INTERVIEW WITH CONFUSIOUS - New Track 'Smoking Aces' OUT NOW

To celebrate the release of his track 'Smoking Aces' We had a chat to Harry, the man behind infectious drum and bass artist CONFUSIOUS about all that inspires him as a producer and found out a little bit about the journey he has been on leading up to now.

“A lot of people would laugh and say no way, right now all im just running Is just a Macbook Pro, Ableton, NI Massive, a small collection of Plugins & VST’s accompanied by 8” Behringer Speakers, Studio Sub and Audio Technica headphones. The way I figure, you don’t need an over the top fancy set-up, it’s making the most of what you have and how you use it.”

First of all I’d just like to congratulate you on producing an absolute banger in K-Hole and all of his recent success in the drum and bass scene.
For those that are new to your work and style please introduce yourself.
“For drum and bass and hip hop for the most part I record under the name “Confusious”. That name is not really limited to any one genre, but I guess what I am known for is liquid, big room and techy rollers. This can describe one side/style of the music I make and what most of my listeners will hear, however behind the scenes I just make whatever I feel like at the time.” 

What inspired 'Smoking Aces', Is there a story behind it or did this track just fall out of you?
Basically wanted to make a track that is a 5 minute summary of what my sets are about, the breaks, the bass, the high end growls, fx, vocals and analog pads/synths!

How did you start your musical journey?
A multitude of events I guess. I remember seeing a photo of me really young at 3 or 4 holding a guitar. My parents suggested that I should take up classical guitar lessons from the age of 5. Later I had messed around on Ableton in primary school on a field trip to scitech, this lead to attending a scratch/turntablism course at Leederville skatepark in my early teens. From there I started messing around on DJ software. Finally at the age of 17 I bought my first pair of turntables after collecting vinyl for some years, now at 25 it’s really been about 8 years since I have been properly DJing.

Going to warehouse raves and bush doofs in my teens furthered my love for electronic music as well as associating in similar crowds of people that are interested in the styles of music I love.

What inspired your transition into the world of Drum & Bass? 
“The culture, the raving, hearing the music live on a system, the breaks, I am fascinated by the groove the swing the rhythm and the sampling. You can feel it, it’s the groove, its the swing, once you become hooked on it you can’t let that go, you are just chasing that next feeling. It’s technicality within simplicity really.”

Are there any other genres that inspire you besides electronic music?
"I think you would actually be really surprised. Just last night when I was cooking dinner I was listening to “Charles Bradley” and “Lee Fields” which are funk & soul artists.

I don’t just wake and only listen to drum and bass. It could range from 20s’, 30’s & 40’s soul/jazz, 50’s early rock and roll, 60’s to 80’s mo-town funk.

Im a big Hip Hop fan. Love garage, house and 140 as they were genres I also raved too as a teenager.

Listening to these varied styles of music all influence the music I make.” 

For our readers that produce themselves, what is your studio setup like and what is your sequencer/program of choice?
“A lot of people would laugh and say no way, right now all im just running Is just a Macbook Pro, Ableton, NI Massive, a small collection of Plugins & VST’s accompanied by 8” Behringer Speakers, Studio Sub and Audio Technica headphones.

Prior to this I actually sold all my equipment before I moved away in 2016. I previously had a lot of hardware synths and MIDI keyboards.
Since moving back to Perth I haven’t purchased any hardware as I’m not sure where I will be next.

The way I figure, you don’t need an over the top fancy set-up, it’s making the most of what you have and how you use it.”

What can we expect from you in the future?
“There’s a lot going on. I am flat out behind the scenes

To start out next month I’ve got a release on Skankandbass. One of the tracks is a personal favorite that I have been bumping in my sets for the past 7 months.

I’ve got a couple of shows in August; Technimatic at the Rosemount and a Protocode B2B night. Later in the year will be my biggest show to date, info will be coming shortly.

ProgRAM will be featuring a release of mine in the near future but I can’t say too much more about that yet.

I’ve got an EP in the pipeline featuring collaborations with the lovely “Collette Warren:, who has done tunes with the likes of Calibre, Marky, Skeptical and more! It also features a track with German Artist; T:Base and my favourite Australian Producer.

On the side I’m working with “Dose”, from New Zealand on a EP and a couple of other sneaky projects here and there”

It’s safe to say “Confusious” is killing it right now internationally. It’s marvelous to see such amazing talent home brewed here in Perth. Make sure to check out “Confusious’” new track 'Smoking Aces' below.

​Interviewer - Jack Lobo

NEXT SHOW 
PROTOCODE B2b Sessions
The Sewing Room
​August 17th
​
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