Underground Talent’s Album / EP of the Month for August
It is really hard to find good music these days, especially when everything is blasting out of every kind of speaker. The main problem with this is that there are so many songs you might not like. This has led to a decline in the production of new music. Thankfully, some artists are coming over and changing this. Queensyze is a great example of how much different music is being made these days. This month, we have a very special tune for Underground Talent’s series Album / EP of the Month and we’re going to take a look at her EP, “Smells Like AciiiD.” We also had the unique opportunity to exclusively interview Queensyze and get a taste of the magic behind the scenes.
QUEENSYZE – SMELLS LIKE ACiiD
LABEL: NERVOUS RECORDS
FORMAT(S): DIGITAL
RELEASED: 22.07.22
You Can Get Queensyze’s EP On Traxsource
QUEENSYZE – SMELLS LIKE ACiiD | Listen On YouTube
The Canadian Electronic Music Artist Queensyze
Canadian electronic artist Queensyze returns with her new Smells Like Aciid EP, two thunderous cuts of acid-inflected techno ripe for dark basements. Queensyze is a Canadian DJ, producer, composer, and filmmaker. Having produced in various genres throughout her career, she released her debut techno EP The Pretty Lights in 2019.
Supported by tastemaker media like Resident Advisor and Mixmag, The Pretty Lights broke into the coveted top ten Techno Chart on Beatport landing the #5 spot within the first week of release.
Listen to Queensyze – The Pretty Lights
Her long-awaited follow-up to The Pretty Lights on Nervous Records, Smells Like Aciid, will finally be released this July. Originally slated for the winter of 2020, Queensyze suffered a traumatic brain injury that stopped her career in its tracks. Recovery has been slow, but finally, Queensyze is back to doing what she loves, making this follow-up EP even more important.
The title track is a punishing techno cut, dominated by a furious, dynamic acid line that winds its way through sparse percussion and a powerful kick drum. Give Up Your Love is similarly impressive, with ethereal vocals from Sara Sukkha juxtaposed with a sawing synth line and dark drums, creating an atmosphere that’s haunting and invigorating in equal measure.
Listen to Queensyze – Give Up Your Love ft. Sara Sukkha
A staple of the Vancouver underground scene, Queensyze is known for her innate ability to connect with her audience through her storytelling lens. Experimenting with records to create new sounds, new rhythms, and learning how to build energy and soundscapes within the limitations of vinyl, these techniques have now become her signature as her DJ sets move fluidly between the hard and subversive much like her original productions.
Read Also: Techno Music: The 5 Advantages by Lex Bunker
QUEENSYZE’S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AT UNDERGROUND TALENT
Queensyze
How do you describe your sound? Who were your influences?
My EP’s “Smells Like Aciid” and “The Pretty Lights” are an ode to my younger self. They’re inspired by the memory of what it’s like to be at an underground warehouse rave for the first time.
I tried to channel the energy of that first time being introduced to a rave. What it’s like to have your eyes closed and you can see the lasers through your eyelids with the thick smoke machine air when the music is throbbing through the speakers.
I tried to put myself in that space to write from. I’m influenced at the moment by the harder side of techno, the warehouse, and the raw sounds. I’m currently inspired by Flug, Mark Broom, Slam, Thomas Bangalter (in his Roulé days), and Dax J.
I love working on the details of beats, building the percussion, and heavy drums. My goal is to keep the energy of my tracks raw, even though I also like them to sound polished. I focus on the idea of being subversive with my sound design and effects while I also lay down the raw emotion and beats to keep it moving. I guess because I naturally have a dual nature I like the two sides of music both visceral and hard, raw yet elegant and detailed.
I also strive to have an emotional element layered in my tracks that makes you feel something, could be in a build or the vocal or how I make the percussion move.
Why do you love Djing? Can you describe what makes a good DJ?
I love DJ’ing because it’s one of the only spaces I’ve found where I’m uninterrupted and I centre and focus on one task. I know that sounds kind of weird because you would think that at a club with all the lights and people around you and the chaos it might be the opposite.
But for me, I have a lot of trouble staying centred and focused. I’m a Gemini and I naturally want to be everywhere except where I am at the moment. But when I DJ, I’m in the moment. Right there with the crowd. I feel the crowd, I get into every single track I play. I think this is what makes me a good DJ. I just don’t go through the motions, I’m focused and centred with the crowd and I get to have fun while I’m doing it.
What makes you decide to play a particular track during one of your sets? Is there a criterion for selecting what to play at a gig?
I always feel the room. It’s so funny because I plan my sets, I practice them, I get to know the tracks I want to play intimately and I find it helps me get in the zone. But as soon as I hit the decks and feel the room all that planning goes out the window.
I think that’s what makes me good because I feel the moment. I may have wanted to play an entire hard techno set, but I feel that the room could use some emo moments so I’ll stick in some good feeling techno so they get all ravey or some deep stuff so they get introspective. It’s fun to play the line between hard, subversive and emotional.
Queensyze
How do you handle your mistakes when you perform? Did you ever have any troubles managing them?
I guess as a woman early on in my DJ career I felt like I had to be twice as tight as everyone else because the critical eye was more focused on me.
