Bristol-based artist Om Unit talks to us about his record collection, playing live, and his upcoming EP – Atlantis.
Very few have pushed electronic music to its limits quite like Bristol-based DJ and producer Om Unit has. Starting in the 90s, he has become an electronic virtuoso and is one of the most skilled DJs around. A turntablist in the early 2000’s, Om units’ curiosity to cut up and blend multiple genres of music both on the decks and in the studio has seen him play around the world and release on labels such as Exit Records, Planet Mu, Astrophonica – to name a few – under a myriad of aliases, each one a vessel used to broaden his creative horizon.
Lately, he has been active releasing projects under the pseudonym Philip D Kick, an alias which he brought to life around 2011. In addition to this its been business as usual for Om unit. Having played at RSO.Berlin’s Year One event back in November, he has started the year strong having played The World Headquarters, The White Hotel, and Berghain.
Talk to us about your upcoming release Atlantis. What was the inspiration behind this one?
My Partner named it! I think it’s about more dancefloor-orientated music really. I wanted to give some focus back to my DJ’ing post-pandemic lockdown period and make and share something that felt honest emotionally but more functional at its core. Without overthinking it too much it’s a 4 track EP of dance music. Stuff I can play out that hopefully, people might recognise as having my stamp on it. It’s got all the bits that I like at the moment from the acidic dubby side to the breaks and the techno 4/4 parts.
Tell us about your alter ego Philip D Kick. What made you decide to release under this alias? What was the motivation behind the project?
It honestly started as a bit of fun back in 2011 with the original edits and gained massive traction back then quite rapidly because it was quite an original idea at the time to cross classic jungle sounds with footwork production techniques, so much so that I had to kill him off for a few years until I decided to resurrect him via Fracture’s Astrophonica label once I’d felt like the whole ‘footwork jungle’ craze had died down. I was wrong about that entirely as it’s had a huge resurgence above ground and very much feels like a current part of the zeitgeist at least in the UK. It’s been fun all the way doing the project, but I feel it’s due a rest again now after a trilogy of EPs. Phil is funny like that, one minute he’s about then he’s gone away on his adventures again. I’ve been asked for years to DJ as Philip but I’ve never done it and never will because that’s all people will want from me and it will get boring.
You recently played Acid Dub Studies live at Berghain! Can you describe that experience?
Playing live at Berghain was extremely enjoyable! The system in there is clinically intense. It’s a custom Funktion One I think? Not sure, but it was fucking LOUD but so clean. I had to really dig into the saturation and FX to breathe extra life into the space and the energy in the room was intense at times. I have to say it was a real honour to be invited to do that in such a space. CTM festival was a pleasure to have been a part of and long may it continue!
Could you run through your live set-up with us? What equipment/software are you currently using?
The Acid Dub Studies Live setup is very minimal, a lot of it is in the box using a MacBook and a Faderfox MX12 controller, and then there’s the 303 clone (Either Behringer or one of my X0XB0X synths doing the acid bass.. there’s a dub siren as well but that’s about it! It’s all based around an Ableton Live setup.
Your last few projects have seemed to meander through multiple styles, fusing various genres such as footwork, dub, techno, and more. Is experimentation a key theme in this phase of your career?
It’s a bit of a cliché to say it, but it’s all the same to me. I don’t understand how and why some people get almost religious about singular aesthetics and blinkered in their tastes. I see all of it as doing different things with the same tools really. I think the best musicians who reside within any genre are the ones that draw from outside it anyway. I think looking back at my own output I’ve only ever been concerned with blending. I do it a lot as a DJ, blending different style tracks together in interesting ways. Something about my process has always been about finding new combinations of things. It’s not really about ‘avoiding the pigeonhole’ because it’s not so deliberate either, I’m just being honest about what inspires me so that I don’t lose momentum.
You have been touring a lot over the last 12 months. This year alone you’ve already been to Berlin, Newcastle, and Manchester. Are there any cities that you have visited which have had a lasting impression on you?
Yeah, it’s picked up a bit recently, which I think the live show has had a part to play in. Maybe it’s the releases too, hard to tell really but I’m grateful. Being 43 I’m probably considered a bit of a ‘legacy booking’ at this point, which I humour gracefully where possible and tbh am grateful to still be included in the circuit. I still feel I’m always looking to break new ground when it comes to shows too and I’ve been working with a new Agent who is pushing me in interesting and exciting new directions that feel pretty re-invigorating and outside my comfort zone which I’m loving.
In terms of cities that have left an impression on me, I have to say Berlin, Manchester, New York, Glasgow, Philly, Melbourne, and Tokyo, places like that with a real sense of character and history. I’m sure there’s more but I think it’s the ones with a definable sense of identity about them that seem to stick with me more in my Memories.
What music are you currently listening to? Who are some of your favourite artists?
I collect dub, dancehall and ambient records mostly and have quite a sizeable chunk at this point. I’ve been checking loads of old 80’s digital dancehall thanks to my friend Frankie Downbeat who gave me the bug on that stuff. Ambient wise some of my faves are people like Evan Caminiti, Jake Muir, Ulla Strauss and I keep going back to stuff like Deepchords early work as well.
In terms of new music that I play out, as a DJ there’s tons of stuff in my rekordbox I’m adding all the time, new and old from the UK and beyond – mostly breaky stuff or faster UK-influenced techno stuff at the moment like Destrata, Al Wooton, DJ Swisha, Luz1e, Amor Satyr etc.. or straight up UK sounding stuff, garage, dubstep, jungle at times still and sometimes a bit of 160/footwork bits as well. I like to play classic techno and early Detroit stuff as well because of how much soul it has, it really for me connects with that funkier side of the UK dance continuum in interesting ways, a lot of that marries up nicely with the current UK broken techno pretty well too.
Looking back at what you have learnt over the years, can you share any words of wisdom with the younger generation of musicians out there?
Be Honest, even if what you make is too weird to live off it, you’ll always be inspired. Don’t let the machine dictate what you should be doing whether you are a musician, producer, DJ, engineer, promoter, label owner or club promoter.
Just get really good at doing what you love and if you can, learn how to sell it to people.
What have you got in store for the rest of the year?
Loads of records, and plenty of shows!
There’s Atlantis which drops March 24th, then following that a collaborative EP with Martyn on 3024, a 7” release on Zam Zam coming later in the year, and there’s also collaborative work with a fellow Acid Dub head that I can’t mention too much about at the moment.
There are some great remixes of the Acid Dub Studies stuff coming as well, and I’m working on that particular continuum as well as more dancefloor bits too.
Catch me at Primavera festival amongst other spots this summer including Dimensions and Doel festival too, for full info head to omunit.com and keep an eye on my Instagram for show listings and release news.
Pre-order Om Unit – Atlantis here.
Check out more from Om Unit here.