Influences: Medlar

Music

Medlar has been a staple of the Wolf music record label since 2011 some five years ago. Wow, time flies doesn't it? Over this time his productions have evolved becoming increasingly stronger, more diverse and interesting. His DJ sets have matched this expanse in knowledge and skill and he has now established himself as a digger of sorts with diverse taste, selection and electicism. His latest release landed on Riverette, a Spanish label that have formed a strong personal affiliation with Legowelt. Medlar's exploration into analogue production sits well alongside. We caught up with him to talk influences.

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Augustus Pablo - Eastman Dub

Maybe from growing up not too far away from Bristol, or just my parents’ music taste, but I heard dub reggae from quite an early age, I’m always surprised meeting people who don’t like any reggae whatsoever! Dub producers came up with loads of the techniques used in dance music production, as well as DJing and club culture in general and it’s been a massive influence for me. My RE-201 Space Echo is the one bit of equipment I’ll never part with! I could of picked any track but I really love this by Augustus Pablo, his own version of Tetrack – Let’s Get Started which he also produced.

Augustus Pablo - Eastman Dub

Maybe from growing up not too far away from Bristol, or just my parents’ music taste, but I heard dub reggae from quite an early age, I’m always surprised meeting people who don’t like any reggae whatsoever! Dub producers came up with loads of the techniques used in dance music production, as well as DJing and club culture in general and it’s been a massive influence for me. My RE-201 Space Echo is the one bit of equipment I’ll never part with! I could of picked any track but I really love this by Augustus Pablo, his own version of Tetrack – Let’s Get Started which he also produced.
Metro Area - Square-Pattern Aura

Could’ve put any track by these 2 in here really but I’ve been enjoying playing this one out in sets recently. Hearing Metro Area stuff and their fabriclive mix was a bit of a game changer and was my gateway drug into the cool side of disco and boogie! I don’t think anyone has ever put disco into a modern context as well as these guys, it could so easily sound really naff but you can hear how the time and love put into it really paid off, very inspiring!
Calibre - Can't Stop This Fire

Calibre is another artist I have a really big soft spot for and I have so much respect for his consistency. I realised recently he’s never been remixed which is pretty rare, especially for someone so prolific. I chose this one as Bassbin Records was such a good label.
White Noise -Love Without Sound

It’s hard to think of anyone cooler than Delia Derbyshire… She was a true pioneer and perhaps my all-time favourite artist. This is from the first White Noise album in 1969, where she joined up with David Vorhouse. This song is absolutely timeless!
Theo Parrish - Soul Control

One of the finest pieces of electronic music in any genre for me, and again quite timeless. I lump this together with things like the Portishead ‘3rd’ album which I think has the same raw, emotive vibe, though this has that magic touch that can only come from US producers. While us Europeans are subtly automating a reverb, Theo and Kenny are in the red, pressing mute buttons at the wrong time and making us all look like squares.
Sun Ra - Interstellar Low Ways

There are a few version of this I believe, it’s become a favourite from seeing the Arkestra play it at Cafe Oto probably 3 or 4 times now and one of the more pleasant recurring ear worms (please no more ting tang walla walla bing bang). Perfect for this time of year! The balance of really pleasant harmonies with some chaos thrown in is something I love so much and feel one could spend a lifetime mastering it, as Marshal Allen has done.. he turns 92 in May!
Abacus - Relics One

One of many great tracks from Ron Trent & Chez Damier’s Prescription label. I had a nice little moment closing a set with it before Linkwood came on, when we both professed our love for Abacus and this one in particular. Huge fan of Linkwood and the whole Firecracker Records gang, continually schooling the rest of us!
T.C. Curtis - You Should Have Known Better (Dub Mix)

Great B side dub mix from T.C. Curtis. There aren’t many boogie tracks post 1983 that I’m into but I love the groove of it after it gets going about halfway through. He did a couple of house tracks under T.Jam, some of which are great bargain bin trax, “Dance To The Rhythm” is something I play a lot and is a 50p record. Tip!
Tammi Terrell - All I Do Is Think About You

Written by a teenage Stevie Wonder, I’ve yet to find a 60s soul track as great as this one. I sampled it to make a chipmunk hiphop track with my friend Phil probably in 2005/6, found it years later on a PC and made it into a house track which became the start of the Medlar project in 2011. Tammi died of a brain tumour at 24 and surely would’ve been a huge star if she hadn’t. After dueting and working with her extensively, Marvin Gaye quit music for several years following her death until he returned with “What’s Going On?”, which is basically about how fucked the world is/was. RIP Tammi & Marvin!
The House Crew - We Are Hardcore

I was only 6 in 1992 but about 10 years later was when I first heard electronic music that I actually liked, in the form of The Prodigy’s Experience and some other really over-the-top, cheesy hardcore/rave tunes courtesy of my neighbour Neil. I’ve gone through phases of being into different styles but something I think I’ll never tire of is sped up breakbeats with M1 pianos, vocal samples and (of course) loads of bass. ‘Ardcore you know the score