Interview Link:

http://www.kmag.co.uk/editorial/blogs/dubstep/introducing-hexadecibel

Canadian producer Hexadecibel, aka HxdB, aims to blend 2step, house, techno, dubstep, UK funky into one hybrid pioneering sound. He sent us some beats and we wanted to find out more.

Please introduce yourself…
My name is Severine, I’m 32-years-old and from Vancouver, Canada. I help to manage two record labels, Pressing Issues and Gradient Audio. I make bass music that I strive to make equal parts fun and meaningful.

How did you get into music?
I got into music, like so many others, by being a fan first and foremost. I was raised by my mother and she was passionate about music and always encouraged me to be that way also. There was seemingly always a record on the player at our house and it really fostered the attitude of having a “soundtrack to your life”. I never really learned to play any instruments though, I was always more of a listener and casual participator.

In high school I was an avid fan of any kind of music I could possibly find that was underground: punk, hardcore, metal, hip hop, classic rock, even avante garde jazz and psychedelic instrumental albums. I used to spend a lot of time hanging out with some cats from my school that were rapping and were hooked up with a producer to make their beats. I went with them down to the studio several times, hoping for a chance to rhyme. I was becoming increasingly fascinated by what the producer, Junior, was doing, and less interested with the microphone.

Shortly thereafter I discovered electronic music and raves in the mid-late 90s, which completely changed the way I looked at music. After being a fan of early drum & bass, jungle and breaks for some years, I knew it was the perfect time to finally give a shot.

How do you go about producing your music?
I don’t really use a template, but I have a loose methodology. I always start with a blank project, I’ll usually search for individual drums and hits, maybe chop up and process a couple breaks. Then I like to create a vibe, add some pads, some kind of melody. Then I like to play a bass line for the sub. I’ve been using Sylenth1 or even FL Studio’s built-in 3xOSC to make a nice clean sine for the sub. I’ve also been using lots of 808 sub kicks lately too which are fun to alternate with. Then I’ll usually start the arrangement and add more synths, vox, and other flourishes as I get to know the song more.

I’ve been taking my time with tracks a lot more lately and getting more into detailed edits, more complex chords and other bits of ear candy. The funny thing is I never really write any two tunes the same way. I mean, I have preferred tools and a handful of “go-to” sounds, but I find the process and preparation to be different and unique for each tune. Perhaps it’s my add, but I find creating music to be infinitely pleasurable and inspiring.

What’s the best piece of musical advice you’ve ever had?
Learn to EQ properly, seriously, this has to be the most fundamental key to making your music sound good. Once I learned to understand the correlation between what your sound looks like in a spectrum analyzer to what it actually sounds like, my tunes started to sound better and better. A really nice plugin I’ve been using is Voxengo GlissEQ. It has a superb spectrum analyzer built into an already great and discrete sounding EQ. Essential.

What’s next for you?
I’m sharing a vinyl release with Distal & Mayhem from Atlanta, coming out January 24th on Surefire Sounds (Typewriter VIP). I also have a 12″ forthcoming on Inhale Audio (Stylish Cadaver), a spot in the forthcoming Brownswood Electric Vol. 2 (Savage Pets) and forthcoming EPs on Subdepth, Party Guy & Kursed. I also have several single track releases on Gradient Audio, Haunted Audio and more. I’m curating an LP on Gradient Audio featuring some of, in my opinion, the very finest emerging future bass creators, which is very exciting.

I’m working on collaborations with Self Evident, Max Ulis, DJ Cure, 3rdeye & Cairo. I’m currently almost complete remixes for Swarms, Blind Prophet and Style Disciples. I am struggling to, but nearly ready to also put out the third installment of my monthly podcast, “HxdB Loves…”. This month is Austin, Texas and features some really exciting works from some really great producers like Dubbel Dutch, FBOM, VVV, Outlaw Producer & arms&suites. I’m getting married in April too, so life has been pretty hectic!

Where do you see yourself within the genre?
I don’t really know to be honest. I don’t really feel like I belong in any one genre because I like to lend from so many influences. I’m trying to sit in-between genres, let a certain sound accomplish a certain task and something from another sound to accomplish another.

Where do you see yourself in ten years time?
Producing music full time, probably visiting your city.

What do you bring to the scene that’s different?
That’s a really tricky question man! I think almost everything under the sun has been done. I do though think that the way I do things is different, which is where my sound comes from. Everyone has their own unique musical fingerprint.

Interview: Sam Moir

For all Vancouver heads, we are featuring our second return show at Goldies Rustic Pizzaria! We’ve brought our friend DISTAL from Atlanta…I myself will be warming things up then DJ CURE will bless the decks and the entire affair will be hosted by CHADIO.

Mr. Distal and myself have also been hard at work in the studio and have 2 very nice things to unleash on the world very soon…Stay tuned for that!

In the meantime go check out this video of DISTAL playing at Dub War in NYC to get a taste of what tonight will hold.

It was our great pleasure to have been chosen to represent Vancouver and the music that we so love for this article printed in Discorder Mag. Big up Dashiell for pulling it all together!

Original link to the article: http://discorder.ca/discorder-magazine/index.php/2009/10/31/cure-and-hexadecibel/#more-1095

Article text:

Cure & Hexadecibel

Big Bass Booming

By Dashiell Brasen

Cure & Hexadecibel – Art by Aisha Davidson

Local residents DJ Cure and Hexadecibel are helping take Canadian bass music to new heights. Together the two DJs have served up hysteria inducing dub tracks for the last year at Goldie’s Lounge, turning the basement of a Pender pizza joint into one of Vancouver’s (literally) hottest night spots.

