Touching Bass: Brackles

Whilst the UK bass scene flourishes in a beehive of genre cross-pollination, Brackles has been snatching influences from UK Funky, garage and dubstep since initially dropping "Glazed" way back in 2008. Since then, there's been last year's Rinse Presents: Brackles album and a slew of shorter releases that consistently managed to twist our dearest UK electronic music strands in unfathomable directions. As his new EP just dropped, it was only right that we caught up with the Rinse FM DJ to talk about the Go EP and poker before reminiscing about mini disc players, SNES and VHS. Nostalgia fest. As always, there's a Touching Bass mix to go alongside featuring new material from Birmingham's Cause & Affect, DVA and an awesome rejig of The Streets.

Noisey: 'Sup man, how’s it going?

Brackles: Yeah, all good. Yourself?

I’m feeling quite tropical today. I’ve got the cyan top on.

Glad to have it back out.

What have you been up to?

Not too much, just watched some films last night. I watched The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman. It’s a Swedish 50s film and it’s about death. That vision of death where it comes and takes you away, that was the first film that did that.

Do you ever get mad nostalgic about genres in their prime? I still remember funky house in its heyday.

Yeah, definitely. Someone just asked me to do a list of my seven favourite funky tracks for another interview and I’m welling up here. It’s just amazing when those things are at their peak. You get vocal anthems coming out pretty much every week and there’s just nothing like that at the minute. So, yeah I always get nostalgic. Garage in its heyday or whatever.

Gracious K went to my secondary school.

[Laughs]

So, where did you grow up?

Out in Hertfordshire. It was alright because we got most of the pirates out there and that’s how we got into the music. We’d get stuff off of the pirate stations and then bring them into school. It’s just outside the M25.

Was that more garage times or seeping into grime territory?

I was listening to EZ so I think that’s where I was hearing grime. When it was with all the 8 bar stuff so that was really exciting and that’s also when I started doing crap pirates in Hackney. I’d be travelling down there and then getting the night bus home.

Ahh, that’s long.

It was about two hours to get from Hackney back to Essex and I had to get a taxi back from there. It was worth it.

That’s dedication. So was this pre-iPod era?

I think it was before the iPod, I think I had a mini disc player! This was about ten years ago. I also had to have a massive bag of records. This was when I was 16.

So pre-digital as well?

Yeah.

What did your parents play you?

My dad’s into everything so we got some reggae, folk, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan. Just everything. He’s a music guy.

I read somewhere that you're into your poker. You still big in the poker game?

Yeah, I still play a little bit. I play cash games now. I was getting quite good but they’re a bit of a lottery. You’ve got to be good and even still you have to have a bit of luck.

I really need to learn how to play properly. Is it easy to get into?

Yeah, I think the second you start playing, you get hooked. Me and my all mates would play a couple of years ago and just be playing every week. I recommend it.

Is it big money in the cash games?

It’s only about $100 or something. It’s good fun.

Every little helps. So onto your latest release. How long have you been working on Go EP?

That stuff was all made over the last year. I moved to Bounds Green this time last year so it’s all been made in this house. It’s been done on pretty minimal stuff really. I’ve just got two Waldorf Pulses, which are hardware synths, and a Waldorf Blofeld and I pretty much made everything on that so it was quite limiting. It’s quite good though because before I’d have about 20 synths open, but if you keep it simple you’ve got to come up with one good riff and make it work.

So a bit more direct. “Overtime” reminds me of 8-bit grime. Are you much of a gamer at all or a computer geek?

I used to be when I was a kid. I had the SNES, Mario Kart and all of that. Then we had an N64, but I haven’t had one since then.

Keeping it old school.

Yeah, I still sometimes play Mario Kart or Tony Hawks or something but I don’t really have the time any more.

RIP blowing the cartridges.

Yeah.

One last old school media question, what’s your favourite VHS?

The one I’ve been rinsing the most is The Mask.

Do you remember what it was like making “Overtime”?

Yeah, I remember it being a day that I woke up before midday so I actually had enough time in the day to finish the beat rather than only get about four hours before mates call me up to go to the pub. I started off with that melody and thought it was strong enough and I worked on it the whole day. It’s a cross between some old grime vibes and also some DMZ vibes as well with the subs and stuff.

And you’ve hooked up with Cherri again…

I just really like the way that “Chasing Crazy” came out and everyone seemed to be on that track last year so it seemed to make sense. We’ve had a lot of people feeling the track – EZ played it last week. I’d like to do another track with her.

I imagine the chemistry in the studio is pretty good?

Yeah, that was all recorded down at Rinse butt she’s really professional. She’ll come in and nail it in half a day with all the notes. She writes some really good hooks.

Apart from the title track, it’s quite club orientated…

I think I just came to realise recently that all the chords and basslines are cool and that but it doesn’t really make stuff work in the clubs so I wanted to make something that was just 808s and sub. Just to try something different basically.

A tribute to your time in Nottingham?

Oh yeah! Nottingham days when we used to go to raves and then stay up till 10am listening to Horsepower, El-B and Todd Edwards records.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen on a dance floor?

It was probably last week at FWD when I was playing with EZ. I’d just finished and some girl was climbing up over the DJ booth and managed to get on top the booth then fell over, kicked EZ’s pitch fader, fell onto EZ and then landed flat on her face. Then she stood up and the whole crowd was booing her, she just put a finger to her lips like “Shhh” before she got kicked out of the club. EZ’s face was so full of disapproval.

Lovely.

Brackles' Go EP was released on August 5 via Rinse.

TRACKLIST
Famous Eno - My DJ
Brackles feat. Cherri Voncelle - Go
Ikonika - Mr Cake
Meleka vs Kevin Gates - Go (Murlo blend)
Breen - Rift
Cause & Affect - Pull Up In My Whip
DVA - Mad Hatter
Murlo & Famous Eno - Ariel
Randomer - Ruffa
Denzel Curry - Threatz (Mickey Pearce Remix)
Ikonika - Psoriasis
CDBL - Wake Up
Hybrid Theory - Mind Games
Huxley - Walk To You
Chris Lawrence - Love For Me (Cause & Affect Remix)
Hard Evidence - Transformation (Whey Baq Remix)
The Streets - Has It Come To This (JD Reid Remix) Follow Errol on Twitter @errol_and

Read and listen to more editions of Touching Bass here:

Touching Bass: Stooki Sound

Touching Bass: Synkro

Touching Bass: Swim Deep