Contributing Writer
Named by DJ Mag as ‘Absolutely Unstoppable’, WUT party leader ABSOLUTE. has garnered huge support from leading names The Black Madonna, Alan Fitzpatrick and Annie Mac and has landed on the likes of Turbo Recordings and Love Fever Records.
He now launches his own label Family Planning, with his first release ‘Rave Against The Machine’ channeling the recent Extinction Rebellion protest. The EP drops on the 28th of June and is available to preview HERE.
1. Hi Anthony, whereabouts in the world are you at the moment and what are you doing?
Hello! I’m in currently in Clapton, London. My mum has just surprised me with an unexpected visit (she does that quite a lot) so I’m having a day out of the studio to take her down to Kew Gardens and then I’m heading to a Pride dinner.
2. Can you tell us a bit about your formative years. Do you come from a musical background? Who were your musical influences growing up?
I grew up in Torquay in Devon, my Dad’s from Glasgow and my Mum’s Italian so there was always a real mix of music on in the house. Neither of my parents are musical but both sides of the family run dance schools, maybe that’s where I get it from.
“When i was 14 I scraped up some money which was meant for clothes, instead I managed to buy one record deck.”
I wasn’t trained in music, just always totally obsessed with dance music. I would collect vinyl before I had decks and remember having rave cassettes on in my parents car. When i was 14 I scraped up some money which was meant for clothes, instead I managed to buy one record deck, my parents were livid at the time but it just fulled my passion even more. Because I only had one deck back then I would practice beat matching along to the dance shows on BBC Radio 1, thanks Pete Tong!
3. We’d love to know about your DJ name ‘ABSOLUTE.’ Where did it come from?
I made a determination a while ago that I would 100% dedicate my life to making music and that I would be absolute in making it a success. That’s where the name ABSOLUTE. comes from, why it’s in capitals and why there’s a full stop after. There’s no going back.
4. Your ‘Rave Against the Machine’ EP drops on the 28th June and marks the launch of your new label, Family Planning. What’s the backstory to the label and what are your plans?
I’ve been running underground LGBTQ+ nights for a number of years in London and have seen first hand that families are often chosen on the dance floor, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. I wanted to start a label and an event project that encapsulates that feeling, a safe place of empowerment, that’s when people truly let loose and all the best moments happen. For now I’m focusing on the label side, with a few EP’s lined up, I threw a party to celebrate the label at The Glove That Fits (Fold’s little sister venue) and there was a lot of love in the room, so down the line I may throw some more.
“Rave Against the Machine was inspired by the extinction rebellion protests in London, I wanted to capture the riotous energy and drive.”
5. Can you also tell us about the release and your creative processes behind each track?
The Maze came together really fast, in about 10 minutes the main track was there and it was just tweaking and finessing from there, usually the best music comes together the quickest. The main synth sound is from the Moog Sub 37, I played in a sequence and then manipulated the arpeggiator, LFOs and octaves then recorded in the audio live. I then added distortion to everything, even the master channel to give it a rougher feel like it could be an old vinyl discovered in Chicago in the 90s.
Rave Against the Machine was inspired by the extinction rebellion protests in London, I wanted to capture the riotous energy and drive. I started with and FM bass and some rave breaks and built up the track from there. Adding hoovers, sampling angry elephants then added recent inspirational speech on climate change and some chords to bring a hopeful moment after the riot.
Alive (Hold Up) I wrote a little while back, again using the Moog Sub 37 and playing in a sequence and tweaking the LFO rates, then recording in the live audio. I then had 808 drum machine sounds running through the Arturia Beat Step pro.
Charge >>> – I’ve always had an affinity towards acid so wanted to create something that took off from where Acid Summer left, with a more live feeling and with a bit more raw percussive energy. I actually sold my Roland TB-03 as I was making too much acid haha, but I found one of the audio parts I had recorded previously and manipulated that, then added some live drums and percussion and finished it with the crazy scientist vocals.
6. We believe that the release was inspired by your interest in the climate change crisis. What do you think DJ’s and events should be doing differently in order to get this issue recognised?
I think the number one thing that needs to be in our conscious is not to waste anything, from energy to food to disposal plastics, to water, not just DJ’s and events, we all play a part.
“Fabric was the first club I went where I heard people cheering so it was a surreal full circle moment to be on the receiving end of those cheers when I played, that is something I won’t forget.”
7. You’ve gathered support from some of the leading names in the scene, including The Black Madonna, Alan Fitzpatrick, Mixmag, Annie Mac etc. but what have been the stand out personal moments in your career so far?
I’m genuinely always so grateful for the amount of support I’ve received, especially from people I admire. One of the highlights this year was playing the main room at Fabric, Fabric was the first club I went where I heard people cheering so it was a surreal full circle moment to be on the receiving end of those cheers when I played, that is something I won’t forget.
8. What can we expect from ABSOLUTE. in the future?
Lots more music this year, two more EPs, a live show in the works, followed by an album which also explores a broader musical range. I’ll be playing at Glastonbury for Greenpeace on Friday night, the same day the EP drops and Wilderness with Honey Dijon, Erol Alkan and Eats Everything later this Summer.
Follow ABSOLUTE.’s Socials
Facebook / SoundCloud / RA
