Kassian Mix
Joining us for Tapes #102 is Kassian. Since launching in 2019, Kassian have released records on Heist, Phonica Records and Shall Not Fade, evolving their sound from groove laden House towards more leftfield threads of Techno and UK Bass.
Their new label Faux Poly - that launched early in 2022 - playing host to 3 self-releases that have all been highly praised and supported by many key artists in the UK dance scene and beyond.
TRACKLIST
Kassian - Patterns
Kassian - Metropolis (Warren Xclnce Remix)
Aleksandir - Momus
Waleed - Se Rompen
Pangaea - Hole Away
Rax & Alfa - The Cycle (Kalbata Remix)
INVT - POLVO
Kassian - Tabla
Kassian - X-303
ItaloJohnson 16B2
Unknown - Untitled - a1
No Sir - Sibling Rivalry
Coni - Flip
DJ ADHD - Wobble 4x4
INVT - SENSACIÓN
Kassian - Hollow
Hey both! Hope you’re good and great to have you on the series. Can you start by introducing yourself?
We are Joe and Warren aka Kassian, we’ve been producing together for years and we run a label called Faux Poly.
Tell us a bit about this mix. Favourite track inside?
We kicked off the mix off with our latest single Patterns, which comes out this week on !K7 Records. This track is quite special to us as it’s the first thing we’ve made ‘live’ with hardware, something we intend to do more regularly from now on.
What’s the ideal setting to listen to it?
In the car on your way to your next festival.
Talk to us about the launch of your new label, Faux Poly; which you’re also running as a club night. How would you describe your sound?
It’s just interesting club music. We started the label because we’re chasing a specific mood that we can’t really find anywhere else. It’s a mix of UK bass, techno, UKG, Electro and anything else really. We don’t tend to stick to one specific genre in our sets and we want the label to reflect that. Ultimately it’s club music with a strong sense of groove and depth of sound, just like our Kassian release. We don’t want to confine it too much, instead we’ll let the label define itself as it evolves.
What does your studio set up look like? Do you have a particular piece of hardware/synth etc. that features a lot in your music?
We have slowly built up a pretty decent collection of machines over the years! We’ve just moved our studio to Tottenham and now we make new ideas using only hardware. Once we’ve settled on the ideas we want to finish we get it into the computer and keep going from there. We’re not purists when it comes to hardware or software, whatever gets the job done in the moment is good enough. The Roland System 1 is the synth we’ve had the longest and know the best, so it’s featured pretty heavily in quite a lot of our music. The acid line in our new single X-303 was made on the System 1.
Who are your main musical influences? Can be dance music or non-dance music related.
We’re really inspired by a whole range of things. Our studio sessions usually start with us catching up about what's been recently inspiring us and that can sometimes snowball into some form of idea creation. At the moment we’re both reading a few books, RIck Ruben’s ‘The Creative Act’ has some pretty profound insights into process and workflow, and we recently bought shawn reynaldo’s ‘Reflections on Electronic Music Culture’. Definitely worth checking out. Musically it’s quite hard to answer as we’re both listening to so much all the time.
What’s next in the pipeline for Kassian - any upcoming gigs or releases to mention?
After the label party at NT’s Loft we’re heading to Croatia to play at Love International for the first time, we can’t wait! Following that we’re also playing with our label mate Jay Carder at Madruga festival in Wales, it’s the same site as Freerotation so we think it’s going to be a really special one.