Christian Smith and John Selway return with a powerful three-track EP. Jumbo, made during a live stream, blends tribal rhythms and dub elements, while The Race delivers raw energy with a driving bassline. Pattern Recognition is a fresh update from another live session. In this interview, they’ll share insights into their creative process and the inspiration behind the release.
How does collaborating in real-time during live streams influence your creative process compared to working privately?
Honestly, the first 10 minutes seem a little odd, but after that it’s almost the same as working privately. The only difference during live streams is that you have to take some time out to read the comments and respond to the viewers. Some artists feel that they do not want to give their techniques away, but we have no problem with that. If anything, we really enjoy being able to share all of our years of experience with the newer generation.
What inspired you to produce tracks like “Jumbo” and “Pattern Recognition” during live streams?
It’s just a fun thing to do. We feel that it’s important to give back as well and educate people when possible. These two streams were not monetized as we did not do the full track. We also do other streams where we produce a track from beginning to end within one session. This takes about 3.5 hours, and is loads of fun. You can see us argue about basslines etc and see how we come to agreements that suit us best. All while being able to ask questions. And of course you see the end result of the tracks. So far every track that we produced on a stream, has had a commercial release.
How did “Pattern Recognition” evolve from its original version to the updated one created during the live stream?
The original came out about 10 years ago. We sped it up a good bit (I think 12bpm’s), mixed it better, made it sound phatter, and made the arrangement more dynamic. We were able to do all this within an hour. It was nice to do this so that the newer techno generation can appreciate this track again!
Were there any challenges you faced while producing this EP during live-streamed sessions?
We did not have any big challenges doing these streams to be honest. If anything we were worried that the technology could be lagging as we are located in different continents. Doing long live streams across continents can be challenging, but so far they have worked out great for us. Thanks to our fast internet connections 🙂
Do you see yourselves continuing to explore live-streamed productions or other innovative collaboration methods in the future?
Absolutely. Not only is it nice to be able to share our productions techniques, but its also nice to communicate live with the fans and other producers. We sometimes even ask them “Hey what high hat do you think we should use?” and end up taking their advice on board or explaining why something does not work for us. We are planning to do a few more in the coming months! The next one will be us remixing a techno classic!
How did you come up with the name Jumbo EP? Does it have a special meaning?
The main track kind of reminded us of a song that we released in the early 2000’s called “Giant”. So we felt the name “Jumbo” would be a good continuation. Oh, and it sounds BIG when you play it out 🙂
What’s the most memorable or surprising feedback you’ve received from fans during a live stream?
The most common feedback is that people are surprised how fast we come to agreements on things and are able to move onto other parts of the track. This is a big compliment for us, but you also have to understand that both John and I have been producing music for over 30 years now. We have gotten to a point where we know when something works or not.
How did you bring your signature powerful energy to the Jumbo EP, especially in tracks like “The Race”?
Christian Smith: Its natural. I always enjoy energy in my music. Even when I make 124BPM deeper stuff, I still like my tracks to have fat bass, good kick, and a sequence that has good energy. This track is 140BPM raw techno. Arppegiated basslines at that speed tend to have a lot of energy, especially when its layered with a bass sound.
How does live-streaming your creative process compare to your usual studio workflow?
Christian Smith: I tend work a bit faster while streaming because there is limited time and I want to show the audience how I do things. I can always spend more time refining the track later.
What drew you to incorporate tribal and dub elements into “Jumbo”?
Christian Smith: We did the same in an older track of ours called “Giant”. At first our idea was to make a hardgroove style track for this stream, but it became more of a tribal techno track in the end. Very rarely does a track end up the way you first envision it to be. I played it out a few times, and I am very happy with the result.
How important is a role of label boss for shaping the scene and sound? How are you staying true to your goal for Tronic?
Christian Smith: I always had the same philosophy for Tronic. I only sign music that I would personally play in my sets. Thats still true to today. I also try to mentor a lot of artists that I sign to the label. I give a lot of input as to how I feel some tracks should be arranged or sound. Of course at the end of the day it’s always the artsits own choice. I never insist on on anything, but I always try to help the artist excel.
What was your approach to crafting the arpeggio bassline in “The Race,” and how does it drive the track’s energy?
John Selway: For the kind of bass melody we did in “The Race” I semi-randomly placed notes in a pattern, to get the approximate feeling and energy quickly and then edited more carefully to create the specific melody. I often work that way with melodic and rhythmic patterns for techno, with some combination of spontaneity or randomness, and then refine it. Also the synth sound plays a big part, as the composition choices need to work with the character of the sound, and vice versa.
How has live-streaming shaped your approach to music production, and what do you enjoy most about it?
John Selway: I enjoy the interaction with viewers, and the live aspect of creating and presenting in the moment gives a similar energetic feeling as doing a DJ or live set. I don’t know if my overall approach to producing has changed much from streaming – but it does provide a structure to move forward with ideas. Since my work is mainly in music education now, rather than the hustle for gigs and getting lots of releases out, the stream is a good way to stay involved and motivated to create.
What motivated you and Christian to revisit and update “Pattern Recognition”? How do you decide when a track is ready for a refresh?
John Selway: Usually it’s Christian who has the idea to update an old track, as a DJ playing our music in his sets he can feel right away if something could be relevant again with some modern improvements. And also I think it’s a great opportunity to expose our music to a new audience.
How are you enjoying the first feedback for ‘Jumbo’ EP?
The feedback so far has been great. From Rodhåd to Ken Ishii. We cannot complain.
