Artist Interview – Lana M (UK)
Lana M has been mixing and making music for over 20 years, playing across the UK capital and further afield, with some overseas gigs also to her name.
She has played on Unity DAB and Thames Delta Radio, releases her own music via SoundCloud and Bandcamp, has had a number of releases on other labels, and is now eagerly awaiting the release date for her first long player ‘it’s not jazz’.
We caught up with this highly talented London based artist and DJ to find out a bit more about her story.
Lana! Welcome to INSIDE DNB!
Ah, thank you. Nice to be here!
Growing up near London, you will likely have been exposed to DNB nightlife to the fullest. What sort of exposure did you have to DNB growing up?
I grew up just outside London, but we’d always travel in for the raves. I was exposed to jungle and
DNB from my early teen years by the older kids with tape packs and radio stations. We’d listen to Nicky Blackmarket, Brockie, Det, Skibba, Shabba, Rap, Micky Finn and DJ Hype, all from rave tapes like Dreamscape and One Nation and radio stations like Kool and Origin. We’d always be listening to jungle really, or Bob Marley.
You started DJ’ing in the early noughties. What made you make the transition from raver to DJ? Tell us about some of your stand out gigs so far?
Transitioning came naturally with the love for the music. My friends had decks and I’d practise on them until I got my own. I began DJ’ing around ’00 I think. Playing DNB and Jungle, but then later playing Hard House and Trance.
I fell in love with the Hard Dance scene and all it’s happy fluffy ravers. I’ve played Hard House at clubs like Turnmills, The Fridge (Brixton Electric), Camden Palace (KOKO), The Drome (SE1) – they we’re great times! But I had the best times with my residencies at the dingy little George 4th pub in Brixton. That was the place to be, or the 414.
I still listened to Jungle but I was buying Hard House records back then. Now it’s the other way around, but I have so much love for both of the genres, and scenes. They’re totally different.
You did a HND in music production and sound engineering? What made you do that, and how did you find it?
I began producing around ’02. I was always interested in studying music and it was around 2012 whilst I was raising my young child and taking time out of DJ’ing, that I decided to study Music Production and Engineering, as I needed to progress my skills.
So that’s what I did. It was a great experience but would I do it again? I don’t think so, but that’s not to take anything away from the course because I learnt a lot and I enjoyed it. In the end, I decided that a degree was /is not necessary for my own experience.
What skills have you taken from that experience that still resonate in your work now?
I learned about mixing tracks down and engineering; setting up and recording real instruments and sessions – that was cool. I loved learning about the SSL Duality console and how studios work in regards to sound and recording.
I liked learning various theories. For me the main aim was learning about mixing down, learning some theory and progressing my music, which I did. Then it also became about recording real instruments, using a large mixing console and making creative and like-minded friends, which I also did.
We would often chill out and jam together and I really enjoyed the live studio environment. I was using Reason (as I still am) and I hadn’t used the software they were using, which were Logic, Pro Tools, Reaktor etc, so it was good to have access to those and be taught them hands-on. I Still use Logic and Reaktor, but I am focusing on Reason at this time.
Would you recommend studying at this level to other producers out there?
Altogether it was a good experience I don’t think was a necessary one. It depends on the goals. I would probably suggest getting some (studio) in-house training or some 1:1 tuition as it can be better tailored to one’s requirements for an electronic producer.
Also, you won’t end up writing essays about a load of stuff you don’t really need to know about or get into student debt. I don’t want to degrade degrees or anything, but to be a music producer it’s not absolutely necessary to have a degree or any type of qualification.
You’ve been affiliated with Unity DAB radio in the past. How did that come about? You’ve also recently had a stint on Thames Delta Radio, and that station is absolutely on fire right now. How was that experience?
I am a DJ for Unity DAB which is a wicked station and I am honoured to be in such great company. I was approached by Candyman to join the station in April ’21. I’m also looking forward to playing at Properfest with them on August 28th.
