Micoland

My first brush with Michael Schofield was nowhere near the TV; instead it was early last year via a free download album, titled All Loop Traffic, from fledgling netlabel Dead Channel. The artist name was Micoland, and the music was sublime.

Just over a year later Mick has mixed two of my own tracks ('Robota' and the soon-to-be-released 'Compulsion'), we're label-buddies on Dead Channel, and I like to think we're mates in general. One thing's for certain: Schofield's music continues to blow me away, which is one reason I figured it was fine time that I inflicted one of my insufferable interview Q&As in his direction.

Mick Schofield is your real name, right? Or do you prefer Michael? And how'd 'Micoland' come about, anyway?

"Michael Schofield is my real name - although Prison Break has kind of spoilt that for me now! People call me Mick or Mico - Micoland is my place I suppose, atmosphere and sense of place is important to me and my music goes where I tell it to."

What's the story behind your activities with Wobble N Dubb with Naffdogg?

"Wobble N Dubb is probably the most experimental music I'm involved in at the moment, but also the most dancefloor. Me and Naff [Naffdogg] decided there would be no rules with the project, except that it has to work on the dancefloor and be completely live. Well, as live as you can get with laptops! A lot of the music is improvised and we don't always know where a live set is gonna go which makes it pretty exciting. All our recorded tunes are also written this way: MIDI-synced laptops running Ableton, triggering loops and sounds on the fly, vibing off each other... seat-of-the-pants shit! No rules regarding genres either, really, although techno and dubstep play a big part we also take on breakcore, experimental noise, ska (2 Tone style), breaks, hip hop, electro, hardcore, gabba - all gets thrown in to the melting pot."

Where were you born, and what's that place most famous for?

"I was born in Glasgow, Scotland, which is famous for alcoholism, teenage pregnancy and Frankie Boyle. And Rustie now as well, which makes a refreshing change."

Yawn question. How did you get inspired to start making music?

"I've always been around music really - my dad was well into electronic music in the '70s and '80s and built his own synths and things, so I've always been interested and wanted to have a go myself from an early age. I think I really started taking it seriously in my mid-teens, when I started to get into music more interesting than chart dance tunes and cheesy hip hop, and got into dub and Warp Records, stuff like that."

What keeps you in there making tunes, and what essential changes have you noticed since you started out?

"Although I've been making music for over a decade and playing it out for many years, I still feel like a bit of a novice when it comes to the music industry to be honest. The Leeds scene is great, but it's also quite insular, it's a nice little bubble, but I need to push my music beyond its city walls really. The internet and social networks let you reach a much wider audience than was once possible without the backing of a distributor, but it's still hard work getting your music heard."

What kind of gear/software are you making most use of in the studio right now?

"Ableton is my main tool, but I try and use hardware too as everyone is using the same soft synths at the moment, like NI Massive - I'm guilty of it too, but those sounds are everywhere at the moment especially in dubstep. I use a Roland JUNO-6, a Korg Poly-800 bent by my very talented friend Dave Headcleaner, and the Kaoss Pad quite a bit. I'm currently making good use of the new Akai APC-40, especially performing live."

Which part of your studio is the most fulfilling?

"My desktop background - I find visual stimuli very important, and since I moved my studio into the attic I have no window. I often change my desktop daily to give myself a fresh outlook."

What keeps you fueled throughout production?

"If these have to be legal substances, I'd have to say Lucozade and cigarettes are essential."

Which current artists and/or labels are grabbing your attention?

"I've been following dubstep since its inception, and it has always influenced my work, but currently I find myself returning to earlier influences such as Skam Records and Roots Dub. Cardopusher, Funckarma, Kelpe, Akira Kiteshi and Blue Daisy have pricked my ears in recent months."

How would you personally define the sounds you're currently making?

"Dubstep and techno styles filtered through my hazy mind."

Which labels have you released your music through to date, and what's your relationship like with these labels?

