Ital Tek
Exclusive Mix
Alan Myson’s a producer that resembles a chameleon at times; under the guise of Ital Tek, he is constantly shifting his sound to keep the same atmospherics as his previous tunes, with his previous landmark releases “Blood Line”, “Deep Pools” and 2009 LP Midnight Colour all maintaining his love for the spacey and mysterious.
With his latest EP, Gonga, on Planet Mu, Myson explores the worlds of faster tempos, immersing himself in his own style of 160-BPM related calamity. Footwork is an obvious influence but his drum sounds, his structures are all a reversion to the singular sounds of past Ital Tek releases. Maybe that’s why everything he makes is still damn good. Ital Tek is always looking into the future, as evident in our small interview down below, but as of right now, he delivers URB an excellent and crafty mix in tempos that makes us want to get in that circle and see what we’re made of. Check out the interview, tracklist and mix after the jump.
URB: It seems like Planet Mu has become home to you as your sound has grown, what’s changed in your perspective that has influenced your changing direction in the tunes you’ve been making recently?
ITAL TEK: Yeah I ‘ve been releasing with Planet Mu for the past 5 years or so and enjoy being part of a label that I’m also a big fan of. The label pushing footwork recently has had a big impact on me, it’s definitely the most exciting music I’ve heard in a long time and that has rubbed off on me with regards to my perspective on production. It’s hard to say how my perspective has changed specifically as it is always a fluid thing, I try to bring together many different influences of mine and create a sound that is honest to my own musical vision. It’s also been good to work on some tracks that are more or less all percussion based as so much of what I do is based around melody and texture.
URB: It seems like your more drawn to faster tempos, footwork and juke and such, has your production style changed at all because of the change in style/tempo?
I’m always trying to push myself to try new things musically, and if I feel I’m staying in my comfort zone for too long I get restless. Over the last couple of years listening to so much footwork and juke has made me want to encapsulate that energy into my productions and it’s been refreshing for me to make tracks that are faster and rougher than what I have been doing on my last few records. Working within a different framework and still trying to bring my own sound into the equation is something I always try to do as I hate treading water or going over the same ground time and again. Aside from an improvement in my technical knowledge and ability over the years I wouldn’t say that my production style has changed all that much even if the styles of music that I write have. I want someone to be able to listen to all the kinds of tracks I make and be able to hear my sound in there, and that’s something that’s very important to me.
URB: What’s the future got in store for Ital Tek in 2012?
The main project for 2012 is my third album which I’m really excited to get out there for people to hear. It’s the hardest I’ve ever worked on a record and it’s done my head in quite a bit to be honest as at times it’s been a difficult process but I’m really happy now with what I’ve achieved. It’s nearly finished, just polishing up bits and trying to find a sequence that works. Also I have recently completed a pretty extensive sample pack which will be released in February by www.loopmasters.com.
There will be more from my label Atom River this year aswell, and some production work I’ve been doing for other artists.
Aside from that I’m going to be touring as usual, hopefully I’ll get to go to some corners of the world I’ve not yet played.
URB: Tell us a little bit about this mix you’ve done for URB.
This mix is pretty much all around 160 BPM featuring tracks from my recent Gonga EP with unreleased and newish stuff from producers I admire at the moment and friends of mine. It’s both a snapshot of tracks I have been playing out recently and a spotlight on all the elements of what is making me excited about music these days.
URB: Three musical guilty pleasures?
Hmm hard one, I genuinely don’t feel embarrassed by any of the music I listen to!
It’s not a list of three but I do listen to a lot of old computer game music, stuff like the battle music from Final Fantasy and Legend Of Zelda games. *laughs* That’s been stuck in my head for about 15 years now, so maybe that’s a guilty pleasure!
URB Presents: Ital Tek
Om Unit – Swimming Dragon (Ital Tek Remix)
Ital Tek – Gonga
Ital Tek – Cobalt
Krampfhaft – Spit Thunder
Om Unit – Vibrations (Machinedrum Remix)
Chrissy Murderbot – Slang It
Ital Tek – Pixel Haze
DJ Earl – Hit Da Bootz
Kuhn – Slime Beach (Phillip D Kick Remix)
Deft – New York’s Finest (Ruff Nekz Get Ruff)
Kromestar – 2012
Ital Tek – Sun God beat
Kuedo – Onset (Escapism)
DJ Diamond – Wreckage
Plug – Feeling So Special
Ital Tek – Gonga (µ-Ziq Remix)
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