It's a challenge for up and coming artists to craft a sound that's both unique and original in the rave scene. One such artist Operate, has been carving his way since 2013 with releases on Murky Digital, Young Guns Recordings and Spectre Audio to name a few.
You may have caught him at some of the Southwest's most popular drum and bass nights; Enter, One Nation and On a Mission, as well as Invaderz in Belgium and Trident Festival in Slovakia.
We tracked him down and asked what he's been up to recently...
Tell us a bit about Operate and what he’s been up to lately
First off thanks for the invite! I'm a drum and bass producer from Bournemouth. I’ve had a busy year with university but now I've been able to focus on production again and that won’t change from this point. I've been working hard to finesse some new styles that I wanted to pursue and explore and I’ve got some music that I’m really excited to show soon!
How did you get into music production and what or who was a big influence on your music?
Funnily enough, before getting into music production and listening to electronic music I was more into heavy/grungy bands and instrumental stuff. I think this is where my taste in drum and bass and even my own production came from. When I was finishing school, I was starting to move into electronic music and I came across UKF Dubstep and I loved it. But it wasn’t till I went to college and people were showing me drum and bass artists like Noisia, Alix Perez and Camo & Krooked, that I realised this was the genre for me.
I got some decks and started mixing every day after college, sitting up all night YouTube surfing, hoping to find more tunes. Then I guess what happened is that cliché where mixing isn’t enough anymore and making my own music was the only thing I wanted to do.
How has your production style progressed throughout your career? Have you ever worked in other genres?
My style has changed a lot, I took a lot of influence from dubstep in my production with it’s crazy riffs and heavy drum work. When I was playing in places like Belgium I definitely would make more upbeat jump up tracks as well. I’ve had a small break to focus on university and I used this time to think about what I enjoyed and what I’d like to try next, so you’re going to be hearing a lot more dark and heavy music from me now. I'm also doing a few different projects in drum and bass, which I’m keen to show people very soon.
What would you say is currently your favourite track, released or unreleased, of your own and why?
My favourite unreleased track at the moment is currently unnamed, but has had a lot of positive feedback. I like it because it’s a good representation of the new style I’m pursuing but still has my signature sound. This is a track I’m looking forward to releasing.
A released track would probably be Ouija, it’s not the most technical track but I just love the dark ambience and rolling bass line.
You’ve done some big tracks with Kanine, Subsonic, and Skantia. How has it been working with other artists and are there any other collaborations you have in the works?
It’s always enjoyable to find artists you click with collaboratively, it gives you new perspectives and they can sometimes see a cool riff out of a bass you’ve sent them that you’ve never thought of. It’s always an eye opener!
I've also been focusing on a lot of solo stuff but I do have some tracks coming with Klinical, Objectiv and Enta. A group of talented dudes.
What can we expect from Operate this year?
This year you can expect a lot of new and different music from me, starting with a collaboration with Klinical forthcoming on SkankandBass. I’m working on a few other labels at the moment to push this music out. You can also catch me in Belgium, Antwerp in the next few months where I will be showcasing a lot of this stuff.
You can catch Operate at the Skank N Bass weekender 2019 in Antwerp.
Soundcloud - operatednb
Facebook - OPERATEDNB
Instagram - dom_operate
Photography - Kiradnbuk
Comments