After hearing Geran producer Seamonk’s new ‘Aquabass’ EP for Basserk Records, which mingles aquatic sampling with bassy footwork beats, we felt compelled to get him in for a guest mix!
Seamonk has put together some tracks from his new EP with more fresh, unreleased material and mixed it up with a selection of his favourite tracks. The final product is an accomplished mix, with tracks ranging from 95-180 BPM. Take a listen below and read on to hear more about the fascinating producer that is Simon Schmidt.
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Hi Seamonk, thanks for chatting with us! For those who don’t know can you tell us your name, where you’re from and how you’d describe your sound?
Hi there, my name is Simon Schmidt I’m originally from Germany. I studied In the Netherlands and just returned to Germany, settling in Berlin. I would describe my style as Aquabass. It’s an eclectic aproach to Bass music with an aquatic sound topping. I like to think in riddims and sounds rather than genre boundaries.
How long have you been making music?
I started playing the guitar with 7, played and sang in different bands and went into electronic production something like 4 years ago. I play DJ and Live sets since about 2,5 years.
How did you first get into it?
By playing the guitar! I got into the electronic side of music by sketching out songs for my bandmates in Cubase. Using the computer to lay down musical Ideas I subsequently began to use it’s creative potential more more. On one side by putting effects on instruments I recorded, on the other side by the use of software synthesizers and samples.
You’ve hooked up with Basserk Records for your latest release. How did that come about?
I had finished a bunch of tracks that I felt needed to get out. At that moment I was studying in the Netherlands so I thought sending them to a dutch label might be a good idea. I liked the eclectic approach of Basserk and had the feeling my tracks would fit there quite well. And indeed they were really enthousiastic about my music, so we started working together to get the release out.
We were blown away by your latest Aquabass EP. Can you give us some insight into the creative vision behind the project?
Thanks I’m glad to to hear you like it! I wanted to create something raw and energetic, tribal like and animalistic on one side, high tech and futuristic on the other side. At the begining I didn’t really plan this EP. I was just making beats, making beats, making beats every spare minute. After some time I had quite a lot of sketches and I decided to develop them into tunes under the name of Seamonk.
What’s your production set up like?
I produce in Ableton and I use the Push for getting a more playful feel while producing.
Furthermore I like to resample sonic experiments. A lot of those electronic bleeps on my Aquabass EP come from abusing a cheap behringer mixer by creating feedback chains, a technique called no input mixing. The results are harsh and almost uncontrollable synthetic sounds. I am also a big fan of field recordings that I make with a Zoom hand held recorder. I use those recordings for sound design (water bubbles) and for creating weird drums and textures.
Tell us more about your adoption of the name Seamonk, and also your use of aquatic samples on the new release!
In German you pronounce my name Simon more like Seamon so I came up with Seamonk as an alter ego for my crazier, bass heavy productions. After googling it I realized that there is this old Danish legend of the Seamonk, a creature half monk, half fish living in the North sea. This inspired me to build a whole theme around my productions. I began to sample from documentaries about fishing, added sounds of sea gulls and water bubbles. For my future productions I want to put this theme more in the foreground by using more sounddesign and gettting out that raw aquatic sea creature vibes.
How was it playing at Basserk’s ADE showcase alongside Exit’s Stray?
I really enjoyed playing that evening! The location was rough and underground, just how I like it, not too big not too small. The crowd was really into it and I got a lot of enthousiastic reactions after my live set.
Stray’s set was the bomb, especially that moment when this Dutch Mc spontaneously entered stage and started dropping his rhymes. They got the crowd boiling damn hard!
Is there anyone in the dance music scene you’re dying to collaborate with?
Machinedrum! I don’t now how he does it, but his sound his always 5 steps ahead but still sounds fresh If you listen to it some years later.
What’s the music scene like where you’re from?
I spent the last years in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands. There is a nice creative vibe going on there, the city is small which means you can easily hook up with people, set up events and play. Unfortunately bass music isn’t too big there, the town is rather techno dominated. You could say the same for Berlin where I am setting up my new life at the moment, but the city is a magnet for all kinds of creative weirdos. As a consequense you can have the most obscure taste of music and still find places to listen to and play the music you like.
Who are you rating right now on your local scene?
As a real ex Groningen boy I have to put my props to the proud of the city: Noisia
Although they are quite big and not neccessarily local they never lost touch with their home and their perfectionism and precision in production is utterly inspiring.
Going further afield, what are you listening to at the moment?
Hmm hard to say I try to keep my musical spectrum as wide as possible. Lately I have developed quite a severe addiction to Skip James, his Blues sound is just so raw and pure, really touching music.
To put it more into a Seamonk context I really like that Jungle/Footwork/Hardcore hybrid that producers in the UK and worldwide are cooking up at the moment.
Anyone on your radar that we desperately need to hear about?
I discovered this guy called Taste Tester via one of his tunes on an Enchufada sampler. I really like his ghetto attitude junglized trap house bangers. Check out his SoundCloud, he has a lot of free tracks for you waiting to be downloaded!
You’ve put together a guest mix for us, can you tell us a bit more about it?
When I play sets I really like the freedom of going into every direction I like. If you mix cleverly you can go move through different genres, tempos and energy levels and the listener/dancer will follow you. So in this case I took some of my own tracks from my EP and some fresh unreleased material and mixed it with some of my favorite tracks. It was quite a challenge, as my own tracks are each in a different tempo, ranging from 95-180 bpm, making it a full circle round the BPM clock. Also mixing with unmastered material is not always easy. But challenges always make you creative and I found a way to lead you through my aquatic, sometimes tribal and tropical, sometimes dark and urban and sometimes both at the same time bass music world. Yeah I like to stack words and make long sentences, must be a German habit…
What other projects are you working on at the moment?
My big project at the moment is setting up a new life in Berlin! Luckily I’ve found a flat by December. In the meantime I was busy helping to set up raves in Germany and the Netherlands, playing DJ sets and starting with new ideas.
Apart from Seamonk I also have other electronic music projects and I am doing music and sound design for films and commercials. You can check out what I’m doing here if you like: http://simon-schmidt.net/
Anything in the pipeline you want to put the word out on?
Nope no creative oil dripping out of the pipeline anymore…
Thanks for talking to us! Any shout outs before you go?
Thank you for the digital invitation! Some shouts…ok…Henry Maske, Maria Cron, eins zwei Polizei, Interview vorbei!….ah forget about it German humour is weird and twisted. Thx for reading/listening!
Tracklist:
Seamonk – Fighting Tuna
Claude van Stroke – Chimps (Re-edit)
GoldFFinch – Groove Panda
Clap! Clap! – Sahkii (Xirhuu)
Jack Sparrow – The Chase (VIP)
Seamonk – Subtropical
Taste Tester – MAXXNERF
Alex Coulton – Murda
Seamonk – Pump it (Dub)
Taste Tester – Keef Collection System
The Prodigy – Smack my Bitch up (Seamonk Remix)
Seamonk – Drop (Dub)
Seamonk – Aquaflute
KJs – Ziren
Addison Groove x Sam Binga – Rzor
Seamonk – Tight Fishing
Sinistarr x Calculon x Austin Speed – Cucaracha
Moresounds – Flocon
Seamonk – Untitled (Dub)
Seamonk – Aquabells
