Whether you've seen electronic funk and soul producer Cheshire wielding his alto sax on the decks or just bumping his tunes, it's a safe claim that he's certified at putting the F U N in "Funk". In fact, one can tell just by the fresh patterns in his attire that he's taking it to a whole new level. And that's not even counting the refreshing, bass-driven tunes he's built his name around. Shaun Clifford, the man behind the Cheshire project, has spent years nurturing this sound and style. While a small benchmark in the path of Cheshire, his best abilities manifest themselves in the latest Sugar Flip EP.
In a vibrant celebration of music, Cheshire conducts a party of funk, sax, and soul in his exclusive mix with us. If that's not enough, we also got some words from the producer himself. So plug in for a dose of Cheshire's mixing mastery, while you read our interview with him below.
Tracklist:
Cheshire - "Liquid Smooth"
Cheshire - "Shout It Out"
Cheshire - "The Crocodile"
Cheshire - "Hoodoo Voodoo" ft Raye Cole
Cheshire - "Juicy Beat"
Cheshire - "More Good Times" (Synergy Remix)
Cheshire - "Dream Sipping"
Cheshire - "Lights Camera Action" Ft. Everyman
Cheshire - "Push On ft SKNOW"
Cheshire - "Future Manoeuvre"
Def3 - "Fill your soul" (Cheshire Remix)
Cheshire - "Sugar" flip ft Def3
Hey Shaun, how are you doing these days?
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I’m doing well thanks Mike. I’m currently living in Byron Bay after a recent move from Melbourne which has actually been a blessing creatively. Leaving the stress and pressure of a city lifestyle has been relaxing which in turn has lead to much more writing these days.. more than I have ever done.
You just came off of a run in Canada... how was it? What's the Canadian scene like?
Canada is fantastic for my style, Canadians love funky music and even more so if it’s electronic. The general vibe and people are awesome over there, too.
And you just released an EP Sugar Flip. Tell me about your production set up... what software, gear, and instruments are you using to produce?
So I recently switched over to using Ableton after using Cubase for forever and I love it. It has such a better workflow and seems a lot more intuitive, along with that I record in guitar, bass, sax and keys (virus synth) where I need too. I am definitely a fan of VSTs also, Keyscape/omnisphere/serum and Harmor are my go to plugins. In this particular EP a lot of the synth lines you hear are actually re-synthesised saxophone played back through harmor.
To get to the nitty gritty: what kind of ideas in and about the world fuel Cheshire's musical output?
I love anything that pushes emotion. I go through phases where I like to create fun, playful bass driven music while at other times more thought provoking music like my album “Between Dreams”. It often correlates to how I am feeling within myself at any particular time.
You've been rolling with the Westwood Recordings crew out of Vancouver for some time. How'd that all come together and how has it been with them?
In all honesty Westwood is the best label I have worked with to date. They are professional and are always supporting their artists in a variety of ways whether it be advice, help with tours, syncs etc. I approached Nick a few years ago now with my last album after looking for a bit of a new direction that was more artistically and musically focused rather than the super heavy glitch hop vibe.
Now you're set to go on tour Down Under. What's got you excited about it?
Everything about it really, it’s a great set of shows and I’m thrilled to be able to play out all this new material (and even some more new unreleased) to my home based peeps.
What boggles your mind more than anything?
That’s a loaded question, haha. Well I guess if you want to get deep... what boggles my mind is how all our beliefs, thoughts and understanding of the world around us is just a collection of all our previous experiences and how we react to these experiences determines how we view the world.
When you're not immersed in music, what kinds of things are you up to?
Surfing, Camping, Road tripping, Travelling, Sound design for all sorts of weird and wonderful projects.
Last, but not least: What's some quick Cheshire Wisdom the world could benefit from?
Life’s short and there is always a way to do what you love.
Stream and download Cheshire's new Sugar Flip EP here
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