Brighton-based producer, DJ and music lecturer, EONE has recently released a second album – Archetype.

Following the original release of his first album Parenthesis in 2018, his latest LP intertwines around motifs of neo grime while reflecting many other genres with a unique sense of musical melancholy.

10 tracks deep and delivered as a perfectly creative blend of feelings and musical compositions, Archetype originally started from a deep sense of loss.

Battling with grief after the passing of his brother Matthew, EONE (real name Simon) wrote a sci-fi story to help him convey his relationship with his brother, his feelings about him and his own journey of mourning. Each chapter was then scored sonically and both are now available.

As you’d expect from such a place of inspiration, many of the tracks go to a dark place upon listening, truly taking us on an emotional, tumultuous journey with him. It is an aspirational quest to aim to convey such a depth of feeling through music and it was accomplished beautifully.

If that wasn’t quite enough of a reason to highlight such a thoughtfully crafted and meaningful body of work (it defintely is!), we’ve also asked him to make a mix. He came back with something so wild and off-the-wall that it take the honour of kickstarting our MIXMAS mission.

With cuts ranging from to Sophie to Sami Virji via Neeketone and CASISDEAD, it’s surprising how seamlessly EONE has integrated them. There is something for everyone on this mix – drum and bass, garage, grime, drill, trance and plenty more between.

You can check it here as Simon shares insight into the aspects that went into creating the album as well as his career and what shaped him to be where he is now. Those in Manchester this Saturday on December 7 should head to Green Arches for a free album launch party. In the meantime, get acquainted…

 

 

What can you tell us about the concept and the process of Archetype?

So the concept for the album is about losing life and losing yourself. My brother, Matthew, very sadly passed away in 2019 in a freak car accident and I was totally unprepared for it. I went into shock and suffered massively with trauma for it.

I wanted to make an album dedicated to his life and to help with anyone that’s ever lost someone or just feels lost in life. I started off by writing the book first, 10 chapters and I planned to write each song for each chapter. It’s a dystopian sci-fi story, inspired by Philip K Dick and William Gibson’s books, all that sci-fi goodness. There’s also this other cool book called Gaia and Philosophy that was pretty interesting and I guess also helped shape some of my ideas.

And of course the outstanding worldbuilding from both Iglooghost and Babii. Those two create some of the most inspirational concepts. And their music is unreal! I started the process very quickly whilst still battling heavy depression and a lot of destructive habits that were massively debilitating for me. I made four songs but hated them all and they remain untouched on my harddrive. I sat on the idea until December 2022 just thinking about the story, if I should edit it, did it make sense, did it honour Matt enough, all the usual self doubt that all producers get but rarely speak of! I made some big life decisions, cleaned my act up and suddenly the music just flowed. During that dark period in my life I was making loads of singles and EPs but nothing that was worthy enough. It took a lot of soul searching and support to finally be able to make something I was happy with.

 

 

I’m so sorry to hear. I was going to ask if the album lived up to any of the old cliches about ‘difficult second albums’. But that’s not the right question to ask…

So Parenthesis was never meant to be an album in my eyes haha. It was an EP that got out of hand. It was actually released seven years ago but I hated the mastering on it at the time so I ended up taking it offline and reuploading it after getting it remastered by Pholo. I still love that EP and it felt like a big turning point. There’s also a track called Netdrones which is only available as a bonus track on Bandcamp and it’s one of my favourite dub techno tracks I’ve made. I think it’s dub techno, I have no idea lol.

Actually releasing the album though has been the most intense process of my life. I decided to launch it with a Kickstarter that I found out you’re supposed to build followers over a 3 month period but I gave myself 3 days to launch it after finding out I was due to have a track played on BBC Introducing South. I got them to announce the Kickstarter on air and I feel like it added a level of legitimacy and also helped spur me on. I ended up raising over my target which still blows my mind. I’m massively grateful to Mr Kifer for all the advice on this too and am happy to say the album has been really well received and supported. There’s been airtime on BBC 6 Music, Saint Ludo made Rippled one of the tracks of the week and Background has played a few of the tracks on his show on Rinse France.

 

 

That’s good to hear. There’s a real mix of vibes on Archetype for supporters to get behind.

It’s representative of my emotions around that whole period in time and my head was very up and down so I wanted to be able to express that. Although I was in a lot calmer and clearer mind when I made the music, I was out of control when I wrote the story and when reading it back, I felt like I was transported back to that manic time. The hardest chapter in the book to write was chapter 7 and therefore when I read that back to compose to, I couldn’t compose in a normal fashion. I was very angry and hurt at what had happened and that pain stands out clearly in the music. I didn’t want it all to be the vibe though, there were obvious happy times too so I hope that shines through for people when they read it!

I’m sure they will. What was the timeframe in between creating the tracks?

The music itself was composed over an intense three week period. I was working at the time but only teaching three classes a week so I had a lot more time on my hands. Every moment was spent at my studio working only on the album. It really consumed me but in a great way. I’m always consumed when I make music but this was a lot more intense and devoted. Despite the huge gaps between writing the story and writing the music, the actual composing of words and sounds was all done in concession.

Some of my favourite tracks off of the album are Ended and Transcend, could you tell me more about what went into the process of making them?

So Ended was originally called History. That chapter is actually all about the early years spent with my brother and the fleeting memories of listening to music together. He put me onto a lot of great sounds and early jungle was certainly one of the sounds that had the most impact on me. Oddly it’s not a genre I make a lot of but it is a sound that will always be dear to my heart.

