We recently had the opportunity to catch up with the New York-based duo Castor & Pollux, the talented Producers behind the track, ‘Walk Away.’ As they joined forces with the Producer Ozgun, combining their individual styles and creative approaches, the duo created a dynamic and powerful track that has since been making energetic waves in the Electronic Music realm.
In this exclusive interview, Castor & Pollux share their creative process, delving into the inspiration behind ‘Walk Away,’ and giving us a glimpse into their collaboration with Ozgun. So, join us as we explore their creative journey and discover the story behind their latest release.
Hello Castor & Pollux! How are you?
Hey guys, we’re doing great. Thanks for having us!
Congrats on the release of ‘Walk Away’! Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the track?
Appreciate the kind words on ‘Walk Away’! For this track, the inspiration behind it was the entire Big Room Techno movement that really started to hit its stride late last year when we first started with the initial idea. With Techno, there are a lot of different elements that can be used, and we saw it as an opportunity to try something new on this record.
How did the collaboration with Ozgun come about on this one?
The collaboration came about with meeting at ADE last year. Since we both were moving towards that style, we thought it’d be cool to meet up and talk ideas on what we’d like to do and what direction we wanted to take the track.
Which elements of the track do you think best showcase your signature style?
The elements from the first drop best showcase our signature style, with the different synths and FXs creating a certain uniqueness to the track. In the initial idea, the first drop was totally different so making the necessary changes created a very cool vibe that we knew was needed.
Did you face any struggles during the production process? If so, how did you work to overcome them?
This track came together very easily. The process between us and Ozgun was very seamless in terms of sending the project back and forth for ideas, as well as carving out the track’s direction. Usually, there are pain points in collaborations, but we were extremely happy with the workflow that we created on this record.
How did you know that the track was finished?
Once we made the changes to the first drop and added elements to the break, the last thing we needed was the acid in the second drop to complete it.
The track is very synth modulation heavy, what synths are you using to create these sounds and what parameters are you manipulating over time to create movement?
Some of the VSTs we used in this record were Spire, Sylenth, Nexus and Serum. We also used some hardware for the acid. One of the things we used to create movement in the first drop was the channel pitch on the leads with a phaser to give the listener something different to hear.
The acid sound in the second drop is huge! Please explain how that was created, was it through a classic 303?
We all agreed that we needed an acid so Ozgun actually has an acid modulator to create that, so he put the finishing touches on that sound to create that acid sound that we all hear in the second drop.
How did you go about matching such a perfectly fitting vocal to this production? Did you start with the vocal beforehand or was it a different approach?
The vocal came about after we sent the first idea to Ozgun. Ozgun sent back another version with that vocal fitted in the break. At the time, the break didn’t have that arp in that section right after the first drop, so we added that to give it more air. The vocal fit in perfectly with the entire idea so when he gave us the project, we knew we had to keep it.
With such a synth-heavy track, it must have been difficult to mix the vocals and the synths, as they compete for space within the same range on the frequency spectrum, how did you overcome this on this production?
To be able to fit the vocal with the synths, a lot of EQing went into that with ducking frequencies and making sure nothing was clashing within the break.
What is one general mixing tip and one general mastering tip that helped you in this production?
Don’t ever look to crowd your mix and over-compress sounds in your productions. We tried to keep it as simple as possible in this track and we were extremely happy with the final result.
Could you name your three must-have mixing tools that you cannot live without?
FabFilter Pro Q3, The Glue Compressor, and the DST
And can you name your three must-have synths that you cannot live without (can be in the box or hardware)?
Nexus, Sylenth, Spire and Serum
For those who haven’t heard ‘Walk Away’, what three words would you use to describe it?
Experimental, aggressive and energetic.
How would you like people to feel when they listen to the song?
We want them to feel a sense of release and have them walk away from reality and rage the night away. No pun intended lol!
It is clear, through our conversation, that this is a duo whose impressive talents continue to be supported by their passion and enthusiasm for Electronic Music; so, as we close this interview, we thank Castor & Pollux for their time and look forward to hearing more captivating music from them very soon.
Listen to ‘Walk Away’ Now:
Castor & Pollux Online
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