Future Engineers is a name that needs no introduction - especially if you have been into atmospheric drum & bass for more than a while. The project is now run solely by Lee Batchelor. He was kind enough to spare us a bit of his time and answer a few questions we prepared in the form of an interview. Here are a few words on the current condition of the drum & bass scene, on inspirations, on the plans for the future, and on the mix recorded especially for atmoteka by the man himself.
:: Interview
atmoteka : Talking about the
‘here & now’, do you personally enjoy the course that drum & bass has
taken in recent years ?
Future Engineers : I think the drum and bass scene
is really healthy at the moment and has been for a long time. For me it’s still
the most exciting music to write, I don’t get the same buzz from producing
other styles of music.
atmoteka : Did you imagine drum
& bass to evolve the way it has ? Or are you actually more
surprised/disappointed/happy with the way things turned out ?
Future Engineers : It’s great how diverse the
scene is and a lot of producers and labels are releasing music across the full
spectrum of drum and bass.
atmoteka : As one of the
‘godfathers’ of the more techy atmospheric side of drum & bass, do you
think that there is a room for this type of drum & bass on the market of
today ?
Future Engineers : Godfathers? Haha. The scene
always tends to come round full circle, there’s always been a techy side to dnb
and new producers are incorporating the atmospheric sounds again, it just needs
to be updated to fit in with the latest production styles.
atmoteka : When you get
yourself ready to get down to producing music, do you listen to drum & bass
in search of inspiration, or do you rather look for input in other genres ?
Future Engineers : I do listen to other styles of
music for inspiration but I also think it’s important to keep your ear to the
ground in terms of what’s happening in the current drum and bass scene, what
styles are working in the clubs etc.
atmoteka : Would you agree with
the statement that today’s music market is more about quantity than quality ?
Future Engineers : There’s definitely more
quantity out there now due to accessibility and there’s less of a need for an
established label to act as a ‘Gate keeper’ therefore the quality control can
tend to suffer a bit.
It’s a level playing field now with
the Internet and the technology at your fingertips. There’s nothing to stop you
getting your music out there and promote yourself as long as you keep that
internal quality check at your highest standard.
atmoteka : As a ‘veteran’ of
the drum & bass industry, tell us if living off making drum & bass is
possible.
Future Engineers : Christ, I’m starting to feel
really old now! Lol. I personally don’t make a living from making music and I
guess it can depend on what style you make, how motivated and disciplined you
are to treat it as a full time job and really know the business side of things.
The Djing can definitely help if you have a good profile and an established
label.
atmoteka : Can you imagine
yourself producing any other type of music ? Have you actually ever tried your
hand at any other musical genres ?
Future Engineers : I think, as you get older your
taste in music matures and you want to experiment with new styles. There
certainly can be a benefit to writing other music so you have a fresh approach
to an idea when working at a slower tempo for example. I’ve written a few
non-dnb tracks in the past, but nothing that’s been released to date.
atmoteka : If you could name 5
albums that have been the biggest inspiration to you – off the top of your
head, what would they be ?
Future Engineers : I’m quite bad with naming
specific albums but in terms of producers, there’s been a handful that have
inspired our sound over the years like, Photek, PFM, Blame, Global
Communication, Teebee, Hybrid.
atmoteka : Are there any names
or labels on today’s drum & bass scene that you try to be up-to-date with ?
Future Engineers : A lot of the producers and
labels that feature on the mix are a good representation of the stuff I’m
feeling at the moment.
atmoteka : Recently
you've moved to Melbourne. Tell us about your life in Australia. Does
the new location have an influence on the music you produce ?
Future Engineers : I now live in Elwood near St
Kilda in Melbourne, which has a very similar
vibe to Brighton in the UK
where I stayed for 4 years. The drum and bass scene seems pretty healthy here;
there’s always nights going on with UK headliners coming over. There
are some wicked producers that are based here too like Safire and Nocturnal who
both represent the harder style of drum and Bass, so maybe their influence may
toughen up my sound a bit…
atmoteka : What are your plans
in terms of releases/music production for the nearest future, and what are your
plans regarding Transference Recordings ? Is there any solo album of yours to
finally see the light?
Future Engineers : I am currently getting the website rebuilt
and have a few new releases being finalized at the moment so I plan to have
things rolling before the end of the year. It’s too early to be specific but
I’m looking forward to getting the label moving again…
atmoteka : To sum up, could you
tell us a bit about your mix for atmoteka ?