Transcend is a bit of a different stage in my life. There was a period in time when my brother and I didn’t talk which I massively regret but of course am very happy we made up long before he passed. That time in my life was also a blur, trying to find who I was and what I wanted to be in life. I didn’t want this book to be just about me and losing my brother. I wrote it as a sci-fi book so that it was something cool and enjoyable and by creating the characters, it makes it more open to interpretation so others can enjoy reading it too. It’s hard to say what the actual process is for me. I tend to work off feeling. I’ll think about what mood I’m in and what I want to say. I’m jealous of vocalists as they’re able to form words to express themselves. That’s why writing this book was the easy part, it’s expressing myself without words and just sounds that’s tricky. That’s not to say that vocalists have an easy time of course!

What are your personal favourites on Archetype?

I’ve found it’s changed a lot over time but at the moment, Tears is probably my favourite, hence why I opened the mix with it!

 

What is your writing process? What elements come first when you’re starting a track?

The melodies definitely! I find writing drums such a struggle some days, despite learning to play the drums when I was 10. I don’t play anymore sadly but when I first started writing MIDI drums, I would have to picture a drum kit and now when I occasionally pick up a pair of drumsticks, I have to picture a piano roll lol

Haha. You have developed a very strong sonic signature with a blend of genres and styles, how did you find your sound? Was there a particular turning point in your journey as an artist where you felt that starting to happen?

It’s hard to pick out an exact moment or an exact release. It was very much a progression. I had a conversation with a friend once about how I wished I could be more selective over what I release and he wished he could be more decisive about releasing his paintings out into the world. Sometimes I wish I had held back a bit more and developed my sound more before releasing but to be honest, I like seeing the evolution over time and I enjoy the process of releasing music. I learn so much with each track and I love to share something so personal with the rest of the world that someone might be able to connect with. Of course there’s a lot of weird stuff that doesn’t make the grade and I am more selective about what I release these days but a major help in developing my track is finishing everything that I make. Even if I hate it. It’s very rare that I don’t finish something.

So, you’ve done a mix for us, tell us about it!

I’ve tried to show off as much of my personality through sound in this mix. There’s not actually too many tracks from myself in this, one at the beginning and then two just near the end. The two final drum and bass tracks are a new alias that I’ve never shared anywhere so it’s kind of a world exclusive I guess!

This mix is full of my favourite neo tracks, garage tracks, grime and drill numbers, and some faster paced flavours towards the end. I really enjoyed going on a tune hunt for some new tracks by my favourite artists and discovered some new ones in the process too.

 

 

That’s the way it should be! What is your natural habitat, the studio or the decks? Is there one you prefer?

That’s a tough one! I learnt to DJ before I produced but I really love making music. I can’t answer! I’d say I’m a producer over being a DJ but I’m very comfortable behind the decks. I’m a fan first though, I quite often go out to clubs nights on my own to watch a certain DJ and chill at the back of the room like an old head, nodding away!

This mix will be kicking off a series of mixes we are running on 1 More Thing called Mixmas where we are celebrating the artform and culture of DJing. What are the most important things and what inspires you the most about DJing?

The most important thing as I said before is to be a fan! I get most inspired by the people that I get to make music with and perform with. Pholo, Visene, Gastah, Real Tears, Open Ocean, all these people are my favourite musicians and I still fanboy when I get to see them perform live. And then I’m like, ‘Oh shit, I’m performing with them! In fact, a lot of the people mentioned above are all performing for my album party in Manchester on 7th December at Green Arches. It’s free too, from 7pm-12pm so def come along if you’re in the area.

Manchester readers, please take note! Please give us a little more inspiration to conclude this interview…

Go out to watch DJs, watch bands, go to events on your own too. You always end up meeting up with people you know in the venue anyway but I love just rolling somewhere on my ones to watch music and then when I’m done, rolling out back home again. Find your community and build within that community. Put on nights, play at open deck events, collaborate, support your local record shop and just consume music in every way possible!

EONE – Archetype is out now

Support EONE

TRACKLIST

EONE – Tears
Pholo x BABii – Ember (Gastah Remix)
Soloman – Bokeh Creeper
Daseplate – The Clangers VIP (Kontent Remix)
Cozy Kev – Psycho
Pholo x Glacc – Sweet Talk
Casement – Bringing It Back (Casement Edit)
DJ Q – Gunshot
Erbes – Turn Up!
Teddy Music Feat Newham Generals – Doomed
Dj Lag & Sinjin Hawke – Raptor (VIP)
Fly – Push Flip
Sammy Virgi – Daga Da (Ance Edit)
Clara Le San – Let You Go (Dimi Darko Remix)
Real Tears – Miracle2
Y U QT – Sprinter Dub
Justin Martin – Ruff Stuff (Virtus VIP Edit)
Capo Lee – Liff (Vurset Edit)
Unknown – HIGH
Kippo – What’s My Name
CASISDEAD – What’s My Name Feat. Giggs
Low Deep – Straight Flush
Unknown – 16 Shots
Cesco – Superstealth
Brandy – I Wanna Be Down (TAF Edit)
Virtual Self – Ghost Voices (Villager mix)
Clavish & Fredo – Uh Uh’ (Taiki Nulight rework)
Real Tears – Clarity2
Sophie – Get Harder
DJ Complimint – Midnight Request Slime
TC – Where’s My Money (Caspa Remix) (Neekeetone Jungle Rework)
Wiley x Skepta – Wize Edit
Supply – SL (Pholo Remix)
MBeat – Sweet Love Feat Nazlin (Vocal Mix)
Dead Dred – Dred Bass (Drumsound & Bassline Smith 2022 Update)
StateViolet – Different Circles
StateViolet – Airplay