Fissure Price Interview

I recently came across another young producer from the U.K who has an interesting name, one that isn’t hard to forget since they made every single toy we played with when we were kids! But, I assure you that’s not the only reason you’ll be remembering his name. Fissure Price has some great dark deep vibes spilling through his tracks. It isn’t hard to tell that this former percussionist has his drum breaks on lock, I wish more producers would chop it up and carry out different arrangements through their tunes like he does…you’ll soon hear what I mean. So start/download “Somebody’s Knocking At My Door” and by the time you get done mellowing out to this track, there will be two more free downloads for you at the end, including a nasty Magic Mash Remix that will make you want to throw babies out of moving cars… I knew you’d like that line Yaz

Fissure Price – Somebody’s Knocking At My Door by DUBliminalCOM

>>Name/Age/location?

My name is Yah-wan McClelland-Scott, I’m 19 and I’m currently situated in East London. I must acknowledge the fact that most of my progression through Dubstep production was spent in my home county Devon, situated in the Southwest of England. Shout out to the Deep End cr

>>Where did you first hear dubstep, what track was it, and what was
your reaction?

I think it was like midway through secondary school that I first stumbled upon a late night Radio mix on a Hobbs show, partly due to my close friend banging on about this new slow, dark, brooding electronic music that seemed a little more cerebral than your standard Drum ‘n’ Bass. I can’t recall the first track that I heard on the show, but I do remember the first tune in the mix that stood out for me was ‘Strength’ by L-Wiz. The sensation was as if someone had temporarily replaced my spine with a cold, old spaghetti strand… Bizarre, but nonetheless absolutely absorbing.

>>How long have you been making it and what did you produce before
dubstep came along?

I’ve been making Dubstep for roughly 3 years now but before that I was heavily in to Glitchy electronica along the lines of Autechre, Plaid, Nathan Fake and Boom Bip, but also the distorted and dramatic sonority of Alec Empire, Speedy J and Techno animal. My previous productions followed a pattern and style that accommodated both these previous tastes and took them as far as was possible for me at the time.

>>Are you a producer or DJ first?

Producer first most definitely, started at the age of 11 when I and my close mate used to take basic lessons on sequencing and song structuring from a local musician with Apple Macintosh. Djing has only become a prominent part of my practice since late last year, but I aim to utilise the performance space as a tool to excel me forwards for the future.

>>Why the name Fissure Price?

Man I knew a question like this would come up, I don’t know exactly what I was thinking about to be honest. I guess the best way to contextualise it would be to cite the ridiculously stupid comments and reactions that people have to heavy gritty Dubstep. Just all that absurdity surrounding the fact that some idiot feels like punching an endangered Dolphin after hearing something makes me giggle. Anyway I decided to pick a kind of ironic name owing to its connection with childish toys and contraptions plus the replacement of the original fisher with fissure was relevant because of the word fissure’s association with grooves in material, which I linked to musical grooves and such… I’m really milking this dry to be honest haha.

>>What is your current setup (gear/software)?

I just use my 2 year old Advent laptop with Acid Pro 7 software as my main sequencer. My first monitor was a Behringer Truth: B2031A but I recently moved on to a Yamaha HS80M. In terms of mixing I just have a simple set up including x2 Citronic MPCD-S6’s and a Stanton M.212 mixer. I sometimes bring out my Edirol UA4-fx to record vocals and stuff too.

>>What do you think makes dubstep stand out from all the other genres?

For me there is something about Dubstep that sooths a listener into engaging with the given space of the 140bpm sparse drum patterns and modulating sub basses. It demands a more analytical process of listening and feeling, but can still be greatly enjoyed from an elemental and sensual perspective of music reception. Its malleability is very intriguing and promising for the future of the genre also, the phenomenon could have suffered from a short lived burn of the flame but I feel that its ability to fuse so lucidly with other styles is quite inspiring.

>>How would you describe your sound?

Well because of my musical background I have what I hope is quite a distinct representation of Dubstep and my idiosyncratic but core influences. I grew up around a lot of West African traditional compositions and learnt to play the Djembe drum from early on in childhood. Then moving on from the Djembe I took up playing kit drums after watching an awesome short film called ‘One Flat for Six Drummers’ and joined various bands which usually took influence from Blues, Funk and Progressive rock groups. So I guess my Dubstep is kind of funky, meticulously patterned and affecting.

>>Where do you see dubstep going in 2010?

It’s kind of already starting to revert back to its Garage roots in small cases like Scuba and others on Hotflush recordings etc, but has also been creeping in to the mainstream mindset. Personally I’m not a fan of the mainstream clean lacklustre remix style that has emerged in the last 2 years. Taking in to account the growing popularity with Dubstep blogging and a communal ethic towards music making and sharing, I see it crossing even more borders and hopefully ascertaining the link with the America’s growing Low End Theory scene. Blog spaces like ‘Not Strictly Dubstep’ show a constructive and mindful approach to incubating the transformation and evolution of the genre, so it looks hopeful.

>>What are your plans for the future?

I’ve been signed to Crazy Rabbit recordings for more than a year now so I’ve pumped out a lot of releases through them. They’re available on most notable music download sites like Junodownload, ITunes, Beatport and Amazon etc. My internet presence is growing nicely and simple things like, finding your track in people’s mixes or uploaded on YouTube is quite rewarding in a sense. So logically my future plans are to approach other labels and crews to push for vinyl releases and to fully immerse myself in the Djing scene. I’m a session percussionist as well so I have sideline projects with acoustic live acts which are slowly becoming incorporated with my knowledge of modern electronic music programming and sequencing. The two musical avenues are cooperating nicely and feeding off each other in the most effective way, which keeps me naturally inspired for each performance or production session.

>>What has been your favorite experience so far as Fissure Price?

It would definitely have to be reaching #1 in the Junodownload Dubstep chart. That was incredible and being one of my first releases (therefore pretty ropey), I was naturally a bit dumbstruck haha. Also being featured on Bare Noizes new ‘Stronger than the dollar mix’… Good times, but there’s definitely more to come.

>>Who is your favorite dubstep artist?

It has to be Lebelgeelectrod for me at the moment, one third of the Ganja White Night group. He just seems to have pooled all the gifts of Dubstep production, including a penchant for not being strictly Dubstep. Immense producer!!!

>>If you could play one festival what would it be?

Warwick folk festival blatantly! Just to wake the pseudo hippy hordes from their hazy stupor and beard indulgent music.

>>Advice for up and coming dubstep producers?

Don’t try and seek too much inspiration from the genre itself, try and translate your appreciation of another genre in to what you’re making. It can work wonders.

>>Anything you’d like to add?

Just keep the platonic love a flowing for what essentially is an evolution in British music. Thanks to all supporters and anyone who’s sat reading this and thinking “I know that guy”. I aim to be in a club near you soon. Take it easy.

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Magic Mash- Continue (Fissure Price Remix) by DUBliminalCOM

Fissure Price – Lusus Naturae by DUBliminalCOM