We present an interview with the members of the project Future Engineers, which appeared here thanks to Mr Re:Soul—for which we are hugely grateful!
BCG: How often have you been playing at parties lately?
FE: Lately we have been DJing much more, ever since we returned to the scene with new tracks, and we are trying to improve our sound again. We played several times at Nookie’s ATMOSPHERE party in London, alongside people such as Marcus Intalex, Blu Mar Ten, Nookie and Big Bud. We are playing in Ukraine on December 9 and on the 16th in Birmingham, England, together with PFM, Makoto & Deeizm and Galaxy. In January we will be playing in Germany with Electrosoul System, and possibly at a party in Slovenia at the end of January.
BCG: What do you use to make music?
FE: When making music, we use various combinations of software and hardware. In the past we wrote using Cubase on a PC, but lately we have switched to a Mac with Logic 7; nevertheless, we still use both platforms for work. The PC is useful because we can easily try out new plug-ins on it, and if we like something, we buy it for the Mac. We are big fans of Spectrasonics software—they have never let us down! We still use our reliable, time-tested Roland JP-8000, which is excellent for practically anything if you set all the parameters correctly: basses, atmospheres, any kind of synthesized sound—just name what you need, and it is already there. We recently bought a Virus C module, whose full potential we have not yet explored, but we are sure we will get some very interesting and powerful sounds out of it! We connect all our equipment via MIDI, then use our MOTU 828 sound card to record everything as samples onto the computer, where we use the plug-ins.
BCG: What is the difference between the UK drum and bass movement of the ’90s and today?
FE: The scene is constantly developing. I think music is much more dancefloor-oriented now, and I feel it has become a little faster and harder. At the moment there are several great styles in drum and bass, with a huge number of possibilities for producers, so you do not have to be tied to one particular style if you do not want to be. New technologies, such as the Internet and the home PC, have enabled DJs and producers to make quality tracks at home and send them through services such as AOL Instant Messenger and MySpace directly to their favorite musicians. They can then use CD decks and Serato Live to record those tracks for their set at the last minute before a performance, without paying huge sums for dubplates and without waiting for the track to be released on vinyl. Technology is definitely helping music develop very quickly today.
BCG: Why did you call your project “Future Engineers”?
FE: I remember hearing the words “Future” and “Engineers” in one of the episodes of The X-Files. We thought both words sounded appropriate for what we wanted to do and achieve. We have always liked the world of science fiction and all kinds of futuristic things.
BCG: Which of your tracks do you consider the best?
FE: It is very difficult for me to single out one particular track of ours, because we have so many tracks that we like for different reasons. But the latest material we released on the 720 degrees label would probably qualify: Momentum, Organism, Changes in State, Rogue Comet, Echo-Location… These tracks took us to a new level in terms of sound and production.
BCG: Your “Technetium EP” is a true masterpiece. Please tell us about how it was made.
FE: By the time the tracks ‘Spyglass’ and ‘Source Code’ were released, they were actually a year and a half old. They were originally supposed to appear on another 720 release. But because of the restructuring of GLO (Good Looking), when Blame left the label, it was decided that we would release these tracks as part of an EP on 720. ‘Technetium’ and ‘Vanishing Point’ had already been written, and all these tracks fitted together perfectly for an EP. I remember that at the time we worked day and night writing music, and could afford the luxury of devoting a great deal of time to a single track. ‘Technetium’ took us about a month to write; we worked on it for long hours every day. This was before we started using software to write drum parts. Back then we had to separate and compress the kicks and snares, record them onto DAT tapes in that form, and only then record them onto our sampler. It consumed an enormous amount of time! We were still learning production and mixdown technique, which, in fact, you can study constantly. You can always find something new in it for yourself.
BCG: Why did you choose a career as musicians over other options?
FE: We grew up surrounded by music. Our fathers played in rock bands in the ’60s and ’70s, so we were always part of that environment. And they encouraged our desire to make music. We both currently work full-time and make music in our spare time; it is a hobby for us. Although we would very much like to earn enough money to be Future Engineers around the clock again! At the end of this year we are launching our new website. We have many forthcoming releases and parties, and we have received a lot of positive feedback about our new material. We are not going to rush things.
BCG: Describe your first achievement in drum and bass.
FE: Our first achievement in drum and bass was the night we played at a party before LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad performed, sometime around 1995–96 in Glasgow. We had not had a release by that point, but we gave them the track ‘The Silence’ on a DAT tape. This marked the beginning of our friendship with Danny and GLO. The party was fantastic; it was one of the best Bukem sets I have ever heard. At the end of the party, people gave him a standing ovation!
BCG: What do you value most about drum and bass?
FE: We love the energy contained in drum and bass, and the element of surprise! I really love House music, but with it you almost always know in advance which beat is going to come next. In drum and bass you can really shake everything up and mix it around, always approaching the music from a different angle. There are so many unexplored styles within it!
BCG: Which features and approaches in music-making do you consider uniquely yours?
FE: We have always tried to combine heavy with light, bright with dark, and mix styles so that they stand out against one another while also complementing each other. This is happening more and more often now, and as a result many new styles have emerged. We want to continue writing music that moves the dancefloor while also being enjoyable to listen to at home. Something a little emotional and substantial, because we constantly feel that we can no longer write the musical, deep tracks we would like to. Some people do not like that now. And our music also has to reach a broader audience. We updated our sound for 2006, but still retained some of our distinctive trademarks and approaches, thanks to which people can always recognize us. You have to rediscover yourself and update your sound from time to time in order to stay ahead.
BCG: How long does it usually take you to write a track?
FE: It depends on the track itself. We can write some in a few days, while others may require a great deal of time. It depends on how complicated the mixdown turns out to be—how many instruments and sounds are involved in the composition. We can give plenty of examples of very simple tracks becoming highly successful.
BCG: What are your biggest concerns about drum and bass?
FE: Previously, the scene was very narrow and closed off because of the different camps and styles, and it was difficult for new musicians to break through to them or gain recognition. Now everyone knows each other, as the scene has developed considerably by this point. Anyone with access to the Internet can break through and draw people’s attention to their work.
I think the emergence of MP3-download labels is a very good thing, as this is a very convenient format for people to buy. It saves labels a large part of the money that would usually be spent on vinyl production. This means that a label can now decide to release a track in MP3 with less risk to itself. After all, on vinyl, labels will release only tracks aimed at the dancefloor, because they know perfectly well that this is the only thing that sells and can cover their expenses.
My only concern about this is that, because of how easy it is to copy, the digital format gives music too easy access to information. I hope that people who buy music will support the musicians they respect. They will pay a very small price when buying MP3 music through official websites, thereby supporting the scene. I would like to ask producers who make music and think otherwise: how can we continue making the music we love if nobody pays us for it?
BCG: What are your predictions for the development of drum and bass in the near future?
FE: I am sure that a lot of good things will happen in drum and bass in the near future. Many new musicians and styles are emerging now. I can see that a new style of drum and bass is gaining momentum and breaking through to the forefront, defining the main stream: acts such as Pendulum are writing really great music! Their level of production is very high, and they always make a splash on the dancefloor. They do not take it seriously, they are not afraid to fool around and mix different styles!
Personally, we want to continue creating our own sound, taking our music to a new level, working with different musicians on joint projects, experimenting with various styles, and making remixes. Most importantly, we want to bring our music to as many people as possible. We hope people will enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoy writing it. Then our music will say everything for us…
Text: re:soul. Translated from the Russian version.
