Exploid is an electronic producer and DJ hailing from Hamburg/Bremen, northern Germany. His passion for Drum & Bass music builds up since early 2000s and has remained strong ever since. He combines Rave and classic Jump Up vibes with modern Drum & Bass and creates a unique hybrid sound.
1 ) Your album “Beyond Good & Evil” was just released and we absolutely love it. Can you tell us a bit more about the inspiration behind it?
Thank you so much! The idea behind the album is that it reflects the diversity of Drum & Bass and my taste in music in general. I wanted to do something that isn’t just Neurofunk or Jump Up. From Rave, Liquid, Deep, to Jump Up and Neurofunk, everything should be included and also appeal to listeners who are not that deep into Drum & Bass, but of course also do not disappoint the main listeners. I listen to all kinds of genres such as Black / RnB, Techno, House, Tech House, Brazilian Bass, a little Hip Hop and much more, I want to use all the influences and do not the same that many others are doing right now. A colorful mix of everything in music, united in the “Prodigy Genre Drum & Bass” that simply can do everything.
2 ) We know that you actually sung the lyrics of “ Rise and Fall”: was it the first time you’ve actually been in front of the mic?
I’ve often used my own vocals in tracks without it has been really noticed. Sometimes it was a small sentence for a Jump Up drop, down pitched Tech House phrases or actually singing like in the song “Plastic Memories”. This song was released on Play Me Records and made unexpectedly high waves. The song hit over 50,000+ streams on Spotify in no time. First of all, I never thought that the label would be interested in the song and I also didn’t expect that the listeners would particularly notice the song.
Because it was never planned that I would “sing” on it. The original plan was a quiet Deeper song for which I would record some background phrases with a little autotune. But it’s like so often the case, when you try to create something, some completely different turns out because in the moment it “just fits”. It was exactly the same with the song “Rise And Fall”. I just wanted to “quickly” add a vocal melody to the beat and later replace it with vocals from other singers. In the end I couldn’t find any vocals that captured and reflected this vibe of the already recorded vocals. And since “Plastic Memories” had a good response, I wrote a small text and sang it properly all over again. I think vocals in Drum & Bass are important and good, but it is also important to me that songs are not overwhelmed and flooded by vocals, and so there are always places in my songs where vocals are not in the focus and you can enjoy the bassline.
3 ) How long did it take you to finish the full album?
Hard to say. I actually never planned to release an Album now. I wanted to wait until the pandemic is over so the dancefloor track can be played the in clubs and release meanwhile all melodic stuff that has been created for listening. But there has been more and more tracks done and so I decided to release it as album. Due the rave is going on at some other places on earth, I gave it away to a bunch of Australian and New Zealand DJ’s some weeks before release for free.
4 ) What programs did you use?
I’m using FL Studio and mainly Serum VST. You’re welcome to take a look at the exclusive BassGorilla Making of “A Legend Will Rise”.
5 ) What was the most difficult part of producing this album?
For me, the most difficult thing was to keep every different track in the same shape. All tracks on an Album should have the same loudness, and the same mastering sound. And that was a bit hard due the many different sub-genres on this LP.
6 ) Have you got 1 tip that you think every producer should follow?
Create the sound you like, do what you love, no matter if the style is old or new, In or Out. Stop creating what the mainstream is doing, like everyone made a “Roller” because it is “In” at the moment. Better try to combine genres and styles and create something that you can’t get anywhere!
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