We’ve had a few Irish born producers grace our Truancy Volumes in the past, be it Krystal Klear, Boya and Orquesta, but apart from that you could say we’ve been slightly slacking on that front. Having recently moved back to Ireland after living and studying in London for a few years we’re happy to have another Irish producer, Hubie Davison in the mix for our 115th Truancy Volume. With a background in studio composition from his studies at Goldsmiths, Hubie’s productions have seen him land comfortably into the eclectic output of Berlin based label Leisure System, who have put out two releases from him in the last two years. With the temperature in the UK continuing to get warmer and artists such as Glenn Jones, Chic, Full Force and Omar-S featuring in his Truancy Volume this mix could be treated as a brilliant continuation to last weeks summer-tinged mix from The Large.

Hey man, thanks again for the mix. Been on heavy repeat with the sun being out recently. Just want to start by asking if you could tell us about yourself and your history with music and producing? “Hey guys, glad you’ve been enjoying it, thanks! Well, I grew up in a musical household, and always had music around. It was a pretty long time before I listened to any electronic stuff at all; I guess I really fell in love with blues and soul early on, playing guitar and keys from a fairly young age. Around the time I hit my twenties I got into club music and DJing, and the same curiosity that led me from blues to guitar led me from electronic music to laptop producing, before eventually getting serious about it and studying studio composition as a postgrad.”

Can you tell us a bit about Bernard Parmegiani? I understand his pacing and editing in his compositions have been a big influence on you? “Parmegiani was the first of a list of electroacoustic composers that I was introduced to when I began studying at Goldsmiths in London. Electroacoustic didn’t grow quickly or easily on me at all – as with any music, you’ve got to learn a vocabulary that allows you to interact with it, and the first thing that really struck me about Parmegiani’s music was its pacing, which I’d describe as this innate feeling of logic in an otherwise arbitrary framework of sound. In other words, every sound that Parmegiani places in a work seems to be there in a way that makes total sense, and couldn’t have made sense in that way to anybody else. It’s a sort of collision of instinct and taste. And he did it all on f*cking tape. Unreal. In case anybody reading this isn’t familiar with him, Parmegiani was a French composer associated with GRM, and a good place to start is with De Natura Sonorum.

What is a session in the studio for Hubie Davison like?. Do you have a regular routine when it comes to working on tracks? “I can’t say I have a regular routine, really – I think it’s good to diversify as much as possible. I try and use different equipment and vary techniques as much as possible; alternate between out- and in-the-box, live & sequenced. I am trying to be more disciplined, though – I used to work mainly at night, which is a habit I’m trying to break out of, and I’m understanding more and more the virtues of a tidy studio”

You’ve had two releases on Leisure System. Could you tell us how you first hooked up with the label and your time with them over the last two years? “Michail from Leisure got back to an email I had sent asking for feedback on demos, and had a lot of positive things to say. I liked the label a lot already, and got on well with the guys when I met them in Berlin, so I was pleased to be involved – the label’s reputation for eclecticism is still something I have a lot of respect for, and the opportunity to play at their parties has been great too!”

 I’ve been told some of the stuff you’ve been working on recently is a slight far cry to your past releases on Leisure System. Could you possibly tell us about them and possible influences on the direction. “Hmm yeah – it’s still very much stuff I’m experimenting with, but I’d say that the main difference is that a lot of it includes my vocals. It’s actually a plan I’ve had for a while; I really wanted to get comfortable with production and the sort of sound palette I liked before trying to add vocals, but now feels like a good time to start including them. I’d roughly say that what I have at the moment is a sort of down-tempo vocal electronica, but some of the tracks veer more towards soul, some more towards a hip-hop groove, that sort of thing. I’m working on more dance floor-oriented stuff too, and before any of the aforementioned comes out I’d like to release some of that.

What can you tell us about the mix you’ve done for us. Was there any particular theme in mind when working on it? “It’s all stuff I’ve come across in the last while. When putting a mix together outside the club, it’s always a bit strange to have the time and resources to make decisions and changes after the fact, but also strange to not have any sort of feedback from a crowd as you would when playing live. I try not to think too much about the context it’ll be listened in, and also not to mess with it too much, to strike a balance. If it makes you want to get up and dance, all the better!”

Tracklist: 

Full Force – Alice (Ecrof’s Favourite Mix) [CBS]
Glenn Jones – Meet Me Halfway There [S12]
Omar-S – Set It Out [FXHE]
Project Pablo – I Want To Believe [1080p]
Chic – Good Times (Hubie’s edit)
Weekender – Theme From Weekender [Toko]
7 Citizens – Five Ten [Lack]
Sonofdistantearth – GAZA2 [Lobster Theremin]
L. Rooche – Tundra [Ino Ino Records]
Roy Davis Jr. – Jack Da Rhythms [Clone Jack]
Head High – Hex Factor [Power House]
Taskforce – Club Tool [Silverback Recordings]
Call Super – Hoax Eye [Houndstooth]