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Beats by the numbers
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by JACK OATMON A great deal of what gets billed as dubstep is characterized by U.K. garage sounds slowed down and smothered in bass, or else dancehall dragged through a techno treatment. But Dutchman Dave Huismans, aka 2562, finds his own path into the dubstep realm by injecting a laidback, psychedelic edge to old-school house and techno styles, making for a more sparse, energetic style. Mirror: Your tracks are quite spacey and atmospheric. What would you say are the main themes of your sound? Dave Huismans: To be honest, I don’t theorize about that a lot myself. A nice thing about abstract instrumental music is there’s a lot of space for the listener to interpret. But since you ask, maybe on one hand being alone, a restless soul. Sometimes moodiness or melancholy. And on the other hand, the funk, the head nod, the booty shake. Obviously, when I play in a club, the emphasis is on the latter. I like to play up-tempo, energetic DJ sets, but they’re not mutually exclusive. On another level, a main theme would be the ghost of ’90s techno and house. It’s the music I grew up with and it’s still a significant influence. M: How did you start producing? DH: I started about six years ago, teaching myself how to do it on a fairly minimal set-up. Since then, I’ve been experimenting in several directions, with many different sounds. I guess change keeps me going—as soon as I feel I’m coming close to a defined style or formula, I lose interest. I use mostly software because it’s easier to work with but I like to have a bit of analog hardware or sampling in every track for sound character. M: What are you working on right now? DH: I’ve been working on new 2562 tracks, not necessarily with a release in mind, just experimenting a bit and seeing where it goes. As well as a few new things for my techno project, A Made Up Sound, which has taken the backseat far too long. Next to that, I’ve just completed remixes for techno musicians Marco Bernardi on Clone Records and Jason Fine on Kontra-Musik. They will be out soon. WITH KOMODO, DJ HOSTA, WALLY |
