Interviews

We sit down with Visions Of Light, the dynamic trio behind the captivating new album, "The Mandala Vortex" releasing on the renowned NuNorthern Soul label. Simon, Muzka, and Dan share insights into their collaborative process, the inspiration behind their unique sound, and what fans can anticipate from their exciting journey.

Hello, could you tell us a little bit about the project. Where are you located and how did it get started ?

(Simon) Located in and around Belfast although I'm a scouser originally. For the last 30 years I've played in bands and DJ'ed around Belfast and played on the same bill as Muzka so we have a long-lasting history really, Dan released a few mini lp's on the Freebooter label a few years ago and Muzka has released a lot on it too and we just got chatting about doing a collective thing together. We started writing and 8 months later we had 40 tracks written and it was 10 of these that become the LP for Phil and NuNorthern Soul.

What's the story behind the title, "The Mandala Vortex”?

(Muzka) Yeah and the story was we were making music which had a feel to it, Simon mentioned he always had a fascination with mandalas and we thought the music could transfer you to an endless mandala creating patterns through a swirling fluid constantly changing vortex of sound. That mixing of beautiful symmetry and swirling randomness summarises our styles and influences.

What is your studio process, how does the trio collaborate?

(Simon) We each have our own studio set up and just meet up for gigs really. We all start a track and pass it around delete and adding as we go, it's brutal sometimes with tracks morphing into something totally different but it seems to work, we all really enjoy it which is the key I reckon.

How did the connection with Phil Cooper and the NuNorthern Soul label come about?

(Simon) I can’t really remember to be honest lol, too many birthdays, I am huge fan of NuNorthern Soul and they just release great track after great track, such a super interesting label, it’s just a brilliant camp and super proud to be part of. I think I probably sent Phil music and we got chatting, the Liverpool connection, and mutual friends and all that. Top man.

Any plans for live performances for this project ?

(Simon) Yes we do indeed, Dan and I played a few gigs in Ibiza last summer and we enjoyed it and it worked really well. Our first gig was recorded live for Sonica radio thanks to Mark Broadbent and Andy Wilson so that was a bit of sweat but went well so, we’ve made it more organic and the three of us are coming back in October (16th) to play Akasha for the closing party of The Tales of the Unexpected night and a Freebooter Lounge weekender at word Of Mouth on October 17th & 18th.les Of The Unexpected’

Tell us a bit about your label, Freebooter Lounge label, and what do you have in the works?

(Simon) So, we started the label in 2020 as an outlet for more obscure stuff really with no goal other than getting stuff from producers hard drives to dj’s. Whether it just couldn’t be pigeonholed or the producer was unknown or for whatever reason, we just thought that if we like it, lets put it out and it’s just grown organically really. We run plenty of local and further afield events with Belfast based Plan B who have a very similar ethos, community based, grassroots. We have 3 monthly nights, Sunday Circles which is a afternoon to evening, free in social, Plan B which is a monthly not for profit club night, I think it’s on 40 sold out events so far raising money for a local charity 5th Element and we’ve just started a Freebooter take over in Derry in too @ Sandino’s. We have a busy summer schedule with releases from Unit 4. EON, Acid-Nab, Muzka and his other project, D-Echo project too so really busy few months plus as I mentioned we have 16 artists playing at Word Of Mouth for a Freebooter weekender in October.

Can you tell us more about early influences? What early artists or genres got you started in production?

(Simon) I was into Pink Floyd, Hawkwind and Tangerine Dream and found dance music around 17 or so and went over to Kraftwerk and more electronic stuff and the obvious going clubbing, and all things house music. I started working at OMD’s studio in Liverpool at 17 and found Cubase and the Korg M1 too and that was that really.

(Muzka) Dj shadow, Trip hop, electro, big beat, house and techno. I loved sampling, from hearing early coldcut, bomb the bass and artists like steinski I was obsessed with how it was an escape from traditional bands and rock music. I hate to wheel out the old cliche but my early influences was digging though the family vinyl collection as a kid and dancing round the living room to Boney M, AC/DC and Michael Jackson then getting my own Ghettoblaster and buying my own music. I loved sampling, from hearing early coldcut, bomb the bass and artists like Steinski I was obsessed with how it was an escape from traditional bands and rock music. I think these early vinyl and cassette obsessions formed my love of DJing and later producing my own music.

(Dan) From as young as I can remember I was chopping samples, I always remember I had this PlayStation game called 'Music’. I remember the buzz I got, I think I was about 10 years old, I created an electronic track matching beats and samples with it. From then, it never went away. Early teens I got my hands on a copy of Sony Acid Pro again chopping samples and making tracks that I could listen to on my computer or minidisc player at the time. Then after that I was in various bands which gained multiple successes by either being asked to play at electric picnic to plays on radio 6 in other bands. In the background I was always doing my own thing with discovering Ableton a few years previous. When I seen it could do everything I wanted but only better than Acid Pro, I was bitten by the bug. I always liked the idea of fusing electronic music with instruments such as guitar and bass, forming broken beats with bass heavy sounds mixed with sampled Rhodes chords, jazz samples and synths. The possibilities were and are endless really when it comes to electronic productions.

Early on I would have listened to my rock bands, mainly Deftones, Kyuss, early QOTSA

Then on the other side you had your King Tubby, Agustus Pablo and Burning Spear

I tend to look for more chilled, downtempo sounds and general exploration of anything that goes with a lounge, dub or sunset type vibe.

What other artists do you follow or favorites right now?

(Muzka) I’ve always listened to a wide range of music and currently I enjoy random digging through Bandcamp and listening to radio shows to introduce me to new music. Currently I’m listening to jpegmafia, El Michels Affair, Domu and of course everything on Freebooter Lounge and NuNorthern soul. It’s awesome releasing music on labels you genuinely love. Must shout out Computer Controlled and Acroplane, two labels pushing underground electronic music that always have refreshing releases.

(Simon) So much good music about, latest NNS release is faboulous, Balaphonic. Love anything Bold Parade put out, Deep Division, Freebooter camp just listening to Toshio Matsuura Group this morning and I always harp back to the Bowie and the Beatles lol

What can we expect from each of you individually or together in the coming months or years? Are there any solo projects or collaborations?

(Simon) More of the same, few remixes on the go and new Visions Of Light material, we’ve just finished the second LP pretty much and we want to promo the Mandala Vortex live as much as we can.

(Dan) Im always open to new projects and collaborations but as it stands my main focus would be with visions of light simply due to the success and feedback and gigs we have been getting so far. To answer the first question I’d say I would expect that the mandala vortex LP is only the start of an amazing journey with a flurry of tracks and ideas already being worked on.

Individually we will always be creating and experimenting with ideas, most of my work I keep hidden from the world, kind of like therapy in a way where I make something to keep it for myself. When I feel I have something really special I will pitch it to the lads and most of the time they agree therefore a cohesive formation occurs where different ideas are then shared between all three of us. This process creates a consistent flow of material which we can work on then use to perform or play live either individually or together.

(Muzka) Individually I’m working on new muzka material including a live audio visual show and have an upcoming ep on freebooter with my new project ‘Modulation Syndicate’ with dj O-one. I’ll also be DJing regularly and now into my 30th year of playing out, still love it.

Check out the latest release from Visions of Light.