West Magnetic Interview

It is not too often that we at DHN get a real opportunity to explore something brand new when it comes to house music. So West Magnetic isn’t exactly new to house music, but he has stayed very quietly on the underground and remains for the most part a mysterious moniker mostly known for his music on Om Records and !Records and more recently, Ultrasound Recordings.
So who is West Magnetic? Where does he come from, and how does he manage to come up with such tantalizing music every time.
Earlier this summer saw ‘The Fire EP’ on Ultrasound Recordings clear the stores becoming played more for it’s mysterious B side, “Real” as well as the sultry side A. Another dark, deep and jazzy number, “Foolish” is about to drop also on Ultrasound, which seems to the label of choice for this talented world player.
Stripped down and face to face, Pier Shu-Lutman the man behind the mysterious pseudonym chats openly about likes, dislikes, inspirations and also about his latest project “Top Down”.

DHN: Why do you choose to produce under the name West Magnetic and where did the name come from?

WM: It all started as a side project. I was releasing some tracks with OM Records and they needed a name. I was out in L.A. working on a video game soundtrack when they called me and basically said, “Pier, we need a name A.S.A.P!”
The name came from the whole L.A. vibe, and the pull it has on artists. I was also influenced heavily by the tracks that were coming off the West Coast at that time and I wanted something that captured the style. I used a term from when I was a bike courier. I lived in the west end of Toronto and I was always trying to get deliveries out there so I could drop by home or go home early. They called me was “West Magnetic”.

DHN: What has been your own favourite track that you have produced?

WM: That’s a hard question. I can’t really name one, but I’m liking the vibe of “Give It Up For Free” that’s coming out soon. It has this dark melodic vibe that I’ve never heard before.

DHN: At one point you seemed set to become another one of OM Records great successes, having released a number of great tracks on the label. What was your relationship with the label like?

WM: My relationship with OM was excellent. I have nothing against them at all. However, I went through a major life upheaval, I moved into a house that I share with my girlfriend and her daughter and I stopped making music for a little while. When I started to produce again, I was tired of dealing with out-of-town labels. Fedex, fax, long distance calls etc. I had dealt with Om for a year before I actually met any of them and was tired of it. I decided to look locally for a label to release my stuff.

DHN:Lately though, we have seen and heard most of your music coming from Toronto-based Ultrasound Recordings, what is the relationship there?

WM: Ultrasound is a force to be reckoned with. When I first met Chad, I could tell he was behind it 150%, he was totally devoted to the music and the artists on his roster. When I started with Ultrasound, they hadn’t released a record yet but I heard the quality of music that the label was set to release and I decided to sign on. Like any start up label, there were some hurdles and many learning experiences but they seem to have all the bugs ironed out now.

DHN: Does it help you as a producer to be in the same city as the label you are working closest with?

WM: Definitely! Nothing can beat the one-on-one relationship that I have with Ultrasound. They only have a small number of exclusive artists, so we get more individual attention. The cheque is never in the mail, I can just bike over and pick it up. All the marketing/promo stuff is all discussed before hand, plus he pays for all my “business” lunches. Ultrasound has the utmost faith in their artists. As a matter of fact, I was cash strapped at one point and he paid me for the Fire E.P. about a month before I even finished it.

DHN: Your last two singles on Ultrasound, ‘The Foolish EP” and the just released “Fire EP” feature some serious vocal talents, both male and female. Can you tell us something about them and why you like working with them?

WM: The vocalist that I work with the most is my girlfriend, Usra Leedham. Usra is a classically trained vocalist turned singer/songwriter. She sings, plays piano and guitar. Her music is totally different than the stuff that I write, as a matter of fact, most of her music doesn’t have any percussion. We live together, and that makes it extremely easy to write. The other day, we were getting ready to go out and I loaded up a track that I was working on. She started working out lyric and melody ideas while getting dressed.
Ian Yim was featured on the B-side of the Fire E.P. and is also amazingly talented. He plays drums, keys, guitar and bass; he sings and writes the catchiest pop tunes out there and is a professional hip-hop dancer. He was the one responsible for Usra and I getting together and I just finished a remix for Ian’s singer/songwriter girlfriend, Emma Cook. It’s great to have a small network of musicians to call upon and quite often our house parties just turn into late night/early morning jam sessions.

DHN: I also have reason to believe there is a full length West Magnetic album set to drop sometime in the near future, what is the story with that?

WM: Yeah, the album’s called “Top Down” and it’s coming out in October. It will be the first full length album that Ultrasound has released by one of their exclusive artists. I’ve heard a lot of positive feed back from some major players. Our distributor, Intergroove, is very excited about it, and that is apparently kinda rare.

DHN: What can we expect from the new album?

WM: What I love about albums is that they give room for an artist to experiment. If I want to write a down-tempo track in 3/4 time, I can do it. The two singles to be released off this album give a good indication of the general feel of “Top Down”. The first single is “Light In Me” and features Usra on vocals. This track is similar to the deep house/vocal house sound on the Fire E.P. and has Usra playing acoustic guitar. The second single is “Give It Up For Free” and is a lot darker. It also features Usra on vocals and lyrically it explores the down side of club culture. The track has this great feel and a haunting vocal melody that is more in line with the stuff that Usra writes for herself.

DHN: Do you think your own sound has progressed or changed since you began making music and where do you notice those changes most?

WM: I have definitely changed from when I first started making music. Sometimes I find tapes of my old music, stuff written over ten years ago, and I just laugh my head off. My first keyboard was an old Roland D-10 and I was influenced heavily by industrial music, Skinny Puppy and Front 242. The stuff I wrote was really silly. Currently, my major complaint that I have with house music is that it is so disposable. For example, the track “Give It Up For Free” off the new album is such a nice song that I experimented with taking the beat out of it. It seems that as soon as a song has a house beat, it’s considered a lower form of art and not taken seriously. I enjoy writing house music, and my goal is to be more song oriented, stuff that will stick around for a while.

DHN: Where do you draw your own influences from?

WM: I don’t usually listen to house music except when I go out. I was raised on CBC radio, which is the Canadian equivalent of the BBC. I grew up constantly listening to classical music and the music in my home has always been calming. The CDs that are in high rotation in my CD player are: D’Angelo, Musiq, Coldplay, Janis Joplin and my favourite music to work to is Glenn Gould’s “Goldberg Variations”. Most of my ideas come to me when I walk. I build beats around my walking rhythm and then by the time I get home the track is done in my head and I lay it down. This also explains why I never write Drum n’ Bass tracks!

DHN: What other DJs/producers and labels do you like?

WM: I’ve dusted off my1200’s and Iam practicing my DJing. I haven’t really submerged myself into the culture again so I can’t really answer this question. Try me again in a couple of weeks.

DHN: Besides music and producing, how else do you spend your free time?

WM: I actually do web design, mostly Flash animation. I just finished my own West Magnetic site and am about to put it up. I am also finishing up the recording of Usra’s album and her web site, www.usraleedham.com. I’m also a full-time father and that takes up most of my time. If I had the same amount of energy as my daughter, I’d probably be able to release an album a week!

www.westmagnetic.com
www.ultrasoundrecordings.com
www.atticspace.com

Aine