Inness Hallam is a multi-instrumentalist producer carving his own sound in the electronic dance music world. At just 19 he has proven his abilities with various remixes, edits and his debut release Fly. Pairing hard-hitting beats and grooves with a mature approach to melodies and harmonies, the UK-based producer draws influences from the likes of Jamie xx, Mura Masa and Daktyl to carve his own intriguing sound.
His debut release ‘Fly’ with the B-Side ‘Perfect’ is out now, download HERE.
In this interview, we discuss the newest release, influences, and more.
Full Q&A, links, and a stream of Fly below.
https://soundcloud.com/innesshallam/sets/inness-hallam-fly-perfect
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I really enjoy making this genre of music just because there is no limit to where you can go with each song and every artist can add in their own personal influences.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
I started creating music when I was about 10 years old and played the drums in a rock group with some friends and loved the idea of bouncing ideas around the room and just messing around to see what we came up with! I probably began producing electronic music when I first got a copy of Garageband about 5 years ago and started to mess around with synths and samples to try and recreate my favourite songs at the time. Every time I am proud of a song I have made I try to share it somehow, whether on social media through Facebook and Soundcloud or even just showing my friends just to see what people think.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
Sometimes I’ll just hear a specific chord used in a song that will make me want to start writing. Or I might hear a tune with a good bpm to dance to and want to use it myself. Most of the time if I don’t have any ideas in mind ill just try to sit down and write whatever I can. I have found that I can use these sessions to experiment with different techniques or plug-ins for whenever a good idea randomly comes to me. The main thing that motivates me to keep going is purely down to how much I love writing and creating music and trying to achieve something different every time I try to make a new song.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
For this project I didn’t really set something to accomplish but was just a process of adding different ideas over around 8 months time. The song Fly started as a chord progression which I played about with, having the intention to go out of my comfort zone harmonically. While on a train journey back from Bristol, I was trying to create a synth sound that could represent something rapidly spinning around like a fan or a rotor on an organ. After making that basic idea to the synth, I paired it with the chords progression to make the drop for Fly.
What was the last song you listened to?
Really random but the last song I listened to was Like I Love You by Justin Timberlake off his debut solo album. Really cool song with some amazing drums.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I usually listen to MP3 just because its easiest to listen to wherever I can but when I’m at home I probably spend most time listening to vinyl, purely just for that richer sound.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I tend to use Apple Music just because I have an Apple laptop and phone so it was much easier to transfer my existing iTunes library over. I also like some of the features it has like the Beats One Radio and the fact that they get a lot of exclusives.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
Because of my unusual name, its pretty easy to find me most platforms of social media like Facebook, Soundcloud, Instagram and Twitter. You can also find me on the Vulpine Records website at http://www.vulpinerecords.com/inness-hallam/ .
What have you got planned next? Can we expect more music soon?
I’m planning on bringing out another single in the very near future so it’s at the stage where its all coming together now so getting really excited about it. Not sure if I can say who yet, but I’m working in the studio with a female vocalist which is sounding awesome and can’t wait for that to drop! Also hoping to release an EP next year which I’ve never done before so I’m looking forward to making a larger project.
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Obviously a huge shout out to Vulpine Records for their massive support, a great label with some great artists. Also a big thanks to everyone who’s helped me get to this point including Purple Melon and MidTenMusic for the encouragement!