I also played at Thames Delta with Y2 who runs Danger Chamber Digital which was a wicked experience with a great studio – I’ll definitely get back there soon.
I see you’re writing a book! What can you tell us about that one?
It’s kind of an analysis and presentation of failings by the U.K. Governmental systems and services that are here to help us which actually often end up failing us – for one reason or another. And the domino effects that has on society.
It includes other’s testimonies and stories, interviews with professionals and lots of shocking statements and facts. I include my own experiences in the book which are not so much unique as they are shocking.
I am writing the book to help bring about changes, and to empower people. I have been to rock bottom, more than once, and I have empowered myself. I have already had some changes made within services and I would really like to make some more.
I do some work with a charity and we are trying to bring about changes there too. It’s all interlinked… like everything.
Some of your social media posts are about female empowerment. How have you found it generally in the industry as a female artist and performer?
I do love to empower females, and everyone else, and I would love to see more females on line-ups and record labels, or owning them and just generally be in strong positions. If people see other people who represent themselves and what they are/how they look in places like DJ booths, at record labels, on cecords or CDs and so on – the more people will want to be a part of things, and be comfortable being a part of things.
I remember first seeing DJ Rap and being like ‘OK wow, she’s a female, that’s awesome!’ – it inspired the DJ within me. My experience as a female artist and performer? I’ve had some excellent gigs and professional interactions, which is usually the case.
However, I have also been sexually harassed, touched inappropriately, been talked down to, been told what to wear, and been mansplained on quite a few occasions. I don’t think this is typical behaviour but many women report the same type of things.
Mental Health is also a common feature of your social media posts. This has obviously been a hot topic of conversation during CV19, but what does the term ‘mental health’ mean to you, and what is your particular interest in it?
It’s a subject that interests me and I think it’s important to talk about mental health openly. I have experienced trauma ‘symptoms’ since I was 15 years old. I never understood what was happening in my mind until I learned about myself and my psychology.
In 2014 I was recovering from a traumatic brain injury caused by a suicide attempt. Before that, I never really used to speak about my mental health and I think that was a mistake. So now I talk openly about mental health, so that I can relate to and help others, and vice versa.
I want to pass on the knowledge that I have learned and this is also a part of why I am writing my book. Everyone has mental health and everyone suffers with their mental health in this day and age, some more than others. Some people are just more open about it.
Let’s talk about your music then. Your SoundCloud account shows that you’ve been upping music for two years, so you’ve been making music that you’re happy enough to let others hear for that same amount of time?
My Soundcloud account got a make-over a couple of years ago when I took it all down and re-uploaded. Soundcloud for me is a cloud or a sounding board for ideas. Everything is raw and usually for free download.
I like to put the slower instrumentals and hip-hop style beats out for people to download and use however they like, and I just like to give out free beats. It’s cool to think someone’s writing a rap or jamming to one of my tracks and making it their own.
Do you have your own studio? Where does the magic happen?
I produce at home on my Mac Mini, using my Tannoy Reveal 802 monitors, my Beyerdynamic 770s and an Alesis keyboard.
I am taking a very minimal approach to producing music these days. I like to only use Propellerhead Reason 12 and Reason’s VSTi’s at this time because I am mastering my DAW and it’s components.
I plan to one day do my own production videos using Reason and my minimalist approaches, and put them on YouTube or something.
You make a wide range of music. What would you say are your main reasons for creating tunes?
Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s the music was really dynamic. Music has always been a focus of mine. I was listening to it all the time and good music was everywhere. It had soul.
I just had so many ideas for tracks and being influenced by so many genres I think it was only natural that I would become a multi-genre producer. Every tune I produce is a release of some kind of emotion or energy. That’s what it’s about. The release.
That’s really why I started producing with such intent – it was a focus for me and release from the noise in my head. Synthesising puts me in the same focus zone as mixing. Nothing else gets in that zone when you’re fully in it. It’s a healthy distraction from the stresses of life.
