INTERVIEW: The Drifter
The Maeve Records co-founder might just be one of the most underrated artists in the world today…
Earlier this year a man known to his mom as Mark Flynn quietly walked up to the Pitch main stage for a four-hour set. Sandwiched between Avalon Emerson and Marvin & Guy, he had the task of entertaining 5000 plus punters on Saturday night from 8PM to midnight. What occurred was one of the best sets in the festival’s short history, and a mass outbreak of dancing punters scrambling to find someone who could answer the question, ‘What is the name of this DJ?!’ Well, his name is The Drifter: he’s Irish, he is Mano Le Tough is BFF’s, and he might just be one of the nicest guys on the planet. He is the sort of mate who would arrive at yours with a six-pack to cheer you up after you’ve received some bad news. On top of all this, he co-runs the Maeve label which feels like it’s been in a fine run of form since the very first release. This weekend he returns to Melbourne to headline Darklove at Glamorama. Ahead of his return we get lost in his deep blue eyes and asked him some questions…
Greystone’s Cove and South beach
You hail from a small town called Greystones in Ireland which has a population of under 20,000. According to irelandbeforeyoudie.com , the number one activity in Greystones is attending the Cove and South Beach where ‘there’s nothing more magical than walking down to the cove in the sunshine’. Greystones sounds lit ha. We assume that after everyone walked the cove, they must go party? After all, this sleepy town gave birth to you, Mano Le Tough and (we think) Baikal, the three of you joining forces to create one of the most dependable labels going around (Maeve). How did a sleepy town like Greystones give rise to three of the most credible DJs in the world?
Ha, you did your research! Fair play. Yeah, the cove is a lovely spot for a swim. Mano and I both grew up in Greystones, Baikal is from the Netherlands, and we met when we were living in Berlin. To answer your question, I think Ireland is quite a musical place and growing up we had some nice local raves growing up and a good Dublin scene going on, which helped inspire us all.
We are massive fans of your Cast Adrift radio show. It’s a platform that really gives you the freedom to spread your wings a bit musically, showcasing anything from ambient to techno. Have you considered taking that concept on the road and doing all night longs sets that fall in line with the musical progression of your radio show?
That’s great to hear, thanks! Yeah, I did think of doing a Cast Adrift party of some sort, with long hours and a variety of music. It would be great to do. Hopefully something for the future!
You’re no stranger to long sets, and earlier this year you played a tremendous four hour set at Pitch Music & Arts. For many who were there, it was the set of the festival. In your mind, how did that set go down? Any particular memories you left the festival with?
Cool, I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was great to have a few hours to work with and to be able to go all over the place. The Pitch crowd were super, glad people buzzed off it. I stayed down at Pitch for 5 days altogether, had a blast :-) A particular memory are the doof sticks, more doof sticks worldwide I say!
Your production output is of very high quality, but you release very intermittently. Is production something you rarely find time for, or you just extremely selective with what you remix/release and you have gigabytes of folders filled with unreleased music?
I work on production a lot. But yes I’m selective and also learning and improving all the time. I’ve lots of unreleased stuff and projects on the go. There is lots of new music on the way.
Maeve Records is just getting stronger and stronger. If you could play us only one song from the label which one would it be and why?
We have a lot of new music lined up that we are all very excited about! So I’m gonna say the A-Side from Baikal’s new EP, coming in October.
Your recent remix on Maeve is the excellent Underspreche remix which features that delectable breakdown when the melody just washes over the listener. Did you receive your electronic music upbringing in the classic uplifting trance days? If so, what was your favourite track for that period?
Ha, I can’t deny that euro-pop trance was in the charts growing up! Also can’t deny I’ve used a similar trance bass to “Meet her at the Love Parade” in some tracks ha.
We are really looking forward to your set in Melbourne! What is the one track we all should look out for during your set? Or what has been the most potent track in your set from the last couple of months?
Really looking forward to getting back to Melbourne! Love that city. One tune, hmmm, well I’m really enjoying this tune by Nathan Micay - This’ll Tell The Tale. A changing gears tune :-)
