Contirbutor
As 2024 comes to a close producer, DJ and label head Desyfer continues to impress with his forward thinking records. Fresh of the back of a collaborative rework of his classic 831, he sets to round off the year on his own label KOMAL with ‘Tale of You’. We caught up with the main man to get a deeper dive into this next release, his career to date & more.
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MI4L – ‘Tale Of You’ is your next single, set to be released on your label KOMAL. Can you share the inspiration behind the track and how it came to life?
Desyfer – Tale of You has had a few different directions before I settled on this version. I envisioned a deep, hypnotic track where the tension builds steadily, culminating in the dramatic entrance of the vocals. I wanted the vocals I used to have maximum impact, so I decided to introduce them during the break rather than using them elsewhere in the track.
MI4L – The vocals on ‘Tale Of You’ are captivating. What was it like working with the vocalist, and how did their contribution shape the final track?
Desyfer – I sometimes use a studio in Italy, the producer works with a team of vocalists and he sent me the recording, the vocal was completely finished and I instantly liked it and had ideas on how I could use it. However, working with finished vocals is sometimes harder to make them fit and through this process I ended up with not using the rest of the vocal, as it just didn’t sit well for me.
MI4L – Can you walk us through your creative process for this single? Did it differ from how you typically approach production?
Desyfer – Yes, usually with a singer I’d send a demo track and some ideas on what I’d like to achieve. When I’m working with Emma Konnanov for instance, we bounce some ideas around and then I like to step back and let her come up with something, Emma is great at coming up with ideas fast and we work well together. Once the final vocal is recorded then I finish the track, which can sometimes take on a new vibe and direction and be very different from where it started.
MI4L – Your classic track ‘831’ recently got a rework with Ginchy. How did this collaboration come about, and what are your thoughts on the final version you guys produced?
Desyfer – I’d been looking at doing the track for the 20th Anniversary, but covid happened and I wanted to wait. This year I’ve done a couple of versions that were ok but still didn’t have that magic that I felt it needed, especially with it being such a big tune on the Gatecrasher Wet album 1999.
When I spoke to Ginchy he understood how important the track was and was really keen to work with me on it. When it came to finding the original parts I was only able to find Lianne’s excellent voice, everything else was either damaged or not backed up at all, which was how it was back in the day, this was when you had to backup to DAT and floppy disks, which wasn’t always reliable and took lots of time. Which is echoed here, Nick Britton the engineer from Midi Room’s where the track was recorded. We’d pushed a really late session way past the 12 hours we’d agreed on the last day to do to get it finished, the next day listening back I’d heard an audio click on the DAT. Which resulted in us having to go back in. But this was after another session a week later and we had to try and pull up the same settings on the mixer/samplers and synths to bounce it back to DAT.
Overall Ginchy and I are really happy with the final mix, I was at ADE this year and heard it out a couple of times, and it sounds really sounds big in the clubs.
MI4L – Your career dates back to the 90s. How have you seen the music scene evolve over the decades, and how has that influenced your sound?
Desyfer – A simple way to look at it would be we used to make pounds from each release on either vinyl/cd/tape, then it went to pence with downloading and streaming. But equally back in the 90’s you had to hire a studio and engineer which could be £300-£500 a day. With every technological change comes many benefits and the computers and software now are amazing not just in music but many other art forms as well. So being able to come up with ideas on the move with a laptop is really powerful. I think the progression has been really cool and I fully embrace it. It allows a lot more creativity and you can try new things quickly and develop new sounds which keeps you inspired.
MI4L – Your sound has remained fresh and relevant. What’s your approach to adapting to modern trends while staying true to your artistic identity?
Desyfer – Good question and not the easiest to answer really, I guess for me, it’s about feeling the energy and where it takes you. You know some sounds just don’t fit, flicking through promos from other artists, you can hear it in a few seconds if it’s going to grab you or not. Same with creating music, it’s got to have some depth to it and work and stand out on its own. I feel these sounds become part of us and project how we feel from the notes and the delivery of them, It definitely reflects who we are and where we are on our life’s journey.
MI4L – Can you give us a glimpse into your studio setup? Are there any pieces of gear or software you can’t live without?
Desyfer – Ableton and push are the foundations of everything, followed by Adam A7X’s which give a lovely pure sound, I have a small treated studio room and they are just lovely to use. Then its Komplete Ultimate for the fun and of course Serum along with others. And the outboard side I have a Vector, which is a crazy bit of kit. Microfreak and Deepmind Synths for the deeper stuff.
MI4L – How does running your own label, KOMAL, benefit you as an artist? Does it give you more creative freedom or present any unique challenges?
Desyfer – Yes and no, I have been running my own labels since 2010. I guess the hardest part here is manging the expectations of other producers you release. I’m used to how hard and unforgiving the industry can be, and even with really good music its sometimes hard to get these tracks the exposure they deserve especially when the market is so saturated, that can be hard explaining to artists why the results haven’t been so good, which is harder than ever these days.
I wanted to work with Proton as a distributor for a while and after discussions on moving back catalogues from my other labels and issues that can cause I decided on a new label. So Komal was born in September this year which has been really great and my first 3 releases, 2 with Emma Konnanov have all charted Top 1position in New releases on Beatport, which has been a phenomenal start and I’m really happy I made the move to Proton, they are great people and are right behind the music.
MI4L – With your wealth of experience, what advice would you give to emerging producers trying to navigate today’s music industry?
Desyfer – Learn your own sound and what you like. Keep an open mind, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, better to be good at a number of things, as you just don’t need to just make music now, you need to create content to go along with the music, keep learning and enjoy what you do. Look at the achievements, no matter how small these are steps on the journey, and be grateful. There is lots of talk in the industry which people can do this and that for you, just be careful who you trust in the beginning. Building a good team around you is key, remember you can’t do it all yourself.
What I‘ve figured out is although we have a far and wide reach now with social media, which is great and allows us to connect all over the world. It’s actually the people we know and love in the places we live that can help us the most. People talk about fans and super fans. These people are the ones that know about our journey and know about the sacrifice and struggle. When I’ve asked these people in my circle, they are more than happy to help and support, which was somewhat surprising, but some people really want to see you do well and are happy to support you. So, concentrate on this as well as that online profile, because the people that know you and see you around, are actually the super fans you need.
MI4L – With ‘Tale Of You’ on the horizon and the rework of ‘831’ making waves, what’s next for Desyfer? Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you’re excited about?
Desyfer – 2024 has been a really good year, and I’ve had some good results and met some really great people. I’ll continue to release new music and have a number of tracks ready for 2025. I’m also working towards shows next year. My 2nd home is in Cyprus and we have been talking to promoters about doing gigs out there and also, in Ibiza which will be great. More news to come on this early 2025.
Tale Of You is available to pre-order now – https://go.protonradio.com/r/rltJ0AWrl3dec