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41

Sphyramid

September 13, 2019

Interview

Hailing from Everett, WA, Sphyramid is the electronic music alias of Mac Dobbins. Lately focusing on dark and minimal breakbeats ranging from industrial UKG to atavistic techno, he has played out his productions in venues such as Vermillion, Re-Bar, and Black Lab Gallery, as well as Fisherman's Village Music Festival's Nite Market in Everett.

What have you been up to?

Since my last EP I did a couple remixes for friends (I Will Keep Your Ghost, WD4D & Jimi Jaxon) Attending events in Seattle more often, listening to other artists. Working on recording some older tunes & writing new ones simultaneously!

Tell us a bit about the mix!

I have always had a taste for the darker and stranger forms of electronic music but my last release was a chilled out house project. Lately I've been really interested in breaks, techno and electro. In the spirit of the changing seasons, I really wanted to showcase my unreleased catalog of broken rhythms and dark synths in a wide array of tempos & styles. All in a live, raw, improvised hardware mix. The very talented producer Mr.Shn mastered the recording.

Where are you at when you’re not behind the decks?

Usually at home in Everett trying to teach myself Spanish, cooking brunch, caring for my houseplants or shih tzu. The occasional freelance graphic design project is always fun! I try to make it out to Seattle dance events at places like Kremwerk, Rebar & Monkey Loft whenever possible.

Tell us about your production process!

I use the Korg Electribe 2 samplers to produce and perform. I try to create short catchy grooves that are in unique tempos. This helps me make a fun and engaging live set that’s easy to improvise and mix with. I take all the ideas I'm excited about and arrange them by tempo, mix them together and add effects. If I don't abandon the idea, I eventually run out of adjustments to make in the hardware. Then it ends up getting exported as an Ableton file and a full composition that is informed by the live performances gets created. I used to be really into sampling tape cassettes but lately I’ve been into more “stock” synthetic sounds.

What are you listening to when you’re not in the mix or producing?

This might be overkill but, over the last year I have been really excited about these labels:

Ilian Tape
Leasure System
Sneaker Social Club
Whities
Lobster Theremin
Jungle Gym
Western Lore
Myor
Exit Records
Horo

What are you up to next?

Northern Draw just asked me to do a remix for his next project so that’s next in the queue. Aside from that I am recording 3 new originals, at least one new collab & collecting a few remixes for the re-release of my last EP on Care Package Music; “Revival.” I’m going to call it “Revived”.

Follow Sphyramid:

https://www.facebook.com/sphyramidmusic/

https://soundcloud.com/sphyramid

Tracklist

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