Cure and Hexadecibel are not alone in popularizing the dubstep movement. With dubstep artists like Rusko remixing Katy Perry and Kanye West on big time indie electronica imprint Mad Decent and Chase & Status lending their “Eastern Jam” out to Snoop Dogg for “Snoop Dogg Millionaire” (which was coproduced by R&B and hip-hop mainstays Kurupt, Murs and John Legend, and features Slumdog Millionaire star Tanvi Shah), yesterday’s underground subgenres are crossing over into the main stream.

“I like to try and create music that can be felt, whether someone is on the dance floor or listening in headphones. I like to fuse traditional musical elements and instruments with futuristic sounds and palettes. I want to keep the listener interested. For this reason, I often try new techniques on different projects, just to keep things different,” he said, explaining his own style.

“When I DJ out, I go hard or go home. I like to play big tunes with lots of energy. I tend to touch down on all ends of the spectrum on my radio show on SUB FM. I’ll play anything from bangers to deep, techno influenced [music], to hip-hop-fused weirdness,” said Cure. Mirroring Cure’s experimental ear, his label Aufect’s releases are dark, techy, glitchy and unafraid of the 4/4. [ed. Ironically in dubstep the 4/4 time signature is considered experimental.]

While Aufect Recordings (www.aufect.com, www.myspace.com/aufectdigital) is showcasing the best the Canadian beat scene has to offer, Hexadecibel’s sets for Rob Booth’s Electronic Explorations podcast has attracted unprecedented attention for Canadian dubstep. Hexadecibel first recorded a collaborative set with Vancouver’s most prominent bass crew, Lighta Sound. Booth then selected him to mix one of his own. Both sets have been downloaded over 10,000 times.

“This podcast was very significant to me,” said Hexadecibel. “It gave me the opportunity to showcase some of my newest songs, demonstrate my mixing skills, and, most importantly, promote my current and future releases … [EDIT FOR POSTERITY] Once my release [Prism EP] on Mindset hits shelves, the snowball really gets rolling, as I have four more vinyl releases lined up over the next 12 months.” Prism is available on websites like Boomkat, Juno, Chemical and Redeye.

Back at home, energized by bass music’s constantly merging and shifting array of new styles, Cure envisions his label “mutating into an out of control beast,” housing a “sub-sub-genre not even invented yet.” With Aufect’s digital releases reaching the top 10 on electronic music website Juno’s online music downloads, it’s a good indicator that Cure’s mutations will be heard soon enough.

Cure owes Aufect’s early success to knowing some talented producers. DZ, who was featured in ATM Magazine’s “Leaders of the Nu Skool” article, and Loetech, of Bombaman and XI, put their faith in him and helped him get Aufect started. “Now I run the label myself … My girl does all the accounting and paper work, and my boy Nick Lazerface is A&R and is repping as a DJ in Montreal,” Cure said.

Cure brought his girlfriend from Ontario in 2007 with the express intention of starting a dubstep label in Vancouver. He describes the crowds here as “real music lovers,” who “just go off!” He feels the city can stake a claim as “one of the top three cities representing dubstep in North America, maybe even number one.”

Hexadecibel agreed, “People’s acceptance of the sound in general, and willingness to hear new music, [makes Vancouver’s dubstep scene unique and special] … The ‘heads’ in this city are well versed in electronic music … the local producers, DJs, promoters, etc. It seems like a very fertile place for creative people, and what’s better is that almost everybody involved in the scene here is cooperative and helpful.”

“I think dubstep is showing signs of going mainstream,” Cure added. “[But] I’ve never been happier with bass music as a whole.”

Hexadecibel followed up, saying: “It’s an exciting time right now, with bass music reaching around the globe and more and more talented people joining the ranks daily. I am truly amazed, literally every single day, with the level of creativity and talent I see from younger and younger producers, not to mention the old hats who have been at it in the music biz for years who are again hitting their stride with a renewed interest in music. I think dubstep is a conduit, a place where people from so many other disciplines are coming and bringing their experience to create something totally new and fresh.”

In the same vein, Hexadecibel has helped to revive the audience driven label Pressing Issues, to keep things different. Hexadecibel is one of the label’s committee heads, who are responsible for whittling down demos presented by their online community and presenting them to be voted on for potential pressing and releasing. The label has successfully released two 12-inch vinyls which are distributed by ST Holdings UK and is getting a third installment going.

“We will be creating an active poll for dubstep fans to vote on in mid-November, and the vinyl will likely hit shops in late December or early in the new year,” Hexadecibel added. “We’ve pre-signed our A-side for the album, [XI's 'Gravity']. ‘Tis a big tune.”

In the meantime, if you want to catch Cure, he’ll be at Goldie’s on Nov. 6.

“Goldie’s Fridays will be no longer be a crunked-out-thrust-womp-raver-bass party spot. Not to worry, though, the night will still be there. Just chilled out though with more of a house and two-step vibe,” he said. On Nov. 13 he’s opening up for the Dub Police label owner, Caspa. He’ll play Nov. 20 at the Suave Assassins One Year anniversary party, and on Nov. 27 at a venue that has yet to be announced, so keep your eyes peeled and ear to the ground. He also has a new residency, Whatever’s Dope Wednesday, every Wednesday in the backroom at Shine, hosted by Emotionz. Check out his radio show every Thursday 6 to 8 p.m. on SUB FM.

Hexadecibel regularly releases tracks on his website at http://soundcloud.com/hexadecibel.