Finding a sound and style

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For Mason, having something musically meaningful to say should be at the very top of every producer’s list of priorities. “Nowadays lots of people are preoccupied with what’s trendy at the minute,” he says, “and I find trends a bit boring. Nothing bad about Resident Advisor or anything, but I just get much more inspired by digging into old stuff – there’s so much great music behind us if you just dig deep. And I think it’s also important for every artist to have their own sound and not jump on any bandwagon.

“That’s an issue with DJs sometimes nowadays, because they play and get to a certain level within their city, let’s say, and their friends tell them, ‘OK, you have to release music to be able to DJ in the next town’. So they get Ableton and just start working. But whereas DJing is a craft, producing and writing music is an art form – just like writing a book or making a painting – and you need to have something to contribute to what’s already out there.

“So my advice to young producers is to wait with releasing til you’re certain that you have something that’s different and original, and that’s not already out there. Nobody’s interested in having something that sounds like something else – you need to find your own sound and your own identity. I think that’s really important. And also, don’t release too early, because you might look back years later and think, ‘I wasn’t ready, actually’.”