The Person is an Irish composer best known for his fierce productions and experimental style. Definitely not someone to stick to one format, his take on tunes can only be described as experimental electro and acidy, breaky techno (sorry not sorry).

With releases on Acroplane and Alkalinear Records he’s responsible for bending the ear of those who seek music to blow their minds and offers a change to the hum drum of trending electronic music often heard today. His live sets have left a lasting impression on those who managed to catch him on the rare occasion that he plays out so we highly encourage you to stick on his most recent set and keep reading!

What was your first rave experience? 

When i was 15 i lived in Colchester with my brother and a friend and we use to go to free rave parties, squats and the secret gigs in fields. Nobody i knew really took e’s that much back then mostly acid, seeing “A Guy Called Gerald” DJ back then, good times! 


What is it about electronic music you love in comparison to other forms of music ?

I love all music, my Da was a musician so i grew up with a lot of jazz which i still love. Electronic music was just something i fell in love/addiction with.

Does being a classically trained musician change the way you approach making a tune? 

Not really when it comes to electronic based music but more for soundtrack or ads etc. Or when you’re working with other musicians who read and write music. Sometimes i think you have to watch being too clinical when writing lines, it’s one of the reasons i like using analogue synths a lot you just tune them to your own ear, find what feels and sounds good to you.

What musicians/DJs  inspire you and why?

Anyone who is open minded and respects music. Stuff i grew up with, Vangelis, Jean Michelle Jarre, Cabaret Voltaire, Afrika Bambatta, Grandmaster Flash to LFO, Future Sounds of London, Autechre, B12, Aphex Twin, Boards Of Canada – anything on Warp really just had that magic thing that made me think i wanna do that.

These days Richard Devine, Datach’i, Clark and in Ireland there are some great artists now like Swarm Intelligence, Lakker, Defekt, IXRQ, Sunken Foal, Cailín, Code (Subtle Audio/Bustle Beats) and you guys at Skirmish (edit: awww, thanks 😉 I’ve worked a lot with Acroplane, Paul is always on point and Jimmy Penguin of course. 

What’s the most memorable set you played and why?

We did a night in Leitrim with Cylob, Ian from Lakker DJ’d, people were there from all over so had a good flow, everyone had a great time for the 2 days.

What tune, past or present, stands out to you and why? 

Impossible to say one thing. I love Mahler’s 5th. Both sides of Analord 10 are pretty amazing still. I have a bootleg set by Autechre from 2005 when “Untilted” came out. 


As we’ve seen dance music grow in popularity what do you see as being the biggest changes?

It’s hard to say if it pushes people more or music has lost some of it’s magic but i think the internet has changed all music hugely for good and bad. 

I like how much more people are inclusive but just the amount of music now is crazy. The volume wars, maybe I’m just getting old!


If you’re stuck on a dessert island what is the one instrument you’d like to have (you have enough electricity to keep that running but no phone haha also no laptop allowed) 

Ha, it would be tough to live without a piano, I’ve always been around one. Maybe that but a good modular set up, tuned room and decent speakers. A few chickens for eggs in the morning and some spinach and an avocado tree. 


Tell us about your last album – what gear did you use, process and inspiration behind it?

I mostly used out board gear (modular set up with Beat Step Pro, Rene MK2) MS20, OBM1000, S6000, Roland JD990, Makie desk some EQs with Reaktor as my utilities, recording into Logic just using it like a tape recorder, then mixing with various plugins.

I’ve used computers a lot to make music over the years and it just became very repetitive, so i just wanted to get back to where i started twiddling knobs and pushing buttons. That said computers are an important part of making and mixing music for me, probably the most powerful bit of gear you can use to make music. 

“Rising Past 13” is a reference to getting over superstition. 

Plans for the next album? 

I’m working on a new “Primary Node” EP and then i have an electro EP  i started for “The Person”.


What advice would you give to new producers and musicians ? 

It’s important to listen but what’s more important is to find your own sound. It might not be as good as all the people you rate at first but as you know, the more you do a thing the better you’ll get. 

Thanks to Alex for the interview. Make sure to check out his aliases The Person and Primary Node. 

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