REDEYES’ 'SELFPORTRAITS' LP - INTERVIEW & MIX
Due for release on the 11th September via The North Quarter, Redeyes’ fourth album may be some of his best and most honest work yet; a killer 10 track release featuring the likes of [ K S R ], Lovescene, DRS , DJ Flight and more.
We caught up with the pioneering drum and bass producer ahead of the release of ‘Selfportraits’ to discuss the creative process, the visuals, COVID, Outlook and more…
alongside, we’re excited to also share this exclusive mix! press play and read below…
Your upcoming release ‘Selfportraits’ is set to not only deliver your signature soulful sounds, but also a series of visuals, incorporating scenes and places which have meaning to you. We are really excited to see the visual side of the album, do you feel that the merging of music and film allows you to better experiment as an artist, and produce something which really speaks to your audience?
Since the beginning of my North Quarter adventure I've focused on creating a black and white vibe that captures the spirit of my influences with talented photographer and friend Lulah Da Curly. His photography is on the Broken Soul album cover and he did all my recent press shots. The original idea was to develop these images on a long video format to complete the storytelling of the album. Unfortunately due to time restrictions Lulah wasn't able to do it. In the end I decided why not do it alone; with rudimental equipment: just my phone, a decent app and a tripod. It felt like how writing music these days: you don't need much equipment it's affordable to everyone, pretty intuitive and easy. That same feeling I got making the visuals, I have zero background in filming and editing and barely watched tutorials. I wanted to keep things natural, just shoot one take, no messing with settings. I just focused on finding a good spot - something with meaning – getting a good angle and capturing something that was beautiful in my eyes: a mix of street poetry and natural settings. In the end, this movie is also a creative experience for me. After writing the album and the 'Coloured EP' with DRS, I felt that I needed a little break from writing music, but making these visuals, being exiting as it's totally new to me, satisfied my appetite for creativity.
The recent pandemic has really shaken the music industry, but many artists have kept on creating, continuing to keep us in touch with the music which makes us happy. How has the time in lockdown influenced your creativity and do you feel it has become more important to use music to connect us as a community ?
I'd like to think that my music speaks for me. I'm like everyone, I use a lot of social media, but I may be too bashful to really open myself through those medias, so I usually keep it simple. I've been really creative during lockdown. I think it's was ignited through the emotions I felt during the first days of lockdown: from being close to my kids, to the death of George Floyd, to the BLM protests: fear, panic, love, revolt, indignation… and music or art in general is the best tool to let express your emotions.
The North Quarter collective brings together artists with shared values to further its vision of delivering uniquely soulful drum and bass. ‘Selfportraits’ features fellow TNQ family members such as DRS, DJ Flight, Abnormal Sleepz and [ K S R ], each feature bringing an individual sound, a ‘self portrait’ of the artist. Has this made the collaborative process for this album unique and can you tell us about what it means to you to be part of this collective?
This is why it's called 'Selfportraits' and not “Self-portrait”; the music on this album and the message is 100% me, but I wanted to have the voice and testimony of people I respect, people I admire musically and as humans. DRS, DJ Flight, they are foundations, they are role-models. They have always been true to themselves. This collective has something unique; with values, solidarity, goodwill and love. We are all here to help each other to be better everyday, to make the best music with a really healthy competitiveness. It's like a family I always dreamed to be part of.
During the lockdown period you dropped the powerful ‘Coloured EP’, a project with DRS which responded to the death of George Floyd and the BLM protests. The ‘Selfportraits’ LP brings together soulful dnb with emotive spoken word and rap to provide messages of uplift. How important is it to you that your music engages with current issues in the world today and do you feel that Drum and Bass as a genre is able to speak to a narrative of social justice?
It has always been important to me, but perhaps I wasn't confident enough to talk about it through my music before. My music has always been a reflection of the Hip Hop I liked, through Drum and Bass. My tracks might not have had any words, but the emotions were there I hope I'd like to think Drum & Bass is a genre that is able to speak a narrative of social justice. I think all the arts, all other music genres are. Raves came from political acts, Drum and Bass was the ultimate fusion of all black music (dancehall, reggae, funk, soul, hiphop, jazz…) and all those genres came from the struggles of the black community. All music, all culture today comes from there or has been influenced by it, this must be recognised and we must be respectful. At some point you can't live on the benefits of a culture and keep silent when the originators are dying of social iniquity: “you can't have the rhythm without the blues”. I'm not under the pretence that my album will be changing people minds, I just hope it can be a message to all, that we all can be part of the change, by not being silent anymore.
Last year was your Outlook debut, joining the 1985 x TNQ takeover of the void, helping to deliver an unforgettable heavyweight session of DnB. With this years tours and festivals remaining cancelled, has the extra time allowed you to approach your music differently and what have you done to keep morale up in this situation?
Making music or being able to maintain creativity has kept me happy Being close to the ones I love keeps me happy. I do miss travelling and I miss DJing, but it's just temporary. People are dying out there, from Covid, from poverty, from racism… I'm thankful every day for what I've got and that I'm still able to make music.
selfportraits is released worldwide on september 11th 2020 - to listen / support, follow the button below.