Feeling the Pressure with Oli Lewis

Hi Oli, amazing work on the Pressure samples, lots of really cool sounds in there. What were your influences in making these sounds?

For me my top influences sound wise, have got to be Ed Rush and Optical, Trace, Nico, Jonny L, Dj Die, Krust, and DLR – for me, I love that cyber dystopia techsteppy funk: for the aesthetic and just the balls to the walls distortion because I was always into extreme metal and hardcore/grindcore when I was younger.

Can you share some live shows, music, or raves that deeply inspired you when growing up? What got you into this music?

I got into this music through YouTube when I was 14/15 – I grew up in Cornwall so there wasn’t much of a rave scene at that time – I got into all the classics through YouTube recommendations. But once we were old enough to go, or looked old enough to sneak in, then we’d all go to jungle revival events or late-stage neuro funk events like Mefjus or Emperor.

I understand you use a lot of hardware, what did you use to make the sounds, and is any hardware vital to your productions?

It’s all about workflow and making it fun – as well as the expressions allowed when playing an instrument rather than moving a mouse. I mainly use a Prophet Rev 2 and a Moog Grandmother, but I also have a Moog Sub Phatty and a Dreadbox Erebus. But I also route them into a collection of boutique pedals: an empress reverb and the rest are lots of Strymon ones. I’d say it’s vital for me – I was never good with software synths and needed the trial and error and speed that analog allows you (plus it just looks way cooler).

Your DnB releases seem to be never-ending, what keeps you motivated and inspired?

Truthfully I consider myself to be the biggest procrastinator in DnB – I write a lot of music, and my biggest problem is getting them finished for releases – I’m currently sitting on a lot of songs to be released that I have to either finish or send out to people. But in terms of writing – I think it’s just fun to make music so I do it quite a lot – it’s escapism from the humdrum monotony of reality for me, and I’d happily be locked away just making music.

You seem to have a pretty consistent style, is it a conscious effort to sound the way you do or has it just naturally evolved?

It really just stems from the fact I’m not very good at making conventional sounds – which was very annoying when I first started out and was wondering why my drops didn’t have any impact. But over time it’s probably helped me find a more original sound than I would by using presets – and it’s allowed me to get into sound design which is one of the most fulfilling parts of DnB.

Can you tell us one secret music production or sound design secret?

For me, one major thing is having a feedback loop with two spdif connections – allowing me to record into my daw any sound on the PC – which is great for resampling or sampling sounds off your PC. Other than that, a major sound design technique for me is resampling – it’s the key to making unique sounds and movements and it opens up a whole world of sounds you wouldn’t get as easily.

What are you working on at the moment music-wise? Does doing sound design inspire your productions much?

I’ve spent the last year or so really trying to work on just using my own sounds – besides breaks and vocals, and the very odd sample – I really want to be able to make most of it from scratch. It’s caused numerous engineering issues and things to work through – but it’s taught me a lot about mixdowns in the process. I’ve got some releases coming up with a few labels this year, some I need to finalize, some I’ve just sent out demos for – but mostly I’m just working on getting my sound to be polished off because I’d rather spend more time on that because of all the other benefits it gives you with your knowledge. Sound design is one of the best things to get into as it gives you a quicker workflow and more ideas, and just allows you to realize what you can do to a simple sound to turn it into something deeply complex.

Check out Oli’s sample pack Pressure: Drum and Bass here.  You can also find him on Spotify, Soundcloud or on Instagram. 

Check out Oli’s sample pack Pressure: Drum and Bass here.  You can also find him on Spotify, Soundcloud or on Instagram.