Take an obsession with analog hardware, an eclectic record-buying history and a love of Detroit and you end up with Vin Sol; a producer hailing from San Francisco who eschews the stereotype West Coast flavour of house music in favour of a self-confessed rougher and altogether weirder sound.
This week he releases the ‘Space Relations EP’ on Defected sub-label Tenth Circle; two tracks of square bass, acid hooks and frenetic drum programming. Here, Sol gives us a bit of an insight into his musical world.
You’ve previously said that breakbeat was your first entry into ‘dance’ music… what made you start experimenting with more 4/4 structured sounds?
With music I have always been a big "collector", from tapes, to records to studio equipment. The early music I was involved in making was very sample based, you know MPC beats and such.
Collecting records it has always been hard for me to stay in one place for too long, so over time I went from picking up jazz, funk, and rare groove to picking up disco 12"s. I got really caught up in the disco thing and started to sample those records, make edits and all that. During that period I was DJing quite a bit and making some decent pay and decided to throw down and get a Roland TR-909 and from that point there was no turning back.
A lot of people would associate the West Coast with more soulful house; were you exposed to much of that when you were growing up?
Ahh the West Coast house sound... that stuff has always been around but the stuff that I was drawn to was more in line with the Wicked crew (Garth, Jeno, Markie, Thomas). The records always seemed to be more psychedelic and rough...lots of Chicago and Detroit sounds and just plain weird records.
What kind of hard/software are you currently running? Any particular favourites?
My studio is pretty crammed with gear these days. Current I am running Ableton, an Akai MPC 2500 which sends out a start stop signal to an Future Retro sequencer which then sends Din-Sync to a Kenton din splitter box which then links to numerous pieces of kit like all of the Roland Drum machines, TB-303, etc and those machines then go out to trigger other synths. Pretty convoluted right?
I recently got the Kenton Din Sync splitter box and I am loving it. It has made it easier to get the machines to speak to each other. It is a very different way to make music but for me it makes it more hands on and less staring into the computer screen which is great. I definitely feel like by working in this fashion I can come up with very unique yet classic sounds.
How do you make your records sound so chunky? Tips please…
Like I said I use mostly all analog gear like synths and drum machines. I use a mixer with proper send/return and run hardware effects thru, sometimes I use guitar pedals (I quite like the Moog ones). Sometimes I also use my Eventide effect unit or even the Space Echo. By making the sounds away from the computer you will get that "chunky" sound, but it is double edged sword. I end up spending so much time trying to take the mud out of those sounds because often there is too much low end and noise. That being said it's totally worth it. I mean is there anything better than a chugging analog square bass tone?
What for you has been some of the most inspiring music you’ve heard this year, the kind of stuff people should run out and buy now if they haven’t heard it?
There really has been so much great underground music coming out this year; a ton of great New Jersey and New York inspired stuff. Many spectacular homages to classic Mid-Western sounds and some real futuristic stuff as well. I think people should go out and get the Huerco S EP on Future Times, the Trevino - Another Lifetime EP , Derrick Carter's remix of Work That Big Booty, some Local Talk records (too many good ones to list), my partner in Soo Wavey Records Matrixxman's ep on Fifth Wall and of course the L.I.E.S stuff.
Tell us about your EP on Tenth Circle… how did it come about? Any particular inspiration behind the tracks?
I was approached to do something and I sent over a bunch of New Jersey inspired stuff that I was working on at the time. Greg at Tenth Circle had told me he really liked my record on Unknown To The Unknown and so I went in on some jacking acid tunes and really tried to make my own take of something in between 1987 Chicago vibes, Dance Mania and West Coast Psychedelia. I locked myself away for a while and then next thing I knew we were releasing the record.
What’s the single piece of solid-gold advice that has stayed with you throughout your music-making career?
Make the music that you feel and don't stop.
Anything else you’d like to tell us about?
Along with the Tenth Circle EP everyone should go out and get the Sade edits 12" from Matrixxman and myself before they are gone. Everyone also keep up with Soo Wavey Records next release coming up real soon .. Vin Sol featuring Tyree Cooper - It's House. It's already getting support from the likes of Jimpster, Len Faki, Tiga, Breach and more.
Vin Sol ‘Space Relations EP’ is out now on Tenth Circle – buy from Beatport
