If you haven’t clocked Infekt as the next driving force in dubstep then you haven’t been paying attention. Christian Fial, longtime member of the Monsters crew based in a rather remote city in Germany, manages to craft some of the darkest aggressive vibes around. As he tells it, “There is no dubstep scene here. The closest place to where I live is Cologne, about a five-hour train trip away.”
With previous adventures on NSD Black Label, FuntCase’s DPMO and his Journey to Mars EP for Disciple, it’s no surprise Infekt’s sincere underground sound has captured the attention of wonky dubstep fans across many continents. As this year draws to a close Bassrush caught up with the man of the moment to celebrate a stellar year of worldwide nonstop dubstep grinding as well as an inside look as to what we can expect when Infekt steamrolls his way into the New Year.
In a nutshell how was your 2017?
This year was my craziest so far. So many things happened, it’s too much to even put it in so few words. I travelled across continents, played more shows than ever, met so many DJs and people, worked on music a lot, heard a few of my idols play my tracks, and released a lot of them on some of my favorite labels.
Most fond memory from all the shows, if you had to choose one?
It’s hard to name just one memory out of so many, especially considering I had my Australian tour this year and I experienced a lot of things I had never seen before, but one special memory I had was when I played in Perth and just about every person in the club wanted to take a picture with me. Exhausting, but it was a great honor.
What do you think dubstep needs to leave behind in 2018?
I know everyone thinks dubstep needs to leave behind the drama, but I think in some ways it seems to create a strong connection between us. I think what it needs to leave behind is the elitism—that some producers and fans think they are better than others because they like to listen to a different style of dubstep. It’s all music, everyone has a different taste, and that doesn’t make you better or worse than the next person.
Tell us about your Patreon subscription? “Borgin & Burkes” was just released and it’s beyond sick.
I started my Patreon, because it’s a great way to make a little money to pay my bills and food, as I just quit my job so that I can focus on music 100% and put all my energy and time in it. People can get exclusive tracks for a little fee every month and I have a lot of other things in store for them too, like remix competitions for supporters only, exclusive previews and more!
What was the coolest production trick you’ve learned recently?
I have learned about the importance of the stereo field with certain sounds. How you can create space for certain elements by making others wider in the stereo field and how it can make a track come together.
What are your thoughts on synthesis and dubstep?
Recently I’ve been getting a bit tired of wavetable synthesis, which everyone has been so fond of since the release of Serum. That’s why I wanted to explore what else is out there, so I found that I want to get into granular and graintable synthesizers more, especially now that Propellerhead has just released the new Reason 10 with their new Grain Synthesizer.
What was your first impression about Bassrush?
When I saw the lineups I was overwhelmed. I was surprised that over there, the audience for the genre is so large, that these massive festivals work and it’s amazing to see. And now being part of all that, I can’t even say how it feels—it’s just unreal! Very happy about this opportunity to say the last.
Do you have any New Year’s resolutions?
I was never a fan of setting resolutions for New Years. I always work on improving myself and my values and my music every day, to make every track better than my last one! I don’t see the New Year as a new start; I see every day as an opportunity to make things better!