Photo courtesy of the artists
Who, or what, makes techno: (wo)man or machine?Two years after taking THUMP into their 2014 album Reverse Proceed, Glaswegian duo Slam are back with their sixth studio album, Machine Cut Noise. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Soma Records, the label they run while also juggling their weekly Slam radio show, curating a stage for T in the Park festival, throwing monthly parties in their native Glasgow, and touring extensively.Spending a great deal of time on the road meant the duo had to record their album remotely; much of the inspiration for Machine Cut Noise was drawn from places such as airports, trains, and hotels—places designed for constant movement, full of advanced engineering and technology. These mechanistic influences are apparent throughout the album, which whirs, clangs, drones, and roars from loop to loop with precision and power. In a press release Slam added that Machine Cut Noise also explores "the everyday workings of what makes us human," a notion that underpins its more ambient, poignant moments.Stream Slam's Machine Cut Noise below ahead of its release on October 28 via Soma, and also check out a quick Q&A with the duo. You can pre-order it [here](: https://www.somarecords.com/shop/music/soma_lp114/).THUMP: A press release states that you "delve into the everyday workings of what makes us human," yet the album is titled Machine Cut Noise. What's the connection between these two seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum?
SLAM: The Machine in is this case is a reference to modern day life itself. The workings of what exists day to day. Travel, work, infrastructure, the relief that comes from excess. All of that is part of the Machine! So the album is a product of all of that really.It also states that many of the ideas of this album were created while on tour, including in airports and hotels. Were there any specific locations you found particularly inspiring?
We took a train journey from Lille to Germany. Believe it or not that's the first time we've ever taken a train journey in Europe. We usually fly everywhere. That's where we penned "Viginti Quinque" and I think you can really hear that influence in that particular track from that particular environment. This album was written over a two-month period and wasn't really hard planned as such. It was a collection of ideas which happened in a certain time frame, but it has the coherence of when you make music in close proximity. The concept, if there is a concept as such, was that we chose completely different environments in which to record rather than what we usually do, which is put two months aside and sit in a dark box somewhere.You've worn many hats over your 30-year career aside from producing: you're also DJs, A&Rs, and more.
Everything kind of leads into each other, to be honest. A big part of being a DJ first and foremost is listening through lots of music. Every piece of music is a weapon of sorts with its own power to be emotive or explosive or whatever! So it's through this process of listening that we discover our favourite artists, labels etc. Through digging around for music we try to find new interesting names for our Radio Shows and for the A&R at Soma. Creatively it's great to be surrounded with as much great new music as possible, although it doesn't directly influence what we do in the studio it helps us try to keep the label on point musically.Walk us through the history of Soma. When did it first come together? What are some of your favorite moments and records you've released over the last 25 years?
We met Glen in 1991; he was recording with various bands, and his friend Nigel had a studio with all the latest equipment. We wanted to try and create our own music but at that time didn't know how to, quite frankly. But we had the knowledge from being DJs so it was a perfect partnership. We had all grown up listening to independent music such as Postcard and Factory Records so it felt like setting up an independent was the right thing do! You have to understand at that time there wasn't many British indie labels making electronic music. At first we even attempted to distribute the records ourself but you learn that the hard way! There have been so many highlights, and when speaking about things from the past they're always tainted by the way you feel now. So if you had asked the same question five years ago the answers may have been different.Obviously Eterna, the first release, that was what brought what we were doing to people and made them pay attention. This is when we learned that other people were into what we were doing. Another highlight would be Positive Education we knew we had something special with this one and like all your best work it came together very quickly. Richie Hawtin and R&S both tried to sign this track at the time as well. Now it's become a classic of sorts and still getting played in sets now.The EP we did with Surgeon was special as well because it was one of his first EPs. We met Tony when we were DJing at House Of God, a techno night in Birmingham. He gave us a cassette with his number on it so we rang him up and that's how "Muggerscum Out" came about. Meeting Daft Punk in Paris shortly afterwords was another highlight. We were introduced through a mutual friend and they had been fans of Positive Education too. We hung out for a few days and that's when we heard the first EP, which was really different, really raw and abrasive.As I said before there are so many tracks we could talk about but Envoys "Dark Manoeuvres " must be mentioned as it is still a staple in DJ sets now. It's truly a record that has stood the test of time!Anything else?
With the release of Machine Cut Noise we have a big year with Soma, release wise! With many of our techno heroes getting involved… watch this space!
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SLAM: The Machine in is this case is a reference to modern day life itself. The workings of what exists day to day. Travel, work, infrastructure, the relief that comes from excess. All of that is part of the Machine! So the album is a product of all of that really.It also states that many of the ideas of this album were created while on tour, including in airports and hotels. Were there any specific locations you found particularly inspiring?
We took a train journey from Lille to Germany. Believe it or not that's the first time we've ever taken a train journey in Europe. We usually fly everywhere. That's where we penned "Viginti Quinque" and I think you can really hear that influence in that particular track from that particular environment. This album was written over a two-month period and wasn't really hard planned as such. It was a collection of ideas which happened in a certain time frame, but it has the coherence of when you make music in close proximity. The concept, if there is a concept as such, was that we chose completely different environments in which to record rather than what we usually do, which is put two months aside and sit in a dark box somewhere.
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Everything kind of leads into each other, to be honest. A big part of being a DJ first and foremost is listening through lots of music. Every piece of music is a weapon of sorts with its own power to be emotive or explosive or whatever! So it's through this process of listening that we discover our favourite artists, labels etc. Through digging around for music we try to find new interesting names for our Radio Shows and for the A&R at Soma. Creatively it's great to be surrounded with as much great new music as possible, although it doesn't directly influence what we do in the studio it helps us try to keep the label on point musically.Walk us through the history of Soma. When did it first come together? What are some of your favorite moments and records you've released over the last 25 years?
We met Glen in 1991; he was recording with various bands, and his friend Nigel had a studio with all the latest equipment. We wanted to try and create our own music but at that time didn't know how to, quite frankly. But we had the knowledge from being DJs so it was a perfect partnership. We had all grown up listening to independent music such as Postcard and Factory Records so it felt like setting up an independent was the right thing do! You have to understand at that time there wasn't many British indie labels making electronic music. At first we even attempted to distribute the records ourself but you learn that the hard way! There have been so many highlights, and when speaking about things from the past they're always tainted by the way you feel now. So if you had asked the same question five years ago the answers may have been different.Obviously Eterna, the first release, that was what brought what we were doing to people and made them pay attention. This is when we learned that other people were into what we were doing. Another highlight would be Positive Education we knew we had something special with this one and like all your best work it came together very quickly. Richie Hawtin and R&S both tried to sign this track at the time as well. Now it's become a classic of sorts and still getting played in sets now.The EP we did with Surgeon was special as well because it was one of his first EPs. We met Tony when we were DJing at House Of God, a techno night in Birmingham. He gave us a cassette with his number on it so we rang him up and that's how "Muggerscum Out" came about. Meeting Daft Punk in Paris shortly afterwords was another highlight. We were introduced through a mutual friend and they had been fans of Positive Education too. We hung out for a few days and that's when we heard the first EP, which was really different, really raw and abrasive.As I said before there are so many tracks we could talk about but Envoys "Dark Manoeuvres " must be mentioned as it is still a staple in DJ sets now. It's truly a record that has stood the test of time!Anything else?
With the release of Machine Cut Noise we have a big year with Soma, release wise! With many of our techno heroes getting involved… watch this space!