Undoubtedly one of the greatest success stories drum & bass had to tell in 2015, Netsky is all set to conquer 2016 with his third album – 3.
We caught up with Boris and spoke to him about this album, plus the collaborations featured on it and plenty more. Read our chat here. :)
Azasia – Hi Boris, how are you and what have you been up to recently?
Boris – I’ve been touring a lot lately and I finished my 3rd album a couple of weeks ago.
Azasia – As an artist it is inevitable for your sound to evolve over the years. In what way has your music style developed from the time you started producing music to now?
Boris – I like to think that I got more comfortable with the idea of not sticking to any genre or style and just give myself more creative freedom. With this next album I wanted to go as broad as possible musically.
Azasia – You’re onto your 3rd album, so you are no stranger to the album creation process. What is different about this one compared to your previous albums?
Boris – I think for me, this album had the classic ‘2nd album’ syndrome, more than my last album. It took me a long time to find the right direction and I went through a long stage of writers block. What I loved about making this album was that I had the chance to work with some amazing other writers and singers. I’m so happy I got to work with people like Dave 1 from Chromeo and Emeli Sandé.
Azasia – How did the title of ‘3’ came about?
Boris – I’ve always been a minimalist when it comes to design or architecture and I think there’s something really clean about naming LP’s this way. I’d like people to look at my albums as a progression or an ‘era’. It’s almost like it’s my project’s age, like netsky is 3 now :-). Also, I want each track to tell a story rather than the whole album in general.
Azasia – What was the inspiration behind its creation?
Boris – I wanted to write an album that represents all the music genres I couldn’t live without. It’s a combination of the styles of music I’d take to a deserted island.
Azasia – What or who are some of your influences of the album?
Boris – My influences for this project range from drum & bass to hiphop to soul, funk, pop, classical music. Kind of all over the place.
Azasia – Who have you worked with on the album? We know of digital farm animals. Also tell us about how that collab came about.
Boris – DFA is one of the most talented writers I’ve ever met. When I started hearing some of his songs I knew we would be a good combination. He really nails pop with a ‘twist’. And I like to produce the songs in a way that give it even more of an edge.
Azasia – What is your opinion of pop-style drum and bass in the mainstream? Has that played somewhat of a role in how you wrote your album?
Boris – Not really. I don’t like how some mainstream dnb sounds right now. Most of the big radio dnb songs sound like a remix of a pop song. You can hear the song started with 4 piano chords and some DJ just puts a beat on it.
I think the real magic happens when the song, the lyrics and the instrumental production all sound interesting on their own. That’s the criteria I set for myself when writing this album.
Azasia – Sound design of today’s music is highly advanced and technical. As a producer how do you keep on point with the latest sound/music technology (software and hardware) developments in the industry? Or do you stick to the brands you know and trust?
Boris – It’s crazy how music production has evolved over the last couple of years. I try to keep up with new software all the time. I keep looking at YouTube tutorials to find out how other people made their trademark sound. Most of those tutorials have a 16 year old boy narrating it haha. But that being said, I try not to copy anybody’s sound, I just love to dissect other sounds.
Azasia – Thank you so much for doing this interview. Cheers! :)
You can pre-order the album here.
Listen to Netsky – Forget What You Look Like ft. Lowell below.
