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Mute Riot

by Fil OK

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1.
Mute Riot 02:34
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2.
Fiction Of Bombs 03:10
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3.
Dieffenbach 03:31
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4.
Conference At Night 02:04
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5.
Cortege Boy 03:33
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6.
The Horizon 03:50
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7.
Krimpd 02:38
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8.
Man Is A Magician 03:28
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9.
Bird 03:35
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10.
The Lunar Heart 03:31
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11.
Rope 02:58
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12.
D For Sleep 03:36
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13.
Bird (Wolf Asylum Remix) 04:44
info
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about

Mute Riot is Fil's fourth solo album.
It's an electronic, instrumental album...a soundtrack for the internet generation...
silent revolutions / sci-fi melodies / heart-breakbeats / sinister scapes
music box lullabies / violent storms / Houdini magic / Hitchcock noir
nightmare dreams / body glitches / humming choirs...

Interview by Mike Textbeak:
M: Hi Fil, Thanks for taking time with me out of your schedule to do this interview!

F: No problem!

M: You're well known for your work in the band Atomizer with Johnny Slut from Specimen and the classic Nag Nag Nag night at Simon Hobart's Ghetto nightclub in London back in the 00's. How did you get your start in music and what lead up to Atomizer and Nag Nag Nag?

F: I started making music when I got my first multitrack recorder, way back in the late 80’s. Everything was on cassette tape then, and I used to LOVE layering different ideas to form tracks, and sometimes songs. And sometimes just pure unadulterated weird noise! I became obsessed back then, and it never left me. I moved to London in the early 90’s, and by the end of the decade i’d met Jonny Slut and we formed Atomizer. “I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar” is almost true - it was actually an underground gay club, called Substation South, in Brixton. Jonny was the resident DJ, and before we knew it we had embarked on what would be come a decade long collaboration.
By 2001 something seriously needed to happen in clubland in London, so we put our heads together, along with Jojo De Freq, and started our electro night NagNagNag. We ran it weekly for 6 years, and It was an absolute hoot.

M: From your DJ top 10 lists from back then it seems like you had a diverse musical palette growing up. How did you get exposed to so many different styles?

F: Born in the 70’s, pop teenager in the 80’s, young adult and clubber in the 90’s….that’s a lot of musical styles and genres to digest! Plus I love old music too, and a bit of classical and film soundtrack on the side. It all gets mixed up - I’m not prejudiced.

M: Why did Atomizer dissolve and are there any chances of more Atomizer musick in the future?

F: I think we just ran our course - we toured a lot for 10 years, made 3 albums and a load of EP’s and remixes, and ran NagNagNag - it was brilliant and I wouldn’t change a second of it, but now Jonny and I have both taken slightly different paths. Neither of us are in London very much these days, and we have other interests, and it feels natural to pursue them. Jonny just got his Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with Art History and Philosophy, so he’s been pretty busy! I’m in LA a lot these days, working on film soundtracks. We did do a remix for Section 25 last year, so I guess we are still occasionally keeping our hands in.

I have always been fascinated by the diversity of styles within your compositions while still retaining "your sound." For example on Neon Ghost you have tracks like "The Hermitess" with it's slow sickly warmth and warbles compared to "Let Someone Have It Sweet" which although contrasts with thick 808 sub hits and bristly rez synths yet still retains the tonal intensity. Is it hard with so many diverse ideas to keep a release cohesive?

F: Oh blimey, that’s a tough one! I think maybe that’s not for me to answer….? All I can say is it’s never calculated, tracks just come out as they do. They often seem to lilt to a certain style, and then there’s nothing you can do but go with it!

M: The remix by Plaid of "Neon Ghost" is epic, how did that come about?

F: Yes I really love that remix. I’ve known Ed (Hanley from Plaid) for a long time. We met through his then girlfriend Leila (Arab, currently doing amazing music with Zebra Katz). He liked Neon Ghost so very generously did me that gorgeous remix. It’s timeless!

M: Also in your band We're in the Water your sound is more of a smooth electro-pop ballad meets IDM vibe in a vein something like Röyksopp. Does having these multiple outlets (including your soundtrack work) allow you to fully express yourself artistically?

F: I suppose it must do - I don’t feel myself yearning to do hard core thrash metal, or contemporary avant garde classical, so I think I must be satisfied with palate. Although there’s always so much more music to be discovered, who knows where i’ll go!

M: This new album MUTE RIOT is a further departure into staggered electro breaks and IDM polyrhythms with extremes in synth sweeps and swells. What inspired the new album sound?

F: It’s a natural progression from the last album Electropolis, but I guess with a few more quirkier tracks, and also a few ‘theme’ tracks, which is an extension of the soundtrack stuff i’ve been doing. It’s all a collage of sound - loops, textures, riffs, chord progs etc!

M: What is the meaning behind the name MUTE RIOT ?

F: It was a chance placing together of 2 stickers…..which then spawned and idea of a silent revolution being created through mediums like the internet.

M: Will there be remixes?

F: Not sure yet! There’s already a remix of ‘Bird’, by Wolf Asylum.

M: What software are you composing with currently and how long have you used what you are currently using?

F: It’s pretty much all been done on Logic X. I’ve been using Logic since I bought it around 2006-ish. I think that was Logic 7. I’ve upgraded each time and this was the first time i’d used Logic X (10).

M: Do you you use a lot of external synths or instruments or do you prefer soft synths and plug-ins?

F: Soft synths mainly. I usually on compose on an actual keyboard, or piano, but then once the notes are in the laptop it’s all done on there. It’s partly because I can be anywhere - London / LA / Berlin - and just pick up where I left off.

M: Many of your songs have a very soundtrack-esque quality to them. Do you have a different approach to writing soundtracks than composing for albums?

F: Oh definitely. The biggest lesson I learnt was to strip almost everything away with soundtracks, leaving just the essential element, be it 1 or 2 notes, or just an abstract sound. So much is already there visually, the sound is really just enhancing, or highlighting that. However, sometimes it can pay off to go out on a limb and do something totally unexpected, or use a really in-appropriate song!

M: In the 00's social media, specifically Myspace, played a major role with your musick, Nag Nag Nag and electroclash in general. What's your current view of social media?

F: Hmm, well we don’t have much choice do we?? For this album i’ve advertised with a sticker campaign around various cities, saying MUTE RIOT….they will link to my website, www.filokmusic.com…..so it all comes back to being online! The silent revolution.

M: What plans do you currently have in the works?

F: To paint! Which I always love to do after an album. I’m also working on a film soundtrack, and am starting to think about the 3rd We’re in the Water album. And then who knows - open to offers!

credits

released September 28, 2015

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OK Music London, UK

Fil OK is an electronic composer & producer.
Solo albums: Bitch Disco; Neon Ghost; Electropolis; Mute Riot, Aeromantic & FOMOLAND.

We’re in the Water is an art collective with 5 albums, including A Star On The Sea.

Villain was a duo of Fil & The Thom. 1 album: Dancing In Tongues.

Fil is a DJs who ran London electro club NagNagNag in 00s with bandmate in duo Atomizer: Jonny Slut. 3 albums.
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