Through an illustrious career, Ian O’Donovan has presented his unique blend of uplifting productions on behemoths such as Bedrock and Suara. As a catalyst of the surging Irish electronic scene, and a pillar of our label thus far, O’Donovan represents a character at the forefront of XYZ’s ideals and artistic drive.
Ian’s sumptuous Mistral EP, as well as his appearance on our Blanche project and a remix of Budakid, have confirmed his role as a pillar of XYZ’s existence thus far. He’s an artist with a unique ability to capture diverse soundscapes, taking listeners from dark and ethereal to uplifting and groovy in effortless style. It’s a blend of influences and genres that is impossible to summarize in short form projects. Therefore, we are ecstatic to see the pinnacle of O’Donovans tie to XYZ in the form of last week’s Still Waters LP.
Full length albums play a unique role in electronic music. LP’s are often underutilized or overlooked, with artists preferring to release more regularly with smaller samples of production. For an artist like O’Donovan, long form collections such as 2017’s Early Tapes LP [Stripped Recordings] are imperative for giving full context to his artistic vision. Ian’s Still Water provides a refreshed insight into the Irishman’s studio character in 2020.
As a label, albums also play a distinguished role. To sign an album requires an immense trust, respect, and admiration between label and artist. We are thrilled to present our first full length project with O’Donovan at the helm, showcasing the label’s belief in placing artists in the driver’s seat.
Although it’s difficult to summarize such a diverse and eclectic set of productions, Still Waters masterfully touches upon deep & melodic tones, while also propelling us into techno-oriented fields throughout the 12-track set. O’Donovan made his name crafting dark and vivacious techno productions throughout his career, and he pays homage to the harder forms of electronic music through tracks such as Astra and Nightdrive. With driving kicks and soaring melodies, these are aimed directly at peak moments on a dancefloor.
In recent years, O’Donovan has shifted toward more melodic and euphoric styles of production, as is particularly evident with his recent presentations of XYZ. Deeper tones and melody-oriented arrangements command the bulk of Still Waters, creating a flow throughout the album that never tires. Early in the album, Run Deep and Sakura melt listeners with pristine quality, setting the vibe for the LP. The Aftermath bring electro elements into the fold, while Sentient City rest upon soaring classical strings.
Ambient and downtempo soundscapes also play a key role on Still Waters, with tracks such as Landfall, Fallen Reign and World Away providing vital audible context through the album. Inquisitive and pensive moments are aplenty between the more groove-oriented numbers.
Through the twelve productions on Still Waters, we are thrust into Ian O’Donovans command of electronic elements from across the spectrum. Touching upon reliable and timeless modes from years past, O’Donovan also showcases his ability to bring innovative and modern touches into his recent work. It’s an impressive and unpredictable assortment, and a perfect summary of O’Donovan as one of dance music’s most unique characters.
Following Friday’s release of the album, we’ve caught up with Ian to discuss the formation of the eclectic project, as well as the unpredictability of life as an artist during the pandemic.
WWD – Ian, first and foremost, congratulations on the LP’s release. It’s a stunning collection of music!
Ian – Thanks very much! It was quite a long time in the making for various reasons, but I’m happy with the whole project. I think I achieved what I wanted from it.
WWD – Hoping you are safe and sound during these crazy times. Where are you settled at the moment?
Ian – Yes, crazy times indeed. I’m at home in Dublin with my wife. We’re both busy at work so we’ve kept going. We haven’t had to start baking sour dough or stock piling toilet paper just yet.
WWD – Stills Waters comes at a time primed for deep listening, and it’s a project filled with engagement from start to finish. Do you ever imagine the settings or moods of listeners during the creation process?
Ian – Yes, as you know about half of the album is electronica/ambient. These tracks are really made for deeper, personal moments for listeners to delve into alone or in quieter settings. Generally, I’m not a fan of full dancefloor artist albums, so I wanted this project to be eclectic and show different sides to me; Offer different trips within the same longer journey.
WWD – How does the studio process differ when making an album, as opposed to a shorter EP?
Ian – Well for me, when I’m making dancefloor tracks, they are generally just made with what I am into at that time, and I group possible EPs or bunches of tracks together later. For this album project, I deliberately started making certain types of tracks for it, as I wanted different genres and styles on the album.
‘Run Deep’ was the first track I made for the album and was purposely created with a kind of film score vibe in mind. ‘Landfall’, ‘Sentient City’, ‘Fallen Reign’ and ‘The Aftermath’ are also quite cinematic I think.
I also wanted to have some techno tracks on it, and I made ‘Stratus’ and ‘Flight Of the Red Kites’ to fit in with how I saw the album laying out. ‘Nightdrive’ is a track I’ve had for a while and decided to add it near the end of the process to give the dancefloor element an extra bite. ‘Emerald’ was the last track I made ,and fit in well by offering a slightly different angle.
WWD – Why do you think albums are often overlooked by electronic producers, who typically resort to short form releases?
