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"Variety Is The Spice Of Life": Catching up with Huxley

Producing that definitive club anthem, one that appears in countless mixes and remains forever in the rotation of DJs afar can be  incredibly tricky to accomplish. It’s something that many producers relentlessly pursue, releasing time and time again without ever quite reaching that luminary status. Only a select few can claim some of those infamous tracks, tracks like Joy Orbison’s ‘Ellipses’, Mosca’s ‘Bax’ and of course, Huxley’s ‘Let it Go which shot to supreme acclaim after Hypercolour released it back in 2012. It was this particular track that championed Michael Dodman to a fleet of critical attention, formulating the basis of what was to be start of a successful slew of monumental releases, drenching the electronica circuit with his club-esque, dance-floor jams complete with pulsing synths and addictive bass attire. It’s no wonder that Huxley has remained on the crest of that wave since. Piercing the ears of party goers once again with his latest drop, ‘Chatsworth Sound,’ on Defected House last month, Huxley very kindly took a moment out of his very busy schedule to chat to us about his new record, his collaborations with Shenoda and his eagerly awaited appearance at FABRICLIVE on November 22nd. Let’s jump right in and talk about your latest release ‘Chatsworth Sound’ on Defected House. It’s a collaborative project with long-time friend and label mate, Shenoda. What was it like working with someone else on this record? Working with Laurie was great. ‘I Don't Know’ was actually the first time we got in the studio together, and ‘Premier’ the second or third. So I would say that we work pretty well. I've worked with quite a few people in the past, some have been fruitful and some haven't got past the first day. I think you can tell quite quickly if you can work together or not. What’s the story behind the EP? Any particular influences? Well, ‘I Don't Know U’ I suppose is more harking back to both of our shared love of old garage records. This one in particular I think shows off our more speed garage side. Tracks like ‘Bring Me Down’ and ‘Hold Your Head Up High’. Saying that though, I wouldn't say it's a straight up copy, but there's no denying the symmetry between them. Also, it's not like we planned to get in the studio and do that, it just happened quite naturally after sitting down and listening to a few old records. As for ‘Premier’, that was just done in an afternoon. It all came kind of naturally. You’re definitely releasing more of a deeper, house-based sound, compared to the garage vibe you were pushing before .Was that a conscious creative decision or did it come about gradually? Not really. I would always class myself as a house producer and DJ first anyway, and garage is just an extension of that. If you listen to my old stuff it's all house anyway, I just think now I’m less worried about trying to conform to what other people think house music should be, or what garage music should be for that matter. When I produce I just like to have fun and try to do whatever I’m feeling at the time, whether that be a new Fred P record, an old Kenny Larkin KLS 12 or something from New Horizon's or Dem 2. Variety is the spice of life. Can you remember when you started producing music? Was there any particular sound or artists that influenced you? I started around the age of 14. Well I say started, I started messing around with it anyway. At that time I was listening to a lot of old skool and drum & bass. People like Aphrodite, DJ SS, Brockie, Manix and DJ Ratty. I'd say that a lot of that can still be heard in the music I produce now. When I started doing it a bit more seriously though I’d say it was people like Wookie, El-B, Groove Chronicles and MJ Cole who were my main inspirations. You also produce for a few vocalists, what’s it like creating music for someone other than yourself? I love it. You can step back and take all your own personality and ego out of it. You have to put yourself in what you think the artist's shoes should be. I’m hoping to do more in the future, it's something I’m definitely excited about as no one has any expectations that it needs to sound like a Huxley record or whatever You spent your summer playing at some incredible hot-spots across the globe including Ibiza and Chicago as well as your Boiler Room appearance as part of Heidi’s Jackathon takeover. Any best/worst moments you’d like to share with us? I know it sounds cliché, but there really has been too many great times to mention this last year. Saying that though there's also been some shit times as well. But I won't get into those. So what does the future hold for Huxley ? Hopefully a lot more of the same. I’ve got even more great gigs, including my first Friday at fabric, coming up and then finally getting my album done and dusted. Then fingers crossed more of the same. <
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