Always experimenting, always delivering. 

Deft has been a cornerstone of the experimental bass music scene for years. Drawing from a wide range of influences, the universe of the London-based DJ, producer, and sound designer is so diverse that it defies easy description. Breakbeat, deep dubstep, drum & bass, footwork—his music is a surprising blend of exceptional sounds.

Today, he brings us the latest installment in our Adrenaline guest mix series, along with a brief interview.

Enjoy this new episode!

Who is Deft?

Deft has now become whatever I want to be. It’s taken me a long time to understand and accept what I want Deft to be, and realizing the realities in today’s world of what being an artist, or a DJ, or a producer means. I love making music, and it’s all about the process for me, so Deft is my outlet to have fun, be serious, experiment, and explore new ventures with music.

You recently released a remix of Kruz Leone on Ninja Tune, what’s the story behind it?

So, this single was actually released via Ninja Tune Production Music (their Library Music) rather than Ninja Tune the label.

I’ve been working full-time as a music producer / sound designer for just over 3 years now, after 11 or so years of juggling working part-time in various music-related jobs and producing. Now my bread-and-butter is writing music for media, including for TV / Ads / Film / Games / Trailers, including working with NTPM, while writing any artist projects alongside this.

‘Ready & Live’ was a remix of a track by Kruz as part of Jammer’s project with Ninja Tune Production Music ‘UK Rap Vol. 1’; an album of music as the title suggests, but made for use in media/sync. NTPM were really into it, so they wanted to release it as a single.

You can hear & see a selection of my commercial work over at yipwongmusic.com

In June, you put out the club-focused ‘Two Years’ EP on Sherelle and Naina’s label, Hooversound. We can hear some drum & bass, techno, dubstep, leftfield influences. What/who were your inspirations for this project?

The main inspiration was the genres you’ve just mentioned; I have a deep love for all functional club music (functional in the sense of the music being simple, effective, accessible, and serving the purpose for the club) and I’ve always felt like I’ve never been able to make it very well. So with this record, I wanted to shake off my inhibitions and just go for it. It still has my own sound and twist, but I think I got pretty close to what I envisaged, and I’m very happy with the results.

What’s one piece of equipment or VST you can’t live without?

My workflow doesn’t include much hardware at all, I often find it’s a faff or too easy to get lost in what you’re doing – don’t get me wrong, it’s so fun, and I love it when I can dedicate time to just fucking around and experimenting with hardware synths and effects, but it’s difficult to find time to do this with life & work, so I usually just want to get ideas out as quick as possible.
At this moment, it’s either Soft Tubes free Saturator Knob VST or Kilohearts’ Shaper Table. I’m using either of those in every session. They both give color, fullness, presence, saturation, and distortion, used on buses or single channels. Both are really simple plugins that add a lot when used sparingly but can also crush & destroy if needed. I’m all about the quick & simple plugins to give an instant result.

What can we expect from Deft in the future?

More music is coming, I’ve just finished up RMXS-2 (a few of them are in this mix), the next in my remix/edit pack series which should be out in September on my Bandcamp, with the Instrumentals to follow on DSPs, a few remixes, a sample pack and a collab EP which I’m really, really excited about people hearing. It’s been a long time coming, and it’s with one of my really good friends. This should all be out before 2025 (fingers crossed)!

Next year, I’m thinking about changing things up a bit. I’m always looking for something new to get stuck into and challenge myself with so I’ll know what that is when it comes.

Where do you recommend listening to this Adrenaline episode, and in what state of mind?

Be in an active state of mind; at the gym, getting ready for the dance, traveling, cleaning, whatever you want. It’s a mix of music I’ve been loving at the moment.

What’s your favorite song in the mix, and why?

It’s got to be Crosstalk – Watch, I’ve been banging that out a lot. I love how the track is mixed, and functionally / emotionally it ticks all the boxes. Also, Manni Dee & UNIQU3’s track, what an absolute banger.

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