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Bio
ill.gates
is a well-known producer from Toronto Canada. His previous productions
as ‘The Phat Conductor’ and co-productions with Robb G have made waves
in the Electro House and Breakbeat genres, as has his work with
Bassnectar in the growing crunky midtempo breaks genres. Past
production work includes remixing the likes of DJ Dan, Myagi and Si
Begg and has led to top selling tracks on Beatport and also a mention
in URB as one of their ‘next 100′ top artists. His versatility is
evident in his broad array of collaborations with reknowned producers
like Robb G, Bassnectar, Meesha, Little John, Friction, Malaya,
Stephane Vera and Canadian Hip Hop vocalist Masia One. ‘Autopirate’,
covers a broad range of genres and confirms ‘ill.gates’ production
values.
"Diverse blend of Dubstep, Hiphop, and other memorable bassy treats"
Interview
Ez dude, thanks for taking some time off the productions and giging all arround North America.
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
No problem homey...
Whats up your staying in California now for ever?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
I'm
just visiting... I've got a lot of friends here, a lot of producer
buddies, and the dancefloors are ALWAYS jumping so it's hard to stay
away...
Whats going on down there hows the parties your playing at?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Been
writing a lot of new material, eating healthy, spending a lot of time
outside in the sun. The parties have been great so far. I did a
festival called Bobolink last weekend that turned out to be really
amazing. Loads of great artists on the bill, like Beats Antique,
KnowSleep (Knowa Knowone + Sleepyhead), Random Rab, etc... The system
in the Bass dome was really thick and clear, and there were 30 foot
inflatable tentacles flailing around in front of a double decker
elephant art car. Definitely rad and it's only just begun!
So your working allot on your dubstep sound now, what is your latest release and can you please chat about it please?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Sure.
As far as dubstep goes I just recently released a remix I did for Sub
Swara crew in NYC (who, if you haven't checked them out yet, you really
should check out). It's really melodic and pretty in some sections, and
then when it drops i wanted it to be the loudest, lowest, longest bass
note I could make, so I found the key with the bottom note right at
33hz. I tested doing it on 30, but some sound systems were missing the
note and you can't have that right? Anyway, be ready for some serious
eyeball rattling bass on that one.
What projects are you working on in the near future?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Oh
wow... yea... lots of new stuff in the pipes. There's a new ill.Gates
full length that I'm about halfway done, and a TON of remixes coming
out over the year leading up to it. The Irma Vep EP is dropping real
soon, and we did a proper music video for it with Light Rhythm Visuals
in Tokyo. I also did a whole pile of other remixes for Masia One
recently, so we'll be doing two different remix EPs for her on Muti
Music soon. Then there's some weird textured techno/dubstep music for
orcs I did with Adam Duke, that one's next. It's quite silly and fun. I
also did a remix for that crazy bastard Filastine which should be
coming out any minute on Soot. It's kind of a bassy dancehall number
and tends to get people pretty ruckus. I've also been working with
Bassnectar a lot (obviously), and I just did a remix for AMB on Chi
records out of Hungary. They've always been one of my favourite labels
so that' pretty dope too.
How can you describe your dubby sounds and vibes to new listeners?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Well
my sounds aren't always dubby, but lately there have been a lot more
good tunes in the dubstep genre than pretty much anywhere else so I
have been leaning a little more heavily in that direction. My own sound
is anchored in diversity. I always try to be memorable, and
unpredictable, and lean a lot more on melodic elements rather than just
drop bassline after bassline as that tends to get a little
phallocentric if you know what I mean... I play a blend of pretty much
anything that tickles my fancy, and that people would like to dance to.
Breakbeats, Dubstep, House, Electro, World Music, Hiphop, glitchy
stuff, DnB... pretty much anything goes really. I've produced all of
those genres, and I definitely play all of them and more when I DJ.
What are your stardands for production Monitors in your sound studio?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
I've
got some pretty nice ones in the studio, but you really don't need a
lot of gear to be a good producer. All you need is to commit the time
to it and just let what happens happen. The main thing is not to just
get your toes wet. Draw up a contract with yourself and post it
somewhere prominent in your house. Get your friends to sponsor you on
the challenge, and if you collect enough pledges you'll be able to buy
all kinds of gear with your friends' money once you finish the terms of
your contract.
Whats up with the Toronto scene man? Whats the vibe?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
It's
a big fat city rammed full of all types of crazy people so it really
depends what you're into. As far as the parties I go to are concerned,
it's mostly warehouse parties, loft parties, and underground jams. I
really hate going into those douchebag infested megaclubs. The
underground parties are totally awesome tho. Big sound, 4ft3rh0urs
dr*nks, lots of smiling faces and cute girls with tattoos... It's
definitely sweet. Toronto has really opened itself up to the idea of
having multiple genres at parties a lot more lately, so you'll get the
classic style minimal techno parties happening with another full size
room of dubstep, breakbeats, reggae, and downtempo and it'll be just as
full as the techno room. The free parties are pretty amazing too,
especially the promise/alienInFlux beach parties.... YUM!
Did you go to a musical or a sound tech school of any sort? Do you play any traditional musical instruments?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
First
of all, FUCK music school. You need that shit like a hole in the head.
