TropicalBass talks to: Tim Healey

Tropicalbass is quite happy in bringing an Exclusive Interview, a video premiere and a FREE song with Tim Healey!!
Electrobass pioneer!!! and in case you dont know which song he made…
Coburn’s we interrupt this program became the “official anthem” of NEDM and subsequentely all cat lovers anthem in the planet!!

SO… let’s begin with this interview
TB It is wicked to have you here with us.. Many people perhaps don’t know you as a solo artist, but you were part of Coburn!
Basically one of the godfathers bands of electro! Why did you decide to become a solo artist if you guys (Coburn) were even in a FIFA videogame soundtrack?

TH: Coburn was a trip – we really captured something there – but that was 5 years ago, and now I am still touring the globe and running 2 labels: Surfer Rosa Records and Giant Pussy Records. We have regular releases and I kick out tunes, mixes and constantly scout the globe for the hottest new tunes – which we release and I play in my DJ sets. It’s no secret that I am not football’s biggest fan – I guess I discovered girls, alcohol and cigarettes when most people got into soccer. So i really dont know much about the FIFA soundtrack.

TB :about your own productions.. how has electro, dubstep and globalbass from other producers influenced you because you basically were one of the originators?

TH: In the early 00s, we starting messing around with a rocky vibe, sleazy house groove and hard digital editing. The result was electro-house. We didn’t know that what we were doing would create a sub-genre of dance-music, but the word “electro” started to be associated with the Coburn sound. I cannot lay claim to the dub-step noise, but the bass-led music was something that we championed on my label Giant Pussy Records, and look out for my forthcoming release with Deekline.

TB: What is you opinion of “laptop producer’ or “home producers”?

TH: I love them – I may run a studio with loads of juicy kit in it, but I am constantly amazed by talented producers like Dirtyloud who work on a relatively small set up and get extraordinary results.

TB: Moombahton, cumbia, dubstep are still not very predominant in your own productions.. what is your musical or personal opinion about these genres?

TH: I’m not sure that’s totally correct! My dubstep remix of Loneliness by Tomcraft was released on Ultra last year and appeared to do well, and I would file Tempting to touch ft legendary toaster and MCTop Cat (from my LP) as Moombahton, my label, Surfer Rosa, releases dubstep remixes of most of our singles – the Rock It Roll It dubstep mix by Dirtyloud was at no.1 in the Beatport dubstep chart for 7 weeks earlier this year, and from my LP tracks like Believe him and Resistance lean in a decidedly dubsteppy direction.

TB: Your solo stuff has very wicked basslines, how do you create them?

BTW..get this one for FREE
TIM HEALEY VS FELGUK – THAT’S THE WAY – *FREE DOWNLOAD* by Tim Healey

VIDEO PREMIERE!!

TH: A mixture of techniques… it really varies – sometimes I programme a synth – typically the Moog or Nord G2 – I tend to use real synths rather than soft synths – not sure why, I just feel more comfortable out of the computer. Sometimes I make bass-lines from individual sample hits, and then pitch them and groove them up.

TB: You have played with pretty much everyone, from The Prodigy, to Tomcraft, Atomic Drop, Freqhouse, Pete Martin and an arsenal of vocalists from SirReal (Freestylers/Pendulum) to the legendary toaster Top Cat .. Have you picked any production/performance “trick” from each one?

TH: Regarding performing, I have been Djing for more than 20 years, and though I am still learning – there’s not a lot that really blows me away. Touring with artists like the ones you listed both exposes you to their techniques, and also makes you quietly confident that you know what you are doing, when, occasionally, you rock the dancefloor more than they do! IN the studio – it is a different story: working with vocalists as talented as SirReal and Top Cat, and producers like the ones you mention and Calvertron is a definite buzz, as they are so naturally gifted they bring a vibe to the studio which is second to none.