Slug is the psytrance project of Liam Gibbs, 28, an electronic music producer from Cape Town, South Africa. The Slug sound is powerful but melodic, combining elements of old-school goa and psy-trance with modern dancefloor grooves and production technique. Liam is also one half of the duo Pitch Hikers and co-owner of the Nexus Media record label together with Shift.
Where we’re you born and where are you staying now?
Born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, currently live in Cape Town.
What do your siblings call you and why?
Just “Liam”
What artists are you currently listening to?
Audioslave, Trentemoller, Dirty South, Domestic, Shift, Bliss & Painkiller.
When and what was your initial influence to Psytrance?
In 1996 I was living in London, looking for some decent clubs & parties to go to. A friend from SA gave me a flier; I think it was for a Tip Records party. He said “Forget the commercial clubs, I think you’ll want to check this out“. So I went along and I was blown away by the music, the people, and the vibe.
There was no turning back.
What are your favorite VST’s?
The Z3TA is getting used a lot lately for my leads, the CronoX is awesome, and the Vanguard is always good for so many ‘classic’ synth sounds.
What EFX units do you use?
The king has to be the WAVES bundle(s) – they kick ass in so many different tasks. I still use the good ‘ol Ohmboyz delay a lot, and loving the “Glitch” lately.
What are your favorite pieces of hardware in your studio?
My favorite is definitely my Nord Lead 3. I’ve had it for around 3 years now, and I still use it every day in the studio. If I’m doing a live set around Cape Town, I will always bring it with me, and it?s a requirement for any overseas gigs as well.
What was your best experience in front of a live crowd?
Hmm… That’s tough to say cos I’ve enjoyed almost all the sets
What animal describes your music best?
Rhino
If you could do a collaboration with ANY artist, who would it be and why?
Cypress Hill. It’d just be too cool, imagine “Cypress Hill feat DJ Slug”!
From what other artist(s) do you gain inspiration?
A variety … blues (e.g. John Lee Hooker); bands like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Audioslave, electronic stuff like Boards of Canada, hip hop e.g. Cypress Hill. In trance – Wizzy Noise, KoxBox, Joti Sidhu, and others…
Is there any difference in crowds from party to party?
Yep. People show their enjoyment in different ways in different places, so some crowds may look a little sedate while others are so hyper look like they maybe need to be sedated …
But I think they all looking for the same release in the trance parties.
Where’s you favorite destination to tour too and why?
So far I’d have to say Japan. Its just such a different culture that intrigues me… although after a while (if you’re touring alone) you do tend to feel a little isolated because there’s not many people to have proper conversations with.
How would you compare that to the South African scene?
Well they’re a lot busier over there, more parties going on per weekend, across the country, whereas in SA it’s mostly going on around one city (Cape Town). More people actually buy the music over there as well
You think you’ll ever NOT be able to make Psytrance?
Ye I’m sure one day I will need a break for a bit. I actually have a new non-trance side project on the go already; but I still love getting up at 7am and working on pounding psy for a few hours before I get into the rest of my day. Not likely to stop any time soon.
“Lose Your Shell” & “Elemental”, is it like comparing apples to pears?
Well … both albums definitely are definitely very Sluggy …. so there is certainly some continuity between them. But personally I am so much happier with the new product. I feel the production on this new one kicks ass compared to my old album, and the arrangements have matured as well.
This is probably because I’ve had a lot more experience with dance floors (to see what works) between 2004 and now.
Do you think you’ll have a side act that becomes “bigger” than yourself?
Maybe … the Pitch Hikers project I do with Shift could go that way, but if there was something significantly “bigger” it would probably be outside of trance.
Tell us about www.psyblog.co.za… (Slugs Personal Blog)
Just a blog, like this one really, but a little more personal, what’s going on in slugs life etc. I think it’s nice to have a place to give a slightly more personal perspective on things other than what you just read on the label website.
How long does it take you to make a track 90% complete?
Maybe around 5 days, 1 week on average, but its always different.
Do you create sounds by a fool proof process or is everything freestyle and tweaking?
A bit of both – if I want to use a certain sound and I know how to make it, why fuck around?
But if you don’t make room for free styling, things will end up sounding boring and repetitive in your tracks.
Do you have tip or trick for us?
Work with audio pieces for maximum editing fun. So if you have lead sounds driven by midi, or a drum sampler triggering your percussion, bounce those things into audio channels and use your editing tools to re-arrange shit, tweak individual hits with different FX, stretch things etc. This can add a whole new dimension to the lines/percussion, and I find it easier to be creative this way.
There are also other benefits of working with audio, for instance like Broken Toy mentioned in his interview, if you use sampled bass hits to make up your bassline, you can get a far tighter more consistent bass.
When and what can we expect from your new album?
The new album is out now; we just got copies here in South Africa this week. It’s full power Slug, I didn’t even bother putting my slower chill track on there. A lot going on around 146bpm.
But it’s certainly not in the same category as most music that would be classed as “night music” nowadays. There are a lot of pads and dreamy sections which I love playing in the day.
Thanks Sluggy! That was fantastic stuff. The good thing about psytrance artists is that their music just gets better and Slug is no exception. Keep it up and have a rocking season!
For info on where you can get hold of the album please check it out on the Nexus Media site.