I recorded
the set using Serato and I feel with the mix I’ve kind of gone full circle in
terms of the selection. The majority of the tracks are released and cover the
spectrum of artists and labels that I follow in the scene. It reminded me of
back in the day when we’d be buying all the latest vinyl and aspiring to
produce music. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to play a set across the
board and feel like the selection has come naturally…
:: Future Engineers -
atmoteka 1.10
Oscillist - Sable | Scientific
Blu Mar Ten - Remembered Her Wrong (Anile Remix) | Blu Mar Ten
Music
Future Engineers - Ellipse | Transference Recordings
Future Engineers - Scratch in the Surface | Transference
Recordings
Klax - Blackball | Critical Music
Electrosoul System -Time Express (Future Engineers Remix) |
Kos.Mos.Music
Electrosoul System - Teardrop (Intelligent Manners & Command
Strange Remix) | Kos.Mos.Music
Radicall - Ghost Notes | Absys Records Dub
Mako - Moonlight (Break Remix) | Warm Communications
Future Engineers - Synthesis | Kos.Mos.Music
Definate - Never Lasting | Authentic Music
Technimatic - Innermost | Shogun Audio
Operon - Peace Be Unto You | Dub
Bungle - Lights | Scientific
Future Engineers & Eschaton - Ascension | Omni Music Dub
Ulterior Motive - Sideways | Metalheadz
Blu Mar Ten - In Your Eyes (Ulterior Motive Remix) | Blu Mar
Ten Music
Safire & 3rd Eye - Lunar Park | Subtitles Music
Dabs - I Can Feel | Dispatch Recordings
Subtone & Knox - Ivory | Dub
Foreign Concept - Endless Fade (feat. Naomi Olive) | Critical
Music
Nelver & Elleven - War of the Worlds | Offworld Dub
Foreign Concept - The Volks | Critical Music
Hybris - Garbage Truck | Invisible
Bop - Blurred Memories (feat. Synkro) | Medschool
photo : Christian Hebell
artwork : Saimonse
:: Future Engineers - bio
Lee Batchelor and Keir Cleminson are Future Engineers, a Glasgow based drum and bass production outfit, best known for their music that was released by LTJ Bukem’s Good Looking Organisation between 1999 and 2003, and also for the progressive, dance floor friendly DJ sets that they have performed across Europe.
They
released their seminal 12”
(“The Silence”/“Shattered”) on Renegade Recordings in 1997, quickly followed by
popular material on labels such as Temple
Records and Partisan
Recordings. Almost 10 years since they first broke onto the scene, they have
retained their reputation as a boundary-pushing and prolific drum and bass act.
Their solid working relationship has been built on the foundations of a
life-long friendship, having grown up together in North London and then Glasgow when Keir
relocated there in 1990, followed by Lee in 1994.
From
early childhood they were constantly surrounded by music – from studio sessions
to live concerts – due to their fathers who were working together in the
industry. Most notably, Keir’s father was lead guitarist in The Sensational
Alex Harvey Band and Lee’s Father co-produced some of their albums (he also
co-produced “Slide Away” for Oasis on their debut album “Definitely Maybe”
years later!) As a result of this exposure and the uptake of musical and studio
know-how, it was a natural choice by Lee and Keir to pursue a similar career to
their fathers.
As
teenagers in the 1990s, they listened to London’s pirate radio stations,
following the progression of early Hardcore through to Hardcore Techno, Jungle
Techno, Jungle and then Drum and Bass – learning the sounds along the way with
a view to producing material of their own in future. When Lee moved to Glasgow, bringing with
him some studio equipment that he had collected, the pair began to experiment
in writing a variety of styles of drum and bass. But it wasn’t until they heard
LTJ Bukem’s first Radio One Essential Mix in July 1995 that they identified the
kind of sound they were most interested in creating, and tailored their
approach in the studio accordingly. Around this time, they also befriended a
fellow Glaswegian drum and bass producer, KMC, who had built up a good
reputation (and knowledge of the scene) outside Scotland, and he encouraged them to
relinquish a demo DAT in order to start the process of getting material signed
to record labels.
The
relationship with Good Looking Records began in 1999 when LTJ Bukem selected a
track entitled “Timeshift” to be part of the third volume of his legendary
Progression Sessions mix CD series. It was an instant fans’ favourite due to
the futuristic synths and technological vibes that would become two abiding
ingredients of Future Engineers’ sound. In the ensuing years, the duo released
tracks on a variety of labels under the Good Looking Organisation umbrella –
such as PHD’s Ascendant Grooves, Tayla’s Nexus Records and Blame’s 720 Degrees.
The latter proved to be a particularly significant outlet for them within the
Good Looking camp and their 12”s, “Changes in State”/”Rogue Comet” and
“Momentum”/”Organism” played no small part in the fast growing reputation of
that particular label.
By
2001 they were so highly regarded by the Good Looking Organisation, having
almost all of their new music picked up by the labels within, that Lee and Keir
accepted the offer to sign an exclusive artist contract. In addition to
agreeing a structured release schedule, this presented an opportunity for
Future Engineers to showcase their DJ talents at some of the Progression
Sessions nights throughout Europe. It proved
to be a good year for the Engineers; a track entitled “Merge” was selected to
appear on MC Conrad’s Logical Progression Level 4 CD, and the boundary pushing,
dance floor shaker “Echo-Location” was one of the highlights of LTJ Bukem &
MC Conrad’s Progression Sessions 6, recorded live in the USA. 2002 saw
the release of the “Technetium EP” – four slices of hard-edged,
techno-orientated, atmospheric drum and bass – which was widely acclaimed by
fans and music critics alike. This actually turned out to be the penultimate
Future Engineers release on Good Looking Records – the last being a remix of
Pariah’s “Midnight” in 2003.
Almost
three years later, in early 2006, despite a lot of support and guidance from
LTJ Bukem, MC Conrad and the rest of the Good Looking Organisation over the
years, Future Engineers’ request to terminate the exclusive contract they had
signed with them was accepted very amicably. This event marked the beginning of
a new era and they did not hesitate to make their mark on the scene once again,
releasing the popular “Down-Time” and a remix of Matizz’s “Through My Eyes” on
Camino Blue Recordings, and a three track plate (including the much anticipated
“Eon”) on Covert Operations Recordings.
www.futureengineers.net
www.soundcloud.com/future-engineers
www.twitter.com/FutureEngineers
www.youtube.com/futureengineersmusic
Miodzio ! Big ups Lee !
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