Blazin’ feat. Face T

Ghislain Poirier’s adventurous fingers have earned praise from a diverse list of tastemakers. The Montreal based DJ/producer’s output has been on point no matter what sonic terrain he’s exploring. He’s dabbled in ambient, minimal techno, abstract hip-hop, grime and big and dirty ragga—like the stuff found on No Ground Under, his bass-heavy debut album for the Ninja Tune imprint.

We caught up with Ghislain after returning from several months of gigging to talk a little shop. He’s currently holed up in his Montreal studio working on a Soca EP, which will feature Face-T and Zulu—two MCs that made an appearance on his No Ground Under album. He’s also working on a bunch of dubplates and exclusive remixes for his DJ sets and says that the only way you’re going to hear them is at one of his gigs. Luckily for us that’ll be in September or early October when he kicks off his US DJ tour—San Francisco (Surya Dub) and New York (The New Yorker Festival) are already confirmed.

Was there one particular moment in the recording or mixing process when you felt that this was something pretty damn special? One of the first tracks I did for my latest album was “Diaspora,” an instrumental track—super heavy and intense. It starts like a dubstep track and slowly morphs into Soca with some kind of an IDM melody. I knew that was special. The track pretty much has all the musical directions that I wanted to include in No Ground Under, so it was like a statement.

What’s the relationship between gear/software and creativity? We decide how a track will sound. It’s a fucking urban legend to say that the machine does everything. Making music is about taking decisions—whatever the interface you use. Unfortunately machines, like guitars, don’t make decisions for you. Also, being limited is always a nice way to do music. It forces you to try new methods.

What are the biggest benefits to computer-based music production? You can check your emails while a loop plays forever.

How long does a typical track take to finish? Usually within a stretch of three or four days—if I don’t achieve it on that stretch, it’s 95% sure that I’ll never be happy with it and never release it.

What was your most challenging production? The most challenging thing for me was to include rappers. Recording and mixing voice is a science.

What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten? “You should put more bass in your music.” My friend Alex told that to me in 2003. I obviously followed his advice. Thanks Alex!

Is there one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started producing? There are sharks everywhere.

What’s the most important piece of gear in your studio and why? My ears, everything goes through them. Unfortunately, they’re not available anymore in stores—not even used. Maybe on eBay…

People you’d like to work with in the future:
Dizzee Rascal: Nice dynamics with the voice and really clear. He’s able to ride almost any kind of tough beat and I have plenty of beats that most rappers are scared of.

Roots Manuva: His music influenced me a lot and his voice is so singular and interesting.

Bunji Garlin: He’s from Trinidad doing soca and ragga at the same time—heavy voice and tons of energy. I can hear him on my beats.

Alison Hinds: From Trinidad too, the queen of soca. Would be a perfect anthem.