Interview: Quinton Campbell
Quinton Campbell is a pillar of positivity on the Irish music scene. Rachael Bailey interviewed him to suss his latest projects and what he thinks the music community can do to avoid the negative fallout from Covid-19.
The entire planet is sitting on a throne of uncertainty and fear at present, with nations pulling up their socks in an effort to protect their citizens. Economies are struggling, people are panicking, and industries are encapsulated by the possible fallout of the global effects of COVID-19.
Our music and creative industries are built on communities, gatherings and closeness; all of which we can no longer fulfil. The backlash of COVID-19 will affect our world in ways we are unable to predict at present and it is exceptionally vital, now more than ever, to unite as a community and continue to support, create and plan a future for an industry that is nothing without each and every one of us.
I caught up with one of our favourite sunshine kids, Quinton Campbell. Quinton works tirelessly to not only create original and meticulous productions and carefully orchestrated sets, but has been a pillar (in more ways than one, have you seen how tall he is?) of positivity throughout the Irish music scene. His infectious laughter and admirable mindset are consistently present throughout each and every one of his performances and showcases. We caught up with Q to pick his brains and hopefully bleed a slither of sunlight into our reader’s days.
Where is your passion for music rooted? How did it all start?
Tunes were always a prominent fixture in the household. As a young lad I used to live in Dublin City Library listening to tapes and CDs of world music. Then when software like Napster and Limewire came out the doors were blown open and I started downloading compilations of rave and techno. I was obsessed with how mechanical it all sounded and I remember whipping my Da’s analogue stomp boxes and experimenting with different signal flows, trying to recreate the metallic textures. There’s something life-affirming about the personality and texture of electronic music, it was the opposite of the shiny commercial stuff that was around.
We often see snippets of your undying love for hard house throughout your sets. Do you implement elements of this genre into your productions as well?
When I started, I only ever made variations of hard house and I remember it being difficult to not fall back on particular techniques when moving into making other styles, but there are definitely elements that I would still use today. Less so the typical sounds, but the longer more progressive arrangements are great for building energy, and some of the processing methods like overdriving saws, transposing stuff up or down by the octave and reversing the bollix out of everything can still sound fresh when done right.
What has been the most prominent aspect of your music career to date?
Just being able to play at raves is fucking class and something I’ll never take for granted. Doesn’t matter how big or small, having the opportunity to play out tunes you love and then feeling the energy in the club is exhilarating. The added bonus of being able to travel with it is a madness. Key moments/honourable mentions; Higher Vision Festival, AVA Boiler Room, any of the Europe gigs, playing with and going b2b with personal heroes like Bicep and Skream.
I’m pretty sure the entire country is waiting patiently for more Quinton gems to be released. Are you sitting on anything exciting that we can expect soon?
Yes. Honestly have GBs of music at this stage, some of it over 10 years old. Realistically most of it is too weird and self-indulgent and will probably end up relegated to a dusty hard drive but there’s loads of stuff I’ve been playing out recently – some of that will definitely be out soon. I’m not really arsed releasing stuff just for the sake of it, or to stay relevant, and I’ve realised that when you try to make music for anyone other than yourself it usually ends up being shite. But when it feels right it feels right, and I’m definitely buzzed to get the next wave of stuff out cause it be slappin’ different.
And finally, in your opinion, what do you think are the most important things we can do as a community to ensure we prevent the negative fallout COVID-19, of an industry we’ve worked so hard to create?
Open up a dialogue, don’t be afraid to voice what you believe in. Support your favourite artists, buy their music on Bandcamp, share their content. Play the tunes you love to your mates or send them links, especially the smaller artists/labels/collectives that don’t have the reach. Times are mad at the moment but music will always be there to lift us up, individually or collectively, no matter what happens on the ever-strange, ever shifting sphere.
Our catch up with the Sunshine Kid has come at the most perfect time, with his highly anticipated album: FIFTH, dropping this Friday. With the future of our clubbing scene lying in the ambiguous hands of COVID-19, the 8 track masterpiece comes as a welcome escape from the chaos. Quinton has been grafting to create something that stands out from the crowd, and if his previous productions and exceptionally high energy sets are anything to go by, our quarantine could be made a hell of a lot brighter.
Get Quinton on all those good social media channels:
SoundCloud
Resident Advisor
Facebook
Instagram
Spotify
Rachael Bailey
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