Irish producer Cóilín Phelan (known on Soundcloud as Duke Silver)’s jazz and funk inspired foray into electronica is one of our most interesting mixes yet. Read on for our chat below, and give the mix a spin!
Hey! What’s up? introduce yourself to your readers – what are three words you’d use to describe your music?
Hey, how’s it going my name is Cóilín Phelan, I’m 19 from Wicklow, Ireland but I’m studying music and multimedia in the University of Limerick. My music I think is mostly hip hop influenced, bright and almost dancey.
What was your inspiration for the mix? Do you have any special creative rituals for crafting mixes? Are they different from your process as a producer?
The inspiration for the mix was mostly R&B, hip hop and jazz. My mixes are more on the fly than my production as I spend lots of time making my synths and sounds before really getting into the track. I don’t have rituals really, but I do know the tracks so well that it really lets me add some style rather than just playing one song after the other.
Do you ever get frustrated as a producer? How do you get past those creative blocks?
My frustration is usually not with the track itself but actually finding the time to really sit down and get into it, once I’m in that space I may not lift my head for hours, and more often than not, something useable comes out. I find it useful to listen to a lot of music for inspiration if ever I feel like I’m not achieving the sound or style I want. Most of my tracks are inspired by others but then take their own route as they being completed.
If you could create a festival, where would it be and who’d be the headliners?
I think somewhere beautiful by the sea like one of the Greek islands for sure and the headliners would have to be Mr. Carmack, Hermitude, and Rejjie Snow. All of them are such pioneers in their respective fields it’s beyond belief. I’m going to Longitude Festival just to see Rejjie so I might pitch him this idea!
Follow Cóilín Phelan on Soundcloud.
Saint Audio 