Bassrush

Taxman’s annual offering of forward-thinking D&B returns by way of the forthcoming EP Beyond the Black Rainbow. Discover more about those musical musings direct from Dominic Tindill, the legal name attached to artist Taxman—and real life brother to fellow producer, Original Sin.

With D&B flowing through his veins, Tindill remains a longstanding professional audio enthusiast, collecting a reputation for rich, analog-inspired productions. Tracks like “Evasion” and “The Rebate” are often revered as game changers in the underground dancefloor community. Catching up with the man himself, Bassrush learns the true meaning behind his moniker and gets a first look into his rave-smashing EP, coming on DJ Hype and Pascal’s Real Playaz this summer.</p>

 

It has been said that the only two certain things in life are death and taxes. Bassrush had to ask, what’s the story behind your alias?
It’s the name of a Total Science tune that I used to have on vinyl. I liked the sound of it so I used it as my name. I’ve never been an accountant or worked for the IRS.

Tell us about your Beyond The Black Rainbow EP?
It’s taken far too long to complete, to be honest. I’ve spent way too much time messing about with different versions of each tune, but that’s how it usually goes. That aside, it’s quite varied but all tracks still [have] the dancefloor in mind. It’s titled after a film I watched not so long ago. I’m not following any fads or trends, I just made some drum & bass that I wanted to hear in the club and stay true to myself. The title track is my favorite, along with “Reprezent.”

Are you working with any vocalists on the new EP? We loved your collaboration with Diane Charlemagne from your Synthetic Visions album.
There’s a D&B remix of “All For Nothing” on the EP (featuring Diane) which was taken from the LP. I think as soon as you work with a vocalist you’re aiming for the commercial radio plays, and that wasn’t really what I was aiming for, to be honest. DJ Hype asked me to remix “All For Nothing.”

It seems you’ve caught the ear of the EDM mainstream. How did your remix for DJ Snake and Dillon Francis come about?
Apparently so! Ministry of Sound contacted me directly to ask if I wanted to remix “Get Low.” To be totally honest, I’d heard of Dillon Francis but never any of his music. The song parts sent to me were great to work with and I managed to get it all down in less than a week. That was the first time I’d used Massive for a bassline and probably the last, too!

You’ve given insight into the process of creating your new EP via Twitter. What other studio discoveries have you made recently?
The first and original version of a track always has raw vibes. That’s the time when you’re just being creative and not thinking about anything else. I think it’s best to get the creative side of producing and writing a tune done whilst you’re in the zone. If you just keep on going in on the same tune week after week you just end up changing it and moving stuff around all the time. If a new idea isn’t off the ground and beginning to sound like a tune at the end of the day, start again!

We know you are quite the synth-a-holic. What model are you hoping to pick up next?
There are quite a lot of new analog synths being released at the moment but I’m obsessed with the synths and drum machines that were made in the ‘80s. Soft synths have slowly bored me to death over the last few years. As soon as a new one is released, every man and his dog has it; they all sound exactly the same. Ones and zeros always sound the same. I haven’t used a soft synth for about six months now and hopefully I won’t be using one again anytime soon. Don’t get me wrong, they have served their purpose well, but they just don’t do it for me anymore. Analog synths stimulate my mind and inspire me.

Who would you like to work with in terms of artists outside of D&B?
There’s too many to mention. Leftism by Leftfield is one of my favorite albums of all time, so I’d love to work with them, even though they split a few years ago and only one continued as Leftfield. Recently I’ve been messing around a lot with acid house. I’ve always loved that sound and I think it’s healthy to make other genres of music in your spare time. There are always things to learn from different genres.

Which summer gigs are you looking forward to?
I’m back in LA at the end of May, who I always love playing for, plus I’ve been booked to play at [UK-based Action Sports Music Festival] NASS this year, which I’ve always wanted to play. There’s a few more but I cant remember just off the top of my head.

What would you be doing if not creating music as Taxman?
Probably making music under a different name. I can’t detach from making music.