Interview: Butane

American house DJ. producer, and label owner Butane has left a pretty substantial dent upon the world of international club music.

As a producer, his music has made its way onto labels such as Fuse Records, SCI+TEC, and Balance Music, while his time as a label owner has seen him oversee the release of sounds from names like Rone White, Mr. Bizz, and Archila.

Having just returned to his Extrasketch imprint for the release of his latest Rumble In The Jungle EP, Butane drops two brand new house cuts that offer deeply rooted club drums alongside highly playful, yet equally robust, percussive grooves.

We caught up with him recently, where we spoke about the new release, what we might expect to see on his Little Helpers label in the coming months, and his creative process in the studio. Get the full discussion below.

You just returned to your Extrasketch label for the release of your new ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ EP, talk us through the two originals on this one?

I’ve loved this vocal sample since way back in the day, and it’s something I’ve played around with over the years as an acapella in my DJ sets. Last year during lockdown I had plenty of studio time, so I finally decided to write a couple of tracks around it. The first is a drum-led tribal tech house number, it kind of just grooves hypnotically along as one should. The second is a darker and straighter track, with a fairly static, old trance-style bassline and a 303-acid lead. Just a couple of things from my imagination that hopefully people can dig on the dancefloor.

Extrasketch has released exclusively your own music and collaborations, why no solo productions from other producers?

The remit for Extrasketch has always been to simply be a platform for my own studio projects. Nothing more. I accept demos for my other label, Little Helpers.

You also co-founded Little Helpers, where Rone White, Proudly People, and Jamie Jones have released over the years. Who else can we expect to see on there in the coming months?

We just released a Butane & Riko Forinson collaborative EP as LH385. Next up is a lovely minimal house EP from Dow Jones of Venezuela. Then Jasmith, an artist from Chile. After that, maybe a few surprises later in 2022.

And how about your own music? Which other labels will you be appearing on in the near future?

As I’m releasing most of my solo work, I’ve really scaled back on releasing on other labels. That said, I do still like to sprinkle things out to people who are doing good work. I have a solo 2-track EP scheduled next year on my friend Mike’s label Toy Opulent. Also a Butane & Riko coming on 12″ on German label Cue, which has a really nice remix from Nima Gorji, another Butane & Riko EP on Fuse, and I have a remix coming on 12″ from a label in Italy called Weaponsofmasslove. All this should hit during the first half of 2022.

Your music includes a lot of fun and quirky percussive elements, do you sample your own instruments or work from existing samples?

All sounds are fair game in my studio. I record things. I sample things. I use everything under the sun. The more sources you incorporate into your music, the more personal your sound gets. Layers upon layers of sound. Process is everything.

And what are some of your go to synths when creating stuff like leads, pads, and basslines?

Right now I’m really liking the Novation Bass Station for techno style leads and basslines. And I’ve been going back to Native Instrument’s Massive a bit lately, after forgetting about it for years. It’s a great VST.

How do you find inspiration for your studio sessions?

Coffee. Also, I’m just an audio nerd at heart. It’s never hard for me to sit down and start jamming. I recently built a new studio room, and that definitely gave me a shot of inspiration. How can you not get excited to make music when you have a room full of toys and it sounds so good in there? It’s like clubbing by myself and I get to experiment with the music while no one is listening. You should hear some of the weirder stuff that doesn’t make it out.

And what’s one thing outside of music that you enjoy?

I don’t think it’s a big secret to people who know me, but I love to cook, and I collect wine. There are so many similarities in cooking and making music. I guess my brain is just wired that way.

Is there anything else you would like to mention before we go?

Yes. Get vaccinated. Get your booster shot. And wear your mask where necessary to protect others. Act like an adult. It’s not that hard.

Butane – Rumble In The Jungle EP is out now on Extrasketch.