Track By Track -Chicago Damn

Ahead of the iminent release of Experiments Must Continue, the debut LP from Chicago Damn on his own label which is full of the kind of weirded out UK techno sound we’re very fond of, we caught up with the man himself for a guide through the settings, seasons, colours and inspirations behind the tracks on the album…

Track: Strawberries & Kreme

Colour: _

Season: Winter

Inspiration: It was around March when this track came about. Me and my wife had been through a long, tough winter. I remember going out with my family and feeling a sense that the worst was over and there was light at the end of the tunnel. We went to Krispy Kreme and I had a Strawberries & Kreme, it was a good day 🙂 

Setting: See above. 

Track: Sleaze

Colour: Black and Red

Season: Winter

Inspiration: This one was done some time ago and left unfinished. I thought it went well with the other tracks on the Album so it made the cut. No idea what was happening when I made it, something unspeakable no doubt 😉

Setting: Alien Sex Club

Track: Agitated

Colour: Red

Season: Winter

Inspiration: In the eye of the storm. Things were proper manic when this one happened. Ten minutes in the studio in between endless feeding and chores. An Arp sampled waveform sequenced in the MPC, messed about with the pitch slider and recorded it. Tweaked it later on in Ableton, doubled it up, added beats and we’re done.

Setting: Studio. A mental asylum.

Track: Experiments

Colour: Green

Season: Winter

Inspiration: I think this was the last track to be completed on the Album. This came from messing about with random samples but trying to make them sound electronic, something which I’m a fan of. Basically, you pick a track at random, load it into a sampler (in this case Simpler in Ableton) and move the start point of the sample at random, mess with filters/effects/pitch/envelopes to create different sounds and textures, usually totally different to what you put in. 

Setting: Various cafes using a laptop.

Track: Sleep Deprived

Colour: Purple

Season: Winter

Inspiration: The clue is in the name ;). The sound of frustration/anger/tiredness/stress etc. The reason I make music, to express yourself.

Setting: Here and there.

Track: Acid Tool

Colour: Green

Season: Winter

Inspiration: The original demo of this changed tempo from 120-125, hence the name ‘Tool’. The track changes halfway through, the idea being you use it to go up in tempo and intensity.

Setting: Here and there. This was made as a straight club track/dj tool.

Experiments Must Continue is out out on a limited vinyl run later this month on Chicago Damn records. Pre Order here.