The SlapFunk Records duo of brothers Samuel Deep and Julian Alexander have been around for some time and in that time they have continue to flex their undoubted deep musical roots and knowledge. From their love of UKG, minimal, techno and of course, the upfront raw house sound that can be found in their recent ‘Ingi Visionair’ EP and countless events around the globe. In advance of the pair delivering the next issue of our podcast series, we caught up with Ingi Visions to speak about their sound collectively and singularly…
Tell us about your recent travels? Where has blown you away and why?
Ingi Visions: We’ve recently been to Costa Rica for The BPM Festival, the country itself truly blew us away. Being surrounded by nature is something we both really enjoy. The Festival was in the jungle and that’s the perfect environment for a SlapFunk stage hosting. The production was very good and we immediately felt at home. During our short holiday, we’ve been surfing and visited some beautiful nature spots.
In terms of the Ingi Visions sound what or who has been the biggest influence? Would you say there is a thread that connects all your tracks?
Julian: For me, Jazz music had a major influence on my sound since I first started music and it still has. Being exposed to a wide variety of live and acoustic music as well as electronic music gives me the opportunity to listen to music without judgment. The never-ending search of getting to know myself and my sound gives me the freedom to develop within different genres and disciplines. Within electronic dance music, my brother has always inspired me the most. His energy and raw approach is something very unique and it always surprises me. The combination of different influences we both have and being brothers give us a different perspective on music but connects us at the same time.
Samuel: Personally, I got influenced by everything. From different kinds of music like Kaseko, Classical music, Uk Garage, etc. to nature and people. Our sound comes from our heart and is something we truly believe in. For me Benny Rodrigues has been a big part of my education as when I started to go out he was the one who played such a raw energetic own sound which got me into it. Our tracks selection fit into each other like a Yin Yang kind of way so yes there is definitely a thread that connects both of our styles together.
Do these influences transfer over to SlapFunk?
Julian: Definitely. With SlapFunk we really want to create this unity no matter our backgrounds. So, we aspire to join our own visions into one.
Samuel: Yes, for sure. Nelson, Julian and I select all the releases and event line ups so our styles and ambitions are flowing into that.
What do you make of the huge amounts of Unknown Artists in minimal?
Julian: It’s an interesting way of releasing tracks. It creates an ‘underground’ feeling which can create some sort of buzz around it. In the end, it’s all about the music itself. If the tune resonates with me, it doesn’t really matter who made it.
Sam: It’s nice to sometimes not know who made the track as it makes it mysterious and gives it another approach. If the tune gets me, I’m into it and that’s what matter the most.
Would you say you identify with the genre?
Julian: Partly yes. I took much inspiration from listing to many artists active in the Romanian minimal scene. Their approach on sound itself and their sources are very creative and that’s something I can really appreciate, but I could never identify myself solely with one particular genre. Combining different genres and give them time to speak is something I’m eager to develop.
Sam: Yes, in my early years of digging and going out I was really into it and still am. It was the time when there was a big minimal scene in Holland around 2006 and you got guys like Olene Kadar, Polder, Kabale und Liebe, Jason and the Argonauts, Boris Werner, Ion Ludwig and so on smashing it. Also French labels like Minibar, Karat, Telegraph, [a:rpia:r] shaped my MNML side. Not to mention Daniel Bell who’s the king in that genre if you ask me.
Does being brothers help with the musical connection in the studio and in the booth?
Julian: It definitely helps. Being on stage with my brother gives me the feeling of safeness. We can push each other in different directions, but we both know where we come from and for what we stand for together. This always leads up to a solid connection. In the studio, it’s basically the same. Being brothers makes it very easier to connect even though we’re both different persons.
Sam: I know Julian since he was born so we have a long and deep connection. He feels like my twin brother and we never have an argument or whatsoever. Playing gigs and making tunes feels natural and is a privilege. I’m happy we can get along that good. When we play together in clubs I never feel nervous because I know he got my back and vice versa. So yes, it helps to being brothers and when making tunes it feels like creating a vision together with 50/50 input.
Where do your musical differences and strengths lie? Do you have quite defined roles?
Julian: As you’ve read earlier we both have quite some different influences, so combining these and being open-minded for new approaches definitely is a strong virtue of ours. I’m always very eager to deeply learn new things regarding music, so you can say my approach is more like “How does it work and why is it working this way.” While my brother just feels if something works for him or not. In the studio, it leads up that I am more focused on the technical part and structure, where my brother can create this proper SlapFunk feeling.
Sam: As I mentioned before we have a Yin Yang connection so when we’re in a wave of tunes and I play high energetic dance floor stuff Julian reacts with a more deeper approach to get the balance back. We both collect a wide range of electronic music but also got our own styles when playing solo. When you combine that it makes Ingi Visions.
Where does your sound fit?
Julian: It can fit everywhere, it just depends on where we play. Interaction with the crowd is our main priority. If the crowd dances properly, we’ll ride on that wave.
Sam: It’s difficult to put it into a box as we can play, techno, house, tech house, breaks, UKG, minimal, grime, electro in one set. Sometimes deep, sometimes rough but always with a SlapFunk vibe over it.
What do you have coming up release wise for both of you in solo and Ingi mode?
IV: We just released a UKG tune on the new Entity London V.A and we got our release on SlapFunk Records coming out on the 17th of February. Besides that, we’ll re-launch our UK Garage influenced 10” series on SlapFunk made by us before summer. Solo wise we don’t have anything planned but we’ll continue making new music.
The after-party is just as important as the main event in some respects, how do you approach each party from a performance point of view?
IV: When playing at the main event you get to play with a different energy than at the afters. It has to do with capacity and vibe of course. When playing at the after you get to play a bit deeper and more vibey tunes to keep the dance floor warm and people do not want to go home.
Sam: Personally I like to play both. You learn a lot from the aspects and the way you can play with the crowd/venue.
Julian: Both events are nice to play, but the freedom you sometimes have at a after party is priceless. It feels like people already are fully tuned in. I think that’s something which makes an after-party very special.
Tell us about your mix for us, is there a story behind the track selection and how it was recorded?
IV: We felt like playing tunes that fit Trommel and matching our sound. Loads of unreleased stuff too. We didn’t want to tell a story but just give an insight into the selection we have.
Sam: After we recorded the set I made a podcast for Resident Advisor too and that was a totally different approach as I made that one more Raw and energetic.
More info on Ingi Visions
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More info on SlapFunk Records
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More info on Samuel Deep
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More info on Julian Alexander
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