Sydney-based producer/DJ Mastadon has finally embarked on his first ever North American tour. Now that his long-awaited debut is here we can finally sample the trailblazing militant sound for ourselves, and Bassrush is up next up to receive the heat. Since making the rounds on labels like NSD: Black Label and a few high-profile remixes earlier on, he’s now aiming to release his own material on Malignant Music. The boldly titled Shit Vol. 1 EP has freshly dropped just ahead of his upcoming appearances at 1720, Bassmnt, and Project Z.
With all the hype surrounding Mastadon’s debut, we linked up with the young producer to learn more about his latest dubstep masterpieces and aspirations to try American cuisine. Be sure to graze on the EP and Q&A below.
When did the concept for this EP really come together for you?
The EP was an effort to put my foot down and finish four ideas I had laying around on my hard drive from the past two years.
Who were some of the first people lucky enough to hear these tracks before release?
All of my close friends and fans who follow my alternate SoundCloud alias, MOOG, had been familiarized with “SHIT” and “CTHULHU.” The other two tracks remained relatively unheard until the release.
How do you feel this one compares to your previous styles?
Whilst keeping the same heavy theme, I feel this EP manages to be less in-your-face and a lot more dancefloor friendly.
What is the inspiration behind some of the melodies on tracks like “HAZE” and “OOF”?
I am honestly not sure. My melody writing process depends heavily on trial and error; that is I spend a lot of time dragging notes up and down a piano roll until I can get something somewhat catchy. I don’t tend to work within a specific key or scale.
For the uninitiated, how can you best describe “CTHULHU”?
My attempt at blending neuro-esque sound design with eerie, deep, dubstep ambience. Definitely not a track for everyone but it’s something I am fairly proud of.
Your Bassrush debut is highly anticipated, what should folks expect?
My sets are predominantly my own material. That being said I try my best to ensure that my sets have peaks and troughs, taking the crowd on a journey rather than being obnoxiously heavy from start to finish.
What are you most excited to do and see in America aside from the gigs?
Super keen to try some incredible heart attack-inducing fast food, particularly In-N-Out Burger and Five Guys.