Mistic, Head Honcho At Dark Wax
Mistic is blowing up quite rapidly. With support from DJSS signing him on Formation Records and Goldie supporting his music, his sound and music is world class. We get in touch to find out why..
Thank you for taking time out to talk to us. Your release on Formation Records really caught my ears, the tracks are wicked!
What are your earliest music memories?
Being on stage as a baby, watching my dad play the drums with his band (Aswad).
Tell us about your origins in dnb and your journey?
I first started off as a MC in the mid to late 90s, I then started playing around with my friends’ turntables and I got hooked. I also bugged my dad for money to buy my first DJ setup for my birthday (Soundlab belt drives, of course) and I started doing radio shows and a few gigs here and there.
I always wanted to make jungle / dnb but didn’t know where to begin so I started slowly trying to build my own studio. I was introduced to a guy called DJ Sweetleaf who has a really nice studio and we started making tunes around 1998. I also met another guy called Cable through some good friends of mine and he showed me a program called Reason 1.0; I was blown away. Once I got a copy, I started making my own tunes and I knew it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In 2004, I started my own label (Dark Wax Recording) and my journey in the industry started there.
What are you making music on, your DAW and any specific bits of kit that you love?
Today, I use Ableton Live 10 for production and Studio One 4 for mastering. In terms of kit that I love, hardware-wise, it has to be Berhringer Neutron and Roland JX-8P for basslines, Deepmind 12 and Juno 60 for pads and keys. Software-wise, it has to be Sylenth1 and Nexus 3. For mixing and mastering, it has to be Fabfilter bundle and Izotope Ozone 8 Advanced.
What have been your biggest gigs to date?
Probably, the lunch party for Dark Wax, as we sold out the Mass Club with our first event. I would also say opening for Faithless twice; both events were amazing.
Who and what inspires you in life?
Definitely my family, and now my 1-month old daughter.
Top 3 favourite producers?
Dillinja, Noisia, Photek.
Where are you based at the moment?
South London.
If I gave you £10,000 what would you do with it and why?
I would upgrade my monitoring system with some ATC speakers. The reason why is because no matter how good your equipment is, the monitors are what tells you what is really going on.
What's been your biggest musical achievement to date?
It has to be my remix of ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’, which I did with my friend as Kotu. Seeing a video of Goldie playing it for his last track blew me away and seeing his response to the drop was priceless.
The support has been out of this world and I have to thank Randall and Goldie for putting me officially on the Jungle/DnB map.
Tell us about what you like to do in your spare time.
I love traveling around the world for no reason other than to just see different places and meet people. I also love taking long drives.
Where would you like to be in 5 years time?
Definitely playing more gigs; I feel like I haven’t played out enough for the skill level that I think I have and the tunes I produced. I also plan on having constant releases.
Do you make any other genres of music or is it all just dnb for you?
I have produced a number of pop artists and I produce Hip-Hop, RnB, Drill and House. I occasionally do mixing and mastering for Sony Music and do sound design for animation.
If you were stuck on a desert island and could only listen to one tune, what would it be and why?
Boogie Times Tribe - Dark Stranger, when I first heard it on the radio ( I taped it on cassette) I couldn’t stop rewinding it, I was obsessed with the drum pattern, bassline and sound effects, I kept thinking to myself how the hell did they do that, I can officially say this tune turned me into a Junglist.
What's coming up for you in 2020 and beyond?
I have some more releases lined up for Formation Records and a few gigs lined up, if all goes to plan. I have so much more new music to share over the coming months and a few more naughty remixes.
Thanks for your time, any shouts and thanks?
I have to thank my mum for supporting me till this day and letting me have my studio in her house. My dad for inspiring me as a musician. My girlfriend for the motivation. My manager for all the hard work he has put in. DJ SS for the crazy support. DJ Randall for being one of the first big DJ’s to play my music. And Missrepresent for this interview and letting me play on Aftershock Radio and gigs back in the day.
Big up - that was a long time ago and so happy you are smashing it still now! All the best for 2020 and beyond!!
Interview by Missrepresent Jan 2020
Mistic Facebook Here
Mistic Instagram Here
Mistic Soundcloud Here
