It’s been a while since anyone’s caught up with Jon Stanley. The producer, better known to you as Cyantific, has been doing quite a lot in 2017, so we’ve grabbed him for a quick chat about his year, his new single, and the highs of his career.
Hey Jon, nice to speak with you! I wanted to catch up on how this year has been going– Any stand out events of the year, personally and musically?
The show I just played last week was without a doubt the best I’ve done in about a year. It was a festival in Bremen called Breminale that was set right next to the river. The DnB scene in the city is so strong that there wasn’t even room for all the people to fit in front of the stage! They were up for every kind of tune too, one of those special nights. I wish I could’ve played all night.
Let’s talk about your upcoming stunner of a release, “Fade Into the Night,” coming out on Viper on the 21st of this month. It’s one of those tunes that’s impossible not to smile at– sweeping bridges and a beautiful build into classic, euphoric dancefloor that’s got a bit of an 80’s vibe to it. Where does your inspiration come from, with this release, and in general?
I actually laid down the initial idea last summer. I’ve been playing out since, but only finished it recently. I wanted to capture that John Carpenter sound track vibe – almost as if you could be watching a scene from a film. I guess a fair few of my tunes have that kind of thinking behind them – I want to try to put the listener in a place, as much as is possible, while still making it something fun to dance to. The place that I often have in my head is an 80’s film, one that doesn’t actually exist. It’s kind of moody then explodes into something really happy, I’ve always wanted to try that.
To me at least, your sound really has this special quality of having a sense of a different time- sounding either like sounds from the future or a polished gem of the past. How does time and place play into your productions?
I start writing and then a picture starts becoming clear as I go on and I follow that. Other times I have a definite idea of a picture in my head. If I were talking about Fade Into The Night, I was thinking something like empty streets in LA at dusk, perhaps a little bit like the movie Drive, or To Live And Die In LA. Sitting in a sports car with the top down and hitting the pedal.
Seemingly “simple,” clean, cinematic, catchy music is honestly my favorite, regardless of the genre. How do you achieve that kind of collective sound? How do you produce a stand out tune?
If I knew that, I’d bottle it and sell it! I just make as much as possible and hope that there’s some good ones in there. But for my money the simple ideas work the best – if you can nail the main elements well you’re on to a winner.
It’s like going to war with yourself. You’ve got to overcome the volume of work without losing your nerve. I don’t think there’s many harder things as a musician. It really tests the stamina of your self belief and motivation.
You’ve also talked about your love of remixing. What makes a successful remix?
I do love it, the ease of having a starting point to work with is great. I think the most successful ones take the best bits of the original and then do something unexpected to take it to another level. It’s an art in itself. I try to identify something I can relate to in the original before I accept the job. Then it’s a case of trying to add your own stamp to it. Sometimes it can be an easy thing, other times it’s like walking through mud in slippers!
What in your career are you most proud of?
That people actually want to listen to what I make, that’s enough for me. It’s humbling.
You can listen to Jon’s newest banger of a dancefloor tune here, and pick it up later this month on the 21st from Viper Recordings.
