Ahead of his appearance at Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach on Tue 17 May, global beat-crafter Will Holland – best known as Quantic – talks to Charlie Piercey about his musical worldview.
You’re known for delving into a variety of genres under the Quantic alias; new project Flowering Inferno has been noted for being a unique take on reggae. What particularly grips you with reggae and what has directed your focus to roots reggae in particular on your new release 1000 Watts?
Reggae and dub are the blueprints on which modern dance music has been built, both in its production aesthetic but also its DJ culture. It’s the foundation of the sound system itself. What holds my attention personally is the bass and the energy of the low end – where in other genres the lead melodies are the treble range, in dub and reggae the bass does the talking.
When I started the Flowering Inferno project, I wanted to bridge the gap between the Latin rhythms I’d been hearing in Colombian and Jamaican ones. With this new record it’s more roots orientated, a little less Latin and definitely about the bassline!
How much does your location influence the musical direction on your projects? Having not lived in the UK for a while now, does this factor at all into the creative process?
I think it does for sure. Each location has its own swing, its own undercurrent – sometimes it’s hard to put your finger on it.
It’s definitely more apparent the more and more you record live musicians, as each place has a certain style, musicians in different places have a different swing or accent. From a writing perspective I also really enjoy travelling around, for me songs come out of change and not being sedentary in one place. The minute I stay in one spot for too long I start to think I won’t ever write another song! But that changes when I get moving.
What was the impetus behind the collaborations on this record? Particularly with Alice Russell (a returning contributor), U-Roy and the late great Ikey Owens.
Ikey was part of the original rhythm section for this record – there were two rhythm section sessions, he was in the first. I’d seen him playing organ a few times live and loved his touch and he really made the thing squelch and squeal. Todd Simon, who played trumpet on the record, was good friends with him and I made the contact through him. It was great playing with him, he passed away a few weeks after.
I’ve been recording with Alice for ages now and I was in London working on new ideas with her for another Quantic & Alice Russell record. I had the rhythm there and the words so asked her if she’d take a look at it, we laid the vocals down really quickly. She’s so great, I love working with her and it’s a very natural thing.
What’s the reception been like on your tour thus far? Are you excited to take the music to the UK?
It’s been good. Touring in the US is so much more time-consuming, due to the sheer size of the country, but I feel like I’m coming to learn where it works and where it doesn’t and now we have a really strong fanbase. It’s been a good minute since we were in the UK with the live band so I’m really looking forward to returning.
What’s different about your live shows to the recorded material, will the fans get to see any of your guest artists and will there be other flavours of Quantic on offer?
Yes, it’s quite different. For this leg of the tour we are touring with vocalist Jimetta Rose – I’ve been working with her recently, she is based in Los Angeles and has an amazing voice, a lot of soul. With this show in particular we are revisiting some of the classic Quantic cuts as well as jamming out on some recent ones… it will be fun.
Tickets: £16. Info: 029 2023 2199 / www.clwb.net