House music maker Seb Gainsborough is doing for electronic music what Serge, his classical counterpart, did for French pop in the 60s
Signed to Tri-Angle Records, imprint of critically acclaimed artists Clams Casino, Balam Acab and Holy Other, Bristol based producer Seb, prefers to go by the moniker ‘Vessel’. Why? Nobody knows. Coming-up, part of The Young Echo collective, this twenty-two-year-old talent is incredibly intuitive and intelligent, that much is obvious from his production work. Sounding like the dark experiment of an incredibly creative mind, intrigued by its own capabilities; tempos, rhythms and levels are deliberately woven together to not fit in his music. Adhering to no rules, Seb names Vessels tracks as obscurely as the unnerving, synthesized noises he creates (James Dean and Wax Dance are highlights). New to the scene and already pioneering a whole new genre of house, Vessels’ potential to dramatically alter the electronic music climate is vast. Pushing boundaries and ignoring trends, Seb is making sounds he likes. The rest of us are an afterthought. i-D online caught-up with the brazen, knob-twiddling technician to find out about the positive movements happening in Bristol right now, that he thinks we should all get familiar with.
1. Young Echo Collective – An obvious choice, but there’s a huge amount to be excited about here for me. With the radio show starting to gain recognition and exciting releases lined-up for everyone, there’s no doubt that we’ll continue to develop and evolve as a group, and hopefully to create increasingly important and relevant music.
2. Idle Hands Record Shop – Although the prevalence of digitally available music no doubt dominates the market, I still feel that it’s a great thing to have records shops, especially in a city like Bristol. There’s nothing more to be said about the sad decline of physical stores that hasn’t been said already, but hopefully they’ll be around for a long time to come.
3. Idle Hands Records – In a relatively short time Idle Hands have made a strong statement about their sound and about creating a point of transition for sounds that have been building in Bristol for some time. That exchange between dubstep, techno, house etc, is represented in their releases in a really elegant way. Expect great things.
4. Punch Drunk – To my mind, a label that has been consistently excellent and relevant since its birth. When you’ve defined and shaped a unique sound like that I think the easy thing to do is to sit back and enjoy the tributes. Punch Drunk are always looking to evolve; they’re a classic label still actively redefining why they’re a classic label.
5. Gloucester Road/Stokes Croft – A controversial choice perhaps, considering the recent gentrification. Yes, there are more students, perhaps too many lensless glasses and charity shop jumpers for some, but there’s no doubt that the independent/subversive ethos is surviving well, and related scenes are doing well off of that energy. Bristol’s various underground artists thrive in that area, we’d be pretty fucked without it. Listen-up Council!
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