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Robin Wylie creates music that works in all settings and transcends genres. His openness to a wide range of sound is what has both made him a widely loved favourite, but also someone who operates in his own parallel musical world. We had a chance to talk to him, so enjoy your reading and check out his latest releases.
What was the first thing that attracted you to the world of electronic music?
It was a natural progression over the years. I would have listened to metal and hardcore stuff as a kid and then the Industrial sound in the late 80's early 90's really got me, the inclusion of synths and drum machines along with guitars really intrested me even though I had no idea what was making those sounds. Ministry, NIN, KMFDM, Meat Beat Manifesto all those bands were doing it for me. When I started to hear early dance music from mates tapes it just seemed to slot into place. My 1st visit to the Art College in Belfast cemented that love.
Do you remember any album or concert that has changed everything?
Nine Inch Nails put out 2 eps in '92 called Broken & Fixed. Fixed was an important EP for me, I was starting to get into more electronic stuff around then. When I heard it I must have listened to it constantly for the next year (still listening to it now). I wanted to know how they were making these sounds, I remember asking a mate how was the drummer able to play so fast, it was obviously a drum machine or sampler being used but when your 16 and there was no google it was amazing hearing this.
How is the music scene living in your city with this murky pandemic situation?
Thankfully we are starting to come out the other side now, the clubs here are all open with no restrictions and there are plenty of bookings. The only downside we are finding is there are very few spaces to host any club nights in the city. What are your favorite places to hang out in the city?
For a quiet pint there are a couple of great bars on the Ormeau Road. The Errigle or Northern Lights would be favorites. For club nights the Ulster Sports Club is the place at the minute, they have a great sound system and reassuringly sticky floors. For food General Merchants do a great breakfast and lunch. Have you had time to focus on making music, spending time with your family, or planning future projects?
Making time for everything is tough, but it's so important to have the right balance for family, music and work. I'm pretty happy with the balance these days How was your last project born?
The Acton East EP, which is due out at the start of June, was inspired with the jungle sounds from the 90s, I wanted the pads and strings in that to have that blissed out feeling from those early days.
As for your studio, what is your setup currently made of?
The studio is a pretty hybrid setup these days, I have a decent collection of synths, drum machines and outboard. I have a Midas Venice F24 (and a F32 for when I get a bigger room) that handles all the routing. It's an older desk but has a Firewire card that lets me bounce 24 channels to and from Ableton.
I do some mixing and mastering for a few local DJ's and producers here, the hybrid setup gives me the ability to take it all out of the box and send it through the outboard. What's the one team you'll never get rid of, no matter what?
Ohh that's a hard one. I tell my kids my TR909 was my 1st born, I don't think I will ever get rid of that. The digitakt always amazes me, Ableton & Push would have to be the things if I was forced to down size. What would you say is the definition of your sound?
It's all over the place in a good way. The releases lined up for this year are ranging between acid and electro on Nez's Computer Controlled label, I have some Jungle and break stuff on a new Label from London called Devons Road, a UK Garage Cut on a white with Prestige Cuts and some 130 jungle inspired stuff on my own Belfast Pressure label.
What was the last record store you visited and what did you get out there?
The last record shop I was in has just opened in Belfast, it's called Sound Advice over East Belfast. Marion keeps a great selection of new stuff and a great collection of second hand bits too. I'm always looking for stuff to sample and got a couple of old XL records with some sample gold on them.