The Count-Off: Krakota

ou can get the lowdown on an artist’s current happenings and read plenty of juicy gossip about them at way too many other places on the interweb; but we’re not having any of that here. Instead, The Count-Off aims to reveal a never-before-seen side of the top dance music names on our radar, by inviting them to share five songs, four things, three albums, two people and one wish.

It’s been an eventful year for Krakota, since we first earmarked him in our Essential Artists series almost immediately after he sealed an exclusive signing with the mighty Hospital Records. In that time, the UK drum & bass riser has been rattling the cage, basically outgrowing it completely, as the beastly beatsmith continues to grow into his own studio skin.

His recent Citadels EP is all the affirmation you need to see that Krakota has a stronghold on the D&B scene and an unwavering mission to test the limits of the genre and himself. With interest at an all-time high, we flagged him down to be the next guest to count it off for us.

5 Songs I wish I’d made

I had to keep this recent, or the list would have been massive.

Tycho “Hours”

One of my favorite tunes of recent years; has such an amazing atmosphere and reminds me of good times.

Zero 7 “In the Waiting Line”

Effortlessly amazing piece of music. Easily in my top 10. S.P.Y did the next best thing and did a wicked bootleg!

Coldplay “Midnight”

Such a simple and delicate song, but hits so hard at the same time.

Bonobo “Cirrus”

Again, super simplicity, but it hooked me in. I had it stuck in my head for weeks.

Todd Terje “Inspector Norse”

Completely nailed the modern funk/disco sound. One of the best tunes of 2012 for me.

4 things I’m happy I did

Quit my engineering class on the first day of college and moved to a music course.
I’d literally sat in there for half an hour listening to the lecturer explain the syllabus, and I just thought, “What the hell am I doing here?” I left straightaway and changed my course to music. I’m glad I did.

Signed to Hospital Records
It’s a daunting prospect at first, but it’s been a really great year for me since signing. A high point was releasing my Citadels EP a couple of weeks back. It felt really good to get that out.

Went for a run this morning.
Gotta keep fit! I’m lucky enough to live by the sea—some of the sunrises are amazing.

Played at Glastonbury last year
It’s one of those festivals that everyone is obsessed with (and rightly so). It was so good to go there for the first time last year with the Hospitality guys. We had a blast on the Shangri-La stage on Saturday afternoon.

3 albums everyone should own 

Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon

I don’t think this one needs much explaining. Stone-cold classic.

Zero 7 Simple Things

A top 5 for me without a doubt; an amazing collection of music.

Kendrick Lamar Good Kid m.A.A.d City

This was such a grower for me. I wasn’t into it at all at first, but I’m so glad I kept listening.

 

2 people I wish I could hang out with

Hans Zimmer

We could sit in his studio, drink tea and stuff.

David Brent

We could go to the pub for a pint of lager and engage in some extreme social awkwardness.

1 thing I wish everyone knew

The amount of time and effort that goes into a five-minute piece of music.

I think this is often overlooked by people in this age. If you picked 10 random people off the street and asked them how electronic music is made, I don’t think many would be able to answer properly.

 

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