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Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’!
Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases!
Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme!
Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works.
Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain!
Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September!
NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases!
Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup!
Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast!
Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music!
SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023!
The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023!
NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music!
Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project
The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22!
A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden
Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma
Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino
New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik!
PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records!
Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters!
N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood!
Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna
A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022!
'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022!
DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022!
TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022!
A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London!
Goa based party animal and artist extraordinaire Nirmal talks punk concerts, metal sculptures, flying and rippin' it up on a High Tide!
DJ Wired talks to us about the Rise of the Hope and parties, ahead of his upcoming set at Tribal Village on 14th January 2022!

Ben Fraser bares his Sabreteeth with RMX

Reported by Johnny M / Submitted 08-08-18 16:53

Sabretooth, or Ben Fraser to his friends, has been making a big splash on the international psy scene over the last few years with lots of releases on big labels and appearances at major festivals. It's been no overnight success though - Ben started producing over 15 years ago and has released three albums as well as becoming a major draw on the Northern (UK) party circuit. With the release of Sabretooth's fourth album of remixes, we caught up with Ben to find out more...

How would you describe Sabretooth's sound to someone who's never heard you?

It's my unique take on the usual psy trance sound - with elements of prog and full-on. It's deep, driving and techy, a little bit grittier and tougher than the norm, with a dash of old-school acid vibes for good measure!


Can you tell us about your new album?

I've spent the last 2 years working on it. The idea came to me after doing a few remixes for BMSS and Digital Om. I enjoyed doing them so much that I thought it would be a good project. Little did I know what I would be letting myself in for haha!





How does it work - do you get the original parts and remix them - or did you have to use the actual track for any of them?

I contacted quite a few different producers in the scene. Amazing the difference responses... Some of the busiest and highest-profile artists responded positively and sent me parts within days. Others never get round to sending the parts. Some never respond! Ultimately it was refreshing to see how friendly and open a lot of producers in the scene are - and I'm over the moon with the final track listing on the album. A huge honour for me to remix some of my biggest influences.

It's interesting the variety of parts you get given. It ranges from a handful of audio files representing the key hooks and leads from the original track (20MB) to literally every single track exported in its entirety (7GB!). To be honest, the former is easier to work with!

The only remix I did without parts was Teleport which is largely based on the original track. Quite a few people have been asking me how I've done that - I may do a studio cast at some point explaining the process...


Any reactions from the original artists?

Again a range of responses - everything from a thumbs up to 'feedback' phone calls! I guess different producers have different ideas on what a 'good' remix is. Production standards are so high in the psy scene that in a few cases, I had to really raise my game to even get the remix approved.... And yes, one remix did not make it onto the album. It'll have to remain a secret weapon for my sets now. And no, I won't tell you what it was, haha!





Any particular fave tracks on the album and why?

I started work on the album 2 years ago so there's been plenty of time for me to fall in and out of love with all the remixes a few times! Teleport stands out I guess. The original is such a seminal track both for on a personal level and for the trance scene in general. In some ways I don't really feel like I've remixed it so much as updated it - I've simply given the track a new arrangement and lick of paint so it can be played in any contemporary psy set.

Otherwise, currently I like the Nocturnal remix. I enjoyed working with the dark atmosphere from the original track and I feel it's the remix I managed to stamp my own identity on the most.





You've done a reworking of one of your old classic tunes - Conga Eel - how did you bring that into 2018? Any thoughts on how your production has changed?

The original track almost never made it onto my first Sabretooth album. I didn't think the production was up to much (quite rightly lol). However it's the track that always got the most attention - something to do with that tribal vocal hook. There's a lesson in there somewhere I think, haha. Anyway, it'd always been in the back of my mind to redo the track as a result.

How has my production evolved? Not that much other than it has - hopefully - become deeper, crisper, cleaner and so on. Ultimately it all comes down to the template I use to start all my tracks - which evolves alongside my production. It gives me default FX, routing and other things that speeds up my production process hugely, as well as shaping my sound.



What’s your Ben Fraser production side up to? Do you want to explain to the readers the difference between Sabretooth and Ben Fraser?

Not much unfortunately. Though I still love the acid techno sound on the dancefloor, I've not found anything production-wise that really excites me... but never say never! I'm still keen on writing more stuff that combines the pure acid techno sound with psy production standards - I think I was halfway there when I did '2424' for Scythe Squadron a while ago...


What are you listening to just now (electronic and otherwise)

Psytrance wise I'm particularly enjoying Relativ and Out Of Range currently - the production is out of this world! I'm enjoying the new Reaky album - the guy is so talented and able to mix up so many different genres without worrying about the usual boundaries.

Non-electronic-wise, I've always been a big fan of punk music. The latest Pennywise is awesome - though it sounds like every other Pennywise album haha. I've been getting into the Menzingers recently - they have the ability to write sad punk songs which in my book is very hard to do. Otherwise I'm also a big fan of ska and dub....and anything which generates extreme emotion from me - be it excitement, sadness, etc.




Future plans?

Keen to get my teeth into the next big project - not sure what at this stage. I like the idea of putting my hand to a slower techier sound, psychedelic techno I guess... but something a bit funkier but still properly drenched in 303s! Otherwise I've got a collaborations album in the back of my mind maybe... we'll see!


Ben’s latest album ‘RMX’ is out now on Iono Music:
Beatport - https://www.beatport.com/release/rmx/2324467
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/album/1CZimMpbyz3ZHeGkNNEj6x?si=DgEYZCJGRF-RP6_QzLkHIg
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxiZKmB4qpOslTDUhNQ7WEbWB_ExKPT-b

https://facebook.com/sabretooth303
https://soundcloud.com/sabretooth303
https://ionomusic.com

All images courtesy of Ben Fraser, not to be reproduced without permission
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Other Features By Johnny M:
Ben Fraser’s Sabretooth hits Planet Zogg!
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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