Jos from Eya Records/Lonewolf, Timothy J. Fairplay, and I sat down for a quick chat about Timothy's upcoming EP, Melt the Chains, which is coming out on LONEWOLF in July. It was an honour to get some insight into what’s happening in Timothy’s mind, hear his advice for upcoming artists, and, in general, get to know him better.
Zabam: What is your process of making music from scratch? What does it mean for you to make music in this way?
Timothy J. Fairplay: I generally have an inspiration like some old tune that I want to emulate the feel of, or I have a sample or vocal idea, but sometimes I just start by jamming with the gear and see where it goes. None of these starting points really guarantee the outcome, and the finished track can sometimes come out as planned and other times completely unrelated to the starting point. I nearly always start with drums, followed by bass, then everything else. I usually make everything from scratch, though I do have my own sample packs, mostly drum hits sampled at 8 or 12 bit, but I often make these new too, mainly just to keep things sounding different. I do recycle stuff a bit, like if there is some tune I feel was unsuccessful, but there is one part in it I like, I will sometimes make a new track with that element as the starting point.
JOS: What gear or hardware did you use to create Melt the Chains EP?
Timothy J. Fairplay:TR-808, TR-707, Casio RZ-1, SH-5, SH-09, Polysix, Juno 106, Syncussion, A/DA Flanger, Roland RE-201, Boss KM-60, Soundcraft 200B, Teac Model 2A.
Zabam: How do you get out of creative blocks?
Timothy J. Fairplay: I mainly just get creative blocks if I’m a bit burnt out; if I have been making a lot of tunes in one sound or genre, I can sometimes hit a wall. I find it best to listen to lots of music, especially new music or music that is new to me, and I’m often inspired again quite quickly. I find that doing a remix can help me through a block sometimes too.
JOS: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned about yourself through making music?
Timothy J. Fairplay: I’m very picky about the parts in my tracks they have to be right to keep my attention. I guess this also comes from the desire for my music to be out of the ordinary, but I know I turn down absolutely fine bass lines just because they don’t quite do it for me or feel too obvious. The same goes with the working methods too, I guess I make it hard for myself. I also learnt that I am a workaholic, or at least I have an addiction to creation. Fundamentally, though, I’m just pretty heads down; I just get on with it. I generally have an inspiration like some old tune that I want to emulate the feel of, or I have a sample or vocal idea, but sometimes I just start by jamming with the gear and see where it goes. None of these starting points really guarantee the outcome, and the finished track can sometimes come out as planned and other times completely unrelated to the starting point. I nearly always start with drums, followed by bass, then everything else. I usually make everything from scratch, though I do have my own sample packs, mostly drum hits sampled at 8 or 12 bit, but I often make these new too, mainly just to keep things sounding different. I do recycle stuff a bit like if there is some tune I feel was unsuccessful, but there is one part in it I like, I will sometimes make a new track with that element as the starting point.
Zabam: What tip would you give to your younger self?
Timothy J. Fairplay: I guess if I could talk to my younger self, I would say learn to do everything writing, engineering, producing, mixing sooner so you are not chasing others for help; also, all the producers that have a really distinctive sound mix their own tracks. The other thing I would say is don’t let yourself be taken advantage of.
JOS: Pick 3 records from your collection you couldn’t live without (in no particular order)
Timothy J. Fairplay:
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