The contents of this article were originally posted here: http://pulseradio.net/articles/2014/07/fresh-blood-jack-music
For 8 years now, award winning Bristol promoter Just Jack has been bringing the UK some of the most eclectic and forward thinking nights around. So it’s no surprise that their booking agency, Jack Music Agency, hand picks ear catching, unique underground talent like Bristol’s Admin.
With releases on labels like Glasgow Underground and Futureboogie, and sets that are light-years ahead of his experience level, Adam Wickens is steadily making a name for himself in Bristol and beyond. His recent Monday Morning Mixtape, full of expertly selected 1970s smooth jazz from North America, stood out so much that we immediately reached out for a Fresh Blood mix, which you can listen to and download below.
How did you get into electronic music? I used to listen to reggae and stuff with my friends, which kind of progressed into listening to jungle and dub and I continued to branch into other genres over time. I have always tried to listen to as much music as I can, not sticking to any particular genres as such but electronic music is more accessible to the bedroom producer think, at least at first.
We loved your Monday Morning Mixtape. How did you discover so much soulful music? Through recommendation or conversation with friends, family and anyone I meet at festivals or gigs and what not. Vinyl shop digging or searching for samples, or through YouTube surfing or Spotify and other such things. I think this generation is lucky to have such a huge catalogue of music so readily available to listen to, but you do have to put a bit of research in.
What's your studio setup like at the moment? Are you an analogue fan? I’ve been messing with sampling a lot more recently and different methods of recording my vinyl, so I have my record player between my monitors with my laptop to one side at the moment. I have a little drum machine that has made appearances in a few tunes and of course I would like to build up a collection of analogue equipment over time. An MPC and 909 or something would be nice!
I understand you used to play the trumpet. Do you use it or any other live instrumentation in your productions? I haven't busted out my old trumpet in a long, long time, but it was definitely the gateway into my love for music and music production. It helped me to read music and gain a good ear for what I like to listen to. I have recently been working on some collaborations with Andy Compton, a brilliant deep house producer and a wizard on the guitar. We have some tracks where he has been jamming along that sound great, so yeah I definitely hope to include more instrumentation where I can.
What else is on your horizon for 2014? I’ve been working on a lot of solo projects but I have also started to collaborate with some exciting producers such as the previously mentioned Andy Compton, but also Wolf Music and Futureboogie affiliate, Thrilogy. The collaborations really give me the opportunity to learn about what other producers are doing and feeling, and to keep trying and listening to new things. I am also looking forward to few more gigs around Bristol, such as Simple Things festival on the 25th October.
Can you tell us about the Fresh Blood mix you provided for us? This one is a deep, raw and rolling house mix for a sunny day.
Listen to Pulse Radio.
The contents of this article were originally posted here: http://pulseradio.net/articles/2014/07/fresh-blood-jack-music