An Avrin Mix
Up next for #58 on our Tapes series is London-based ‘An Avrin’, an electronic music artist most known for releases on ‘Scuffed Recordings’ and ‘Slippery Sounds’.
His eclectic releases are characterised by clean sampling, intricate detail and heavy bass, giving them a defining character despite the variations in genre and speed. ‘An Avrin’ also frequently releases music independently with playful bootlegs and EPs pushing the ever changing UK underground sound. More recently he has translated these productions into success behind the decks with shows in London, Leeds, Glasgow and even overseas in Kyiv, Ukraine. With a roster of finely tuned club tracks, no doubt ‘An Avrin’ is one to watch this year.
Tracklist
An Avrin - ???
An Avrin - Stacks Craff (Unreleased)
An Avrin - Herring (Unreleased)
TXETEXT - Oumuamua (Non Archive)
Tumult Hands - KONKRET (forthcoming Recognition Records)
Skepta - Shutdown (Disaffected Bootleg) - (An Avrin Bootleg Bootleg)
An Avrin - Stumbler (Scuffed Recordings)
Florentino, Isabella Lovestory, MC Buzzz - Fuego ft Baby Perigrosa
An Avrin - Stabilisssers (Unreleased)
An Avrin - Parisian Pitstop (Scuffed Recordings)
Mr Mitch - Jack Russell (Gobstopper)
An Avrin - Make Some Nose (Unreleased)
An Avrin - BATS! (Forthcoming Gimme a Break)
An Avrin - Plata (Scuffed Recordings)
Oldboy - Mule kick (Gimme a Break)
An Avrin - M4 breakdown Trak (Unreleased)
Anthony Rother - Trooper (Bad Manners)
An Avrin - Felly smart (Unreleased)
Siu Mata & Amor Satyr - Movimiento (WAJANG)
Wynek - Mazo de Samba (Wile Out)
An Avrin - Sloppy (Unreleased)
An Avrin - whtuneed (Unreleased)
An Avrin - ???
Hey An Avrin. Thanks for contributing to the Tapes Series! Great to have you involved. Why don't you start by introducing yourself?
Hi! I’m a producer from London. I make silly music with my laptop and occasionally play it out. Sometimes people dance. The music can sometimes be defined as dance music, although not always… Cleverer people than me might say ‘leftfield’, but I have influences elsewhere too and most of the time I use more middlefield (is that a word?) sounds and structure.
Set the scene for us. When and where did you record this mix?
I recorded this mix in my house through my headphones and a controller that I've had since I was 16. Most of the knobs have fallen off and there are a few stickers on it along with a tonne of dust. It’s lunchtime and I haven’t had breakfast yet, just a lot of black coffee. It’s a sunny day, but that didn’t really impact track selection.
Happy release day!! ‘Parisian Pitstop’ is out on Scuffed today, congrats :) This is your first physical release, right?
It is my first physical release by myself, but I also released a tune on vinyl with a label called ‘Out of Sorts’ in Bristol. I don’t have a vinyl player myself, but am happy that someone (namely Ian and Will) deemed it important enough to put onto vinyl. It also looks nice on the wall and maybe one day it will come in handy during a zombie apocalypse where I might need to frisbee it at a zombie's head.
How did you meet the Scuffed Recordings crew?
I emailed Ian DPM as I listened to his youtube channel with a track I thought might be a nice fit for the channel (a track called ‘Strawberry’), luckily he agreed, and then we got chatting about appearing on the VA and that led to the first EP! In hindsight it’s pretty crazy luck, I think it must be fate or maybe it was my Saturn Returns… either way I’m so grateful to those two!
An Avrin is Nirvana spelt backwards. Is this the meaning behind your artist name?
Nirvana was a big influence on me growing up. Their music was introduced to me by my Mum and then I couldn’t stop listening. I think Nirvana are probably to blame for me taking music seriously at first. Their music made me pick up a guitar and learn that. Eventually, I realised I was the perfect combo of a control freak and introvert and that being in a band wasn’t as fulfilling as producing my own music. Dunno why I decided to split it up and put it backwards, friends say it’s my worst name yet, but that just makes me like it more.
Who/what are your top three inspirations when it comes to your productions?
Stupid/Funny/Interesting/Uninteresting Noises
Probably some kind of kick pattern along with a ‘WACK’ on the snare hit.
BASS/BREAKS
What’s your studio setup?
I have my laptop and headphones along with a small set of monitors. I don’t have a desk I use for music but a standing area with a midi piano I never use. I also have my essential external hard drives because I never have enough storage.
Describe your dream studio setup.
Probably something similar to what I have now apart from a laptop that never runs out of power or storage. Also maybe the ability to make as much noise as possible, but only at allotted times to stop me using monitors to produce on - because I don’t really enjoy that. Never-ending coffee and snacks. Probably lots of plants and a big bean bag for the dog to sit on at the height where I’m standing, but she is able to get there herself and I don’t have to help her up.
Quick-fire: Top 3 VSTs?
I had to google VSTs!!! I think actually my favourite thing is sampling and chopping stuff up in the timeline then bouncing this out into a new audio sample and then repeating the process until it’s unrecognisable or just different. This is why I have no space on my laptop. I also like using basic synths like ES1 and ESP, but other than that I use many of the in-built synths and play with them a lot (the best thing for me is to put a note on repeat and to play with the synth settings as it plays).
Favourite pizza topping?
Chillies + Cheese
Best DJ Set of 2022 so far?
Someone else's set = Ohmydais @ Keephush in March
My set = Dalston Den in March
Thanks for being a part of the Tapes series!