Ian – DJs will always be looking for the tracks that suit their tastes and sets, wading through huge amounts of promos and releases, cherrypicking the best tracks for them. To be honest, most DJs don’t have time to listen to full projects or albums in depth, even though they may really like what they hear when they skim through these projects. That’s just the way it is. EPs with 2-4 tracks are a much less daunting prospect when a DJ opens a promo, and generally they will be tracks of a similar style.
WWD – What attracted you to XYZ as a label partner for the Still Waters LP?
Ian – I have worked with When We Dip, who have done many premieres of my tracks for years. When XYZ asked me to do an EP last year, I was happy to work with the team. I had quite a lot of the music made for the album at this point, and had a good time working with the XYZ team on the first EP, so it seemed like a good fit to finish out the project with them. The team allowed me freedom artistically, while giving me solid input and direction for the project. I’m delighted with how it turned out.
WWD – How have long lasting relationships with the likes of Laurent Garnier and Nick Warren influenced your exploits in the studio throughout your career? Which titans of dance music have had profound influences on your journey?
Ian – I have been closely listening to Laurent Garnier since I got into electronic music, so that has definitely directly influenced me from before I ever started producing music. I try to do something new when making music, and the fact that Laurent still plays my new tracks more than 10 years later gives me great pleasure. People like Steve Rachmad, Kevin Saunderson, Jeff Mills, Deetron, Vince Watson and Dave Clarke have also been big influences on me and still are. There are a lot more I could mention…
After I signed to Bedrock in 2010, I also started to pay more attention to John Digweed and deeper DJs like Nick Warren, who have also influenced my sound. Collaborating on ‘Dawnbreaker’ with John Digweed & Nick Muir in 2013 was a highlight for me!
WWD – Aside from the immediate lack of gigs for DJs and producers, what long term consequences do you foresee the Coronavirus crisis in regards to electronic music?
Ian – I think it will affect people’s behavior when going out again to clubs, at least in the short term. People will probably be a bit more apprehensive to cram into venues. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. Online live streams and parties have already become quite popular, and I’m sure people will be looking to monetize these given their popularity. It may mean less traveling for DJs, whether they like it or not. On a positive note, it may give people the time to invest in listening to albums like mine, or different genres than they would usually play, so we may see some interesting and unexpected set lists coming out of this.
WWD – How have you passed the time, both musically and otherwise, during the past few weeks?
Ian – I work in a hospital, so it’s pretty busy as you can imagine! Besides that, I am working on 2 very interesting collaborations so I will be very pleased if they work out as I hope. I’ve been catching up on TV series and films but have watched almost all the stuff I’m usually interested in so time to expand I guess. I need some good new books too. I’ve also been cooking & working out a bit more (at home of course, stay at home!).
WWD – Ranging from ambient, to deep and progressive, to driving techno flair, Still Waters covers quite the spread of genres. What led you to have such an eclectic nature in the studio and as a fan of dance music?
Ian – I suppose I listen to a lot of different styles of music, like most people. For the album, I really wanted to explore making different styles as you mentioned above. Even for dancefloor orientated tracks, I tend to make different types – from deep house to some proper techno and electro. It generally depends on what mood I’m in. I probably should have come up with different aliases for these different styles, but it seems a bit pointless at this stage.
WWD – After finishing such a lengthy project, do you take some time out of the studio? Do you need a break from production, or might you dive right back in without need for refreshing?
Ian – I’m already working on the 2 collaborations I mentioned (although I can’t give any details at the moment), and having the album finished has given me new impetus in the studio so I’m enjoying that of late. Having been focused on completing the album with certain types of tracks for quite a while now, it’s nice to have total freedom again in the studio.
WWD – What have been some of your must-play records of late? Give us the low-down on some of your favorite up and coming producers as well.
Ian – Some records I’m loving lately are Matthias Kaden – Liberate Drums (Hiroshi Watanabe Remix), Avison – Time lapse, Nate – Paimon, Karim Sahraoui – Brotherhood, Philipp Kempnich – Outline, a lot of stuff by Petit Beurre in the last year or so.
R.O.S.H. is a very interesting up and coming producer who I discovered through the Cod3 QR label and then I him heard play with Laurent Garnier in Paris and was impressed. Definitely one to watch out for.
WWD – Will there be any tasty remixes of the album coming out?
Ian – Yes, some very tasty remixes indeed coming from R.O.S.H., Petit Beurre, Karim Sahraoui and Panthera Krause. 4 exciting artists, I can’t wait for them to come out.
WWD – Other than those, what’s on your calendar for the summer months?
Ian – I guess make some more music and hopefully holiday and travel a bit, virus permitting. Or maybe just meeting friends for a pint would be nice!
WWD – Ian, it’s been a real pleasure. Congratulations again on the release of Still Waters – an epic project!
Ian – Thank you!
Ian O’Donovan – Still Waters LP [XYZ016]
Release date : 04.03.2020
Stream/Download : hyperurl.co/StillWatersLP
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