Quickly becoming a launchpad for some of the scene’s brightest talents, Ireland is home to one of the Hard Techno movement’s most exciting prospects in the form of Alt8. Inspired by DJ Rush, Chris Liebing, Klangkuenstler, Shlomo, Rebekah & Slam, Alt8’s broad knowledge of electronic music and diverse taste in different styles shine bright throughout his productions and gripping club performances. His latest release, delivered as part of an upcoming VA on Kobosil’s R-Label, echoes Alt8’s innate ability to perpetuate his craft via his interpretation of some of the harder shades of Techno.
‘Chains On Humanity’ is an undeniably enthralling affair from the outset, centring around hard grooves and gritty electronic resonance. Thumping rhythms and piercing industrial percussive drive lay the foundations for this high-octane cut, further energised by ravey synths and furious bass notes throughout, carving out a thrill-seeking hard techno stomper loaded with racy twists and turns from start to finish.
We had a chat with the producer about the single, his inspiration, about Ireland and more. Enjoy!
WWD: Hey Evan, thanks for chatting to us. Congrats on the single on R-Label. Tell us more about the track and your first release on R-Label – has this been a long time coming?
It’s been a long time coming and to release on R-Label has always been my goal as a producer. This track is almost a year old so I’m super happy it’s finally getting released. I sent it to Somewhen towards the end of last Summer I think and a few months later he just randomly messaged me saying he wanted to sign it. I was shocked, almost had forgotten about the track!
WWD: We’re always keen to support local talent, you’re from Ireland, but can you maybe run us through some of your early inspirations when it comes to music?
There’s so many but my earliest memories of Dance music was when I used to steal my older brothers trance CDs. I think I was about 10 maybe. Big tracks from the likes of Tiesto, Push & Marco V. I guess this can be why I like to use a lot of trance like synths in my productions.
WWD: Ireland has a lot of good techno events and exports in terms of producers and DJs – do you have some favourites?
If so, let us know who and why. The one Irish producer that comes to mind would be Matador. Before I was listening & producing harder styles of Techno, I was really into Melodic Techno which is like 120-125 bpm & Matador was up there with one of my favourite producers, and he’s Irish! In regard to events, it was District 8. They were unmatched in every way. Pre pandemic they were at their peak with sell-out shows almost every weekend in Jam Park with acts such as Charlotte De Witte, Amelie Lens, Ben Klock & many more. Sadly, Covid took its mark on D8 and they were left without a venue after Covid. I was lucky to play there for them.
WWD: Can you send us a link to one of your favourite sets (your own gig), so listeners can get a feel for what you are about musically?
One of my most recent DJ mixes I done for Raw, I think it’s a good indication of my style and also features some unreleased music inside 🙂
WWD: What are your touring plans looking like this year?
Massive. To be honest If you had shown me this tour plan last year, I would not have believed it was mine. Now I’m playing about 8 gigs a month and sometimes more. Besides touring Europe every weekend I’ve also been to Canada & India already this year with a South America tour also in the works for October.
WWD: Finally, can you tell us if there was one track you had to listen to every day, what would it be and why?
Rui Da Silva – Touch Me. It’s my guilty pleasure. It just does something to me every single time and puts me in a nostalgic mood.
The non-dance track has to be ‘Eminem – Without Me’. It hits different every time, this is totally my driving track. I’ll be rapping along, waving my hands and bouncing my head back and forth. If you want to see me at my cringiest pop this on!