Brooklyn-based DJ and producer Rupert Wall has been steadily building a name for himself in the New York underground scene. His eclectic style of groovy underground minimal house & techno records creates a captivating and hypnotic vibe.
Taking inspiration from the likes of the Romanian and UK underground scenes, he has been developing his own sound of underground house music. Spaced out, deep, minimal grooves is his style of choice, and he’s invested in expanding his knowledge base by continually creating and collecting music. A computer nerd at heart Rupert’s love for modular synths has helped shape the sound he pushes today.
His latest single ‘Analogue Sound Machine’ lands this month on RVDIOVCTIVE Vol.1. Born out of the Brooklyn underground, RVDIOVCTIVE brings dynamic and eclectic electronic music to curated events across the country. What began as a creative outlet for passion projects amongst friends quickly grew into an innovative force focussed on collaboration and community.
Launching the label is RVDIOVCTIVE Vol.1 – a compilation featuring 15 brand new tracks from a wide array of hyper-talented electronic artists, many of whom have longstanding relationships with RVDIOVCTIVE.
WWD: As someone who’s a bit of an insider on the NYC club scene, where are some of the best places to catch brilliant music we might not know about?
Resolute is a Brooklyn staple and throws some of the best parties with top tier underground talent. Aside from them we have multiple promoters / venues throwing some very cool smaller events & after hours. Zion, Golden records, Apollo Studio, Nomad, and Undisclosed to name a few. Another yearly favorite of mine is the RVDIOVCTIVE boat parties. Every summer parties in New York take to the water and temporary floating clubs circle Manhattan. A beautiful night on the water accompanied by great music can’t be beat. Also I want to give a special shout out to Public Records with their beautiful custom made sound system.
WWD: You’ve previously said you take inspiration from the UK and Romanian music scenes… what is it about these specifically that appeal to you?
I’ve listened to it all over the years. The beautiful part of the minimal and underground worlds is that you can find yourself in so many niche sub genres. I love the super swung driving club tracks that I relate a lot to the UK sound, stemming from the likes of Fuse London and such. My favorite stuff though is the real psychedelic late night after hours tracks which you see a lot of coming from the Eastern European / Romania areas. I think working in that range is really where I like to be depending on the setting of the night. Playing darker and a bit more trippy for those late night / early morning sets and playing a bit harder for those peak times with a packed club.
WWD: Any specific artists you’re especially fond of?
Some of my favorites and close friends of mine right now: Dragutesku, Dragomir, Guy From Downstairs, Silat Beksi, Roxana, Herck, Root, Suinyl, Hendriks Toth, Vermeil
WWD: You’re a self-confessed computer nerd and modular obsessive… what attracts you to this method of production?
When I first started really going down the minimal rabbit hole about 4 years ago I loved the extremely intricate rhythms and sounds. They were beautifully complex but still somehow simple. This naturally started to draw me to modular. The ability to create any sound is only limited by your own knowledge. I dream of patches all day and keep a log of ideas in my phone. To me once you understand the basics of modular you can create any sound you can think of. It is such a fun, creative and experimental way to work and it lends its hand very well to the experimental genre of minimal. That’s not to say I am a hardware purist by any means. The computer is an extremely powerful tool and I could never use only one or the other. Working in a truly hybrid setup has been my favorite method of producing as of late.
WWD: Tell us about your connection with RVDIOVCTIVE… how did you first hook up with them?
About 8 years ago I was doing some light DJing and small gigs around NYC when I decided I needed to start producing to push myself further in my music career. I took an Ableton & Sound design course at the NYC music school Dubspot. At the time they were running a special which included a free DJing course as well. At the end of the DJing course we had to perform a short set for the people in our class. Our teacher was out this last day and our sub happened to be the one and only Devon James. I knew of Devon and RVDIOVCTIVE at this point and knew we played similar styles of music. Young and ambitious I knew I needed to play a few great tunes to introduce myself to him. I spoke to him after class and the rest is history. I ended up going to a lot of gigs and supporting and becoming friends with the whole crew to which I was eventually invited to become apart of. To this day Devon, Will and the whole crew are some of my best friends.
WWD: Your track ‘Analogue Sound Machine’ on the new compilation has a really dusty, organic feel to it. What bits of kit did you use to make it?
This one came together quite quickly and naturally which is always a good feeling in the studio. The main drums are samples sequenced by my Elektron Analog Rytm MKII with the main sequence coming from the modular. The Serge NTO oscillator to be exact. The whole track came about just from the main synth lead. It was actually a bassline originally and I accidentally pitched it up an octave and thought hey this sounds way better. Happy accidents are part of the beauty of working in modular. The dusty textures come from the hands of one of my favorite plugins the D16 Decimort, a high quality bit crusher and also my prized Elektron Analog Heat distortion unit.
WWD: Where do you find inspiration for the music you make?
I take inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. A big one for me though is my modular. Some days where I am not in the mood to sit down and do the nitty gritty of producing a track, I will turn on the eurorack and just start patching and creating sounds. Sometimes those sounds breed inspiration to something else. Maybe now I have some drums in my head, which leads to a bassline and next thing you know I have a track written. That is how most of my music gets started these days. Almost everything stems from a modular patch idea and then gets fleshed out once recorded.
Another big thing which I’ve been really focused on in recent times to help me keep a clear head is simply eating right and exercising. I am much more creative when I take care of my psychical and mental health than when I’m out partying getting on it every weekend. Not to say the occasional party doesn’t breed inspiration but there is a balance to everything.
WWD: Is it important for you to challenge yourself when making music? If so, how do you go about this?
Definitely. I love the beautifully complex yet simple sounding music. Saying that is an oxymoron in itself. Pushing myself to do new things and expand my own knowledge is a big part of who I am as an artist. To this day I watch loads of tutorials and still read up on new plugins and different patching techniques. The world of audio is endless and constantly learning more pushes me further on every track I make. Every time I make a track I always take a different approach which has its upside and downsides but it keeps everything interesting and fresh for me.
WWD: Do you have any specific goals or vision for the year and your career in general?
This year my main goal is to finally launch my label which will be a digital and vinyl imprint. Hopefully you will start to hear more about it in the coming months. Following the launch of the label my goal is to start flying artists that I love into Brooklyn and start an event series of my own showcasing the styles of minimal that I love.