Guest Mix 001 | spiralek
I'm very happy to announce a series of guest mixes here on bassically. The goal of these is to showcase Swiss Drum & Bass DJs and their skills. The first edition is all about Till a.k.a. spiralek and his high energy double drops. Enjoy!
Listen to spiralek's mix directly on Mixcloud
Let‘s start from the beginning: How did you get into DnB?
I started listening to DnB about 9 years ago with Sub Focus’ debut album. Back then I didn’t even realize that it was DnB but I liked the energy of the sound.
Through the UKF Dubstep and Drum and Bass yearly albums I discovered more of the sound I liked. I was, and still am, a huge fan of Xilent and had the chance to see him live at my first DnB rave in 2013.
I really liked the vibe at this party and went to my second rave a few months later to see Sub Focus and Andy C. From there on I went to more and more parties and so I slowly got to know the scene in Switzerland.
When did you start mixing?
I did my first mix in 2016. I was in London that time and wanted to share my music selection with other people. I remember that I didn’t have turntables, so I arranged the tracks in Ableton *laughs*.
Later I started mixing on a cheap DJ controller but I never had or took the time to get my mixing skills where I wanted them to be.
This changed about one year ago when I finished my studies and moved to Stuttgart where I had more time to spend on mixing. When the first lockdown came into effect this year I upgraded to better gear and raised my skills to a level where I was confident to share it and so I made three livestreams during the lockdown.
You recently played your first gig in a club. What was that like?
It was an indescribable feeling to perform in front of a crowd including many of my friends raving to my mix.
At first I was extremely nervous but after the second track I started feeling comfortable and immediately fell in love with it. My biggest problem was how to show my appreciation for all those cheering ravers *laughs*.
How would you describe your play style?
I would describe my style as high energy melodic drum and bass, which is probably my favorite style of DnB. But I like to mix this style with tracks from other sub genres of DnB to create new mixtures of different styles. There is nothing better than a good double drop to me. Honestly, I’m a bit obsessed with them.
If you could play b2b with any DJ, who would be your choice?
I would definitely choose Metrik as he is one of my favorite artists. He is such a great all-round talent with his production and mixing skills, his unique style and on his new album as well with his voice. He is my biggest idol. I would be overwhelmed with joy to meet him one day.
You also produce your own tunes. Can you tell us a bit more about that? What are your influences and what does your production process look like?
Yeah I try so but I’m not that satisfied with my results yet. I’m influenced by the music I like to play in my sets and I’m just trying out different sounds. I think sound design is something really interesting and I am about to learn and understand the elements to create and modify sounds. But there’s still a long way to go and at the moment I’m focusing more on djing and other hobbies.
You currently live in Stuttgart. What‘s the DnB scene like there? Is it comparable to the one in Switzerland?
Unfortunately the scene in Stuttgart is not that big, and with not that big I mean it’s actually really small. Since I live here, only one rave was planned with a well-known artist (Pendulum). Unfortunately the event got cancelled due to the illness of a band member. From time to time there are raves in Heidelberg, which is approximately one hour away from Stuttgart. I used to attend those raves before the lockdown.
So the scene is definitely not comparable with the one in Switzerland, but that’s a good reason to come back regularly to Switzerland to see the lovely Swiss DnB community, in which I have found really good friends over the years.
Speaking of DnB in Switzerland: Can you tell us which locations you like? And what has been your favorite rave in the last year?
Hmm this is a tough question... I guess I like locations with a familiar vibe. For instance, I really like "Rote Fabrik" in Zurich, where I only have been one or two times but I always loved it. Also I like "Schüür" in Lucerne and "Salzhaus" in Winterthur and not to forget my home base, "Sommercasino" in Basel.
And my favorite rave in the last year probably was the one where I played my own set at "Space Monki" *laughs*. No, but seriously, it was a really good rave because it was one of the first club nights after the lockdown so the whole community definitely had reasons to celebrate.
What‘s next for spiralek? Do you have any plans for the next few months and / or 2021?
We will see. Due to the current situation I don’t know when there will be a next chance to play in a club. Until then I keep working on my skills to be ready when the time comes.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I hope you enjoy my latest selection. Thanks to all my friends and to the whole community for the great support and feedback.
Take care, stay healthy and hope to see you soon in real life!
A huge thank you to spiralek for providing the first guest mix. Please show him some love!
Pictures by Miro Scheib