INTERVIEW: GUIDO

Bristol’s Guido is one of the many talents that make up the continuing story of Bristol’s bass music scene. From mid-noughties grime instrumentals to the current sound pushed through his, Joker and Gemmy’s Purple Wow collective, Guido has been making waves with his deep and lushly synthetic productions since his ‘Unleashed’ mixtape back in 2006, and more recently releasing progressive r’n’b-meets-orchestral-dubstep on Peverelist’s astounding Punch Drunk imprint.

With debut album Anidea out this month, and an upcoming set at our Hyp!Hyp!Hyp! party at Brixton’s Plan B this Friday, we thought it nigh on time we caught up with 22 year old Guy Middleton for a brief interview

Hyponik.com: Bristol has a heritage in bass music that reaches back for over 45 years now – what’s your first memory of a Bristol music scene, and what local raves did you go to as a kid?
Guido: I remember Saint Pauls Festival. Because Bristol isn’t completely flat the bass from the festival would carry over for miles & get trapped - I could hear it from my house! I also went to a lot of hip-hop & Grime nights growing up.

H.com: Much has been made of the ‘Purple Trinity/Purple Wow’ sound that you, Gemmy & Joker have been pushing – do you see yourselves as pioneers within the dubstep scene, and do you think your own music comes under the banner of ‘dubstep’?
G: To be honest I’ve never said i was a dubstep producer, i’ve always just wanted to make music and I don’t mind leaving it up to people [to decide] how they want to perceive it.

H.com: Have the 3 of you made any tunes together, and if so who takes which role in the studio? Are their any plans for releasing a track with all 3 of you producing?
there are no plans we’ve put together a few tunes before but they are still in the studio,
G: If I think of the colour purple, I think of Prince - what does the colour represent to you?
Haha - it’s just a colour. I can’t really say but it does have a certain feel…

H.com: Talk us through your studio set-up – what did you start on, & where are you at now?
G: I started off on a PC making tunes on Fruity loops, then upgraded to Mac & started using Reason and Logic.

H.com: Your debut album is soon to be released on Peverelist’s Punch Drunk imprint, which seems like the perfect home for your sharply produced, progressive sound – where do you think Punch Drunk the label sits in the spectrum of Bristol bass music, and what do you think of the other artists Tom [Peverelist] has on board - such as himself, Gemmy, Shortstuff, Hyetal, Gatekeeper & RSD?
G: The aim I think Tom has had is to support the Bristol scene and I think he has done that better then any other label has. All the artists he has released are high calibre; RSD is very influential - he’s been at it more than anyone over the years - & the younger producers are all very talented.

H.com: The album features a version of Way U Make Me Feel with Yolanda – turning the tune into a crazy future r’n’b ballad that deserves some serious airplay. How did that come about, and what did you think of Yolanda’s vocal?
G: It came about by me looking for a vocalist - I had asked a lot of people I knew but nothing happened, so knowing of Yolanda already and thinking she was an amazing singer I got in contact.

H.com: There’s some serious synthesised musicianship going on in tracks like ‘Mad Sax’ and ‘Tantalized’ - what is it about those sounds you like, and would you ever consider working with live musicians, or even an orchestra, in your productions?
G: Yes. I’m very interested in going down a live sound route and it something I’m looking towards doing in the future.

H.com: You’re classically trained in jazz piano – do you have any particular jazz artist you’re particularly taken with, and if so why?
G: E.S.T [Esbjörn Svensson Trio] are my favourite jazz trio - I went to the see them live - It was great!

H.com: Do you get a buzz more out of producing, djing or playing instruments?
I love playing the piano & definitely enjoy it the most.

H.com: What are you listening to at the moment?
G: [Brasilian bossa pianist] Tenorio Jr.

If you’re around Brixton way this Friday, don’t forget to catch Guido alongside Geeneus, Guido, Deadboy, Deep Teknologi, The Blessings, Marco Del Horno & the Hyponik DJs at Hyp!Hyp!Hyp!

£8 advance tickets are available HERE.