I had the pleasure of having a chat with one of my all time favorite producers. From one of my very first tunes I ever heard from this man was the free download “The God Particle”. Ever since then I have been fully captivated by the music of the one and only MAZTEK!! With multiple releases on countless labels Maztek is a driving force in the DnB world. Fresh of his brand new Grinder EP that dropped this past Monday on the mighty Eatbrain. Maztek takes the time to answer some question’s for Best Drum and Bass.
Thank you very much for taking the time to have a chat with us.
Introduce yourself and tell us a bit of the history behind Maztek.
Hi ladies and Gents this is Matteo aka Maztek I’m an Italian drum&bass and beats producer and dj, I was born in Rome and I established in Netherlands in 2014.
I grew up playing instruments especially guitar and learned my first dj skills from my brother who was already a dj. I’ve been spinning records since I was 18 at illegal raves and then it turned it into my job.
Who is your favorite non-dnb artist and genre?
I really love hip hop and reggae or downtempo, in general I love good music
I have many favorite artists Amon Tobin, Erika Badu, Wu Tang Clan all the reggae classics as well for the hip hop ones. Nirvana, Alice in Chains and so on for the grunge classics to mention a few.
What was your first experience with Drum and Bass like?
It was like whoa! Listen to this bassline and drums!! Pure love goosebumps, my face started to screw and I became addict.
Give us a bit of feedback about your forthcoming release Eatbrain Grinder EP. What’s your favorite tune and or collab off it?
Of course the first one is my collaboration with June Miller, we started that tune a couple of years ago, I love the guys and their production skills are amazing. There is always something new you can learn sitting in the studio with artists like them.
The Mob Tactics remix is sick tho, they really did a good job and that remix completes the EP in a very powerful way, these guys know what they are doing.
The grinder tune “grinds” pretty well I think I made that tune actually trying some new plugins so it started like and experiment but it ended up being a good tune for a release.
One of my favorite is the tangle tune, it’s something different and I had fun making it, it’s one of these tunes which puts a smile on my face when I hear it.
Last but not least there is the collab with Leah Vee, I really enjoyed working with her so much we also shoot a video for that tune which is coming out on Monday.
In general it has been a cool experience and I tried here to make something different instead of the classic banger focusing more on the type of sound than the rest.
I’ve been not releasing anything since a while and I’m happy I came back with this EP which is the start for many new ones.
What is you’re biggest break / thing you are most thankful for to date in your music career?
My favorite one is “Straight to bad” released on Icarus Audio, I had fun making it and it hoped many doors, the one people prefer is probably “Up&Down” released on my label Subculture Records or “Limber” Released on Renegade Hardware.
Who are your top 5 current Drum and Bass artists and why?
Noisia: They always deliver the best sound and I love their ability to merge real musical skills with big bassline and drums. It’s the perfect combination in my opinion.
The Upbeats: they don’t need to be introduced with their unique sound which gives me the feeling I’m listening to a rock band.
Current Value: He is a music machine, no rest for the wicked
Mefjus: His technical skills are amazing could not have mentioned him in this list.
June Miller: same than above adding some love on top for our collab on this EP.
If you could collab with any artist, of any genre / style, who would it be and why?
Noisa, Mefjus, Audio, Gridlok and Counterstike
The reason is the same for everyone, I never made a collab with them I love their sound and I’m pretty sure we could deliver something unique and solid.
Tell us a bit about your hobby with bikes? I have seen you have some pretty awesome rides.
I love custom cruiser and low riders, I’m finishing one of mine which I’m going to make electric and very very fast . I also live in the perfect place to use these. I love to get dirty working on bikes and to enjoy the results when they are ready.
How do you like living in Netherlands? Anything you can point out for a future visitor?
Holland is amazing, I love the people I love the vibes and it’s pretty chill.
I would say try to enjoy the non-touristic cities or places if you want to meet the real Dutch people, also enjoy a nice beer somewhere close to a canal or a beach you will love it as well for riding your bikes around the city. Smile at the people and get the love back.
Drum and Bass has been on a fast rise over the last few years. Where do you see the sound of Drum and Bass evolving too in the next few years.
Drum&Bass is just perfect crafted lately if we look and the engineering and I think now we can just add even some soul to it to make it even more epic.
What is one tip you would like to give to aspiring Drum and Bass artists?
Find a good compromise between your production addiction and your social life.
What is in store for the future of Maztek?
That’s a secret 😛
Thanks guys and girls for your time go check my grinder Ep if you didn’t yet and hope to see you all around dancing.
Peace.
Make sure you go out and pick up Grinder EP OUT NOW on Eatbrain! Also make sure you check out the fresh video that just dropped on Monday as well. For Maztek ft. Leah Vee – Good Question (Official Video)
//artists
@maztek
facebook.com/MaztekHQ
@junemiller
facebook.com/junemillermusic
@mob-tactics
facebook.com/MobTacticsMusic
@leahvee
facebook.com/LeahVeeMusicOfficial
// label
facebook.com/Eatbra1n
twitter.com/eatbra1n
