East End Dubs has since his first self-released EP ‘Tool Vol 1’ back in 2013 offered is very own slant on minimal leaning tech house. EED has had such an impact on the genre that he has helped to change the landscape of the community for the foreseeable and alongside artists such as Enzo Siragusa and his FUSE London team help to usher in a new time in UK house music.
Like all artists worth their salt lockdown has been a time for introspection and reinvention. This is not to say of course that he will be leaving EED behind, far from it, but he will be branching out in new directions. This new direction will take the form of new techno alias CITE and we caught up with Chase from his spaceship studio to find out more about the new project…
How have the various lockdown periods been for you?
I have actually really enjoyed it. It’s been great doing things that I don’t normally get the chance to do, sleeping in, catching up on my hobbies, spending time with my family, and making music in my studio.
I would normally be playing 2-3 shows a weekend and catching 8 flights a week, so staying at home has been challenging but I have managed to keep myself busy. I hope everything goes according to plan and we can get back to some form of normality soon.
So, the time away from the road has been a good thing?
I’ve been on the road non-stop for the last 10 years. Having time off has helped for sure. But I’m not going to lie, I do miss being on the road.
How has your recent time in the studio differed from the first lockdown?
When we were in the first lockdown, I thought we would be back on the road within a couple of months. I wanted to make the most of it and spent lots of time in the studio. Then I realised it will take time to get back to normal so I started exploring ideas, making adjustments within my East End Dubs sound.
I have also managed to finish the techno tracks I have been working on for a while under a new alias, CITE.
Can you tell us about the new CITE project and where the sound came from?
Techno has always been part of my musical influences. I grew up listening to Jeff Mills, Juan Atkins, Robert Hood, Truncate, and James Ruskin.
I spent a lot of time at fabric, Corsica Studios and Blueprint Nights so this sound has always been there, it’s not something new in terms of the music I would listen to. When I had a bit of extra time during these lockdowns, I had the chance to finish off these tracks and bring the project to life.
The first EP has just dropped, can you tell us about the release?
The EP is called ‘French Connection’. All four tracks were influenced by the 90’s Techno sound. ‘French Connection’ has this hypnotic chord, through a heavy compressor to get this intense sound. This track started with the French female choir voices and everything is based around it.
‘Right Now’ has a similar story. All the drums and the bass were created around the vocal. It has this incredible wobble bass, with a percussion sound coming out of Mutable Instruments Plaits. After running it through few different machines, I manage to come up with this sound.
‘Tr!p’ was created with 909. I love this machine. Most of the drum sounds in this EP are from a 909. ‘Shimmer’ is the last track of the EP. It has this incredible arp sound from beginning to end. I ran this through the wasp filter to get that special filtered sound throughout.
Has a techno alias always been on the cards?
Some of my earliest productions were Techno. I released an EP in 2007 that was 135bpm proper techno. My house journey started after that. So, somehow with Cite, I am going full circle to where I started.
How has pandemic influenced your sound?
A lot. I have made changes to the way I produce music. I reorganised my studio and spent a lot of time on my modular rack. Most of the sounds in my productions come through the modular setup now. I bought a couple of new synthesisers before the pandemic and never had a chance to learn how to use them. Lockdown has given me enough time to spend in the studio without any pressure of deadlines or having to stop creating to go on tour.
Where does East End Dubs stop and CITE begin? Are there similarities that had to overlap?
The only similarity is that I’m the artist behind both projects, otherwise they are completely different sound. I don’t see myself playing a Cite track during EED’s set. I treat both projects completely separately.
What is your vision for the project?
I want to combine the music with visuals and lights to create a unique experience at some point. For now, my focus is solely on the musical side of things.
The ‘French Connection’ EP from CITE is now available at Juno.
More info on EED / CITE
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