by Hailing from New Zealand but currently residing in London, Yancey is a producer and DJ that’s been putting his mark on the game for nearly a decade. From releases alongside Golden Child and yojas on Quality Goods Records, to a slew of exceptional bootlegs, remixes, and originals, his hip-hop-influenced bass sound never ceases to impress. The producer recently landed back on our radar with a stellar flip of Westside Gunn. With a new EP on the horizon, we thought it would be the perfect time to connect with Yancy for a guest mix + interview.
The mix spans a wide array of sounds from grime to 140, breaks, and experimental bass. As for the interview, we discuss his upcoming project, what makes a good DJ set, his favorite plug-ins, finding happiness, and more. Dive in below.
What can we expect from the mix? What was your goal when putting it together?
This one’s a bit all over the place, I love finding the link between genres and figuring out how I can mix even the most obscure of tracks together seamlessly. Expect some club heaters, deep and soulful cuts; bass, breaks, and experimental beats. A mixture of my own stuff and, as always bits from the homies, with some personal favorites that I jam in every set and some curveballs thrown in the mix too. As always the goal was to play what I like and have as much fun with it as possible.
What makes a good set in your opinion?
Song selection most importantly, but I think a good set needs an equal amount of ebb and flow, can’t just go balls to the wall consistently, it gets boring in my personal opinion, got to let it breathe every once in a while. I personally love to start at lower tempos and end up higher to naturally build up the energy, plus it’s more fun that way, so I can play across multiple genres.
What brought you to the UK? How have you been liking it?
Opportunity in all honesty, we have an awesome scene back home but I felt as though I needed to properly immerse myself in the wider culture of it all to really reach my full potential. I also have my British side of the family here so that helped with the transition a lot. I initially settled in Bristol for a year before moving up to London, a lot bigger and scarier up here but it felt like a logical next step, been loving really tapping into the scene and culture that I grew up admiring from afar.
What do you miss most about New Zealand?
Everything really, what’s not to miss. The calmness, the beautiful landscape wherever you look, the kindness of the people, it was the best country to grow up in, and I look forward to settling back down there one day. For now, I’m loving the UK though.
How’s the EP coming along? What’s it sounding like?
My next EP is finished and will have a release date very soon, hands down my proudest piece of work yet, and I’m really excited for the rollout. This one’s on the darker side of my production and features a grimy number with one of my all-time favourite MCs, a two-steppy 140 joint with a good friend I met in Bristol, and a remix from one of my biggest inspirations. It’s also out on a label I’ve revered for quite some time, so all over it’s quite a special achievement for me. All will be revealed very soon.
What was your writing process like for the project?
As usual for me quite random, strike when creativity hits I guess. Both tracks have been in the works for quite some time and have gone through a lot of different variations, after deciding on the initial track, I chose the most cohesive follow-up to give the project some consistent flow, the label really gave me full creative control also which is all I could ever ask for.
Nothing at all, I’ve enjoyed the ride so far and honestly feel like I’m only just really coming into my own now with close to 10 years worth of knowledge, I’m glad to have taken the longer route in perfecting my sound so I wouldn’t change a thing.
If you could go back and start producing all over again, what would you do differently?
Nothing at all, I’ve enjoyed the ride so far and honestly feel like I’m only just really coming into my own now with close to 10 years worth of knowledge, I’m glad to have taken the longer route in perfecting my sound so I wouldn’t change a thing.
What are your go-to Plug-ins? What makes them special?
I’m big on sampling so a lot of the plug ins I use frequently are effects based to add some of my own flare to existing sounds, I use Rift & RC-20 on every song, I love the Soundtoys & Output stuff, Valhalla of course. When synthesizing it’s Vital, Serum, or some hardware I’ve got my hands on, sadly, I sold a few of my synths to fund my travels but I’m looking at getting back to collecting now I’m settled again. You can’t go wrong with Ableton’s stock plug-ins though, I feel like too much kit can cloud the process a bit, and I really love keeping things simple and not over-processing everything too much.
What do view as your biggest achievement as an artist thus far?
I think the fact that my music has taken me all over the world and introduced me to so many people and new experiences is the biggest win. Coming from a small place like New Zealand, I never thought half of this was possible so it’s always pretty surreal. I’m constantly achieving things with my music I could only dream of and I’m grateful for every opportunity I’ve been given because of it.
What does happiness look like to you?
Rewatching any of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy on a Sunday, learning a new skill, expressing creativity with like minded people, shit dad jokes, the thought of eventually moving back to New Zealand and settling down on a plot of land somewhere with lots of animals and a studio in the garden.
Don’t overthink shit, all too often do I overdo things that I end up scrapping and reverting to the original. Also just use good samples, they come out the box ready to go a lot of the time there’s no need to overprocess.
What’s the most important piece of criticism you’ve ever received as an artist?
Don’t overthink shit, all too often do I overdo things that I end up scrapping and reverting to the original. Also just use good samples, they come out the box ready to go a lot of the time there’s no need to overprocess.
Any final word for fans?
Thank you for the support over the years and I look forward to there hopefully being more of you with what I’ve got coming up.
Yancey FUXWITHIT Guest Mix Tracklist
More Than A Hustler – Ezra Collective & Novelist
Sideswipe – Mo Vibes & Tophe
Chiggy Chiggy (Cesco Remix) – Malugi ft. Inez
R6 – Sir Hiss & AÆE
No More – Josi Devil
Elimination – Kyber
Crook – Sepia & Spektiv
Konichiwa – Samba & Chokez
Tribute – Rareman
Talk To ‘Em Westside – Yancey
Foam – Kursa
Peril Prediction – Hijinx
Gabrielle Edit – Om Unit
Galvanised Dub – Girls Don’t Sync
Wait A Minute – Mia Koden
Uno Riddim – Nina
Jungle Dance – Yancey & Untitld