"So far I've released stuff on Dead Channel, Dirtyload Records and IF?. Dirtyload has kind of bit the dust, really. Dead Channel is a free netlabel and is my main outlet at the moment. I should be releasing something on a new label called Conflagration Records - a spin off from the Leeds night of the same name. I'm always looking for new labels, outlets for my tunes tho'..."

Biggest influences on your own music?

"Kode9, Milanese, Surgeon, Prefuse 73, Scientist, Aphex [Twin], Skam Records; anyone pushing the boundaries of electronic music, especially techno, dub and hip hop influenced sounds."

What new Micoland releases should we keep a eye out for?

"My follow-up to the MyColdLand LP [2008] is due out on Dead Channel in the next few months; it will be called Modern Ruins. In the meantime you can download my retrospective album Hidden Records 01-06 for free from dead-channel.com."

Speaking of netlabels and digital download, CDs are a disappearing facet of the music industry, and quite a few people are cutting back on vinyl these days because they say it just doesn't justify the money invested. How do you feel about this?

"As long as DJs are still using vinyl, there is an incentive for labels to release on that format if only to make sure those tunes are getting played out - which is where dance music of all kinds should be, surely!? CD is a dead format, really. I can't remember the last time I bought a CD. I spend a fortune on mp3s though, from online shops like boomkat.com, mainly because I DJ using Ableton. I think there is money to be made selling mp3s, but I think it's more difficult than ever before to actually sell your music for hard cash."

Is vinyl then becoming more of a select option?

"Vinyl's survival is in the hands of DJs' habits, it has been since the '80s, really. If vinyl dies, it's probably the fault of people like me! I love DJing with a computer, you can be so much more creative live, remixing people's tracks on the fly, and really customizing your own sound. I'm happy to endure reduced fidelity for total creative control. The more people start thinking the way I do, the less chance vinyl has of surviving. I'm not at all conservative. Things change, you gotta move with the tide, or inevitably you will drown. People listen to mp3s - fact - and if you want people to actually hear your music out of the club, that's where you gotta be."

Do DJs really then need to continue to use vinyl?

"It's up to the individual; I prefer the creative freedom of using Abelton. You can do anything with that software if you put your mind to it. There is arguably more physical skill in DJing with vinyl, especially beat juggling/scratch-mixing. I've never been a fan of virtuoso/performance displays of skill, to be honest; wanky guitar-solos get on my tits. I want music that moves me, not that impresses me. Does your average punter at a rave really give a shit how you're beat-matching your records? No."

What do you think of veteran British producers like Neil Landstrumm, Tobias Schmidt, Dave Tarrida, Cristian Vogel, Subhead, Tube Jerk and Si Begg?

"Si Begg and Neil Landstrumm are definitely amongst my favourite producers. They inhabit the same mindset as me in that they take on influences such as grime, dubstep and dancehall, but make it their own."

Have you heard any of the music coming out of Australia?

"Not much Aussie music makes it over here, to be honest, which I think is a real shame, based on the stuff I have heard. IF? Records has exposed me to a lot of music I wouldn't otherwise have heard."

What do you think of the diverse Japanese producers like Captain Funk, Toshiyuki Yasuda, Co-Fusion, HIFANA, DJ Warp, Shufflemaster, Merzbow, Alone Together, et al?

"Japanese producers and artists have always taken influences from outside and made them into something distinctly Japanese, which I have a lot of respect for. By that I don't mean anything as crass as simply fusing Western music with their own musical traditions, they invent totally new stuff. I'm particularly impressed with a young Japanese producer called Quarta 330, that's some of my favourite shit at the moment. Really original. I wish he'd hurry up and release an album though!"

How do you like your mushrooms cooked?

"Raw and magic."

Care to add anything else? (about your own new releases/remixes/ideas/ideals/grievances/philosophies/quips/earth-shattering announcements/etc)?

"I think people should stop bemoaning the death of this format or that genre, and embrace the new possibilities. You gotta take influence from the past, but look forward to the future."