London producer Om Unit caught our attention with his banging Pop Lock remix of Joker’s ‘Digidesign’ early last year, and since then has released some stand-out solo records: ‘Lightgrids/Lavendar’ (All City), ‘Searching’, and his ‘Corridor’ EP on Plastician’s Terrorrhythm label. This month saw the release of his genre-defying ‘The Timps’ EP on Civil, which nods heavily to the sounds of Detroit and comes with an accompanying trippy video. We asked him about his DMC past, esoterics, Aux 88 and his plans for 2011.
You used to be a DMC champ, and work under the name 2tall. Clearly you’ve moved on from that now but how do you feel it’s affected your progression as a producer and/or a dj?
It’s fundamentally what formed me creatively, and will always be a part of my approach to music. I think working with the turntables so much gives you a good link to what you hear and what you feel physically.
Now you’ve changed to the sanskrit moniker Om Unit (which is tough to translate but is about the essence of the universe) – did you go out and find yourself or was it just a straight up reinvention?
Quite honestly, i’ve been into esoterics and spiritual traditons/paranormal stuff since i was a little kid so I think it feels more “me”. I think i got sick of people saying “oh yeah you are quite tall” all the time. Also people continuously spelled it 2Tall with a capital T like they didn’t give a shit or like they felt the need to correct it, but that’s just a personal gripe.
How do you go about making your music – what’s your setup and how do you work?
I have quite a common setup – based around a studio PC with some outboard gear. I tend to work solidly on one thing at a time and finish it best I can, only 20 percent of what I do comes out, the rest is just idea farming.
You remixed one of the biggest tunes of the last few years – Joker’s ‘Digidesign’. How did that come about?
I just made it for myself, and shared it out a bit – it got some interest from people, and I got the all clear from Joker and Kode 9 to put out a white label, which sold quite well. I was very lucky i guess!
Who would you like to remix for in the future, if anyone?
I’d like to remix Bjork for sure, or maybe some more R’n’B stuff too, someone like Jill Scott – kinda put a more up to date twist on the soul side, really I’m down to re-work anything – I love the challenge.
It’s been suggested that your latest EP, ‘The Timps’ is a nod to Aux 88, and the Detroit sound. What are the main influences behind your current sound?
‘The Timps’ was made 2 years ago, at the time i was listening to Cybotron, Aux 88 for sure, stuff like the Drexciya albums and offshoots, as well as some disco-boogie – just good groove-based electronic based music. So ‘The Timps’ isn’t my “current sound” as such – it’s a snapshot of a studio session. Like most of my records, I never planned to release it with a strategy – I think for me these things just seem to come about.
What did you have in mind when you were making the EP – the dancefloor, the headphone..? How long did the EP take you, as an entire process?
The bedroom, the front room, the car – I think a good record works everywhere – I can’t just make shit for the dancefloor, that ruins the process. The best music comes from being in the moment, you can’t think about that too much. Of course you want to have a trajectory like “ok i’m aiming for this” but really in that moment you might end up with a 2 minute skit instead. I think the trick is not to be too focused on the goal and enjoy making the tunes.
‘The Timps’ and the alternative mix were done like 2 years ago (maybe a bit less), and ‘Prawn Cocktail’ I made at the end of last summer. The masters were done just after Christmas and we had to re-cut the vinyl, so it came around at the end of March. Civil are very on the ball with the process of releasing music, and it’s great to work with people who are so organised, it was very refreshing!
What has been your top place to DJ, either as 2tall or Om Unit?
Well i was part of Various Production’s live band as a “scratch DJ” and we did this one show at Corsica Studios [London] back in 2007 or so, that was amazing. I think it was Yardcore. As 2tall it would probably be the DMC UK final at Shepherd’s Bush Empire – I was proper shitting myself. and as Om Unit I’m just loving every show at the moment, I try and keep it different each time as possible so it’s always fun.. The music heads these days are so much more open thanks to the hard work of the “underground” if you like – there’s just a lot of love and support for new artists and a good network seems to be happening right now.
What are your plans for future releases and tours?
There are remixes coming up for Illum Sphere, a Daedelus/Om’mas remix 7″ coming on All City, a remix for Naive Machine on Hit and Hope records, another for Silent Dust, and a Starkey remix for his upcoming single ‘Lost In Space’. My next solo works are in the pipeline too. As for tours, I am just getting going, but I hope to play further afield, I look forward to hitting the states..
What’s in your most listened to on your iPod or what records are you currently rinsing?
I got this italo disco version of the Blade Runner theme the other day that sounds dope on 33! I’ve also been checking out a lot of slow house stuff, check out my luckyme mix for that vibe. Chug Revolution!!