See, this cat Ed Deci at the University of Rochester found out that
there are two main types of human motivation; intrinsic and
extrinsic... extrinsic motivation is the classic carrot and stick model
where you work to gain rewards and avoid punishment. Intrinsic
motivation is where you do things for their own sake, or because you
feel like you're the type of person who does those things, or even for
no real reason at all... Anyway, this Ed Deci guy did these experiments
where he had a couple classes full of kids, and a few different
experimental conditions, and he was trying to figure out which kinds of
motivational structures were the best for creativity. In the control
group the kids told to paint pictures, but really just kind of allowed
to do whatever (they painted pretty normally), in the second
experimental condition Deci had a beloved and respected teacher come in
and tell the kind "Oh my! what a bunch of talented artists you all are
(labeling... very powerful for motivation) and those kids totally
wrecked shop... best paintings in the experiment... Then in the third
experimental condition he had the kids paint for rewards like candy or
whatever and they painted the worst bullshit anyone had ever seen in
their entire lives so they wept, burned all the paintings and washed
their eyes out with Javex. Anyway, our entire western education system
is based on the carrot and stick model because it makes people
predictable, productive, and easy to control in the work environment so
that they can be busy little bees and drive the nation's economy, which
is fine unless you want people to do anything creative. It's basically
like jail for your brain... That's why the same architects who design
public schools also design prisons. Sounds crazy, but it's true. Go
check out a book called 'The Underground History of American Education'
by this former teacher of the year guy John Taylor Gatto. The education
system has been consciously crafted to crush your spirit and make you
an obedient little peon since day one, no joke.
What has been your crazy gig so far and why?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
This
tour? This year? Ever? Uhm... well other from the obvious 100 000 Watt
Shambhala mosh bass answer I'd have to say that Raindance Festival last
year was pretty memorable.
It was out in the mountains near
Santa Cruz and people were really up for it. I played on the friday on
the mainstage and things were already in full swing. Lots of good sound
and deco and tons of flailing and screaming and all that good stuff.
Anyway, Pete (Bassbin Twins) is on after me and about halfway through
his set this crazy blond girl takes of all of her clothing and starts
raving it up, naked as the day she was born. We were all making cheap
comments from the peanut gallery behind the stage and then she walks by
us and starts heading to the DJ booth... she then starts grinding her
naked body up against Pete, who is all confused and just trying to play
his set. Pete's girlfriend, the security and I all thought it was
hilarious and didn't want to stop her. Pete's girl got some pretty
sweet photos of the whole thing too... So then the naked girl says
something in Pete's ear and then starts totally manhandling his peen, a
definite line cross. He looks over at us all 'What the fuck are you
waiting for guys? Get this crazy bitch off me!" so security go over to
do something about it, laughing hysterically the whole time. She gets
hauled off and we're all literally busting a gut laughing and she says
"I thought this was a party? I thought this was a party?" over and over
again like in that episode of South Park where Stan's dad is hauled off
for fighting the other little league baseball dads. It was too much
man. I'm smiling thinking about it even now. Oh shit, I almost forgot,
apparently she tried the same thing with two other DJs, including
Kitty-D and actually tried to tear his pants of and start suckling upon
his peen while he was playing.
And that was only friday!
I can't wait for Raindance this year. It's next week... STOKED!
What type of eq programs do you like to use? And what compressors do you swear by?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
I
mostly just use the Ableton stuff. I like that it's all surgical and
doesn't colour the sound much. It's also real light on the processor
and doesn't use any of your precious precious goo unless sound is
actually running through the plugins. It's all about knowing how to use
compressors and eqs. Gear/plugin fetishism is pretty much an elaborate
form of procrastination in my opinion.
How do you like to dj nowadays? What gear do you like to use?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Ableton
live running into two channels on a DJ mixer. I use a trigger finger to
control everything with this custom template I built. You can learn
more about all that stuff by checking this thread i made on the Ableton
board, it's got youtube videos and everything:
http://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=49330
List some of your favorite electronic producers (past/present):
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Tipper,
Bassnectar, Flying Lotus, EPROM, The Glitch Mob, Download, OTT, Andy
Page, Mr. Projectile, Rusko, Reso, Rustie, The Antiserum, Starkey,
Ranking Records Crew (Ruckspin, Planas, Quark, Quantum Soul,
Gentleman's Dub Club, etc.), Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Trent Reznor (old
Trent Reznor only, lol), Bassbin Twins, Noble Records Crew, Ninja Tune
etc. and everyone I collaborate with, especially Meesha.
What does your studio consist of?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Time, Dedication, Ideas, Hard Work, Love and Coffee...
What are you using to produce nowadays? Logic audio? Live ? Cubase?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Ableton FTW!!!!! I'm basically an Evangelical Ableton Fundamentalist. Don't get me started homey ;)
Any weed in your studio? Or are you straight and clean?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Night
time sound design/experimental sessions maybe, but NEVER when I'm
writing. Sure it's fun, but it makes everything take ten times as long
and come out all fragmented.
If you were stranded on an island and had a portable record player with
enough batteries to play one last track,,,which track would you choose to
listen to?
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Singing
Under the Rainbow by World's End Girlfriend. It's an amazing tune and
it reminds me of my girlfriend Nunich who I love more than life itself.
Shout outs:
Nunich,
Chris + Ana Sia, Lorin Bassnectar, Meesha, Masia One, The Tank Man
(Tiannenmen Square's anniversary was this week), Mutt, Gay Jesus,
anyone who took the time to read this bullshit, my brother Max, my dad
Vince and my Mom, who is basically the best woman to ever have graced
God's green earth.
WWW Links:
www.thephatconductor.com
www.myspace.com/thephatconductor
www.mutimusic.com
www.promorecords.ca
ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor:
Peace!
Download the ill.gates aka The Phat Conductor "Speed Limit" mix here (zip file)
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