Sleeper interview

Sleeper is headlining DOOMSDAY #05 this saturday on the 18th of August at Club Playground in Helsinki. We did a little interview with the man himself to get some insight on the music he produces, and asked for his plans for the future. Here's the result:

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Alex and I produce music under the name 'Sleeper'

How did you end up making beats?

I started a music tech course when I was 18 because I was interested in how electronic music is made. I had been DJing for a few years before that so it had been an interest of mine for a while. Once I learned how to use Cubase, I spent a few years messing around with loops and samples, just having fun and not taking it too seriously. It wasn't til a few years later that I actually decided to try and make something of it.

Did you have a "mentor" or some sort of formal education towards producing/music in general?

I never had a mentor or anything like that, I had a few friends who were into the same kind of music as me but never had anyone who showed me anything other than the teachers at college who taught me the basics of sequencing.

What kind of music gives you goosebumps?

Mostly really well produced music, No specific genres or artists. Just music that sounds to me like someone has gone to a lot of time and effort to engineer sounds to a high level.

Can you tell us a bit about your way of making tunes? What comes first, a melody or a beat?

Usually a drum loop will come first, it always helps to get the basic rhythm of a track down before anything else is added. Although I do spend a lot of my time building sounds rather than whole tracks. Sometimes I will spend a week or so just building sounds that I like, resampling bass sounds or processing drums. That way, when I feel like writing a track, I already have good sounds to work with. and I'm able to get an idea down quickly

How did come up with your alias, Sleeper?

I used to write a lot of music at night and sleep all day

When/how did you become a part of Chestplate records?

The Chestplate thing came about towards the end of last year. District and myself had been sending our music to Distance and Youngsta and we were lucky enough to get radio support from both of them on Rinse. I think at the time Distance was looking to expand his label and look for some new artists to push so he put out Districts first release last year and my Zombies release in January this year. It's a great thing to be a part of.

Any future plans for Sleeper ? A bunch of shows and releases?

Yeah, I have my next Chestplate release coming out after the next District and Tunnidge releases which I'm really looking forward to. Other than that I'll just be working on more music and playing the occasional show here and there.

Anything you'd like to say to the Helsinki people?

Yeah, just keep your eye on Chestplate. Lots of good music to come.
See you all at Doomsday!

Sleeper, Dullatron and Doomsday dj's at Club Playgroynd, Helsinki saturday 18.8.2012

Doors open at 22 - tickets 10 euros
Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/246955132089766/