Heist Pillager

Sumo Beatz, 2015

Although primarily known for his crowd-hyping dancefloor bangers, Heist (aka Jim Muir) has managed to straddle an increasingly fractured D&B scene with his varied productions, releasing on labels as disparate as Metalheadz, Integral, Horizons and Ganja Recordings. The prolific producer has not only released dozens upon dozens of his own tracks, but has remixed the likes of Borgore and Top Cat and engineered Rufige Kru’s Malice In Wonderland and Memoirs Of

An Afterlife albums for Goldie. FM caught up with Jim in his Essex studio to discover the secrets behind the speaker-smashing sounds of his tearing and sinister Pillager, released on his own label Sumo Beatz.

How did Pillager come about?

“It was just a weekend kind of thing – I had a gig coming up at [Cambridge D&B night] Warning and wanted something new to play! I had the idea and made the tune in about four hours, so it was a really quick kind of turnaround. I wasn’t trying to be especially creative or anything… I just wanted to make something that banged in the club! I knew I could do it, but could I do it in the time that I had? The zombie sample was kind of the inspiration, so I started with that rather than the drums. Usually I start with the drums but it’s nice to start with something else in mind.”

What were your thoughts on the track after making it and before you played it out?

“That’s quite important for me when I’m making D&B. I was pretty happy with the mix – I think if anything the bass was too heavy. I came back after playing it out, turned the bass down and left it pretty much at that… maybe added a few transitional effects that I didn’t have time for the first time round.”

What do you prioritise when making a jump-up track?

“For me, it needs to have a nice big drum break running,