L.F.R.- Second Place Contest Winner - Interview!

Today, We post about our Second Place winner of the NSD Competition, Leo Monger, or L.F.R. His track, "Stand Off", Incorporates a unique blend of chugging metal guitar, dirty wobbles, and all out dubstep mayhem.

We've got an Interview with the man, as well as his Second Place winning track at the bottom of the post!

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How did you find out about Not Strictly Dubstep?

I saw a banner for it on a blogging website I think.

Where are you from?

I'm English, currently studying music technology at Kingston University in South London.

How old are you?

I'm 19

What does the name "L.F.R." mean?

"L.F.R." is my first three initials.

How long have you been producing?

I've been producing music for roughly 7 years now, and playing guitar for about 10.

What Inspired you to start producing music?

I got into producing first because I wanted to record some of the tracks I was writing on the guitar. My dad was making an album from home at the time so he had a lot of software I could use and it kind of all sprung from there.

Are you currently signed to any record labels?

I'm signed with Monkey Dub Recording at the moment.

Do you have any music currently being distributed online or physically?

I've got a track called 'Gone Off The Deep End' which is available here: http://www.junodownload.com/products/1601948-02.htm?trackid=1

What would you say is your main genre?

For the past few years dubstep has been the genre I've felt most inspired to work around but I make a bit of hiphop and write a lot of acoustic stuff as well.

How has your music evolved since you first started producing?
Well when I first started producing it was mainly metal that I was recording so I guess with this track you could say it hasn't changed much! But yeh I've gone through periods of being interested in so many different genre's since I first started, I think it's evolving all the time.

What software do you mainly use for music production?

I was using Reason mainly, running it through cubase for audio recording, but I've just made the jump from pc to mac so it's gonna be Logic from here on out!

What would you say is the most important part of a well produced track? (i.e. mix, melody, energy, ect.)

Well I guess it depends on what you're trying to create. When it comes to dubstep, or any dance music for that matter, I think it's all in the energy! Mixing can come later. You can mix a track to the highest standard but if it doesn't have that energy, if it doesn't make you're heart go when you listen to it, then why bother? Sort the energy out first, there's all the time in the world to sit in the studio tweaking levels.

What is your favorite genre of music to listen to?

At the moment I'm listening to a lot of hiphop.

Who is your favorite producer/DJ/band?
In terms of producers, I'm a big fan of Flux Pavillion, Distance, Burial, guess it depends on my mood! Dj wise I like N-type cos I've seen him play some really good shows, Silkie and Loefah both killed it when I saw them as well. My favourite band would be The Root's, there playing in London soon as well so I'm stoked!

What's your current favorite track to drop in a set?
Oh man, 'Gamma Ray Burst' by Downlink always fuckin kills it when I wanna floor people! 'Normalize' by Flux Pavillion and 'Druid' by Marlow both get people pretty excited or if I'm playing a more chilled set 'Level 9' by Mala is a deep one to drop.

If you were trapped for eternity with only one item, what would that item be and why?

Hmm I could be boring and say my guitar cos I think it'd be the one thing that could always keep me entertained! But I'll go for one of those adventure books where you make decisions about the story and choose what page you wanna go to just to see if I could make every possible eventuality happen.

If your music had a smell, what do you suppose it would smell like?

The Forest.

Fill in the blank: "Shove a ________ in it!"

Dirty great wobble.

Was fuzzy wuzzy fuzzy?

Supposedly.

Do you prefer high energy or more chill music?

I'm all about the high energy.

Do you have any advice to give potential or learning producers?

Sort you're drums first. If the beats sick then everything else sounds good. Make sure the track has some kind of forward motion, something pushing it along, and if you're stuck with where to go with it then go see someone who really knows how to perform that kind of music do a show. When you get back sit away from the computer and listen to you're track as a fan rather than an artist, you'll feel what needs to come next. Once you're happy with a track get it out there, send it to record companies, radio stations, play it at shows, just make sure people are hearing it! And enter competition's on the internet, it's seemed to work pretty well for me :)

Anything else you would like to add?
Yeh, check my Soundcloud to hear more of my music and also the Monkey Dub Remix contest ep, I think it's gonna be titled 'Re-grinded' which is coming out very soon, I was one of the competition winners for that one as well.

Be Sure to Follow L.F.R. to keep up to date on future releases and to hear more of his tunes!
Big Up to L.F.R. and everyone who took part in the competition!

