For more than 10 years, British production talent Wipe The Needle has been releasing a number of diverse ranging, high quality studio sounds on labels such as Defected, Makin’ Moves, and Soundmen On Wax.
The latest offering to land from him will see his much-awaited return to one of Sweden’s most prominent house labels in Local Talk, where he will release his brand new 5-track Round Of Applause EP.
We spoke to Wipe The Needle for our latest edition of Let’s Talk, where we got to ask him about the new EP, what he has coming in the near future, which artists he’s currently listening to, and more.
Let’s talk about your new Round of Applause EP, talk us through the three originals included on this one?
The title track ‘Round of Applause’ started off by me playing around with an unconventional time signature. 99% of dance music is in a 4×4 time signature, and I wanted to try something different, so I experimented with recording at 6×8. I liked what I heard, as the swing of the track felt cool and different. I also took elements from soul, bruk, and drum ‘n bass to create a nice blend between sweet chords and a nasty distorted reese bass. At first, I planned to make it an instrumental, but Mats from Local Talk suggested a vocal, so I hit up Aleysha Lei who sung some lyrics for me.
The track ‘Event Horizon’ was first recorded to be a simple yet nasty DJ dub, but eventually it turned kind of soulful and sweet after I put the chords in, and it’s another one influenced by my drum ‘n bass roots.
The final track ‘Jack The Nitty’ was done when I was extremely angry, as I’d just had an argument with my upstairs neighbour about the constant noise which they make 24/7. I’m pretty sure they are a drug dealers, ‘Nitty’ is a UK slang term for ‘crack head’, and his name is Jack. Making the track was me trying to relax after that altercation.
And it also includes dub and instrumental mixes of the title track, why did you want to include those, and how do they differ from the original edit?
I included the instrumental because vocals are usually a personal thing that people either hate or love, so it’s always good to have an instrumental, and give people the option for both. The dub was created for the more adventurous house heads, as the original is focused on a broken beat. I removed 90% of the vocal, which made it a lot grimier.
It comes on Local Talk, a label you have released with in the past, how has your relationship with those guys developed over the years?
The guys who run Local Talk are great. Very supportive and extremely open minded when it comes to music, and that’s the kind of label I like to work with. We’ve worked together on and off over the years, and way before the Local Talk label was even started.
You have also released on Defected and Makin’ Moves, what kind of things do you look for in a potential label partnership?
I like to work with labels that are forward thinking and open to new sounds, as I get very bored doing one thing too long. I also always try and work with people who are friendly and easy to get along with. I’ve got a lot of releases out there, and some labels I would never work with again.
Which other labels might we expect to see you on in 2022?
I’ve been busy, so expect quite a bit from me this year, including releases on Z Records, Makin’ Moves, and Broadcite. I also finished and signed my hiphop album to R&S records, so look out for that around summertime.
What are your main sources of inspiration when it comes to writing music?
I find inspiration from literally everywhere, movies and TV are a huge inspiration. For example, I was watching children’s TV with my son yesterday, and was hearing samples and noises that made me want to get in the studio.
And what artists have you been listening to most in your personal life right now?
I listen to a lot of older music, and to be honest, I don’t really keep up to date with new music. My playlists are filled with everything from Wu-Tang to Chick Corea and from drum n bass to jazz funk.
What’s one thing you’re excited about in 2022?
In 2022, I’m definitely very excited about my hiphop album. Splash GDN – You’re Welcome has been in the works for around 10 years, so it’s great to finally get it out into the world.
Wipe The Needle – Round Of Applause EP is out in two parts on April 1st and April 15th on Local Talk.