Calibre
THE HUMAN TOUCH
Every now and again a producer comes along who really captures the imagination. Someone who does things to their own rules and standards, and isn't swayed by musical fashions. Someone who makes music because it's in their blood. Calibre is one such person.
The mild-mannered Belfast DJ and producer brings new meaning to words like prolific. In fact, the 21 tracks on his forthcoming album, 'Musique Concrete', just scratch the surface of what he's capable of, yet it still blows away much of what's out there. Fabio was one of the first people to spot the potential of Calibre. That's why he's taken him under his wing and why he snapped the album up for release on his Creative Source label. With this kind of support it can't be long before the rest of the drum & bass community stands up and takes notice and, frankly, they would be foolish not to.
You see, Calibre's music is so natural and just so damn funky it's irresistible. Vocal tracks sit alongside instrumentals, mellow moments mix with firin' dancefloor cuts and throughout the album there's an overwhelming feeling of warmth and light. This man's music breathes life and it's very much a case of less is more with Calibre. Simple ideas succinctly expressed is what 'Musique Concrete' is about but there's a wealth of ideas and emotions in there too.
The word has started to spread about Calibre; indeed, he was nominated in the Best Newcomer category in this year's Knowledge Drum & Bass Awards. So, just who is Calibre? Knowledge met up with him recently just before his debut set at Fabio's Swerve night in London to find out more.
He was born in Belfast and still lives there. From an early age he was interested in music, studying first the violin and then the drums. Life in one of Belfast's toughest schools wasn't always easy but by the age of 16 he was playing in various bands to feed his growing musical habit. Around the same time he also discovered early house and Detroit techno, but it was an elder brother who turned him onto drum & bass.
Labels like Reinforced and artists like the Omni Trio made a big impact on the youngster and by 1995 Calibre had his own basic studio set-up and was making tracks. This is where the key to understanding how Calibre creates his music lies - he makes do with what he's got. He's not one of those guys who always buy the latest piece of equipment, constantly relying on new technology to give them inspiration. Being a perfectionist, he forces every last ounce of creativity out of the equipment he has. So, when he does get something new it adds a whole new dimension to his sound.
"The more time you take with something, the more you learn," he explains. I've made music on the most basic equipment and, to use an analogy, it's like these Brazilian kids learning football. They start playing barefoot in the sand long before they get a pair of boots. In a way taking things slowly has almost protected me from all the bullshit that goes on in the music business. It's also an easier way to turn what's inside your head into music. It's a purer way of doing things.
"Really Belfast is a perfect place to make music because you get the piss taken out of you so much it stops you getting big-headed. I keep a low profile, do what I do and try to stay out of the limelight. One of the reasons I make music is to escape from the situation in Northern Ireland. Shit goes on but I'm not a part of it. Belfast is where I live but it's secondary to everything else I do."
Early recordings surfaced on the Dublin based Quadraphonic label and there were also releases on the Californian label, Thermal Recordings. So, how did he hook up with Creative Source? "I met Fabio in Dublin. Some of the other guys I'd met in drum & bass at that time didn't really want to talk to me or have anything to do with me. They had this attitude that here was just another kid, but Fabio listened to the stuff I gave him and called me back within two weeks saying he wanted me to do a single for Creative Source. I started sending him everything I was making and he would give me feedback. He always kept in touch and showed a genuine interest, offering advice and pointing me in new directions. In fact, he's given me a sense of maturity about the music business and it's very important to find people you trust and who will look out for you.
"My ambition was always to get a track played on the drum & bass show on Radio One," he continues. "Listening to Fabio and Grooverider was how we heard new music - DJs never came to Belfast. When Fabio played one of my tracks the feeling was amazing. Some people were saying I seem to have come from nowhere but actually I've been making music for years."
'Musique Concrete' is the first artist album on Creative Source but it was never conceived that way. In fact, Calibre had over 100 tracks under his belt that Creative Source went through before they arrived at the final tracklisting. "I work very fast," says Calibre, "and I'm making tracks all the time. I never even thought in terms of making an album. The tracks were just there to compile one. In fact, I could have released two albums and I'm not sure what's going to happen to the tracks that didn't make it on there. Some of them are two years old and no one else was doing anything like them at the time which is something I'm really proud about. The album is about creating my own sound and it's basically my musical journey over the last couple of years. It's like a dream coming true releasing this album - I'm almost star-struck - but if Creative Source had never existed and no one had heard my music I would still be in the studio making tracks. There's a freestyle element to everything I do and I don't like to tie myself down to one particular style."
Calibre also spent some time studying fine art at Belfast University where he discovered the work of avant garde musician and writer John Cage. Cage believed any sound in the environment could become music and even created '4'33"', a track of pure silence. As with Calibre, less really is more.
'Musique Concrete' is released by Creative Source on August 27 and Calibre is currently undertaking a DJ tour in support of the album. He will also be collaborating with Marcus Intalex on new material for release on his Solar label.
Words: Matthew Duffield
courtesy of http://www.kmag.co.uk/
No comments:
Post a Comment