Among dance music heads who really know ball, the British producer Sully is held in high esteem. In fact, in a column for Nina, the electronica pundit Shawn Reynaldo once posited that Sully “might be the best producer in the world.” That’s high praise, and not unwarranted. For over 15 years, the producer has been kicking out various flavors of UK bass music with a singular finesse; over the past decade, his focus on making future-pushing jungle has cemented his status as one of the most formidable bass pushers in the game. Along the way, as Reynaldo notes in his piece, Sully has mostly eschewed the spotlight and focused on the music. 

This is all to say that we were very excited when Sully agreed to answer some questions regarding his own musical saga. He has not just a deep history within the UK hardcore rave continuum but also an appreciation for older musical forms and how all these styles—everything from psychedelic rock to jungle—have the power to act as containers for radical experimentation. Give the article a read and listen to Modal Collapse / The Wash, the producer’s new release on FABRICLIVE, below.

Can you remember the first time you heard any sort of rave or bass music? How old were you? What was the context?

I’m sure I had heard something previous but my first clear memory is hearing Zinc’s “?ugees or not?.” I would have been ten or 11 and at some kind of school or youth club disco—I can remember the strobe at any rate. But the bit that sticks in my mind was the “when I raise my trigger finger” vocal and the bleeped next line—the way it was chopped, it was an almost psychedelic experience. I'd never heard, or really listened to something that rough cut before—all these different sound sources just slammed together.

 

When you were a teenager, you went to a lot of raves. Do any stand out as being particularly memorable and influential?

When you are that age everything can take on a bit of a mythological edge. Characters you meet that you refer back to for years after. All of that. Which was sort of the beauty of it. The chance for chaos. That said the big ones were the good ones. A dozen or so sound systems in the sticks or an office block. The systems that stick in my mind are Tribe of Munt, DMT, 9Bar, Storm, Malfaiteurs, Crossbones, and STS.

 

What drew you to dubstep? What was so exciting about that music as it was evolving?

It was new and happening in real time. And the basslines. And there were so many different takes on it. Even within a partnership like DMZ Mala and Coki you had completely different sounds—but it all worked together. You could take a dark tune like “Lion” by Vex’d and something breezy like Skream’s “Dutch Flowers” and put them in the same set. I loved that scope of flavor. And I'd hear Oneman mixing those current tunes in with older garage like El B and Steve Gurley and there was a whole other angle to it. Good times.

And what got you onto the jungle track? What is it about that music that is so endearing to you as a producer? 

I was hearing a lot of jungle around those dubstep years. Joe who I wrote tunes with as Innasekt had a big collection and we were doing events with a crew called Amental who very much did what it said on the tin. My first records you can probably hear a bit of breakbeat from the start. But I did an LP in 2011 where I tried writing at faster tempos and got a taste for it. So I thought I'd have a go at using the breaks at that tempo. Which obviously had been done years ago but I enjoyed it and here we are...

 

What did the first track you ever make sound like? What did you make it on?

It would have been on Modplug Tracker. So not a million miles away from Renoise, which is what I use today. Plugins were very limited though. I remember saving up for a Jomox drum module and a 303 clone and desperately trying to make acid techno tunes but that never panned out—an early lesson in having some of the gear and no ideas. But the stuff I finished was more leftfield—vaguely Warp-ish. Wish I'd kept hold of some of them. I'm sure they were crap but listening back it would feel like flicking through an old photo album.

 

How has your approach to production evolved over the years?

I've picked up more technical stuff as time has gone on. So with synthesis, engineering, that sort of thing, I know what I'm doing a lot more. Which can be helpful. But usually when I'm writing I try to go beyond that and work something out in the process. Thankfully, there’s plenty I don't know still so really it's pretty much the same process. Piss around, make a mess, and let the good bits reveal themselves.

 

Are there any scenes that you have never been a part of but still inspire you?

I don't know if I can really claim inspiration from a time and a place I've not been through but I will say I would have loved to have been around in the late 60s through to the 70s. I can't imagine what hearing Jimi Hendrix would have been like at that time. It sounds mind bending now, it must have felt like a whole world opening up. And this wasn't an obscure experimental musician, it was a chart topping rock star. That's interesting to me—working with a foundation but pioneering all these new routes to take from it. Definitely something to aim for.

Who are some of your dream collaborators?

I remixed “Dirty South” by SW2 a while ago which had a belting live drum track by Moses Boyd. That was a lot of fun so more like that I reckon. Love Yussef Dayes' playing. And JD Beck. Or going back, Ziggy Modeliste. Or if we are speaking entirely beyond the realms of reality, I'd say the late, great Clyde Stubblefield.

 

What about major non-musical influences? Are you watching movies at all in the studio?

I like a film, yeah. I watched Blue Velvet recently after David Lynch's passing and I suppose a director with that strength of vision could be an influence. He had a real knack for changing a mood in an instant. Or a layering of feelings that might seem at odds with each other. To the point that it seems bizarre. But I think life does throw up moments like that and when it does, they’re some of the most revealing. Not sure if or how that sort of thinking works its way into my music, but I suppose I often think about contrast and if I can get a pinch of what Lynch does in a tune, I’m doing alright.