Metronome #073: LO’99

Insomniac’s Metronome series features mixes from some of today’s fastest-rising electronic stars, as well as championed legends. It takes listeners deep across a wide range of genres, movements, cultures, producers, artists and sounds that make up the diverse world of electronic music.

We got 99 problems but LO ain’t one (sorry, I needed to get that one off my chest). Now that I’ve gotten the half-serious one-liner outta the way, let’s rap about one of the buzziest exports coming from Australia.

He goes by the name LO’99 and is the answer to the copy-and-paste generation of producers who are scared to death of taking risks. Adding to garage and bass house with his own trademark twinkle, he’s standing on top of an output that has fallen into the laps of labels we have mad respect for, such as Night Bass, This Ain’t Bristol, Bunny Tiger, and his locally grown Medium Rare Recordings. Dude is doing big things, and it only took him a couple of years to swiftly swing up the pecking order held high by producers. Not too shabby.

As an attempt to get the lowdown on this dude from Down Under, we shot a few lighthearted Qs in his direction. But where words fall short, music can help pick up the slack, which is why we also bothered the guy for an hour-long mix. It’s strewn with a nice combo of his own material and like-minded bits he’s been vibing on recently. Hopefully once you get through them both, you’ll see what we see in this fast-rising, bass-spewing act.

I noticed you don’t have a bio on your FB, so let’s make an unofficial one up for you. Using only emojis, how would your bio read?
Haha. Cheers for the heads up, might get these up on FB now, too…

Tell us one truth and one lie, and let us decide which is which.
I’m proper good at Mortal Kombat. Been runner-up in ANZ a few times!

I got my name from a broken air-conditioner on a random Wednesday night.

Before transitioning into a producer, you dabbled with real instruments like sax and guitar (I also heard you kill “Three Blind Mice” on the recorder). What do you have to say to those who claim making computer music isn’t on the same level?
Hahaha, who told you that? True, but I kill “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Hot Cross Buns,” too!

Most people who claim that music made on a computer isn’t “real music,” or whatever, probably have had little-to-zero experience doing it. I guess it’s probably not the exact same from a live performance POV in most cases, but you can be just as “musical” and, I guess, even more technical on a computer with regards to writing. To each their own; I’m down with both vibes.

What urged you to make the switch and start jamming on your first DAW?
The first sort of electronic gear I had was a little Boss sampler, and then a 303 in which I’d just play around live with friends. I guess there’s only so much you can do with just those bits of gear and no computer, so it just came naturally as my interest grew. I started by exporting drum loops from Fruity, combining them with my live recordings in Acid and/or Cakewalk (Sonar). LOL.

From the bits you’ve already put out, which one is the most important to you, and why?
That’s a tough one! For me (and I think most producers), my latest thing is my “favorite thing.” So atm, it’s my remix for Low Steppa’s “Runnin’” tune, which will be dropping pretty soon. But as for most “important,” mmm, I think maybe one of my unreleased tunes that I have written the lyrics for. Stay tuned!

What about outside of your own productions—is there a special track, electronic or otherwise, that has resonated with you unlike any other?
I’m into all types of music. I’m a big fan of Jon Hopkins, Mogwai, the xx, Boards of Canada, Nils Frahm, DJ Shadow, Tom Middleton, and plenty and plenty of ‘90s and ‘00s hip-hop and punk! The one piece of music I can say that stands out as favorite to me would be Jon Hopkins’ album Immunity or, randomly, the soundtrack to a movie called Code 46, which was produced by Free Association (David Holmes).

Are you good at critiquing your own work, or do you always send it out for a second opinion? If so, whom do you rely on to give you honest and fair feedback?
I’m all good with critiquing my own stuff from a music-writing POV, but I always get a second (or third) opinion from a friend or two when it comes to mixdowns or general vibe. I think it’s super important to get feedback from people you trust, ‘specially when you’ve heard your own tune over 100 times.

You’re about to embark on your first-ever US tour. Are there any stops you’re particularly excited to make?
Yeah, so keen! I haven’t been to the US since I was like 5 or 6. The only thing I remember is that teacup ride at Disneyland, so I guess I sort of haven’t been at all, haha. I’m equally excited for all the shows, I guess. Hope to see everyone reading this at whatever your closest show is, and have a beer with you.

Aside from your booked gigs, what else are you looking forward to getting into while you’re in the States?
I’m really looking forward to catching up with many of my friends that are over your way. Plus shopping, food, and maybe I’ll head back to the theme parks again and see if the teacup ride thing is still a vibe, haha.

Share some words on the mix you’ve put together for us.
There’s sort of two different kinds of sets I normally play, vibe-wise: One is more so on the techy, quirky house tip, and one more just straight-up basslines (depending on where/when I’m playing). I wasn’t sure what I should do for this mix, but went more along the lines of the later bassline vibe this time. Loving all this stuff in my sets atm!

What does the rest of 2016 look like for you?
On the music tip, my remix for Low Steppa is just about to come out and will be followed by a club jam of mine called “Make Me Feel” in July. I have collabs with Taiki Nulight, Ray Foxx, Aston Shuffle, Marshall F, Bixel Boys and Dr. Fresch, and a bunch of solo things underway, so hopefully they’ll all get to see the light of day before the end of the year!

Gig-wise, I’ll be touring the US in July; Australia in August and September; over in Europe for October; and then prob back to Australia for our summer.

Playstation-wise, Overwatch, Battlefield and Mortal Kommmbatttttttt. ☺

Track List:: Redlight “LA 2 Mexico”
Chad Tyson “Danger”
Taiki Nulight & Low Steppa “Piano Cannon”
Hotfire “Tough Break”
LO’99 & Taiki Nulight “ID”
Cause & Affect “The Herd”
Tazer & Tink “Wet Dollars” (Redlight Remix)
Hannah Wants “Dot Com”
LO’99 “Ruff Anthem VIP”
Riddim Commission ft. Stush “More Fire” (LO'99 Remix)
LO’99 & Taiki Nulight “ID”
Motez ft. Scrufizzer “The Vibe” (Astronomar & Bot Remix)
LO’99 & Marshall F “Take Me Back VIP”
Nu Era “Release the Kraken”
Go Freek “Interconnected”
Moby “Almost Loved” (LO’99 Remix)
Jay Robinson “The End”
Taiki Nulight, LO’99 and Cause & Affect “Warfare”