Acid’ and ‘French Science’ displayed a little of Distal’s multiplicity, with the former an enveloping, droning dark cloud of acidic techno and the flip a more spacious, low end propelled, swirl of colour. It’s long been one of the cornerstones of what made Rathburn’s work so interesting, the fact that you’d always be excited to listen, always wondering where he was going to go next. He’s not confined by anything because he’s never tried to do one thing in particular. In his own words “constantly changing keeps your style fresh; keeps the brain on its feet,” and he certainly has sprawled on out stylistically as a result of his experimentation.

Word reached the internet recently that Distal has been hard at work developing an album project for Tectonic; and with the label’s return to our Room One looming a week on Friday, we thought it was the perfect time to catch up with the producer. So, ahead of his first ever London show, we cornered him for a revealing conversation.

What are you up to at this time?
I've been grinding on the album trying to get it all wrapped up, finishing up details on a lot of other releases, and running Embassy. Also doing tons of remix work and dealing with some publishing opportunities. Outside of music I've been catching up on a lot of reading, film and getting more involved with politics over here I've started to dabble into doing some minimal guitar-centric music as well - sort of along the lines of Mogwai or David Pajo. It's a nice breath of fresh air to do something that isn't dance music, and it only helps things when I get back in the dance music mode.



Speaking of which, how is Embassy going?
Embassy is going really well. We put out our first vinyl with Embassy a few months ago and we're about to drop a bunch of fresh talent in the next few months. We just did an EP with Wheez-ie, a pretty new face to the juke and footwork community but all his stuff sounds different than most juke. It has the same emotion as traditional juke but it has the aesthetics as someone with a love of dubstep and techno, and the remix from DJ Assault got a ton of attention. We're also discussing doing a few white label releases on a smaller format, maybe 10" or 7".

We're proud of the visual aesthetic our logo has been able to create so far, so in coordination with that ideal we're going to be experimenting with the way we present or create the art for releases 10-20, also we're looking to get some nice design tweeks to the logo for the next run.

What’s the feedback been like to your music of late?
I've been tinkering with all kinds of new ideas and bpms, and it seems to be going over quite well! Kind of funny how well crowds react when I reset the vibe from footwork to my brand of reggaeton. I recently did a nice listening session with Rob at my house for a bit of the album, and he was ecstatic. It's definitely nice to know people that you respect are into what you are doing. I've been taking a lot of risks lately but it’s been going very well on the dancefloor as well as at home. I think the album will have a fair amount of tunes that could go either way. It'll be a nice moody album.



Are you still just as busy in the studio?
Yeah most definitely, I'm sure my neighbors could easily vouch for that haha. I've got lots of new stuff to unveil for 2012 and the end of this year still. I've been getting in a lot of other peoples studios as well on the road, so I've got a bunch of collaborations I'm really happy with. I'm always staying busy creatively.

How’s the tour going?
I did a small tour of the U.S. a few weeks back and it was amazing, I got to play some really large shows and some really small shows, all with great responses. You find energy in some of the strangest places. I played in Boise, Idaho and the crowd was so open and excited to hear what I was doing I felt quite humbled.

I'm only doing a small run of shows in Europe this time just to get my feet wet and work on music, but my plan is to come back next year some time for a fully fledged tour.

You’ve been working with Pinch a fair bit on Tectonic releases. How are you finding the working relationship?
Rob is hands down one of the best people to work with, he keeps everything very professional which I enjoy, it's more my personality. I think he really supports the artists he brings onto the label as well he's helped me out in a lot of different avenues since jumping on this year. And on the flip of the coin he's got a great ear for original material.



How does it feel to be on such an esteemed label?
I’m overwhelmingly humbled to be a part of Tectonic. I was telling him it was some kind of irony for this all to happen, because one of the main reasons I got into mid tempo bass music and dubstep in specific was through his album, ‘Underwater Dancehall.’ When I first heard ‘Brighter Day’ I was really inspired by the simplicity and the use of space in the tune, it was perfect for the psychology of my life at the time and all the pieces fell into place for the rest to happen. The back catalog of Tectonic is about as air tight of a lineup as you can ask for a label.

Your date here will be your debut LDN show right? Are you excited?
Yeah, it’s the first time I've ever been to Europe. I'm excited and READY. I've been waiting for this moment for a good portion of my adult life. See everyone there!

Catch Distal making his European debut in Room One on Friday 4th November.