Arkady Antsyrev produces minimalistic house tunes, combining deep-atmospheric soundscapes with electro beats incorporating both synthesizers and live instruments. His new EP for Steve Bug’s Sublease Music, Know That, comprises three tracks, all super deep groovers referencing classic Chicago and New York house sounds while adding his own inimitable spin on things.
Hey Arkady, thanks for chatting with us today! How has the year been for you?
Hey! Thanks for inviting me to chat! It’s definitely been a tough year. But I tried to devote more time to music and performing.
Tell us about your journey into electronic music, when did you first fall in love with it?
Many times in various interviews I have already told how I first fell in love with electronic music. I don’t remember how long ago it was, but I can say for sure that even as a child at 5 years old I realized that the burden of electronic music is strong. As a child, i collected tapes on which various house compositions were recorded. I made compilations by re-recording my favorite tracks from other tapes and from radio broadcasts. He first started writing music in 2005 as a beatmaker and as a ghost producer. But a little later he began to move my name as an artist.
Are you currently based in Russia? We have to ask about the current situation there. Can you tell us your thoughts on the war in general, and how it has affected the artistic community?
I left the country for some time because of these events, but I came back because of my family. There is no way to move my family now. I will say one thing, I am against violence in any form. I’m not a politician and I don’t get in there, but I understand that the political games have dragged on a lot, and ordinary people are suffering and it’s very sad. To date, there are very few foreign guests at parties in Russia, which certainly hits the underground culture in my opinion. Many talented artists left and did not return, some stayed, and some returned, but in general, it is not possible to return to the pre-covid times yet.
Tell us about your latest release Know That… any specific inspiration behind this one?
There was no special inspiration, I always pay special attention to the sound when I work on tracks. In this EP I wanted to reveal the difference in sounds in general in house music. Some tracks turn out to be softer, others more solid like Rollstoys.
There are definitely some minimal influences along with house and tech, where do you think this attraction to stripped-back sounds comes from?
Being a big fan and engine of the Minimal genre, I devote a lot of important part to sampling and synthesis using modular synthesizers and vst. In minimal there is no concept of mathematics in my opinion. There should always be a randomness factor. Moreover, in my tracks I try to use the sound of different styles while maintaining the style.
How do you work in the studio, do you have an idea in your head you work towards or do you just experiment and jam and see what happens?
I use both approaches. Of course, most of the time I work with a cold head and I don’t always know what will happen in the end result because a lot can change during the mixing process. But jam also plays a big role in writing the track and I’m trying to experiment more since I already said I don’t have a basic idea of what I want to get in the end.
What are some of the key bits of music-making gear in your current setup?
Previously, I paid special attention to analog synthesizers and purchased a huge amount of equipment, but I came to the conclusion that today in the digital era we have a huge number of virtual synthesizers of various processing tools that prove that they are not worse if there is a lot of computing power. And now I use a large number of controllers to control the synthesis inside the DAW. This simplifies the ability to edit midi tracks, which allows you to concentrate more on the possibility of changing the track without overwriting the structure of a particular melody.
What else should we be looking out for from you for the rest of 2022 and into the new year?
It is planned to release several digital EPs next year. One of them is on my own Black Sea Side Music label and planing a debut vinyl EP on my Label from me and James Dexter collaboration.
Finally, what is the best record you’ve heard this year we might not know about?
I was impressed Eliza Rose’s track B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)
