Syz Mix
Journeying from Brighton to Bristol and now residing in London, Syz (Oli Samways) has an impressive back catalogue of sounds and is here to take over Tapes #59.
With releases on Method Lab and Pressure Dome, a sell-out EP on Control Freak Recordings, a single track release on Shanti Celeste and Gramrcy’s esteemed Peach Discs, and more. It’s no surprise that he’s an artist that has rightfully earned respect and support of many revered artists including Mary Anne Hobbs, Pearson Sound, Danielle, Zenker Brothers & Peverelist to name a few.
All of his tracks are defined by intricate and percussive rhythms often with off-kilter rhythms. In many of his releases – and particularly with his Mindforms release – you can hear how he expertly builds his tunes with big, ethereal pads and textures, offering a range of tracks for home listening, as well as for the rave. The Bunzunkunzun EP demonstrates his capability of creating tracks that are solely crafted for the dance. Rest assured there is a healthy stream of forthcoming releases from Syz and if you get a chance to see him playing on a dance floor, expect big percussive beats, headstrong pumpers, and certified dancefloor mayhem.
Tracklist
Davis Galvin - Crust Shift
Primal Code - AI Calculator (Prior Remix)
Polygonia - Quisanea
Kincaid - On Hands
London Dodgers - Down Down Bizznizz (Darqwan Remix)
Primitive Urges - B1
Jeigo - Vision Quest
Dustin Zahn - Lucid Dreams
Debba - Direction
Oliver Ho & James Ruskin - Mutate
Mafou - Evom
Oscean - Austraal
Persuasion - Nightingale
Atrice - Solera
2562 - Techno Dread
Oscean - Spiral
Rings of Saturn - Grip
Mata Disk - Surrounder
Thibault - Xupid Coven
Primal Code - Nanotecna
Nature Unit - Nature 2
Hey Syz! How are things? Why don’t you start by introducing yourself?
Things are good! Spring has sprung and I’m sat in sunny East London where I’ve been living for the best of two years. Prior to the pandemic, I lived in Bristol for 6 years after growing up in Brighton. Having lived in both Brighton and Bristol I’ve been exposed to the many forms of soundsystem/UK dance music which is where my production naturally tends to gravitate towards - techno-leaning UK sounds.
Tell us a bit about this mix - Where was it recorded? Favourite track inside?
This mix is an amalgamation of lots of new music I’ve found or been sent recently. Some theme’s here would be percussion and groove. This was prepped at home and recorded at Pirate in Tottenham. Hard to choose from this bunch but I’d say my favourite track is something I was sent by Polygonia called ‘Quisanea’. It’s 4x4 - the polyrhythmic groove is just infectious and I can’t get enough. She’s a seriously talented producer, all her stuff is mint. This one is out soon on Buenos Aires-based label THE CODE.
Let’s chat about your productions! You recently put out a track on the latest femme culture compilation titled ‘Purify’. What was the inspiration behind this one?
I wrote this at the start of January, after a spring of optimism about the year ahead which is quite rare to have during that time of the year. I was lucky to have a creative spurt to keep me busy in a usually solemn month. Elkka had asked me to contribute a track to the compilation, which was raising for UN Women and their Safe Spaces Now programme (which looks to create safe public spaces for all women and girls) as well as their Ukrainian relief efforts - delivering on the ground for women and those at risk. I was honoured she asked me to do this as it’s a cause I can completely get behind.
The track features vocals from my partner Millie Wood-Downie. She’s the biggest feminist/advocate for equality I know so it made sense to get her involved. We’ve worked on audio projects before (we were commissioned by the BBC to create a spoken-word audio piece), but never made some intentionally for the dance. I wanted to focus on groove for this so the drums are quite intricate, and also aimed to focus on the musicality of the track, adding ethereal chords that had refreshing energy to them, which is also reflected in the lyrics.
You also featured on that Keplrr remixes record on Control Freak Recordings! Such a good record. How did you approach reconstructing his track, ‘Esoteric Functions’?
This is one of my favourite of Izaks tracks > the sound design and originality of this track I’ve always gravitated towards. After listening a few times and upping the tempo during a mix one time, it sounded really nice around 140bpm. It was then I envisioned it having a nice half snare and some big steppy drums. When I sat down with the stems they were very fun to play with, as the sound design was so well produced, that I got promising results fairly quickly. After twisting and turning and generally merking some of the sounds, it was clear the direction I was going in. A big twisted techno stepper hybrid!
What’s going down at Kristina Records later today??
I have invited some of my fav DJs on the circuit at the moment for an in-store session at the treasure trove that is Kristina. I’ll be joined by DJ Winggold, Manami and FYI Robyn, plus some special guests in the store on the day (oioi). We will be rolling from 5-10:30ish. They sell lush beers and wines, the music will be great, and there's plenty of digging to do there so this should essentially be the pre-drink of dreams. We plan to head down to 10 Years of Livity Sound at Fabric after for a rave up.
Got any releases lined up to spill the beans about?
The Mindforms release I self-released during the pandemic is getting a full re-press on a label I work very closely with. Following on from this we are doing a 5 track remix 12” to accompany it. There’s remixes from 4 of my fav producers right now and I can’t wait for the world to hear it. I’m really proud of this one, I’ve also done a VIP mix of one of my own tracks for the remix EP. As well as this I have a new solo 4 track EP coming out on a label that was formed in Bristol but now Berlin-based (dessert themed name?). I am finishing this one up as we speak and think this one will do damage in the dance for sure.
Describe your dream studio setup.
To be honest, I already have it! I have just moved into a studio space in Hackney Wick. Keydell and Son Of Phillip are currently slaving away up there building it. They’ve ripped out the room and are completely treating it properly and kitting it out with lots of decent gear. I am mostly in the box when it comes to production, so moving into a shared studio is going to open up a lot of doors for me in terms of a hands-on approach to production and using the space to create and collaborate. Once the studio is fully up and running the space will be used for hire as well and they want to create a music ‘hub’ there for the community. Just need a few plants in there as well then I’ll be in my element!
Quickfire: Top 3 DJs/producers to watch in 2022
Yushh world domination. Bailey Ibbs. A producer called Thibault sent me a bundle of stuff recently and I am obsessed!
Favourite type of Pho?
A big dutty spicy beef number will sort me out nicely.
Track to run up a huge hill to?
Thanks for being a part of the Tapes series!