K
astle, aka Barrett Richards, the dynamic producer behind Symbols Recordings, recently celebrated the release of his eponymous 15 track debut album, 'Kastle'. Premiered at the popular hybrid culture shop, The Well, in Los Angeles, Kastle's dreamy soundscapes combine West Coast beat science, the saturated nostalgia of chillwave and r&b balladry, alongside vocals guest spots from the likes of Xavier, Austin Paul and Atlas. With a hefty 15 years of experience under his
belt, including using previous moniker B. Rich, and releases on such prestigious labels as Scion/AV, Ministry of Sound, Ultra Records, Mad Decent and Slow Roast, his transformation into an internationally recognized producer is now taking place.
Originally hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he credits the rise of the internet for access to the tools he needed to get his start as a producer: “I would frequent IRC channels and trade music, get production ideas, etc. It's just continued to grow since then.” With his studio now based in San Francisco, he's taken the reins of his own musical destiny, mastering and releasing the album, which he describes as “soulful electronic music”, himself. Stand outs include the slow, synth-infused house shuffle of 'Red Light', featuring Ayah Marar, and 'Without You', a future anthem with lush pads, clicky percussion, heavy low end and the heavily manipulated vocals of Austin Paul. Popular drum and bass vocalist Armanni Reign brings his swagger to the epically icy hip-hop cut 'Timeless', which also features Domonique Porter. Not one to hold back on quality, Barrett worked with no less than eight vocalists.
He credits Moby as one of his earliest influences, as well as classic hip-hop, while finding further inspiration in the realms of science, philosophy and art. “Mostly writers and great thinkers. Emerson, Nietzsche, Einstein, Marcus Aurelius, Lao Tzu, Carl Sagan. Eternal knowledge.”
As to what other musicians he's been listening to recently, he tells us: “The new Bonobo album is fantastic. I've also been constantly listening to Austin Paul's debut EP, 'Velvet'. The new Nosaj Thing, Rhye, Sweatson Klank and James Blake releases have all been on heavy rotation too.”
Finding down time after last year's Stay Forever tour to complete the album, Kastle says all the collaborations were done in the online realm. Describing the emotionally charged group of songs and how they came to be, he tell us: “I remember writing JMSN a huge email one day discussing our collaborations and the message
I wanted to get across. That turned into 'Make You Stay'.” “JMSN and I linked up after I did a remix for him,” he adds on the logistics of all the hook ups. “Austin Paul hit me up randomly on Soundcloud. Ayah Marar hit me up on Twitter. I found Xavier on Tumblr. I released Atlas' debut EP on my label last year. Reva DeVito also had a track out with Jason Burns on my label. Armanni Reign, Domonique Porter and Starkey are all long time friends. All of these connections just came together at the right moment so I think it just compelled me to write this album. “All of the collaborations felt very comfortable and even though each artist had no idea what the rest of the album sounded like, I feel all of the vocals work together very well.” Outlining his live set-up as “an Akai Max49, MOTU Audio Express and my MacBook Pro, I play all my synth parts live with a lot of improv,” he gave a stellar performance at this year's Coachella, some party goers touting it as the highlight of The Do Lab stage, as well making recent appearances in Miami, New York, New Haven, Boston, Victoria, San Francisco, Seattle, Calgary, Vancouver, Chicago, Nelson, Edmonton, Orange County, Los Angeles and Mexico City. With the music world turning it's head to listen, his production style has also caught the ear of many established names. After remixing artists as diverse as Sade, Kill The Noise and Frank Ocean, his rework of Ellie Goulding's 'My Blood', part of her 'Halcyon' remix album, showcased his trademark pitched-down vocal, trap style hats and intricate shuffled beats. Talking about the process of remixing Ellie's track, he tells DJ Mag USA: “ I had so much fun working on that. Interscope hit me up to do the remix for their Nike compilation/collaboration. The entire remix album is fantastic and it really does Ellie's voice justice. She's been super supportive of my music as well. I actually haven't been doing many remixes recently as I had blocked off all my time for the album. I made an exception for Ellie.” Aside from his self written productions and consistent touring schedule, Kastle runs his own Symbols imprint, which launched last summer. Starting off with his own 'Stay Forever EP', he's kept the momentum going with a mantra of 'The feeling is the genre' and music from artists such as Jason Burns and Cosmic Revenge. Shying away from typical genre classifications or bass music cliches, Symbols has breathed new life into the US bass music community with plenty more to come. “I have a really exciting summer planned,” beams Barrett as he signs off, listing releases from iO Sounds & Lakosa, Paces, Jaw Jam and Sweater Beats, as well as remix EPs of two album singles, 'Red Light' and 'Make You Stay'.
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