Mattwizard “Aquilla”

Slit Jockey—the imprint responsible for helping heads guzzle down grime Stateside since day one—has proved they have a keen ear for the cutting edge. So, signing on Mattwizard’s debut LP, Phone Home, was a total no-brainer. The UK upstart is holding on to an output that tosses out the guidelines of the genre and starts somewhere fresh.

The entire album is swathed with the wiz’s colorful, cosmic chaos, with “Aquilla” being no exception. On the cut, he splashes his active, skippy riddims with sprightly, ad-libbed melodies and sassy sax phrases to keep you on the tips of your toes for the entire trip. If raves were to ever go down in a deep-space jazz café, Mattwizard would be headlining that mess—no question about it.

Available now via Slit Jockey Records.
Were you impulsive on this track, or did you have a sketch in mind before you started?
The way I make music is always kind of impulsive, I guess. Even if I have an idea of what I want to do with a track, I will almost always get distracted by some other chords or a cool synth sound. I really like making stuff that takes you one direction [and] then switches up, and this will usually end up happening with my tracks, if I planned it or not. When I’m making music, I suppose I like to try and explore all the ideas that I’m having and try to find ways to make them all work together.

Do you think advances in computer technology and gear have affected your creativity?
It’s definitely easier and faster! When I first started out, I had a copy of Cubase SX, and I spent years learning it, trying to figure out how I could make my tracks sound as good as the music I was hearing. In 2015, you can open any DAW and quickly build a track that sounds good enough to be played on radio or in a club that same night.

Thinking about it, I reckon the biggest thing that affects my creativity is my learning to use the technology available. I mean, as I learned music with computers and taught myself keyboard, I developed habits that maybe limit my creativity without me even knowing. It used to really annoy me if my tunes ended up sounding similar, but I realised that if these are the sound vibrations my brain likes, I should just embrace it.

Who is the ideal person to remix this track?
Too many choices; there are so many ultra talented producers out there. Plus, it’s just really a sick thing to hear another person’s interpretation of your music. I always wanted to hear a Spooky remix of one of my tracks; then it happened with “Tapanga Kapowski”! He really stripped the track down and built something that is undeniably his sound (Stabber did the same with his remix!). So yeah, anyone who is capable of doing that, really. Otherwise, maybe it would be cool to see someone like Chris Dave and one of his jam bands cover it, or like a Kamasi Washington space-jazz cover! That would be pretty insane!

How does this production reflect your personality/ethos?
I’m an intergalactic jazz cat from another planet, but I think I do a good job of concealing this with the music I make.

What’s your favorite sound/synth/effect/etc. used here?
It’s really hard to choose, but I would say probably the saxophone part in the middle section—just because I love that I played it on keyboard, yet it sounds so much like a real saxamaphone. I probably spent about an hour or so just doing sax solos before I recorded anything!

Choose one feeling that sums up this release, and describe it to us.
That feeling of how you remember shit being when you were a kid—when your imagination made things way more radical and fun than reality.

Buy Phone Home on iTunes.

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