The latest episode of the Select Cuts welcomes OFF Recordings, Sintope and Get Physical man ICS. The producer has become a shining light for the Romanian House and Techno scene in recent years with the delivery of a dozen engrossing cuts featuring on some of the finest labels out there. We’re delighted to welcome Cristian into the hot seat to find out what’s new in the world of ICS and what we can expect over the coming months. What’s more, he’s put together a quality new mixtape exclusively for When We Dip readers. It doesn’t disappoint!
WWD: Hi Cristian, Hope you’re good!
We’ll introduce you with some of your RA bio, but can you tell us a fun fact or 2 about you RA might not know? 🙂
Fact no.1: when I started using the computer to make music, I was making hardcore and hard techno music ☺
Fact no.2: I am married
WWD: Have you any hobbies?
Beside music, I love to paint and ride motorcycles.
WWD: How has 2015 been for you musically, good I hope?
2015 was a year of discovering new lines in terms of music. Music is changing and I am constantly trying to reinvent myself. I don’t like to have tons of EP’s because it’s about quality, not quanti-ty.This year I spent a lot of time in the studio, creating ideeas and preparing releases for next year.
WWD: Your remix of Kivu’s ‘Pure’ stood out for us when checking out your back catalogue. We found there was a real nice build and deep bassline to that one. How do you go about planning your studio time ? Do you go in to the studio to make that style of track or do your influences change all the time?
My studio sessios usually take place in the evening. I just start jamming and if I like what I’m hearing then I complete the project. I take sounds from every source I get, from pitching and cutting weird vocals to rubbing a spoon on spaghetti ☺. Creating music is fun and I want to keep it that way.
WWD: We were introduced through NTFO, who think very highly of you. How do you know the guys?
I believe we first met in 2007, when we all had a gig here in our country. We already knew each other online because we have released some music on the same label back then.We were a bunch of young producers with cool ideeas and great expectations
WWD: You’ve played a central part in their new Sintope radioshow with a couple of editions by you. What’s it like to be part of their Sintope family??
At Sintope it’s all about friendship and sharing musical ideeas. It is a great platform for releasing my music, especially because It’s being run by NTFO and we have similar taste in music. The guys have been great promoters for me and my music and I thank them for that.
WWD: As well as djing, from the ‘balance performance’ on your SoundCloud you seem to play live also. Is that correct? What’s your live set up like?
As a matter of fact my fist club appearances were based on live performing.It is the best way to express myself and I really love to improvise. The story behind “Balance” and other jamming ses-sions is that this type of performances are a solid foundation for forthcoming tracks. I usually work one or two weeks to sketch some ideeas and then I just play with these loops to make a whole set. Then, depending on the feedback, I take the best of them and create full tracks.It is my way to get new ideeas. I love when promoters ask me to play live, although it requires a lot of work . For the moment my live rig consists of 2 midi controllers, a keyboard and a drum machine but I’m planning to introduce more analog gear in the future
WWD: What’s next for ICS? Any nice EPs or gigs upcoming?
My remix for Kolombo, Sammy W & Alex E’s “Strider” wich was released on vinyl will be out in digi-tal next month and another vinyl release later this year on Tobus Limited will also be available, alongside Sammy W & Alex E. Of course, I’m planning a Sintope and Jargon! release and maybe-some collab work with Rhadow
WWD: Finally, you’ve done a mix for us. What kind of mix have you tried to make? Is it what we could expect to hear from you in the club or…?
A personal rule is that in every set I play at least one or two of my own tracks. In this one I made an exception and you have three of them. In rough lines this is the kind of groove I play at parties,and of course depending on the crowd I like to go up and down, just like a carousel.
Follow ICS: Facebook // Soundcloud