Welsh deep dance wizard Leif Knowles has been making interesting and immersive electronic music for years now so how come new album Dinas Oleu is his first? Defected’s Ben Lovett poses this and other questions…
“I’m not sure why I waited so long, it just kind of felt right” he explains. “The music I was producing over this period just seemed to lend itself to an LP. It’s been a really great experience putting it together...including choosing the artwork and tracklist order, all that stuff.”
Leif’s relaxed approach to what should prove a major milestone in his career says much about his overall temperament. He played guitar in local bands from an early age, before embracing ambient greats The Orb and Tricky during the Nineties (as well as John Peel’s seismic Radio 1 sessions), and then discovering underground house and techno via a slew of free parties in the forests of North Wales. Those fluid, organic encounters would have a profound effect on his future and outlook.
“My early experiences [of house and techno] were of an unstoppable positivity and a close tie between like-minded souls and, of course, this natural environment around us. When an outdoor party is good, like those early parties for me, I think it’s really hard to beat, and escape, that vibe. I saw what music could really do to a crowd on a dancefloor.”
Inevitably perhaps, Leif started DJing and producing but didn’t make the leap to committing anything for release until 2003 and a ‘Various Artists’ EP on Mindtours. His track, Green Futures, promptly spawned the Moonlight Dub EP on Textone, and then a run of acclaimed releases with close friend Tom Ellis on their co-owned label Trimsound. Subsequently, releases have flown (truly flown) for respected imprints Morris Audio, Fina, liebe*detail, and Fear Of Flying. This year, Leif has seriously impressed with outings on Sudden Drop (Cloud Hidden) and Ornate (EP Each Day Made New was heavily supported by Larry Heard and, on Radio 1, by Mosca).
It all leads to Dinas Oleu, also being released by Fear Of Flying. The new album represents a lush, fully accomplished exploration of deep house flow and feeling. Leif plumbs heavily atmospheric, almost aquatic depths but maintains hook and a distinct soulfulness that drives things purposefully on. It is the talented producer at the peak of his underground powers. But what says he?
“I guess I’ve taken a more relaxed and slow approach to the tracks on this release” he confesses. “It’s all stuff I’ve been working on over the last year or two that I felt might work in the context of an album. I didn’t put any pressure on myself to record anything in particular, it just kind of happened....”
Dinas Oleu was recorded in London, where Leif relocated two years ago, yet its title references the picturesque part of Wales (the hilly surrounds of Barmouth) where he grew up. The links to his formative past remain strong. “Dinas Oleu is also the name of a piece of music my dad composed and played on the Celtic harp – I used a sample of this in the title track of the album, overlaying it with some guitar and bass too. I’m really enjoying life in London [but] I’m not sure how much my physical surroundings affect my production as a rule; a good emotional and spiritual environment is probably just as important to me.”
Where exactly does Leif draw the line between life and art with Dinas Oleu? How much of the album has he recorded with his ears and feet in mind, as opposed to head and heart? “It’s a bit of both really” he explains. “I think I probably always attach personal feelings and experiences to the studio process without necessarily thinking about it.”
Leif’s is a fairly basic studio set-up – computer, various software and plug-ins, keyboard, controller – and yet his output consistently pushes emotional and sonic boundaries. He does also lean on an old analogue Roland SH09 monosynth, as well as playing guitar (taught to him by his musician father at the age of eight), bass and bits of percussion, and regularly layering in his own vocals.
“I like adding a bit of an organic edge where I can” he admits. “Have I progressed from my early Trimsound EPs? I think so.... I mean I’m never 100% happy with anything I do musically but it’s been fun looking back at the last 10 years’ productions – there’s some quite varied stuff there really.”
