Hungarian D&B legend Chris.SU gears up to launch his own Fate imprint with a double A side featuring the vocal talents of Mira on a main-room roller and a stomping collaboration with Kiwi duo State of Mind. We caught up with the man to quiz him about his plans for the label and his favourite releases from the past decade.
DNB Dojo: You’ve got quite the discography going back over 10 years with releases on pretty much all the best labels in the tech/neuro scene. Why did you choose to start your own imprint now?
Chris.SU: I wanted to have an extra platform for my own releases so I could decide what track comes out and when. It also gives me extra inspiration that I’m fully responsible for the output to be released on FATE Recordings. I think in every aspect of life the key is trying to take small steps forward, so for me this was a natural next step in my music career. I’ve seen the good and the bad side of the D&B scene over the 13 years I have been active, so I thought: why not try doing it ‘my way’?
DD: Hungary’s D&B output seems stronger than ever with yourself, Mindscape and Jade at the top of your game. How has the scene changed over the years? Any new producers on the rise we should know about?
CS: We’ve got a quite old D&B scene in Hungary, with parties being organised since 1996. Production-wise around 2003-2005 the Hungarian scene became quite exciting I think. Some people say it was a specific ‘Hungarian Sound’ back in those days. Since then some of the producers like DJ Madd or Matt-U have switched to Dubstep and some of them, like SKC, stopped making tracks. But there are always new talents trying to break through. Magical Gravity and Incident have great potential and Klay is making some tracks supported by DJ Hype on Kiss FM for example. I always say to the new producers that the key is to work hard and not to make music for the fame, girls, or whatever reasons, but only for the love and passion for the music, and if you’re patient enough, you’ll get there where you deserve to be.
DD: The first release lined up for FATE sees you teaming up with State of Mind. Given their base in New Zealand, how did that come about? Were you guys physically together in the studio?
CS: I first met the State of Mind guys back in 2006 when I was on tour in NZ with Concord Dawn and Matty C introduced them to me. Our friendship has lasted since then and we did The Burning in my studio with Stu when he was on his European Tour. I always prefer being physically together in the studio but I did my collaborations with Nymfo over the internet.
DD: Many of your tunes (including Together In The Night) bridge the gap between the heavier beats and bass of neurofunk D&B and the more melodic elements of the liquid scene. Was it a conscious choice to evolve a style that blended the two styles, or just the way you found your sound evolving?
CS: The philosophy of FATE Recordings is “fat beats with emotions” so it was a conscious choice to take that path with the sound. Friction said in his radio show on BBC Radio 1 that Together in the Night is a tune you can play on the radio or at a rave and it’ll work in both environments and this is something I wanted to achieve. You can make bangers but some of them won’t make any sense if you listen to it at home. I guess you can call it a new sub-genre…”Heavy Liquid”? 🙂
DD: Beyond the release of the first single, what can we expect from FATE in 2013 and beyond?
CS: I haven’t planned anything else for 2013 but in 2014 you can expect an EP with probably a few more vocal tunes on it. I have just released Guardian Angel with MC Fedora on Subtitles UK and I’m planning to make more tunes with her, and also with Mira, and I’m planning to make more collaborations with my friends around the globe like Nymfo, State of Mind and, of course, fellow Hungarians Mindscape and Jade.
DD: The past few years have seen an increase in the number of D&B producers releasing solo albums. Is this something you’re interested in, or do you prefer the single/EP format?
CS: A solo album is definitely on the cards but first I wanted to have a few singles and EPs out to familiarize people with FATE Recordings and what sort of sound they can expect in the future. Every beginning is difficult and I don’t want to rush out anything. For an album a lot of planning is required as the timing needs to be perfect.
DD: Of all your past releases, what’s your favourite and why? I think for me it would be between Solaris Theme VIP and First Snow, though it’s a tough choice!
CS: It’s tough to pick one from your own tracks having listened to them a million times but Solaris Theme VIP and First Snow have to be two of my most complete tracks to date. I also still like Deeper with State of Mind, Changing Slowly from my times with Tactile, and my remix of Bjork’s All is Full of Love 🙂
Check out the single below and watch out for the release from October 21st.