Scotland’s techno scene is stronger than ever, DJs like Slam, Harvey McKay and of course Gary Beck have made the country known as a trusted provider of dark and heavy club beats. And the latter is about to drop his second long player.
Gary Beck’s Dal Riata will come on his own label, BEK Audio. With plenty of stomping drums, dense basslines and roaring synth patterns. We got a chance to catch up with Gary ahead of the albums release to chat about the origin of the title, his studio goals, what’s to come afterwards and more.
Gary, how are things? We hope you’re ready for the album release!?
Yes! It’s been a hectic last 6 months with getting everything prepared for the release. It’s on my own label so there was plenty more extra work involved. It’s been a really enjoyable and challenging experience that’s for sure!
It’s titled Dal Riata, where did the name come from?
I’m a huge lover of the West coast of Scotland, and I was having a read through some of it’s history on Wikipedia. I read about this ancient Kingdom formed by the Scots and Irish called the Dal Riata and I fell in love with the name! It was around this time I was coming up with ideas for my LP and it fitted perfectly. I wanted to keep some kind of a Scottish theme going throughout the album with the text and artwork.
And in terms of the production, how did you approach things?
I had a couple of really special tracks which I felt would be much more suited to an LP. So, I hammered the studio and came out with an abundance of material over a 6-month period. I then began the process of selecting the best ones to compliment the original tracks.
There’s a Roland FA08 synth that features predominantly in most of the tracks. It was a fairly new addition to my studio and I loved the sounds I was getting from it.
And have you been road testing the tracks in your sets? What kind of reception have they been getting?
Absolutely, some of them have been mainstays in my sets. There’s one track called ‘Bonkers Bus’ and it’s been causing damage for sure! It’s a very bouncy loopy track and the name compliments it very well.
And on the subject of gigs, are there any special album shows scheduled?
I’m doing a small Scottish tour for 4 days after Xmas. I love playing in Scotland, so it seemed appropriate. There’s plenty of European shows scheduled as well, which will showcase most of the album material.
You’re releasing the LP on your own label, BEK Audio, did you consider any other labels or was this one strictly for BEK?
There were a few options to release the album elsewhere however I wanted the challenge of going through the whole process through my own label. It was a good experience. Lots of the BEK releases do really well so I thought why the hell not!
Are there any plans for a remix EP in the future? If so, who could we expect on there?
I’m not a fan of album remixes. I asked for my first album on Soma not to be mixed as well. I believe an album should just be left alone.
Gary Beck’s Dal Riata will arrive on vinyl and digitally on November 19th on BEK Audio. Pre-order here.