Follow L.F.R.
Soundcloud
Facebook


And now, the second place track!

First Place Winner - Interview

It's been a long time coming, and it's finally here! We've got a fresh interview from the first place winner of the NSD Competition; Niel Salter, AKA "Salt-Uh". A producer since the late '80s, Salt-Uh has definitely shown some raw talent with his track Dook tha Looper.
(If you haven't heard the track yet, you can check it out at the bottom of the interview.)

Now, Having said all that, Let's get on with this interview!
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How did you find out about Not Strictly Dubstep?

I was just googling dubstep to find some new sites and came across NSD. Where are you from? I'm from the Midlands in the UK a town called Nuneaton but am currently located in Exeter on the south west coast of England. How old are you? 36
How long have you been producing?

I made my first track in 1988. I was 14 years old and had an Atari computer with Steinberg Pro 24, which was the predecessor to Cubase and an Akai X7000 Keyboard Sampler. I saved up my paper round money to buy it.
What Inspired you to start producing music?

The Electro albums and Jeff Young on BBC Radio 1's National Fresh show. As soon as I heard the electros and other early Hip Hop in the 80's, I knew what I wanted to make this music. I was fascinated by break dancing and body popping, even though I wasn't very good, but loved the music and culture that was coming out of America at that time.
Are you currently signed to any record labels?

I'm not currently signed to any label at the moment but I am in the process of starting my own label, 1st Bass Records.
Do you have any music currently being distributed online or physically?

I currently have music available for download from Chemical Records, Juno Download and 1st Bass Records.
What would you say is your main genre?

Hip hop has always been my roots in music. I have a Hip Hop outfit called The Dookie Squad and we have been producing songs since 1992 and our first release on Vinyl was the '6ft Under' EP in 1994. We still produce music today and tour Europe every year or two.
How has your music evolved since you first started producing?

The very first tracks I made were very basic with just a break beat sample and a groove over the top, but over time I learned how to be more creative with the equipment I had. These days I try and use as many real instruments as possible in a lot of songs to try and keep those authentic sounds in my music. I especially love the warm sound of vintage instruments from the 60's and 70's and try to make my music have a warm feeling like a lot of the music from that era. My mixing desk has valve channels to play with and putting sounds through these always adds a nice depth to a song. I used to spend a day or two on a track, now I will usually spend months. What hardware do you use for music production? I have a Custom Built Core I7 Music PC with 2 x Delta 1010 sound cards, An Allen & Heath GS3000 24ch mixer, Mackie HR824 Studio Monitors, An Akai S6000 Sampler, an Alesis D4 drum machine and a few other outboard pieces of equipment.
What software do you mainly use for music production?

Steinberg Cubase 5. I also use NI Massive, Halion for sampling, Symphonic Orchestra, I have a waves plugin pack for eq etc.
Any particular VST's that you'd like to give credit to?

One of my favourite VST's is Magneto. It's a simple analogue tape manipulator that can make a lot of small sounds big. What would you say is the most important part of a well produced track? (i.e. mix, melody, energy, ect.)

The most important thing for me in my music, is to try and make my songs have a long shelf life. It's very easy to make a track that sounds great but it's not so easy to make a track that still sounds great in years to come.
What is your favorite genre of music to listen to?

I like all sorts of music but I mainly listen to a lot of soul music from the 60's and 70's. I think there is a lot producers can learn from old recording techniques.
Who is your favorite producer/DJ/band?

For me, A Tribe Called Quest were a major influence on me and from the Low End Theory album onwards, their music still sounds as good today as it did when it was released.
If you could only use one word to describe your style of music, what would that word be?

Moist

Fill in the blank: "I love the smell of _____________ in the morning!"

Bread
What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Not really something I would loose sleep over.
What's your favorite tempo (BPM)?

The tempo that fits the song.
Do you have any advice to give potential or learning producers?

Do it because you love it. Remain open minded as stubbornness is a refusal to learn.
Anything else you would like to add?
Music is what life sounds like and if I could say it in words, then I wouldn't make music.

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There you have it! Some insightful words from our first place winner. Now that you know a bit about him, why not follow Salt-Uh and listen to some more of his music! Oh, and of course give a listen to his winning tune!

Follow Salt-Uh:






www.salt-uh.com
www.1stbassrecords.com

Much respect everyone, thanks for reading, keep your eye out for more interviews and other such madness to come! Give a listen to the winning track here: