Welcome again friends to more drum and bass! Today we bring into light QO & Kutlo Feat. Julia Marks on the new track Anima. Rolling out through Hoofbeats Music. Daunting and magnificent from the get go. A siren’s song that draws you in for a deadly surprise. In favor of heavy, dark and loud? Anima is your considerable choice for the weeks to come. With the label boss QO, a prodigy like Kutlo we can expect something disgusting. Combined with Julia’s piercing and haunting vocals they serve up the perfect sonic storm. Heavy synths take over. All hell breaks loose with super hard hitting kicks and breaks. Its tornado like onslaught of slicing harmonies and urgent rhythms sweep in hard and fast. Leaving nothing in their wake as furious collisions of tricky breaks and violent snares sum up to an air wave onslaught.
Q & A
Q: Who decided on the name of the track?
Kutlo: I would say I came up with the name for it. I sent the initial project to Qo in 2020 or 2021, and it already got a project name, Anima, as I wanted to create something cinematic, emotional, and hard-hitting.
QO: Yeah, the track’s name and idea came from Martin. Just to be clear – Anima is not
Anime; Anima is a soul in Latin.
Julia Marks: The guys decided on the name; I totally agree with that cool name.
Q Is this the first collaboration between QO & Kutlo?
Kutlo: Yes, it is! Took some time to finish, but I am glad we got together and made it. Big up to Peter, he managed to keep up with my never-ending comments and suggestions.
QO: Yes, right; I have worked with Martin on several releases for Hoofbeats Music, which are, for me personally, music-wise, one of the very best we had a chance to release, so I think it was just a matter of time for us to work on music together!
Julia Marks: This is our 2 track with QO, and I’m really happy to have another one
work. When I heard the demo for Anima, the lyrics immediately came up to mind.
Q Where does Julia draw inspiration from for the vocals?
Kutlo: Peter was the main contact for her, so I am not 100% sure how it was for her. I suppose she got the vibe from the track itself and her own experiences of having a soul/anima.
Julia Marks: It was the hardest Covid time. I’ve lost my godmother, with whom we were very close. I dedicated this song completely to her.
Q How much time went into Anima till it was completed?
Kutlo: Too long, haha. I think we got to the point that we just need to release and not overthink it anymore. We started during the pandemic in 2020 and had multiple online meetings to finish it. But basically, more than ten evenings were spent on it for sure.
QO: The project file has more than 100hrs of time spent, so it was way more than ten evenings, brother.
Julia Marks: As I said lyrics came really fast; right after I listened to the demo, the dynamics and emotionality of the track resonated with my state of mind. But despite the fact that the text was written quickly, the track was not released immediately, and the guys can tell more about these moments.
Q Everything comes together to make this one, but what is your favorite sound from the track? Drums, vocals, synth?
Kutlo: My favourite sounds are the Reese bass in the build-up and a high pitch screech vocal in the second part of the drop.
QO: Yeah, the original idea was kinda raw, so I tried to make the main Reese bass the best way I could at that time. I think I will later share the preset/project to people see how this kind of modulated stuff is done.
Julia Marks: I adore anime completely, and I am happy that in memory of my godmother, it will be published, and the whole world will hear it since the release is published on all platforms. Talking about my favorite moments, I really love the bass drop in the drop, it adds style, signature and power to the track.
