22/11/2021
On the back of our latest podcast, we interviewed M Data, AKA Michael Peters. We asked a handful of questions, to which Michael has kindly provided some great answers and insight. Without further ado:
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First, a few questions about your musical history, tastes and views on the scene in general…
• How did you get into electronic music? What got you into this style of music? – I first learned to play music as a child and was fascinated with electronic sound; one of my memories is of Kraftwerk being synced on an educational program about robots in manufacturing, I was hooked! The rave scene then appeared as I was starting high school and that was that…
• Have your tastes changed over time (lockdown / post lockdown)? – Yeah, I’m a massive fan of all music. Lockdown was a strange time; it was as if life was on hold which reflected in what I was listening to… I got further into minimal, ambient-electro styles which helped me switch off and relax during that time. Now lockdown has passed it’s as if the whole scene has been revitalised with energy and new ideas, it’s a great thing for the industry.
• Fave labels, artists, tunes at the moment? – Haha. Hundreds of tracks on hundreds of labels. It’s a great time for indie techno as it’s such a diverse market, I’m listening to all sorts. A lot of tech, minimal, electro and ambient… anything decent really! I also have a lot of support for the local scene, it seems to have exploded since lockdown has ended. The quality of local music is also unreal, long gone are the days of having to travel hundreds of miles to go to a good techno gig – it’s all on the doorstep, Monday to Sunday every week!
• What experiences have you had partying and playing in the North East (good or bad)? – Haha. I’ve seen a lot since my first ever event; it’s a mixed bag really, I’d say 95% of events are positive with only a handful of memorable ones for negative reasons… I don’t think this is down to an event or events in general, its more to do with mutual respect for others, unfortunately some people just can’t seem to do that, which impacts negatively.
• Why do you think diversity suffers in nightlife (we live in such a diverse world, yet it seems to bottleneck at these events)? – In my opinion it’s for many reasons, both related to diversity and external factors. Events usually have a sense of community; albeit all are invited but it comes down to interest in the subject matter / theme of the actual event. For example, at a rock night expect only rock fans; at a festival, covering many genres, a much more diverse crowd will be seen. On the other hand, our social differences (wealth, employment, background, religion, gender, wellbeing) are factors that often do correlate with a noticeable lack of diversity at some events… good question!
• What would you like to see with diversity in nightlife? – Ideally, I’d like to see that there are no challenges for anyone from any background to participate or be part of an event… as long as respect for others is maintained.
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Being DJ’s, producers and gear-heads ourselves, we’re keen to know more about the equipment and your workflow...
• Where was the mix recorded and on what equipment? – The mix was recorded live at home using Ableton and UAD hardware, few controllers as well.
• What was the main aim of the mix / live set and what were you trying to express? – I’ve a huge appreciation for techno and many other genres; with the live set I wanted to capture a journey through many tech styles, both trying to keep it light in places, melodic, but also with some deep, dark, more-minimal purist stuff in there. As part of the live set / show it continually evolves each time I perform; if I’m playing in a venue and the mood can go darker, then I’ll take it where it needs to go and vice versa.
• Any special techniques employed? – Nothing I would class as special, although I cut my teeth on V1 of Ableton almost 20 years ago, so we do have a beautiful history! I do have a rule I swear by with Ableton – no automation… ever! I don’t use Ableton as a sequencer either, all tracks are performed live on-the-fly… it brings tracks to life and adds much needed personality and expression; it makes you play like it’s an instrument, you need to feel it and learn it…
• When you construct a live set like this do you think of the piece as a whole or as a few songs at a time (or do you just go by instinct and feeling)? – It’s a bit of both really; I have some ideas then jot them down, make changes, add more before or after, see how it sits, does it go anywhere, move it to the start / end, are there opportunities to make it lighter / darker, revert / scrap it if I’m not happy… I treat it like a modular process, its all interchangeable and really flexible. Once a framework is in place, it takes on a life of its own, depending on how I feel when performing. When considering the set in its entirety, I like to take audiences on a journey so usually have an idea of how I’d like it to flow, although this can change at any point.
• Only live shows or DJ’ing as well? – Haha. I’d love to DJ but with my current life balance I doubt it will happen yet.
• Any tracks you want to specifically point to in the set? – Yeah, I’ve some bangers from the Platforms EP, recently out on Kaneda Records, also a few of my own releases and unreleased stuff on there so watch this space… I will be keeping a few to be performed live only - have to make the gigs special!
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Lastly, we’d just like to touch on what you do in your downtime and where you see things going in the future…
• What do you do to disconnect from music? – I don’t! Not usually anyway… I’ve a pretty busy life at the moment so one task is usually a switch off from the previous! Music is the same, I just change what’s on in the background to suit my mood / activities. I do like to do stuff with my family and also have 3 dogs so there is usually always something happening or keeping me busy!
• If not for music what would you do with yourself? – I don’t know, I think I’m pretty focussed with my music both as something I enjoy and as a distraction to boredom. I’d probably be a nightmare to live with if I didn’t have something to focus on – ask my family! I’m pretty technical and do enjoy improving our house so would probably find a distraction in renovating property or something along those lines.
• Do you think you’ll always be involved in electronic music, will your tastes change? – I’m not sure. I’ve always had roots in electronic music so doubt I’ll ever leave it. I may branch into other genres if I ever find the time but love what I do at the moment.
• What’s on the horizon? - Gigs, clubs, radio, production? – The current plan is to maintain and build on what’s in place now; to showcase the live set in clubs and venues; continue to produce and release material; continue to develop links for radio. I’m also toying with the idea of pressing some vinyl at some point in the near future.
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We hope you made it this far! 😊 We’ve thoroughly enjoyed hosting M Data and look forward to working with him again in the future. Find a link to his top notch live show below.
Love, Locally Sourced x
M Data (a.k.a Michael Peters) is a prolific, hard working producer, hailing from the coastal town of North Shields, North Tyneside. His recent hard graft has seen an array of back-to-back releases,
