When you go to Axel Boy’s page, it may surprise you to see just how many originals he has under his belt. The UK-native has been quietly been building himself over the past decade, which has now led to blossoming relationships with top bass channels like UKF and Most Addictive and a future with dozens of positive doors to potentially walk though.
Axel Boy’s sound is as eclectic as his style, his latest release, “Noughts & Crosses,” which was premiered via UKF music last week, audibly explains the dynamism Axel Boy is capable of, showcasing a dark-mysterious dubstep sound, similar to Seven Lions, while delivering a generous amount of originality. Axel Boy makes it easy not to forget his sound.
Axel Boy caught up with WRR recently, where we talked about his future, the creative process, and so much more in this WRR exclusive interview.
Your tracks feature various dance elements from trap to mid-tempo, dubstep, and even jazzy melodies in some songs, how do you decided which elements to blend together, is it a process of trail-an-error or a moment of inspiration that strikes you suddenly?
Well for a starters I’m influenced by all styles of music! So I’m a firm believer that you can take elements from one style and mold them into another! I guess that’s why dubstep is so appealing to myself and many others, because there are so many different styles that capitalize on this factor. I think producers that don’t hold back with their sonic palette & blend all of their inspirations together can yield a very interesting output. Look at Joker for instance, taking soulful orchestral/cinematic elements and blending it with his analogue grimey stuff. It just makes things more exciting, if someone listens to one of my dubstep tracks and hears a Saxophone in it they may think ‘is that a sax I hear in a dubstep track’? It makes them think, to answer the question about how I approach it, I guess its generally just spur of the moment inspiration! Like if something has the right vibe my brain I will automatically imagine the element that belongs that & a lot of the time it can be organic instruments!
It seems like its easy for you to finish track, which is something many artists struggle with, which allows you to make your production/creative process smooth and moving forward?
Haha! ‘Seems’ is the key word here! I definitely suffer from WIP syndrome which i think a lot of producers do! When I end up writing so many intros and never get them past the drop, or vice versa. I feel it is key to go into writing a track with an idea, although some of the best work can be written purely through spontaneous decision! The hardest thing is getting a track to ‘Click’ with your own taste, you know when this happens because you actually start catching the vibe of the track! It allows you to easily visualize the track moving forward. Its good to take inspiration from other areas but generally you just have to persevere until you reach this point. So I guess most importantly – don’t give up on your WIP’s!
How would you say your way of approaching producing music and promoting your sound/brand differs from other DJs, is there any certain type of person or audience you’d say you’re trying to reach?
I feel with Axel Boy I’ve always wanted to push the brand as being diverse & multi-genre’d. I still think it has lots of room to grow and improve, but right now I certainly feel I am able to offer my fans excitement. With my production I always take an approach that revolves around what I’m feeling inspired by at the time! This is evident with what I choose to upload & release. For example, I’ll put out a heavy dubstep song, then I’ll put out a future bass track, this diversity is the main thing that i have to offer my fans! Its definitely harder to pin-point a target audience when you aren’t so specialized, by I like to gather fans who have respect for all different variations of bass music! I have a lot of respect for these types of listeners.
Was Seven Lions an influence on “Noughts & Crosses?” It has that powerful dark-mysterious feeling to it that’s one-of-a-kind and difficult to capture.
Seven Lions, Koven, Gemini, Xilent… These types of artists definitely had a strong influence on O&X’s. I still have a lot of time for this style of dubstep and the addition of vocals is what really makes it. I don’t think there enough of this singer/songwriter style around at the moment. Whats so great about it is that it can be enjoyed both in a club and on an iPod! I think the dark-mysterious feeling was mainly captured in the overall space & atmosphere of the song, and this is something that comes quite naturally to me! Ultimately i think the minor/major chord progression gives it the ‘melancholy’ vibe!
What sort of process did you go through to find and select Natalie Holmes? Do you prefer to collaborate with other verse producing alone?
I went to school with Natalie! And I was aware that she was an awesome singer who was fast up & coming. When I was writing the demo for O&X’s, I had in mind recording a vocal, so it lead me to get in contact with her, I showed the track and asked her if she wanted to sing on it! She enjoyed it and agreed to jump on! After going to see her play live in Bristol I was sure she was the one for the song & we got in the studio!
What have been a few personal milestone moments for you in the past year?
My release last Year with MA was awesome! Getting my first solo UKFDubstep upload from it was a goal I wanted to achieve since i began producing so it was good to tick that off. Expanding my network with other artists & collaborating is something I’ve really enjoyed. I’ve written tunes with some of the most talented people in the bass music scene of present such as Dubloadz, Maxx Baer & 50 Carrot so its great to be respected by these sorts of guys. I also played Room 1 of the UK’s strongest dubstep event ‘ERGH’ as well as played my first international gig for BASSDROP in Prague.
How did you and Most Addictive connect?
I’ve been friends with Mike since we met in Bristol early last year, ever since then he’s been helping me push my music. Ive always seen them as a solid reliable platform to work with and release music through. Mad respect for Most Addictive!
Were you at SXSW/WMC? What was the most fun and the most weird moment that happened there for you?
Unfortunately i wasn’t, being from the UK i haven’t made it to the states yet! But i am taking my first trip over in the summer, which i cannot wait for! Its not festival season here just yet, but fortunately I live 30 mins up the road from the world renowned Glastonbury! I wouldn’t want to tell you the weirdest thing that happened to me there, but believe me shit got weird. As for fun, there is too much to explain, but a sick moment was Skrillex’s set, he layed it the fuck down!
What plans do you have going into 2015?
I plan to expand, write more & improve on my music. Work with more artists & play out in various places across the globe! I’m going to continue to work hard to gain the recognition i need to take it to the next level, that’s my ultimate goal!
Connect with Axel Boy
https://soundcloud.com/axel-boy
http://www.twitter.com/alexaxelboy
http://www.facebook.com/axelboyuk
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