distance: dynamis

Electronic music producer and DJ Greg Sanders, AKA Distance, presents his third album Dynamis. Alongside recording Dynamis over the past four years, Distance has been writing and producing for other artists which veered him away from his 140bpm roots. The productions of A$AP Ferg, Drake, Schoolboy Q and earlier Arca and FKA Twigs were a big influence, alongside the soundtracks of Hans Zimmer and Cliff Martinez. "I get inspiration from everywhere and deliberately try to ignore what is happening in the scene I'm most involved in. Dynamis is influenced a lot by film scores. I have geeked out massively to create great dynamics in all of the tracks, sounds are heavily automated and processed to really give the music life." Even the structure of the tracks ditches the typical DJ friendly layouts and is programmed in an order that best helps to deliver the story. As producer, DJ and label owner of Chestplate Records, Distance has been instigating change in music since emerging in 2003. His first two albums My Demons (2007) and Repercussions (2008) were released through Planet Mu. "I feel very privileged to have released two albums on Planet Mu and they are still referenced by many as key albums in dubstep's history. Tectonic has been releasing my music for almost a decade, so it felt right for me to produce an album for the label. Pinch is a good friend and one of the few people whose opinion I trust." Dynamis is the first Distance album to feature vocalists; helping to portray emotions, tell a story and aid the overall narrative of the album. "When recording 'Badman' with Killa P I got him to stand as far away from the mic as possible and shout the lyric across the studio, as though he was shouting at someone across the street. We were cracking up at the time. I then used these recordings to create multiple layers and textures to his vocals. This gave the impression of there being a huge crowd of people chanting the chorus. Beezy was also a great artist to work with. We were done recording in about 20 minutes, he's so professional and knows exactly how to deliver the vocals the way I need them."