The Storm
Seeing as they had a brand new, four-track dubstep extravaganza out this week via Never Say Die Records, we decided to get the lowdown on how Habstrakt and Megalodon created “The Storm”. The pair, who usually work as solo producers and DJs last worked together for a track on Megalodon’s “Boom” EP, and clearly something sounded right. This time around, it’s a collection of heavy impact, sample-filled pieces of 140 bpm madness. Check out what the duo had to say about their creative processes.
TMN: What have you both been up to as of recent?
Habstrakt: Touring Australia and New Zealand at the moment, it’s absolutely amazing so far. I had to wake up in the middle of the night to witness the release going live and see the fans react to it! Before that, I spent the summer in studio working on loads of new tunes, and already wrapping up the next EP as we speak.
Megalodon: I’ve just got back from a tour in the States and now catching some of the festival season here in Europe. It’s always fun to enjoy Europe before it gets back to being cold and dreary! As for studio work, I’m constantly working on sound design and concepts, which for a picky person like me may take a good amount of time sometimes.
TMN: You joined forces back in 2013 with “40 Cows”. How did you originally hook up for that track?
H: Sinjin (Megalodon) was touring France and had a few days off, so I offered him to come over to my place so we could finally meet after years and years of talking on the internet. We made “40 Cows” in one session; it only took an afternoon to write it down, which was probably the fastest studio session I’ve ever had!
TMN: What has the writing process been like for “The Storm” EP, any funny studio stories?
H: Well, “Yabba Dabs” was written on Sinjin’s sofa in The Netherlands, we didn’t have speakers and did most of it on laptop speakers or with crappy headphones – coming back home to mix it down was painful, aha! Once again, we wrote all the tracks within a few days, but then obviously mixing it down took us a bit longer! The recipe for the album was pretty simple: funny samples, 8 bit melodies, aggressive drops and a good dose of that sofa laziness we all crave.
TMN: You both work with Never Say Die on the regular, what is it like to work with SKisM and the crew?
M: Well I gotta say, from the moment I started working with them I noticed a big difference in drive and overall work ethic from them – more than anything I had experienced before. Put aside the fact that SKisM and the crew run an immensely tight ship, they also have always been on point when it comes to delivering quality and ground breaking dubstep to a bigger audience. I know Habby feels the same when I say SKisM is a huge influence as a producer and a pioneer in the game… it’s an honour to be apart of the team!
H: The Never Say Die crew is a very strong team with loads of people involved full-time with running the label, it’s very encouraging to work with such a team. SKisM has always been a mentor to me, even getting me back on the road when I was drifting away. The man is driven by a strong vision of both his label and the bass music scene in general, and it’s a real pleasure to work with someone who’s entirely devoted into pushing his artists as far as possible. Plus he calls me every night to sing me lullabies so I can sleep and he owns a suit made of £ notes, what else can I say!
TMN: What do you both have planned for the future? Any chance of more tracks from the pair of you?
M: Basically the same thing I’ve been doing since the start really. Making music and performing it is my passion and I hope to continue doing so for as long as I can. As for working again with Habstrakt, I think it would be foolish not to. I guess we will see what happens next!
H: It looks like I’m gonna be on the road a lot over the next few months, gigs are piling up and upcoming tours looks really exciting! Lucky for me, I’ve learned how to work far away from my studio and I can keep up with the production while playing shows all over the world. And yes, you will definitely hear more Habstrakt & Megalodon collabs in the future, we’ve got such a nice thing rolling, I don’t see any reason why we would stop!
Pick up a copy of “The Storm” EP here.
