T work makes the dream work… Trex and T>I are set to release a series of collaborations this year across a number of imprints.
Armed with complementary yet clearly distinctive signature styles, the UK artists have yet to link-up in the same studio, but a series of remote sessions has already led to over 10 complete productions and forthcoming releases on Trust Audio, Metalheadz, and Benny L’s new imprint Tres-2b Music. More are expected to be confirmed soon.
“We’ve met a handful of times. I sent him music because he rated my label Trust Audio and the music we’re putting out. I love his music, so it made sense,” explains London-based Trex fresh from dropping his debut Metalheadz EP Back & Forth. “It works well – we don’t get hung up on little things. There’s a lot of positive energy and a really strong work ethic. Before we know it we’ve got a bunch of tunes.”
“They’re some of the easiest collaborations I’ve ever done!” adds Norwich-based T>I who regularly collaborates with peers and has a series of link-ups called Integrated. “No egos, no bullshit, it just flows. Joe is very easy to work with. We’re a similar age. We’re not up for any silly bollocks. We both know what we want to do. I can’t even remember when we first discussed doing it but the first track was Run The Sketch which was picked by Goldie straight away.”
Co-signs don’t come much higher. The pair’s collaborations start seeing the light of day imminently with Spirit Level / Return To Sender on Trex’s Trust Audio dropping on July 1. More will follow as both artists are enjoying the creative flow.
“Collabs don’t work with everyone, even if you’re mates,” says Trex. “Sometimes you can vibe with someone, other times it just doesn’t quite work for whatever reason. For me it’s all in the stems. When Mat sends over stems they’ve got so much energy I want to do something with them.”
“He just gets it. He knows what to do when I’ve sent him a track and he sends me things that I get inspired by,” adds Mat T>I. “We’re both kinda similar ages and come from a similar style of drum & bass. We’re both really inspired by that original Ed Rush & Optical sound. We both love minimal rolling tunes and we both love steppy type of sounds. I think we’re both creating the same type of vibe even though we make quite different tunes individually. It just works.”
With no plans on stopping their collab series any time soon, this could be the start of an exciting tag-team fixture in drum & bass… And possibly beyond. Trex hints that they’ve dabbled in 140 sounds while T>I has said that other big D&B label owners have expressed an interest in some of their dubs.
The first of fruits of these link-ups are out soon on Trust Audio, the rest are expected to follow throughout the year. Follow both Trex and T>I’s socials for more information as they can reveal it.
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Trex & T>I – Return To Sender / Spirit Level is out July 1 on Trust Audio
