Catching up with Deadcrow and his latest release 'III'

InterviewsWritten by Matthew Smith on

Deadcrow unleashed his 'III' release on the 7th, The cinematic journey that is 'III' will leave you wanting more after your first listen.

This beautiful release starts off with 'Obsidian’, a picturesque, emotional saw bass soundscape that will put you into a euphoric head space to prepare you for what's to come.

'Mw1' starts off with that classic deadcrow sound we all crave, leading into the one of the most exquisite chorus's I've ever heard. Huge wavy basslines, an atmospheric top end that is eq'd to perfection. This tune is bound to turn some heads on a nice sound system.

Next up 'lvl-223' begins with a magical dystopian soundscape, that rides into a fast emotional chorus, that will have you dancing. From 2:48 on was my favourite part of this tune, it grips you in your heart.

'Ai_mod' gave me a strong visualization of an AI command computer room, like the ones in the movies. The second half rides into these postmodern trance chords with huge drums to compliment them and all the arpeggiators are so cohesive, I respect Deadcrow for this. A lot of the time producers Arps will have confliction in the top end but you did it perfectly, this magnificent tune is for sure way ahead of its time.

'Subsonic' is one my favourite tracks on this release. This moody banger is an anthem. For sure going to leave you speechless, The melody brings me back to when I use to play Diablo and listen to loads of old trance playlists man the nostalgia of that time frame. Deadcrow really has carved out his own unique futuristic sound this tune is a masterpiece start to finish.

'Interlinked' starts off into one of the biggest intros on this release and rises towards a chorus that is bound to get you out of your seat. This tune takes you on a progressive and spacy adventure into the sky. Prepare yourself for interlinked your not ready.

The next track 'T-800' starts off calm to release a lot of the tension built in the ending of interlinked and then starts it all back up again into an intro with my favourite snare on the release, wait till you hear the magnificent EQ on that snare, great work. Then the drops hits and you're sitting there like is this really happening right now!? I couldn't even believe it when I first heard this tune, I had it on repeat the rest of the day.

The final track on the release 'End_world' couldn't have been a more perfect tune to end this release with. This huge dark 'reesey' soundscape is bound to give you some goosebumps, I know I had some. Please check this release out when you have the time, you won't be disappointed! For sure some very rare tunes in there.

I also had the chance to catch up with my old friend and we spoke a bit about the release and caught up!

Hey Felix how are you, been a minute bro?

Hey man! I’m good. Happy to do this interview with you man!

So your new release 'lll' just came out its a front to back Masterpiece, tell us a bit about the concept behind it.

First off, thanks a lot, really appreciate that. The project doesn’t necessarily have a ‘concept’. I didn’t even really have a good name for it ’til late. Well, I’d rather say that the name changed a few times before I had a definitive one. When making all these tunes in the past 2 years or so I didn’t even realise I wanted to have them on an EP together until I had at least half of them. But I guess they all had something that made them fit well together. With the project I also wanted to try to incorporate my interest in JDM cars and the whole aesthetic that goes with it, like the logo’s of aftermarket car part brands. And next to that also that cyberpunk vibe that has kept coming back into my tunes. All in all I think ‘III’ is kind of my vision as an artist presented in an EP.

What were some new things you tried on this release opposed to previous releases?

One thing I definitely did try is to take more influence from other genres that I enjoy, like Dubstep, Hardstyle and Future Bass (think of guys like Rustie, Deon Custom and Glacci), thus creating a project that I think is more fitting for the clubs than my previous releases. And next to that, I also chose to have an intro and outro, just to complete the picture of the whole release. I think they add a lot to the overall vibe of the project. It gives it a personality.

How did the artwork come together for this release?

At first I wanted to have a car (duh) on the cover. But later on, when having all the logo’s made (which were supposed to go on to the car), I realised it would actually be sick to just have the logo’s as the cover. I had never really seen anything like it before, and aesthetic wise I think it just looks great and also fits well. Ever since playing the Need for Speed Underground series as a youngster I’ve really liked the way these aftermarket brand logo’s look, particularly of those that make high performance parts, so having my own logo’s and using them this way just seemed like a sick idea. Couldn’t thank Miel (th0tweil3r) and Lars (larpiebabyomg) more for them!

What was your favourite part of the new Blade Runner movie?

Any scene with Joi in it? Haha nah, just joking. I think it’s either the part in the beginning where K flies to the LAPD station, or the Chinatown scene where K talks to the prostitutes. Mostly because I think these two scenes capture the setting of the movie the best, which is why I like this movie so much, next to the mind boggling story-line.

Top 5 new tunes of 2018?

  • Aweminus - BAB — I have a soft spot for riddim and this tune just nails the genre more than most things I’ve heard lately.
  • Phiso - Brute Force — Insane sound design and overall vibe. One of my favourite Dubstep tunes ever.
  • Brandon Coleman - Walk Free (Flying Lotus Remix) — I had my internal hard drive replaced with an SSD and also had a clean install done very recently, and when I was importing my iTunes library, I had this tune on repeat for a while cause my iTunes froze. And I just so happen to really like it.
  • The Upbeats & Noisia - Shibuya Pet Store — First time I heard this tune was at an Alix Perez show, and I was completely amazed. The few days after that I had it on repeat.
  • Subp Yao & Dayle - Platvis — I can keep listening to this tune honestly, reminds me of older LA beats scene stuff. Shouts out to Subp Yao and Dayle.
  • Plans for the future/2019?

    Expanding the Deadcrow brand.

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