The "Great White Hope of UK Bass Music," eh? Big fucking talk from the THUMP corner!Well, speaking of big statements, please oblige us by clicking on the Youtube video below. This is track four from Prayer's debut E.P, Knowing, and as big statements go it's is pretty much God-sized. Sure, every now and then we do get a bit hyperbolic on THUMP, but seriously, is this kid something or what?Headphones on, volume up, and listen to what sounds like a storm in heaven, like doomed love bottled, like the death of a diva, like an angel's revenge, like the birth of beauty…like…OK, you get the picture, it's a good track. Kinda sounds a bit like Kuedo too.Little is known about the mysterious producer, except that he is 23 and hails from the Midlands. Burial-style, Prayer prefers to remain anonymous, which is apt given the small debt the producer's sound owes to Bevan's urban elegies. One man to ask would probably be dubstep enfant terrible, Zomby, who discovered the producer and duly signed him to the Bristolian's label, Cult Music. But Prayer has recently left Cult for newer pastures.In the end the music tells you all you really need to know. For the unitiated, 'bass music' is a kind of asshole umbrella term for dubstep, d'n'b, bassline and UK garage, and it's a descriptor that falls gravely short of encompassing the myriad beauties of Prayer's compositions. Listen to the title from the EP: the Tri Angle sound re-imagined as a cavernous, cinematic hymnal.Which brings us to 'Not Over', the brooding compound of hi-tech soul and heartbreak which opens the EP. A while back Prayer's reps got in touch to ask if we wanted to run the new video for the track. Hell yes, we said, with the proviso that the publicity-shy wunderkind agrees to a short interview. He bloody well did. Our chat with Prayer follows the brand new promo for 'Not Over'. Enjoy.THUMP: How did you first start producing?:Prayer: I've been writing piano music since I was about 16. I started producing later at university where I was writing acousmatic music; working with found sound sources and manipulating them into different textures. As I started to listen to more electronic music I then started making beat based music.Any one artist who you feel has had an influence on your sound?Prayer: Michael Nyman and minimalism in general has had a great influence on how I build my music. I see my music as combining my classical influences with the production elements of artists I'm interested in such as Burial.What informed your decision to leave Cult Music?Prayer: After staying a while in one place I wanted to explore other avenues.What relationship does your music have to R'n'B?Prayer: I use the acapellas because I love how powerful they sound. If you build up a strong chord progression and layer up instruments within orchestral framework with the intentions of creating a large sound then a strong acapella can really help push the music that extra step. This was my thought process for example on the track 'Abyss' from my E.P.I also hear a UKG influence?Prayer: To some extent yes. I like garage beats because of how organic they sound. I try and write music that is natural sounding rather than being completely polished, and I think using loose, garage inspired beats, aids this.Are you a religious person?Prayer: No not at all.What was the thinking behind the video?Prayer: The video, directed by Liam Healy and Adam Griffiths, is a cycle through an array of analogue techniques and relics of technologies from decades gone by. The footage was shot over a period of time through found VHS tapes, early 90s handy cams, webcams, iPhones, through to HD cameras, to present something that wouldn't look out of place at a post-apocalyptic Thunderdome rave - hence 'Not Over'.There's a real 90s vibe to 'Not Over' - the cinematic end of d'n'b comes to mind.Prayer: Yeah definitely. Again, the 90's influence in my music comes from being inspired by raw unpolished sounds; rather than focusing too much on the production side I focus mainly on the musical content. I like 90's production because I think a lot of it is not over processed compared to today. I get the comparison with D'n'B also. A lot of my music uses similar pads / string parts.Who is the singer on 'Not Over'?Prayer: It's couple of samples from two separate vocal tracks.What's next for you?I'm going to be releasing more music soon and playing shows, starting with Patten's 555-5555 night at power lunches on Friday 22nd August.Download 'Not Over' for free hereFollow John Calvert on Twitter here: @JCalvert_music
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