Get to Know: Matador
We had a chat with the Irish techno titan ahead of his set this Saturday, 4th May alongside ANNA, our resident Luther Vine and more...
As one of Ireland’s most renowned producers in the live techno soundscape, Matador returns to the club on 4th May for another scintillating set in our Middle Floor. With his acclaimed RUKUS imprint, the Irishman has released a plethora of his own work as well as releases by OC & Verde, Joran Van Pol, Carlo Ruetz and many more since launching the label back in 2016.
Following a busy few months touring Brazil, Spain, Serbia and more, Matador makes a welcome return to the club for his second London date of the year this Saturday, 4th May alongside ANNA, our resident Luther Vine and many more...
Ahead of the night, we caught up with him to talk about where his label is at now and what’s next for him this year...
You’ve just released your new EP ‘Apollo 11’ with ARTBAT. What’s the theme behind the release?
Yes, I don't remember us going into this project with any theme set out so to speak, it was very much a case of just doing our thing and following the sound to wherever it took us as producers. We ended up with quite a spacey, sci-fi kind of theme in the end which was brought on mostly by the instruments used in the track.
How did you come across the ARTBAT guys?
Heard the boys’ music a couple of years ago, it had the melodic elements, but with quite a forward-thinking arrangements technique, which I love to see and hear. We spoke about doing a remix on my label RUKUS but ended up collaborating on original material.
What was it like to collaborate with them in the studio? Did you plan a well-thought-out dynamic before you started working with them or did you both just let it flow naturally in the studio?
Ha!! Like a lot of collaborations these days, we were not in the studio together once for any of this, it all (full session folders) went back and forth many many times, almost one year in the end for the two tracks. It can be difficult this way, but it is achievable once the communication is clear and responsive, and of course, the ideas are good!
The artwork is particularly eye-catching; how much of an input do you have when it comes to the creative and branding side of RUKUS?
The original idea tends to be generated and carried out by four of us directly working directly on the label. So this is very much a collaborative thing. We've worked with many different designers, but ended up looking outside of the box and got this guy who works in game design, which gives our artwork a whole different edge.
What’s next on the horizon for RUKUS?
Our “3am series 1” comes next month, with 4 relatively new artists, 4 absolute gems, originals that I’ve been playing in all my sets at peak moments.
Leave us with a track from the RUKUS discography which holds particular significance to you and tell us why?
I’m going to go for the most obvious, which is the most recent ‘Apollo 11’, and the reasons are, I feel that this record really captures what we've done in the past, and also steers us in a direction that I really feel is a sound that naturally feels right for the label. A definitive record to say the least!