A Chat With B.Love
We catch up with the Fresh and quirky house maestro ahead of his new EP on bizarre Traxx, 'If You Like It You Like It'
An artist in evolution, B.Love is the evolved moniker of the previous “Buddy Love”, under which the producer delivered some more downtempo, abstract beats and sounds. Right now, B.Love is mostly focused on delivering some of the freshest house music sounds, as you can hear in his productions from the latest Bizarre Traxx release, but also in his mixes (he recently released an exclusive recording for our series “STUNTS”, listen here).
All in all Buddy is one of the most exciting acts of the new school of UK’s underground house - we are delighted to have a chat with him, discussing some music takes and production insights, how Bizarre Traxx is the perfect creative hub for him and his next endeavours.
More about B.Love
Listen as you read: B.Love’s mix for our mix series ‘STUNTS’
B.Love
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B.Love 〰️
Your new record on Bizarre Trax is out now, the 'If You Like It You Like It' EP - a dangerously bouncy, groovy house record that combines a top notch and original production style with fun vibes on all fronts. Can you tell us a bit about the record? When and how did it come to life?
‘If You Like It You Like It’ was spawned a few years back, it was my first venture into more dance-orientated music, as what I was making before was slightly more downtempo and vocal based. I’d been inspired by this style of music for a long time and we’d been slowly ticking away with our Bizarre Trax sound behind closed doors when these tracks just sort of fell into place. ‘Umbrella Vision’ was the first track I made from the EP and is still my fave haha, the rest followed after and then we decided on it being the second Bizarre EP shortly after my best buds Felon5’s record.
I feel like samples play a big role in these compositions, but I also sense a hardware part at its core. How were these four tracks produced?
Yeah, wacky, quirky and fun samples definitely play a big part in my music and a lot of the stuff we do with Bizarre Trax. It helps add a very welcomed bit of humour to the music, which I think helps us sculpt our particular sound. These tracks were made mainly in the box apart from programming a large element of the drums (and actually some of the melody parts) on my Elektron Digitakt, a Korg Minilogue for some of the synth parts plus a microphone for the vocoders 🤖.
“Wacky, quirky and fun samples definitely play a big part in my music and a lot of the stuff we do with Bizarre Trax. It helps add a very welcomed bit of humour to the music.”
There's a certain funkyness in your productions which really strikes me in each piece. I was wondering, what would you say are your main musical influences outside of electronic music?
I’ve always been a huge disco, funk & soul fan. The party I used to run many moons ago before we started Bizarre Trax was a disco party that the Felon boys actually helped me with now & then haha. I still listen to a large amount of soul music every day and I think there’s elements to how these tracks are made that I try to implement into my work in a strange way. Mainly in the drum parts used, acoustic drum elements (snares, fills & hats), brass stabs, real sounding bass lines and just as much groove as is possible with a laptop.
'If You Like It You Like It' EP artwork
What is the Bizarre Trax project all about? Where is it headed into 2022 and beyond?
Bizarre Trax is a real home for us to be able to express ourselves in so many different ways. It’s been a real turning point for me since we started getting serious with it. I’ve worked with other labels and parties before but this was the first that felt like a proper family all with the same vision & goal, it definitely helps that we’ve all been best pals for years too. 2022 we keep pushing how we know best!
We’re doing Bizarre Showcases all over Europe, keeping the London crowd happy with a slew of parties, the next being our 3rd birthday at Pickle Factory, plus the label will continue ticking away with plans set out for the next few vinyl releases from our in-house music makers + more music from illusive producers on our TAN output. 👀
“I still listen to a large amount of soul music every day and I think there’s elements to how these tracks are made that I try to implement into my work in a strange way.”
You recently recorded a beautiful deep and groovy mix for our mix series STUNTS. Where did you record this mix? Did you have a concept for it, or was it performed on the go, leaving space to improvisation?
The mix was recorded in my (at the time) new flat in North East London on a set of Technics & 2 old CDJs that I borrowed from my housemate's girlfriend (thanks Amelia!). I knew it was coming out during the fairly depressing winter months so I wanted to contrast that by making it as positive and summery as possible. Laying down records I'd been playing out and at different parties (and in my living room lol) for the past few months and finally giving them a home on a podcast. Channelling smooth > sexy > funky > wonky but all round positive vibes. I had been planning and setting records aside for it for months so it flowed out quite nicely once I finally got round to recording :)
You used to produce under the moniker Buddy Love - since a few years, it is now B.Love. What change of path came with this name switch?
The name switch came from feeling a new lease of life in my productions and the way I was DJing. I had been producing under Buddy since 2015 and things never really seemed to fall into place for me. I didn’t want to completely rebrand because most people i know in London actually know and call me Buddy now haha… But I wanted to give it a new lick of paint to coincide with the new sounds. There’s actually still some productions in the works for a new EP under the old moniker, I don't want it to die completely, I think it’s a good thing to have an output to release more downtempo sounds.
What are your wishes for the rest of 2022, as a DJ and producer?
I have a few one off tracks coming out on various VAs over the first half of the year and a very busy summer of gigs. Hoping to get the follow up EP out towards the end of the year alongside another mix I imagine. Excited to progress and play in front of lots more people for the remainder of the year :)
Thank you so much B and all the best for your music endeavors - keep it up!!
Thanks for having me guys, it has been a real pleasure ❤️
