[INTERVIEW] MISANTHROP about Visiting South Africa & Pressure

MTH: It’s pretty hard for me to describe my own sound or the Neosignal sound in general, but I guess we probably do things a bit different than other drum and bass labels. With Neosignal recordings we aim for a more experimental but also dancefloor-ish aspect of drum and bass, without repeating the current dance music formula over and over again. The Neosignal sound is probably best described as ‘new signal’, while my sound aims more towards a darker progressive sound. I think it’s best everybody tries to listen to my music to get an idea of it. 🙂

BCTC: You guys tend to put out some music that pushes the limits and is quite experimental. Do you find drum n bass to be more open minded or closed than it used to be?

MTH: I really think it depends to what audience you’re playing. All the subgenres of dnb and the younger genres like dub-step, trap etc. helped the audience learn electronic music even more. So for us that has quite a positive effect, because there are more potential listeners out there who are interested in new and different sonic experiences.

I’m pretty sure that drum and bass nowadays is much more open minded than back in the day. The only thing I’m really concerned about right now is the fact that there’s too much trance in modern electronic music. It sounds like everybody out there uses the same synth presets for producing instead of trying to innovate. That really bores me to death 🙂

BCTC: Do you think that the accessibility of production software and DJing hardware in the modern world is a positive or negative in the music scene?

MTH: I’ve been always a big supporter of new technologies if it has a creative effect on your workflow. For me it’s a positive thing that production software and djing hardware is accessible for everyone. I really like the fact that literally everybody can express themselves musically. But, of course, it also has the downside in that there’s a flood of untalented musicians in the market. I try to think positive because if we are able to get to know artists like Mefjus and Emperor, just to name two, the accessibility of new technology is a really good thing!

BCTC: What’s your take on electronic producers writing for pop artists. Does it improve pop music or cheapen electronic music?

MTH: I can’t really think of any electronic music producers that write good pop music to be honest 🙂 Of course there are examples like Trent Reznor or Trentemøller which are, in my opinion, really great producers but I guess they are far from being pop and really successful in the charts. As I said, I don’t like trance influenced music and that seems to be the key element right now to get a position in the charts – So … No thank you 🙂

BCTC: You’re on the way to South Africa. Have you been here before and what are you expecting to find in the drum n bass scene here? 

MTH: I’ve never been to South Africa before but I have heard such great things about it. I really can’t wait to see the countryside and get, at least, a bit of the way of life of the people. I really got a lot of messages on my Social media accounts since I announced this little tour earlier this month. It seems like the people really dig drum and bass and especially the sound Neosignal represents. I’m really excited and I’m pretty sure the nights in Cape Town and Johannesburg will definitely rock!