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Gorgon City have gained a lot of attention over the last twelve months. They are booked to play the biggest festivals in the UK and have been given the honour of a residency at Carl Cox’s night in Ibiza’s Space. Luke McCarthy reflected on the last year with Matt Robson-Scott (Rack n Ruin) to find out how Gorgon City works in the studio and what their plans may be for the coming year. This is your guided tour of Gorgon City.
This time last year no-one had heard of Gorgon City. Not even Rack n Ruin or Foamo, the masterminds behind this deep bass-ridden project. The two veteran producers never planned to start an entirely new project together, it just happened. Having been on the same agency, the two of them played with the idea of making a tune together and eventually hit the studio.No longer than a day later they had a finished product. The only problem was it didn’t have an identity. They made a couple more tunes. The same problem presented itself. They didn’t feel like they could label them Rack n Ruin and Foamo collaborations, they needed a new alias. Thus, Gorgon City was officially born and it was shaping up to be the most banging City for miles. We caught up with them the after they played their first night in Ibiza under the Gorgon City alias to find out how it went…"It was pretty nuts!" Said Matt. "The whole night was so sick, we were on the same bill as Eats Everything, Magnetic Man and Ben Pearce. There was some serious energy about the place but Ibiza is always something special".
Straight away it was clear that Matt is a humble guy, he hasn’t got carried away with this new found fame and is still very much grounded. But how are the boys finding their new-found mainstream popularity? "It’s crazy because when we first started making tunes together we had no idea it was going to go in this direction or get so much love from Radio 1, or the other more mainstream audiences, so it’s all really cool. Obviously working with such wicked vocalists and song writers has really helped us get where we are, ‘Real’ wouldn’t be the track it has become without Yasmin. It’s been a lot of work but the gigs are great. Plus it’s all just been wicked meeting the people we have through the success of that track and our first couple of EPs."
We knew the birth of Gorgon City, although fully consensual, was never a planned, it just happened. They have created a sound that is bass driven yet stripped back, particularly compared to their individual projects. Were the boys growing tired of the more hectic sounds they were creating individually? "I’m not sure if it was out of boredom of other sounds. I think it’s just because we’ve both always been into the deeper sounds anyway. Production wise it was all just a bit of fun and just experimenting with different sounds to what we may have been used to. The sort of tunes we were both listening to and including in our sets, at the beginning of all this, were a lot deeper than what we may have been listening to a year back. It was just being influenced by what we were listening to at that time and then just experimenting and offering our take on it and it all just went from there."
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Already it was becoming clear that the boys like to work in a rather unorthodox way. There was no master plan, no preconceptions of how they should sound and they were just working with the vibe of the moment. However, they can’t still be polishing tunes off in a day, can they? "We do work really fast because, with Gorgon City, we do tend to do all the work on our tracks together, rather than one of us work on one element and then send it over to the other one. That’s not how we like to work, obviously we will if we have to, but mainly we like to get everything done in the studio so the time we have dictates how we work really. If the vibe is there then we’ll work with it and try get it done on that day, it obviously doesn’t always work out like that though and some tunes will take longer. We’ll go back and forth with bassline ideas and chord ideas and we’ll keep altering things just to make sure it’s right. We get the main body of the track done on that day and do the finishing touches later down the line."
They clearly like to build their tracks in a progressive way. It is not fabricated or just trying to attract a fad following. They listen to what’s going on around them and offer their own take on it. More and more Matt was appearing to be like any other bass music fan and it was glaringly obvious the boys don’t think they are any better, or different, from anyone else."To be honest, there’s nothing too different about the way we work or what we work with. It’s just a mixture of the techniques we’ve both used on our individual work. For chords we may use some analogue stuff like Juno but that’s mainly for pads and chords. For the basslines and other elements of the track we use the same digital software and equipment as most other artists. A lot of the time you get a much better final product if you don’t over-complicate things and just let it happen in the moment. We’d never pretend we were doing things in some masterful way or anything like that."
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So if the boys did have any special techniques or skills, they certainly aren’t showing off about it. What Matt says makes so much sense when you listen to their tunes. Their mixes are never muddy, there aren’t too many layers or overuse of diverse or extravagant instruments. They keep it simple and it is working with huge effect. Have their previous projects taught them a thing or two? "Our backgrounds have definitely helped us achieve the bigger and fuller sounds, especially in our drums and bass. It’s also helped when it comes to mixing down the tune and giving that big sound without overcrowding the mix. It definitely comes from our backgrounds, Kye’s (Foamo) amazing on all the beats and percussion. We both do a bit of all of it but we definitely bring a lot to the table separately. It just works in a crazy kind of way! I can’t really describe it, it just happens!"
Rack n Ruin has many songs featuring vocalists, Foamo not so much. Matt had more or less handed Yasmin sole credit for the success of ‘Real’ earlier in our conversation. It leads you to thinking: how does the relationship between vocalist and producer work? "It’s always different depending on how the vocalists work. Some vocalists love writing their own lyrics and coming up with everything in that area then just laying them down on the track. Then it’s done, it’s their vocal and we just let them do their thing, which is fine with us when they want to do it like that. With ‘Intentions’, writing with Nikki from Clean Bandit, we had the chords ready and she just wrote the first verse and we were just working off of each other’s vibe. Then the word ‘intentions’ was dropped in somewhere. We were all just like, that could be quite a cool little hook. We just worked with it and turned it into a repeated hook. We like to work in an open environment and really try to work off the right vibes, rather than decide what sound we want to make and do our best to hit it. Our tracks always come out better when it’s been an organic, spur of the moment process. Most vocalists will come in and prefer us just playing them a chord idea with maybe just a kick drum and no massive beats. They will then write to that and as they’re writing we’ll write more into the beat. We always try to come up with the bassline while they’re there and try get it all done on the day. That just seems the best way to work with vocalists for me. Most of the Rack n Ruin stuff that came out the best was the stuff where I had worked with the vocalist on one day, rather than going back and fourth over a few weeks. Everyone works differently but for me it’s all about the vibe you hit on the day, it gives the track more soul."
