M&A #02: George

George is a DJ and producer who has been around the Cambridge scene for a while. He and Oli Taylor (who also has an upcoming mix in the series) have graced the decks at every Turf for a while now, sharing the controls with the likes of Peach, Shanti Celeste and Chaos in the CBD. Here, he takes us away from the usual club sound, showcasing ambient music at its finest before working up to a percussive finale. This mix is a masterpiece, and is definitely not one to miss.

How did you record the mix?

I actually recorded it on a numark controller with a recently downloaded free trial of serato pro, which is quite uncool. 
[Editor note: George appears to be a rare case of all the idea but no gear. Shows you don't need expensive kit to make music]

What were you trying to do with the mix?

I guess I was trying to tie together a few disparate styles I’ve been into recently, starting with a decent amount of ambient and slowly building the rhythm with omre experimental-ish stuff, so that it keeps your interest without being too full on or too clubby.

Abstract/Ambient is a style of electronic music that’s common to find at the beginning of mixes or early on in DJ sets, to set a scene for what is to come. Yet, it plays a starring role here. How did you come across this genre and what about it caught your attention?

I first got into that sort of thing about a year ago, I found a label called Astral Industries that I liked and just went from there exploring their releases and related things. I realised that a lot of the time when I was searching for club music I’d skip through tracks and not really listen properly before deciding whether to add them to a playlist and then download/buy, which is a pretty boring way to engage with music. With ambient stuff I was less inclined to skip through, I’d enjoy properly listening to it. I think it naturally invites a bit more patience and thought than standard club music, which I like. It's just quite nice.

How do you go about looking for new music? Do you spend hours on discogs, YouTube, listening to other DJs or do you prefer to get your fingers dusty and sift through the racks of a record store?

My record buying has dried up mainly due to a lack of money, but discogs is still really good for digging. At the moment I mainly find stuff on youtube and then I’ll look at the other releases by the label or artist on discogs, and then jump around on related artists or labels and have a listen. I do also love a good NTS show though.

One of the tracks you feature is unreleased, could you talk a bit about that and how you found that and were able to use it here?

That’s actually something I made myself so thanks for asking and giving me this free promotion, I’ve been meaning to send some music out to labels and try and release something properly but I’m terribly lazy at the same time.

What is your musical guilty pleasure?

I used to be really into Blink-182 and the pop punk thing when I was younger, and I secretly still enjoy it.

What is the last song you listened to?

 Rocky Mountain High by John Denver.

Who is your favourite producer/performer at the moment?

Ooh tough I guess I’d have to say Djrum is probably one of my favourite producers at the moment, he released a seriously cool album recently.

What is your go to tune to bring a party up/banger?

Probably Trance Sexual by Fantastic Man.

What was the best party you’ve played?

My favourite one was recently at Turf when me and Oli Taylor were playing the whole 5 hours, it gave us a chance to get heavier and weirder, and that sort of freedom was a lot of fun.

What have you got planned for the future?

Generally I have no idea, I need to finish this medical degree before I make any major plans. Music wise, I’m playing at the Substance night in 2648 on May 4th. I’m also hoping to put some music out on a friends label maybe in the near future which would be cool!

George’s Track List

[min] Artist - Title

[00] Uon - Bus

[03] DeepChord - Red Lantern part 3

[08] Uon - J

[12] Valentino Mora –Extravagante (Metaphysical Essence Mix)

[15] Sonmi451 - Vladivostok

[21] Gigi Masin - Ship Beetel

[25] Second Woman - Apart II

[28] Second Woman - //

[34] Bruce - Lets Make the Most Of Our Time Here

[36] Scratcha DVA, Gage - PIFFD

[40] Mumdance - The Sprawl

[43] M.E.S.H - Scythians

[47] Big Pink - Surgery Week 3 (unreleased)

[51] Rabit - Levels

[54] Al Tourrettes - Dodgem

[60] Orphan101 - Propa