Synthronicity: Few artists capture me the way this guy does. A rather prolific part of most discerning Playlists I'm sure but his music invokes imagery and swims in depth. If Synthwave has my heart then Darksynth is in my blood and Deadlifes tracks I genuinely re-visit daily. Grabbing this interview with him was such a thrill, he's not one for words as such as he lets the music do the talking as cliche as that sounds! Read on....
Socially you seem like an amiable, cool guy, why the name ‘Deadlife’ for your project?
There's a few reasons, but the main one was that when I was starting to produce, I was
in a really low place. I spent years between 2012 and 2017 learning to make electronic
music after a series of pretty horrible things. I had to start from the very bottom and
work my way up again, and sometimes it felt like I was kind of being reborn, back from
the dead or something.
Courtesy of Tour Fiend Travel and Entertainment - Interviewed by Jak Syn
What is your creative process like? On average how long does it take to lay down a
track?
I start by playing with chords, and when I find some chords I like the song almost writes
itself. I usually have an idea as to what vibe I want the song to be as I'm writing it, and I
aim toward that. I'd say to get the basics of a song down it can take about 6 to 8 hours
now, then I may tweak it over time. If I can't get the main structure of a song down in a
few hours I usually just move on and do something new.
I, myself am very drawn towards the mood the Dark Synth artists portray and your
aesthetics seem to marry with the music perfectly, how are you sourcing the Artwork
for your releases?
Its been different depending on the release. Ariel was an obvious first choice because I'd
already spoken to him a fair bit and I liked his style and work ethic. Tony on the other
hand was shown to me by New Retro Wave, and I love his stuff and how he entwines his
art with my music. Atomcyber was something else completely, I've admired his work for
some time now, and when the opportunity arose for him to do City of Eternal Rain, I
leapt at the chance to get him on board. All these guys are really talented, I'm lucky to
have been able to work with them. I'm very picky about my art ha-ha.
You seem to display a hugely strong work ethic with consistent fantastic releases
seemingly one after another, or at least that how it feels?
I love writing electronic music. I'm fortunate that all I need is to hear a certain synth or
sound, and it inspires me to write a track. Sometimes I'll watch something or play a
game and it inspires me to do a track based on the emotion I feel, or the image I see in
my head. I guess its just down to habit, taking breaks, and doing things non-music
related to keep my mind fresh.
If you could open any show which artist/s would it be for? Why?
There's a lot of these... But I'll go with a non-darksynth... Nine Inch Nails, because...
Yeah.
Who are the bands/artists that have inspired Deadlife over time?
Mostly game soundtracks from the late 90s and early noughties. Unreal Tournament,
Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu and a lot of movie
soundtracks such as those by Vangelis and Clint Mansell. I've also been inspired by
artists like Justice, deadmau5, Perturbator and Lorn. There are so many musical artists I
listen to that its really hard to pinpoint them.
Vangelis
Perturbator
What do you think the secret to your continuing success has been?
I wouldn't say I'm qualified to say this as I still work full time and I have no illusions of
success, but I will say that I know I've been very lucky to get such a dope listener base in
a relatively short period of time. I think the main thing is to work hard and always strive
to improve. And most importantly I write music that I want to hear.
In your entire Discography which track or album are you most proud of?
Strands Unravel. I took a risk with parts of it and was using reversed cello samples, I
didn't know if people would dig it but they seem to, and I'm really proud of that. In
fairness I rarely ever write songs or records and think people will like them, I'm always
surprised when people do.
Will we be lucky enough to catch Deadlife on the circuit in 2021?
Absolutely.
What is a day off for Deadlife like? Or is that a concept you entertain given how prolific
you are with releases?
If I'm not writing I'm at work, but if I'm not at work I'm usually hanging with my house
mate or playing some game. At the moment I'm playing Last of Us 2, its very intense. I
also play a bit of Final Fantasy XIV if I want to chill.
Is there any artist on the scene currently you’re enjoying or would like to collaborate
with?
Perturbator, he's a great dude and I'd love to collab with him, not sure if that'll ever
happen though. He's a great guy, it'd be dope, but we'll see. I should probably reach out
but I'm too much of a wuss with things like that.
Can you tell us a bit more about your current projects and what we can expect from you
in the future?
Presently I'm taking a small writing break to recuperate. But I have more planned for the
near future, you'l see.
A message for your fans?
The concept of having fans is a bit jarring to me, so I'll just say I don't deserve you! But
seriously thank you for being there and listening to my stuff. I'll never feel worthy of it,
but it does make my day reading nice comments and messages.
Please consider supporting Deadlife via the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/deadlifecorps/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6YAOorJSNGWyH8m9N7cDeX?si=KfjJkp4GS_iKFT49e1q76A