Introducing: Irrelevant

The Colchester based producer, Irrelevant, released his debut album ‘I’ll Be Ok’ back in November and on it he set forth a collection of various dramas that earned deserved comparisons with producers like Burial, Clubroot and Kryptic Minds. Reportedly one of the key pieces of the Kokeshi label’s vision, Irrelevant’s music is pensive and cinematic, like the soundtrack to your own personal movie. His music isn’t straight forward; it’s not ghostly garage or heavy chuggy 140bpm dubstep, it treads somewhere else, with its feet falling close to the work of techno artists like Shed - something Irrelevant might put down to his early dalliances as a tech house DJ. Playing for Kokeshi when the label takes over Room Three on the 27th January (with sets from Youngsta, Consequence, DJ Madd and Alley Cat) we caught up with the Essex native to learn a little bit more about him and his music… Can you introduce yourself for those people who maybe haven’t heard of you or your music before? 
 I'm Irrelevant, I make electronic music mainly within a 2-step/electronica/downtempo style. What got you interested in making music in the first place? It was a forced thing to begin with. A lot of my peers who I was DJing with about 8 or so years ago were getting into making tunes, I think I probably just wanted to see what the fuss was about. I was playing predominantly tech house sets at the time but I could never connect with it in a production sense. As time went by and my tastes evolved to encompass a broader spectrum of music, I started to settle into what eventually became the “Irrelevant” style. You released your debut LP through Kokeshi back in November. It’s drawn comparisons with people like Burial, Clubroot and Kryptic Minds, probably because it draws heavily on drama instead of predictable electronics. Do you tend to concentrate more on the sound design side of things? 
 The process of making a tune is a constant unknown to me, when I sit down in the studio to work on something new I generally don't have any preconceived ideas, I dunno if sound design is the right term for it but I love building up atmospheres and moods. I'm a designer by day, so I think that the instinct to construct or create something to evoke a particular response has probably stemmed from that and adapted itself to the music. Burial, like with countless others, can count me as a huge fan and he is definitely an influence, although I've always had an affinity with melancholic music/films and in a sense I felt like when I heard ‘Untrue’ for the first time it was like 'wow, this album was made for me', but as far back as I can remember I always connected with music that had a sense of hopelessness or desperation to it - whether it was listening to screamo/hardcore at college or Asian film soundtracks at home. I’ll Be Ok feels like you’ve thought about it a bit deeper than just going ‘in studio’ to create dancefloor music. Would you say it was made to be headphone music? Obvious comparisons could me made here with how Burial’s music was received.... 
 Yeah for sure, the album was never intended as a 'dancefloor' LP. I'd tried to make heavier music in the past and I couldn't connect to it or create anything that I was happy with, I've always been more comfortable as a listener rather than a raver. Are you pleased yourself with how was the album received? Yeah it's been great, big thanks to everyone that’s taken the time to listen/buy it. Does it give you inspiration for the next project? Yeah it’s definitely going to energize me for 2012. 
 Whats next for you in 2012? I think there are a couple of things lined up with Kokeshi, more gigs and hopefully I'll get to start work on album 2… What can we expect from your set here? My DJ sets tend to span across the deeper end of Bass Music, Garage, Broken Beat, House & Electronica so it’s gonna be a mixed bag... Catch Irrelevant in Room Three on the 27th January.