Leif’s long-term relationship with Fear Of Flying has proved particularly beneficial to his development. Label owners Jay Massive and Ben Micklewright approached him seven years ago and several gripping deep house releases (including EPs Designed With That In Mind and Commonplace and, now, Dinas Oleu) have followed. “The label has gone from strength to strength I think” he says. “The guys have been really cool to deal with – they’ve given me loads of creative freedom with the album in particular, and the whole recording process has been great; really smooth.”
Unrestrained creativity is also at the heart of Wales’ burgeoning house scene, for which Leif is an increasingly important spearhead. One thinks not only of Leif’s rising influence but that of compatriots Tom Ellis, brother Joe, Steevio, SuzyBee, Sam Watson, Duckett, Grimes Adhesif, and Tom Demac. Growing out of the modestly-sized free party scene of Nineties and early Noughties North Wales, this close-knit posse of “mates” has influenced well beyond its local borders in recent years.
Baskerville Hall festival Freerotation, run by Steevio and SuzyBee but with input “from a core of us every year”, is perhaps the best reflection of Wales’ widening reach within global clubland. This summer’s gathering delivered a hugely inventive and charismatic mix of house and tech mainstays – Leif, Tom Ellis and Tom Demac performing alongside Efdemin, Tama Sumo, John Heckle, Hessle Audio’s Pangaea, Ben UFO and Pearson Sound, Objekt and DJ Qu.
And whilst Leif’s Trimsound label partnership with Tom Ellis is currently on the backburner, his other label partnership with Joe, UntilMyHeartStops, is making new and striking noise. “We’ve got a new Various Artists 12” coming out this month, featuring tracks by Arnaldo, Joey Anderson, October and myself; there are some exciting releases lined up for the near future as well...really looking forward to getting them out there” Leif confirms. “UntilMyHeartStops is an avenue for us to release music we really feel passionate about on vinyl. It’s a labour of love – we’re happy taking our time and waiting for the right tracks and ideas to happen.”
Elsewhere Leif is working on material in the studio with Duckett, performing (and continually perfecting) a live club set with Tom, and readying solo gigs around the UK and in Europe. He has just released a new EP on Steevio’s Mindtours label with additional contributions from Tom and Steevio himself. The powerful inter-weave of close sonic relationships is everywhere here.
Leif is particularly excited about the DJ dates he has coming up, not least a live set with Tom in London over Christmas. Is he still able to manage his commitments to production and performance effectively? “It goes hand in hand” he replies. “DJing has always been something I’ve enjoyed immensely. I spend a lot of time buying and playing records so I’m always happy to make time for it. I get inspiration in the studio from the records I’m collecting so it really does go hand in hand.”
Leif’s DJ work has, of course, taken him well beyond Wales to the far-flung reaches of Tokyo via Hungary, France and Germany. What’s his view on the wider, international club scene? “It is saturated...but at the same time there is some amazing stuff out there” he offers. “It’s a mature, developed scene with some truly brilliant pieces of music to be found. As a DJ to be able to draw on such a wealth of material from the last 20 years or so is a really exciting prospect.”
There’s no prospect then (in reference to the naming of latest label venture) that his own musical heart will pack in anytime soon? “I’m really enjoying it [music] at the moment, so I’m just going to take my time, keep making music at my own pace and see what happens!” he exclaims. “I think that if you can remain lucid and receptive to new sounds, there’s no reason to lose your heart for it. Space is important now and again, for sure...I sometimes for a while without listening to or creating electronic music just to refresh my appreciation for it. But I am really enjoying everything right now....”
Leif concludes: “Music is a very important thing, and I feel blessed to be creating those pure moments of enlightenment and community, however small, when there’s so much change and crazy distortion in the world around us. I can’t pin-point an exact moment when music became everything to me, but growing up in Wales and discovering those outdoor parties for the first time...they’ve had a lasting effect. That’s when I really discovered my deep love for house and techno music.”
Words: Ben Lovett
Leif’s debut album Dinas Oleu is out now on Fear Of Flying via CD and double-vinyl. A digital release is set to follow, date TBA.
