IA MIX 46 Outboxx - Inverted Audio

The Immerse label has long been a healthy barometer for Bristol’s creative avant-garde, and the debut from Outboxx didn’t disappoint. Since we reviewed their debut release ‘Kate Libby’s/Bertie’s Groove‘ on Immerse Records back in April 2011, we’ve been encapsulated by their mission to discover the perfect deep house melody. ‘Kate Libby’s’ had all the right ingredients: sun-drenched chords and meticulous drum programming over a solid house thump. Continuing our pursuit into Bristol’s talent we are proud to present our 46th mix from Matthew Lambert and Jacob Martin, otherwise known as Outboxx.

Outboxx’s mix was recorded in one session, made up mainly of vinyl and a few unreleased tracks from their friends on CD. It includes forthcoming tracks from Kowton, Rachael, Anon, Kidkut and of course Outboxx.

For those less acquainted, could you tell our readers who you are, where you’re from and what inspired you to write music?

Jake : I’m from Kent and Matt is from Newcastle and we both moved to Bristol to study. We started making music together because I wanted to make house music but lacked the ability to write a nice melody.

Matt : Yeah, I think really just hearing other music and wanting to try it inspired me to get involved.

What were you listening to in your childhood and do you come from a formal musical background?

Matt : We both come from different backgrounds. I came from a more formal music background having played piano from the age of 12, I originally played classical music but got into jazz. When I went to University I got into a lot of different music and then lived in London for a few years. Fabric night club really opened my mind to electronic sounds and 4 X 4.

Jake : I grew up in Kent and the music scene was pretty poor but amongst my friends there was a focus on UK garage, drum n bass and hip hop. I used to hear house music at roller disco’s I frequented as a kid…I recognise tunes now being reissued I heard back in those days which is kinda cool. My dad generally made music to record guitar solos over but I wouldn’t say I’m from a formal music background. The first music I started making was basically hip hop loops with mates.

Your collaborations are exemplary examples of pure house vibes. Is there something alluring about this genre and tempo that you like to work with?

Jake : Thanks… yeah when I met Matt I was really getting into house music but didn’t have the musical knowledge to write anything with a melody so when I met Matt it was real fun to write beats whilst he jammed and it kinda grew into a project from there.

Matt : I love writing at slower tempos as it’s all about the groove. I like how house is derived from old disco and funk, I feel like it’s a nice tempo.

Your working relationship must be good. Have you experimented or considered other genre’s together?

Matt : It is good yeah, but we don’t feel constrained to just house music we just make whatever we are feeling at the time. We’re making stuff we like, all genres.

Jake : Yeah, we’ve been playing around with some garage and electro stuff. We try to use as much hardware as we can such as EQs, pedals, tape players, cheap drum machines and then just see what comes out.

Can you explain the motivation behind your mix, its track listing and what overall atmosphere you feel you have portrayed in it?

Jake : We’re just playing music we like. We recorded the mix in one take with mainly vinyl and a few CDs for unreleased stuff from friends. We’re loving music with a raw sound at the moment so we opened up with some of the new music we have been experimenting with. People can just make up their minds about the atmosphere, we’re just having fun.

Bristol has always been a hot bed of musical talent and an innovative area for music producers to migrate to. What is it about the city that helps nurture artistic ambitions?

Jake : I guess because there is a core scene, everyone helps each other out, people here are so welcoming and all heavily into music whatever music that may be. There is no pretentiousness, people are friendly and down to earth and that really helps to creative an atmosphere which seems to spark creativity.

Matt : I agree, people are matter of fact, meaning that stuff just gets done, It’s personal.

Could you tell us a bit about your studio set up and the creative process behind your music?

Matt : Jake has terrible monitors, I have an amazing keyboard and some-how we manage to make music.

Jake : Yeah, pretty much that we just jam and see what comes out of a session, its all pretty spontaneous. We use an old broken tape player, a Nord, a few other synths, a crap drum machine a sound recorder, effects pedals and some microphones and whatever else we can get our hands on really.

Your tracks has found homes on some of Bristol’s most established electronic labels including Immerse and Idle Hands. Have you had to actively push your music to get it signed?

Matt : Jake tends to talk a lot which helps…. I think having friends involved with music has helped a lot.

Jake : Yeah It’s great having friends involved with music, it keeps things really relaxed. Adam Kidkut ( Immmerse ) , Chris Farrell ( Idle Hands ) have both been really supportive from the start. We get along with all of them well so it made sense to release music via their labels. Donga ( Well Rounded ) in Brighton has also been great, he’s real open mind which is good for us as it means we had an outlet for the first tune we wrote with Naomi.

Have you got much more in the pipeline at the moment? Further releases, Christmas Gigs, a full length LP perhaps?

Jake : We’re playing the Sum / Idle hands Christmas party with Elgato & Billy Blank, Kowton, Kelly twins, Chris Farrell and Shanti Celeste which we are really excited about. Our next release is on Idle Hands which is out next week and then we have another release with Immerse next year.

Could you give our readers an insight into what your listening to at the moment?

Jake : I’m listening to a mixture of music, recently; Actress, Andy Stott, Arthur Russel, Prince, When Saints Go Machine, Toro Y Moi, Daughter, Kerri Chandler, Chez Damier, Floating points, Space Dimension Controller and Midnight Star. There’s also so many people in Bristol that are making amazing music such as Asusu, Behling + Simpson, Hackman, Kahn, Kidkut, Kowton, Pev, Vessel and so many more, the list of people producing music in Bristol is just huge.

Matt : Teebs, J Dilla, Floating Points, Change, Dam Funk, Funkineven and the Bristol Falling up mixes.

What do you like doing in your down time, away from the decks and faders?

Matt : Trying to get a job.

Jake : I love films especially anime and 80s / early 90s action, Hackers has to be the best film ever made… oh and Matt regularly hunts.

Any words of warning or wisdom for the masses?

Support your local record store.The Immerse label has long been a healthy barometer for Bristol’s creative avant-garde, and the debut from Outboxx didn’t disappoint. Since we reviewed their debut release ‘Kate Libby’s/Bertie’s Groove‘ on Immerse Records back in April 2011, we’ve been encapsulated by their mission to discover the perfect deep house melody. ‘Kate Libby’s’ had all the right ingredients: sun-drenched chords and meticulous drum programming over a solid house thump. Continuing our pursuit into Bristol’s talent we are proud to present our 46th mix from Matthew Lambert and Jacob Martin, otherwise known as Outboxx.