Back in the day, when Native was Radar, we received a guest mix from a producer named Movement ahead of his first release on Southern bass label Hygrade. Today, we've come full circle and are delighted to welcome Brighton artist Sir Rah to the mix series - ahead of his first release on Movement's new Dissident Sound label

The release, titled Kernel Panic / Leonard, will follow Heritage's Docklands / Destination as the second offering Dissident Sound and has already received acclaim from Life Support Machine - who describe side A as 'a masterclass' and side B as 'an irresistible skank from start to finish'.

Listen to Sir Rah's guest mix below for a taste of what's to come this Friday, 18th May:

To kick off - talk us through the release, what should we expect?

Lots of breaks! and bass lines from my beloved Sub Phatty synth...

What's your creative process? Do you do anything to get yourself in the zone when you sit down to produce music?

In terms of creative processes, it really depends from track to track but as I can remember for Kernel Panic, which was made over a year ago now, it was a case of getting a few beers in with my mate Knoxy and just smashing it out.

Sometimes I like to sit and listen to my collection of drum breaks from old funk tunes and wait for little snippets of rhythm to inspire me, and then I'll base the kick and snare pattern off that. Then it's a case of jamming out a bassline on my sub phatty and adding some movement with filters and distortion plugs (trash 2 to be specific).

Which producers do you take inspiration from?

Ah man so many.. and it’s always changing! If you asked me a year ago I would've given a different answer for sure. I’m going to try and answer for my 15-year-old self as well as my current self. Noisia, Audio, and that darker Renegade Hardware stuff was my first proper introduction to D&B. Since then I’ve looked to stuff from Exit, Dispatch etc. It’s only been in the last couple years that I’ve looked to the past for that old skool D&B and Jungle. Getting into vinyl has definitely been a bit of a gateway for that. Stuff like 175 Crew and Photek… man I love Photek! It's so easy to just go down to RK bass and dig through the past.. might cost you a bit but absolutely worth it.

I think Sorrow is the most amazing talented producer. He literally blows my mind with some of the stuff he comes up with, varying from chillout to garage and dubstep.

Dissident Sound is an exciting new Brighton label - how did you end up releasing on it?

Dissident Sound is definitely an exciting new thing. Whilst tune releases can be relatively underwhelming on a new label, I’m super hyped to release with these guys. 001 was sick, and their open-mindedness to all forms of the darker underground stuff makes it a perfect label for my stuff as Sir Rah. Plus Brighton needs more stuff like this.. heads are flocking to places like Bristol and London to get more involved so it's nice that people and starting stuff here in Brighton also.

You can have dinner with one rapper, one pop singer, and one DJ - who's coming round for tacos?

Has to be Kendrick. It would be a quick dinner to not detract from our time in the studio. Britney Spears. She’s a classic and I want to question her why she shaved her head all those years ago?. DJ? I don't really care for people who just DJ. In terms of producer, it would have to be Burial.

Talk us through the mix...

I’ve started things off with an exclusive dub from low key Brighton producer, Scott Wade. Then rolling through into some UK Techno and breaks from Dissident bossman Movement / Heritage, Myself, Aloka, Gutterfunk etc. Then a few Dubstep exclusives from Ago, Sorrow, and myself. Then some Jungle and a D&B remix of Dizzee’s Sirens. Ending the mix with a tune from my fav album of last year, Babylon Dead.

Will we be seeing more from Sir Rah in the future? What are your plans for the rest of 2018?

After the Kernel Panic/Leonard release, I’ve got a single lined up for the Dissident Sound free compilation which is coming out sometime this summer I believe. I’ve been working on some Dubstep stuff so hopefully some of that will reach your ears by the end of the year.

Finally, what are you listening to right now?

Damn, I could have been listening to anything!

I’ve got a Punks Music podcast (home to Stanton Warriors) playing, with Aloka on the guest mix. Aloka’s K1/K2 release had a big influence on me at the time of making Kernel Panic. Weird coincidence.

 
Kernel Panic / Leonard is out this Friday on Dissident Sound