If you haven't heard of Om Unit you need to come out from under that rock,
the multifaceted artist has been pushing the boundaries of sound for many years, and still exceeds expectations to this day. We caught up with him to talk about his recent ventures performing live, collaborations & forthcoming work.

• Firstly thanks for taking the time to sit down with us, Unearthed has always held your music in high regard!

You're most welcome. And that's very kind given the sheer amount of records you guys handle.


• How are the 'Acid Dub Studies Live Shows' going, do you find more freedom performing the music rather than a DJ set?

So far its' been fantastic to be able to perform these concept tracks to people in a live context. It's been a great learning curve in many ways both musically and technically. I had always wanted to do a live show but in the past it always felt like it would be essentially a bad version of something i'd done in the studio because a lot of my previous work relied to intensely on the arrangements and fine tooth comb details. In this case I can jam these quite simple but effective rhythm tracks in a live setting in ways that feel more spontaneous, which is the true axis of dub in my opinion.

They've been well-received so far and playing venues like Berghain to me is an indicator that the concept has been felt a lot wider than my previous work, which is a real joy to be honest. Compared to DJ'ing it's a very different beast, and for me much more freeing of expectation, just being able to play my own music, which honestly I don't typically do in a DJ setting.

• That's Berhain ticked off the bucket-list then! You tend to use a lot of hardware in your production, do you find that you can capture your sound better with these techniques?

I really began digging harder into the hardware on records like 'Submerged' where I began working with a mixing desk as a means of routing all my synths into one single stereo output and creating these layers using multiple synths and outboard FX. For me it's become the norm to set things up in this way, and now my new favourite bit of kit is my Midas venice F series mixer which sounds big and clear, with some serious EQ's and 6 auxes for FX fun.

I love to jam with drum machines and synths like my ob6, virus B or newer pieces like the Eowave Quatrantid Swarm into the desk and blast them into my pedals and see what happens. I was really inspired by a friend of mine who makes music under the name Missterspoon who works almost solely in hardware and modular, watching her progress over the years has kept me inspired for sure.


• Most recently your 'Atlantis' EP has a feel of dancefloor infused dub, I really enjoyed 'Amber' off the EP. Where did the inspiration come from for this project?

It's really just some tracks I wanted to play in my DJ sets, and stuff i've been playing for a while. Functional stuff much like some of the Philip D Kick stuff but at a lower tempo. I've been really enjoying playing between 120-140 in my sets over the past couple of years (see my keep hush or recent Hör mix or my Illian Tape mix for example) and I've been inspired by some of the new wave of uk breaks/techno crossover stuff as well which is quite evident in this record I think.


• The crossovers in genres is a trend we're definitley seeing more of. How do you find collaborating with other artists & musicians, is there anyone in particular that you like working alongside?

I love to collaborate with people i'm a fan of, and so when Martyn first hit me up a couple of years back to work together I was excited about it. We've become friends since then and talk quite a bit, that's the main part of it for me is being able to really connect with people properly where possible. It's not always like that but i've found that when you really resonate with each other creatively and personally, there's more work to come and in this case we have another EP coming on 3024 quite soon called 'AJ^6' (because we are both star wars nerds)

The main thing I've found with collaborating is that you learn processes from each other, that's really special. There's a vulnerability to opening up and sharing processes and showing someone your creative 'world' so to speak and it can truly spark inspiration and ideas. I think you can really also end up trying things you wouldn't do normally in the kind of playful approach that comes about during collaboration because you can be less precious about the details and the method which can be really good for creative growth in terms of process.

• As a producer who is known to push the boundaries in your music, fringing on different genres & tempo's. Is there anything that you're looking forward to releasing in 2023?

Very kind to say, I've always looked up to people who can do it, and I think I've found my own version of that, or at least i'm enjoying the process. It's a mad year for me this one, having put out 3 records already, there's actually 5 more to come this year, and maybe more - I can't say too much but keep an eye on '3024' next month. and follow me on instagram to keep tabs on the releases as they are coming thick and fast!


• Thanks again for chatting to us, lastly if you could go back and give your 20yr old self advice, what would you say?

Stop smoking, get therapy, buy loads of bitcoin (lol) and learn piano.