There’s an LP coming out on 30/5/22 titled ‘It’s Not Jazz’. There’s a broad selection of DNB styles on there. What inspired the LP in the first place?
I was just putting rough tracks out for free, but I wanted to create a body of work that flowed and showed some varying degrees of Jungle & DNB that also showed off my various production styles.
I didn’t make the LP with the dance floor in mind, but I think that some of the tracks will work quite well for the DJ. In hindsight I kind of wished I’d had more of a concept or direction for the album really.
It’s for that reason that I am putting the LP out in 3 parts instead of 1. Part 1 is out May 30th, Part 2 is out June 6th and Part 3 is out June 13th., all a week apart.
Can you tell us a bit about some of the tracks on the LP?
Most people who know my DNB know it to be about heavy, choppy amens, but I wanted to make something different. The title of the LP is tongue-in-cheek and a little nod to my love of Jazz music. I really like the way Jazz is so expressive in it’s free-style nature. I wanted to get that into the tracks.
Also, as I am a multi-genre producer, I wanted to show that too. The first track ‘For The Love’ is a nice chilled jungle track which says it all really. It samples NWA talking about music, what it means for them and how music helps with staying sane. What they said resonated with me. It’s also a little nod to my love of Hip-Hop.
The track ‘My Klick’ has some strong Hard House inspiration and the final track ‘They Live Among Us’ has got the mental, choppy amens that people expect from me and is actually one of my favourite tracks of the album, along with the jazzy ‘Is This A Dream?’.
The album goes from some jazzy, chill beats, to more dancey types of beats, to more aggressive style of beats. It’s a process. I just hope that it’s a good listening experience.
Have you made, Mixed and mastered the LP on your own, or have you enlisted help with this?
I synthesised most of the sounds and instruments that you hear. I try not to use loops or pre-made samples except for drums and vocals, or if I am using Foley samples or live instruments. There’s nothing wrong with using loops etc, I just prefer not to where I can, as I prefer to create all of my own sounds either from scratch or from adjusting the parameters of a synth setting that I might like.
I created the whole LP in Propellerhead Reason 12. Cold Dahl and RBW Art and Design did some artwork for me and Dr Moody from Moodio Studio did the Mastering for me. All amazing work by those guys.
Like many producers now, you’ve decided to go down the Bandcamp route for the release. Did you try and find a label, or consider starting one of your own, or was it always going to be Bandcamp?
I have thought about it but I feel like the independent artist route resonates with me the most at this time. I won’t be starting my own label and I haven’t approached any labels for this album.
However I have had a few labels approach me for music, so I will be getting some EPs done, and I will be featuring on Beats In Mind : Headbass Vol 11 – a fantastic series that has been raising money for mental heath charities. Amazing work by them.
How would you describe the album then? What was your main aim with it?
My main aim was to make music that people enjoyed! An album that flowed with some bangers on that you could take to the club. The LP has some personal values to it too which are a nice touch, such as sampling a movie that hugely inspired my musical tastes as a young child and using the character in the artwork. I just hope people enjoy the music.
Who did the artwork for the project?
I’m using the artwork that people did for me for NFTs and I did my own artwork for the album cover.
The summer is coming up now, so what have you got planned for the next few months? I’m assuming you’re going to busy promoting the LP?
I have some radio and club gigs coming up and that have been done already to promote the album. I have debuted on Thames Delta with Y2, DNB Worldwide with Lady Jewels, and will be on Kool next month with Garry G.
I’ve got my first festival booked – Properfest, and I’ll be on the Unity DAB DNB All Stars show more often on Wednesdays at 8PM, but I should be starting my own regular show for them soon.
I’ll be producing a Hard House album next, alongside some DNB EP’s, and I am also planning a Jungle/DNB event; PRISM, which debuts on September 11th at The Camden. I think that will keep me pretty busy!!
FIND OUT MORE HERE:
Lana M (@djlanam) • Instagram photos and videos
Stream Lana M music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud#