I had to be better than any guy on that stage. I used to overanalyze every single moment and only remember when I messed up. And with vinyl, oh my god, it happens way more because the club turntables are never stable. And the dancers liked to bounce on the stage which would bounce your needle…so not fun.
But now I guess I just forget about the moment when I had a mistake and move on. It’s all a moment anyway. If I lose concentration for a second, a beat may go off, there’s nothing perfect about DJing music there are so many variables at play and that danger zone is where the magic is. 🙂
Can you explain your state of mind during your DJ set? Any distractions? How do you enter into this state?
I generally get really quiet and introspective before my sets. My state of mind has to be centred, relaxed and quiet before a gig in order for me to get focused. So yea I think it’s kinda weird and opposite of what you might think.
The way I look at it is that it’s like an athlete going to play a big game. They generally stay in their head until the game is over then they can release. It’s the same with me, I get in my head until I’m on that stage and then I let loose with the crowd.
What does your studio look like? What gear do you typically use?
I work in a soundproof room and I have a mix of inboard and outboard gear. My main instrument is my TB-303. I’ve used it on every track I’ve produced since I bought it in 2008 whether on an acid line or for bass, or that extra bleep line.
For drums, I also use my TR-09 quite a bit. For synths, I use my Sub37 and Virus mostly, my OP-1 and some other odd vintage things I have. I love distortion so I have a bunch of pedals and amps.
Queensyze
What is it like for you to get in the zone of inspiration? What supports this ideal state of mind? How do you handle distractions? Are there strategies to enter the zone more easily?
My creative energy comes in waves like it isn’t present at all times. So when I feel it, I grab it and go with it. It’s very guttural, like a burning desire to create. Like I have to get something out. When I’m in this state, I usually don’t stop until I get it right. And then other times it’s much more difficult like I want to make something, I have all the right ingredients but it isn’t coming together, forcing it never works for me.
How are playing gigs and producing music in the studio connected? What do you draw from each experience?
Before I finalize a track, I like to test them out to see how they do. Sometimes I might think something is good or sounding good until it gets played loud, and then I’m like…oooooh, ok. I gotta fix this and that. Sometimes the tracks go off and they’re good to go. But usually, I like to fix a few things. So I think gigs and producing is an iterative process. I also like to draw on what the audience is feeling and how they’re reacting to certain tracks, emotions and movements.
What release are you most proud of so far, and what projects are you currently working on?
My last release “The Pretty Lights” was released in 2019 and I still love the EP. I love how varied it is and how each track from it attracts a different kind of DJ and audience. A track on it called “All I Feel” seems to be more accessible to the wider audience, it was played on the Drumcode Stage at Tomorrowland in 2019 and it went viral on TikTok with over 3 million hits.
And then another track on the EP, “The Pretty Lights” was a top techno pick on Resident Advisor for 2019, along with on the Acid Techno Techno club playlist and was on lots of other playlists.
“Rave With You” seems to be getting a second life right now with DJs playing it on radio shows, it just got played by TSHA on her Apple Music Radio show. The release also went all the way to the top 5 on Beatport.
Not that these stats should matter, but I think for me it was more interesting to see where each of the tracks from the EP landed as they were so different and they each had their own success. I think that was the coolest thing about it.
I’m currently working on the release of my next EP, Smells Like Aciid and shopping around my next EP along with working on some new tracks.
Can you tell us about your latest LP/EP release?
Smells Like Aciid is an EP I started in 2019. I wrote the title track “Smells Like Aciid” first as a follow-up to my “The Pretty Lights” EP and then I wrote “Give Up Your Love”. I then played them out a few times and sat on them for a bit as I was thinking about the tweaks and such after I played them on a big system. But then I got injured, so I was recovering from that for a while and didn’t get to finish them until this year, 2022.
Smells Like Aciid is out on Nervous Records from July 22.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
It isn’t about the big wins, it’s all the work in between the big wins that matters. There are so many failures way more failures than successes when it comes to the creative life. Just stick with it, dig deep, and move on.
QUEENSYZE – SMELLS LIKE ACiiD
- SMELLS LIKE ACiiD
- GIVE UP YOUR LOVE FEAT. SARA SUKKHA
- GIVE UP YOUR LOVE (INSTRUMENTAL)
Listen On SoundCloud
QUEENSYZE SOCIALS
https://soundcloud.com/queensyze
https://www.facebook.com/Queensyze
https://www.instagram.com/queensyze
Don’t Be a Stranger
If you enjoyed reading Queensyze’s article, then do not miss Underground Talent’s latest interviews. Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us by sending us an email at info@undergroundtalent.co.uk or messaging us on our Instagram.
July’s Pick:
Have a look at Underground Talent’s favourite and hand-picked EP for July by Gonzalo MD – Molecular XX 7 released by Molecular Records.
More Music on Underground Talent:
We also started a new music section in which you will find sub-categories such as Guest Mixes from great electronic music talents around the world and artists’ favourite Top Albums and EPs like:
Top 20 Track Recommendations by Digitus (Brazilian Techno)
My Top 5 Favourite Albums/EPs by TEGRON | Brazilian Dark Techno
OUR NEW APP IT’S ON THE WAY. WE WORK ON SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING REALLY COOL! BE THE FIRST TO KNOW!
Our scientists discovered the darkest secret of all time; the equation of Techno:
TECHNO => EQ=ual/2+3v3ry0n3
