Get to know: ABSOLUTE.
You know you’re doing something right when the likes of Annie Mac, Monki and Danny Howard play your track for five weeks in a row on BBC Radio 1, airing your tune just in time to warm up the UK’s dance music lovers for the weekend ahead. In the case of London based artist ABSOLUTE., these crucial few hours of broadcasting led to more support from serious industry heavyweights including The Black Madonna, Erol Alkan, B.Traits and DJ EZ to name a few.
Since his breakthrough track, ‘Acid Summer’ released on Weapons, ABSOLUTE. has earned a status as one to watch on London’s electronic scene and has seen released ‘Fairground’ on A.player, including a KDA remix which has further boosted his profile into the electronic soundscape. Unsurprisingly, the young producer caught the attention of Tiga who later signed ABSOLUTE. to his own iconic imprint, Turbo Recordings. With a guest mix for British Council’s - The Selector which goes out to four million listeners worldwide, it’s fair to say to say that ABSOLUTE.’s upward trajectory shows no signs of stopping, something we’re happy to be part of ahead of his Egg LDN debut with Tiger himself.
Grabbing five minutes out of a hectic schedule, we caught up with ABSOLUTE. to see what else is in store for the year ahead…
Your profile has grown considerably in the last couple of months, have you found any moments particularly overwhelming or surreal recently?
Having my music signed by Tiga to Turbo was a dream. Then hearing him call me a future star on BBC Radio 1, play two of my tracks there and finally to be asked to play together all in such a short space of time still feels massively surreal, in a really good way! Also doing two remixes for Maya Jane Coles was a big highlight recently too, she’s someone I absolutely adore both creatively and on a personal level.
According to your bio, the sound of ABSOLUTE. was born out of sessions at Fortress Studio’s in London. Tell us about your time spent there and how it influenced your approach in the studio and behind the DJ booth?
RIP Fortress Studios, it’s gone now but I had some great times there, it's where I wrote my first release Fairground. It can be pretty isolating if you’re in the studio alone all the time, so it’s nice being around other artists. We were renting from Bicep next door, it was thanks to them I first tried out Ableton Push when exploring my live show set up. I was sharing with my good buddy Wax Wings, so we often bounced ideas off each other and generally kept things fun. We’re looking at getting a new studio together at the moment too.
What do you think of London’s current electronic scene? Are there any homegrown labels that are catching your attention at the moment?
It’s exciting to hear a few new venues popping up rather than closing which we’ve been used to recently. Label-wise, I’m really enjoying Unknown to the Unknown, Super Rhythm Trax, Hypercolour and Lobster Theremin. And of course, Weapons who put out my last release, Acid Summer.
You recently DJ’d at London Fashion Week, how was the experience in comparison to that of a club or festival? Did you drastically switch up your style for the occasion?
Fashion Week Parties can be very different from a festival or club shows, I’ve had to be careful and pick the right ones so that musically it can still make sense. In the past, I’ve played for KTZ and this London Fashion Week it was the Gareth Pugh party, then over to Milan for Fashion Week there to play at the long-standing institution, Plastic.
Leave us with three tracks that emulate your version of London - the type of people you surround yourself with on the scene, tracks from emerging artists or anything else that sonically illustrates where you’re at in music right now?
I’m loving so much at the moment, the first three tracks here are from close friends, a couple aren’t out yet but I’m excited for them to hit.
Jimmy Edgar - Burn So Deep (Wax Wings Remix)
Maya Jane Coles - Darkside (Mella Dee Warehouse Remix)
KDA - Hate Me (Warboy Remix)
Here’s the top 5 tracks I’m feeling at the moment that also really deserve a mention:
Madben - The Drum Beast
Øall Hates - ƒlux $†até
Unknown Artist - Burning Up
BETON - Directions ft. Wevie Stonder
M44K - Untitled A