There’s something so refreshing about the way Gorgon City build their tracks. Electronic music is always criticised by other genres and scenes for not being musical or lacking a certain spontaneous flair. The boys are laying that theory to waste. They build their tracks in the same way a band would when in session – letting the mood and feel of the basic elements take control of the structure and vibe of the track as a whole. The ultimate way an artist can get feedback on their material is playing it to a crowd. So what festivals have Gorgon City graced so far?b"We are playing at ones that we have always wanted to play at. Obviously Glastonbury is a big one, it’s one I’ve played at 6 years in a row and it’s always eventful and like a home from home. Being able to play at the bigger, more mainstream ones like SW4, Global Gathering and Parklife is going to be amazing. I’ve never really had the opportunity to play at those type of festivals before. Obviously I love the ones that are, what I would call, authentic festivals like Boomtown, Glastonbury but I am really looking forward to playing the big rave festivals. I just see it as an amazing opportunity to get our sound out there."
Getting a ticket to any festival the guys are playing this year is highly recommended. Live shows are continually growing a major part of electronic music, with artists bettering eachother on a yearly basis. What will Gorgon City be bringing to the stage? "Well at the moment we’re just doing DJ shows but we’re looking to develop our performances. When we first started doing sets together we were using ableton, CDJs and that kind of stuff. We decided that, because we’re going down the root with a lot more lyrical tunes, rather than just pure bangers, we would wait until we have everything in place and then develop the proper live show. So I guess we’re looking to have that completely planned and put into action by next year."
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And what may we expect next year? "It would be great to bring our ‘Real’ video to the stage and do it in a stripped back way, like our tunes. It’s all going to take a lot of organisation to set it all up, it’s quite a big task organising it. There’s so much work that gets put into it and there’s so many more people involved in doing a live show, rather than DJ sets. We want to get it right rather than chuck it together so I guess next year."
For producers that are polishing off tunes in a matter of days, it is surprising to find they do have patience with other elements. Some things just cannot be rushed or forced and the guys are showing real intelligence and experience in not rushing their all important live show. Another major step as an artist is to move from the EP to the LP. Would Gorgon City commit to this adventure? "That is something we have spoke about a lot. We’re hoping this time next year. At the end of the day it’s all about the music, getting it right and working in the studio with the right people, that has to come first. We love being able to DJ and play all these shows and touring but we need to make sure we get all of that right first, then we can think about moving forward. There’s no point in making an album when you’re not ready yet. Music doesn’t just make itself and albums are a real task. We’re just trying to take everything step by step and not get too ahead of ourselves."
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Once again their experience in the industry is very apparent. They don’t want to waste energy or their fans’ time. They fully understand the commitment and energy that an LP demands. There’s no one that wouldn’t wait an extra 20 minutes for the cake to fully rise rather than consuming a soggy rushed mess that just doesn’t go down well. Considering all of their knowledge of the industry, expansion must be something they have considered…"We would definitely love to do a label but I think it is quite a big statement for an artist to do. Getting something like that right is really difficult, we have chatted about it and it is something we’d like to tackle. Like I said, at the moment, we’re just concentrating on our music, DJ sets and what’s going on now. We have to get all that right before we can move forward and expand further."
Once again they are biding their time and not over estimating the power of experience. After all, they have seen what it takes to make a great label. Gorgon City are on Black Butter, a label that has one of the most talked about rosters of the past year. It is not rare for artists on a label to never see eye to eye. How about the guys on Black Butter? "Yeah we’re all really good mates. I’ve known Woz quite a while when I was doing Rack n Ruin. I stumbled across him online and then he won this remix competition and I told Olley, the guy who runs Black Butter, all about him. They really liked him and that situation just developed from there. We also share our studio with Kidnap Kid so we’re always linking up and we’re always doing shows together, like the Black Butter shows, which are always big. We did Barcelona all together and we always make sure we actually see eachother, it is like a close family. We should see eachother more but obviously being as busy as we are it is hard."
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Here at Pulse Radio, we think the boys own label could materialise sooner than you may expect. Not only do they work closely with the owner of a highly successful label, they helped scout out one of its most talented artists. Finally, it was time to dream, who would Matt personally want to collaborate with? "I would have to say someone like Quincy Jones. There are so many sick artists it would be impossible to actually choose one, given the choice of them all. In terms of vocalists, someone like Barrington Levy, he’s a wicked vocalist. It would be so good to work with someone like Little Dragon, I’d love to do something with those types of people who’s albums I love listening to. But we are so lucky we’ve worked with the most incredible vocalists who are more than willing to put in the time and effort. Our management gets it spot on every time, hooking us up with some really talented artists. I guess we’re blessed really!"
Matt’s choice in artists really showed his diversity in taste and made it clear as to how he was able to transfer skills from his Rack n Ruin project to Gorgon City. He gave a real sense of understanding of how music works. He doesn’t underestimate any challenge and seems eager to expand and push forward. As a duo, they work with a natural flair and mutual understanding. They show that electronic music doesn’t have to be overproduced or over the top. It can be stripped back to its bare bone and still have a real impact. Exciting things are sure to come from Gorgon City and their newest EP, ‘Intentions’, has shown major development even from their ‘Real’ EP. So to end this article we leave you with Gorgon City’s formula for creating a true hit:
Chords x Drums + Bass (Spontaneous vibes) = Dance-floor destruction.
Listen to Foamo on Pulse Radio.
