We interview two of the most forward thinking producers in Techno, Spektre.
in 2017, our resident and CEO Stephen Kirkwood spent some time in the studio with Richard Wakley and Paul Maddox of Spektre and was blown away by their expertise and technical ability. The guys were really welcoming and were good enough to answer a few of our questions. We’re all big fans of Spektre here at SKapade and couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to speak with two of the most well respected and influential names in techno! Check out the full interview below.
Whose music are you listening to at the moment?
RW: Personally, I’m loving the darker, more hypnotic techno just now from artists such as Ilario Alicante, Slam, Flug, 2000 and One and Dax J. All of them regularly feature in our sets.
PM: Yeah we are also really feeling Mark Reeve, Skober, Raffaelle Rizzi, Mars Bill and Weska, as well as Alan Fitzpatrick, who always delivers the goods.
Are there any artists that you feel have had a particularly significant influence on you as producers?
PM: Going back to my earlier days, BT was always the benchmark I aimed for in terms of production quality and inventiveness. I never got close, but it’s good to have goals!
RW: For me it was always a producer’s attention to detail which got me hooked. In the early days, that would have been Martin Buttrich, Trentemoller and Stephan Bodzin. More recently Kink is a huge inspiration.
Can you tell us a bit about your studio setup and what you’re working on just now?
PM: We work pretty much entirely with software these days, with a setup based around Ableton Live and Push, along with a few select 3rd party plugins and instruments.
RW: Currently our projects include plenty of new originals, a few remixes and a couple of collaboration projects. We are also looking to revamp our live show for next year with a different technical approach than our previous setup, which is looking pretty exciting.
Let’s talk a bit about your sound, which is pretty distinctive. Did it come together naturally or was it part of what you wanted to establish when you started releasing as Spektre?
RW: When we started Spektre we didn’t set out to make a particular sound. We both wanted to experiment more in the studio and do stuff which was a little bit outside of our normal output. When we started out I guess you could say our releases were a bit more minimal, but over the years we have really honed our sound to what you hear today.
PM: Yeah we try not to limit ourselves to a particular direction. We love to experiment with vocals, melodies, percussion, synths etc. but always aim to give it our own stamp.
We caught a video of Alan Fitzpatrick playing your up and coming track ‘Nasqueron’ do you have any more info about this one?
PM: It was a bit of a curveball this track, with us doing something a bit different to our usual style. We have some potentially exciting news about it, but can’t share anything just yet… Watch this space!
RW: Yeah fingers crossed it should be released early next year on one our favourite labels. It was amazing to see Alan support it at Hideout Festival and on Radio One. It’s definitely one of my personal favourites. I love the fact it’s so different and is always a great moment in our sets.
We find it hard to pick our Spektre favourite, but for us it has to be ‘Steel City Sunrise’ what a tune! We‘ve had plenty of nights partying with this one on!Could you tell us a bit about how the inspiration of the track came about?
PM: It was a combination of bits really – I’d been messing about cutting up the piano and vocal sample, and had sat on it for ages, then when I played it to Rich he immediately had the ideas to finish it off with the pitch-bend bass on the intro etc.
RW: Yeah for me it was a perfect album track. A memorable moment in any set with the haunting vocals and piano.
Do you have any tips for people who are just starting to DJ or produce?
PM: A top one for producers would be to always sit on your tracks for a while before sending them out; having a bit of a break from them, then listening again will usually reveal at least a couple of things you could improve.
RW: Agreed. Get as much feedback as possible from people you trust and always remember the dancefloor. If you have the opportunity to test the tracks out this will always be a great way to see if the tracks are ready or not.
What are some things that you look out for when listening to demos for RESPEKT?
PM: Production quality and content are the two really. Quite often we’ll get sent stuff which is nicely produced, but instantly forgettable. The production needs to be good, but there’s no point if there’s nothing interesting in there!
RW: I’m always looking for something memorable that stands out from the rest. I love to hear some kind of hook, riff or sound which you really lock onto.
What can we expect from Spektre & RESPEKT over the rest of the year?
PM: On Respekt, we have releases from Deborah De Luca, Russell James, Marck D & Buitrago and the first in a new series called the Prospekt EP, which is a showcase of rising talent featuring two tracks each from three exciting new names.RW: In terms of our own output we have EP’s forthcoming on Unrilis, Phobiq and IAMT as well as remixes for Sparteque, Phutek, Gene Karz and Mr Bizz. We’ve also been working on some tasty collab projects with Chicago Loop and Luca Gaeta which are sounding awesome.
You can keep up to date with Spektre’s latest releases and gigs via their Facebook Page.
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