CypherSound Cartel return with CSC002 Remixed, a bold reimagining of their debut release featuring heavyweight contributions from across Northern Ireland’s drum and bass landscape. Among those stepping up are two artists with very different stories but a shared commitment to forward-thinking sound: Belfast’s long-time DJ and producer Chill, and engineering-led innovator Red Wreath. One rooted in decades of scene history, the other pushing into the future with deep sonic experimentation. We caught up with both to dig into their processes, influences, and what this remix project means to them.

What first drew you to this remix project, and how did your approach differ from how you’d tackle an original track?

Chill: I’ve known the guys for a long time and was honoured to be asked to remix their tracks. I picked “Tincture” cos there was a techy weirdness to it that drew me in. I wanted to put my own spin on it… dancefloor dnb but with funk (and aggressive reeces lol). I don’t really have a set system for how I approach writing music - it’s all about vibes for me. I’m essentially a DJ, so any tunes I make are with my DJ sets in mind. 

Red Wreath: I always love a chance to work on a remix project, and when I heard there's a chance to remix a local artist's track I jumped at the idea. I would usually create a lot of my own sounds in an original production but this time round I chose to use the stems as a root to all my sound design. So I built upon them rather than created my own, which I found a lot of fun doing as the original stems were awesome.

CypherSound Cartel are clearly building something with a lot of heart and vision. What made you want to get involved with the collective?

Chill: Well, we go way back… I DJed at one of the first outings of Calibre in Belfast, back when Stu was involved, before Dom went solo with it. I know Stu and Rob make music from the heart, without ego and with conviction. I know if they ran a label, that would be at the core of it. That was definitely something I wanted to be involved with. 

Red Wreath: I've always wanted to get involved in drum and bass in Northern Ireland but the scene is kind of small here and I didn't know anyone. But once I met the guys on the Chill and Nephilim radio show and seen what they were doing for the scene, I knew I'd found the right crowd. Especially the talent I've met around them like the guys at CypherSound Cartel and my good friends Dlusion and Swizzy.
They're all super supportive as well which was massive for me, it feels like a small family thats quickly growing

For your remixes on CSC002, what was your process like? Did you each start with a clear idea, or was it more of a case of letting the original stems guide the direction?

Chill: I think when you do a remix, you have to be inspired by the original track. When I remix tracks, I try to keep the essence of the original but put  my own spin on it. The original track was my initial inspiration. I took the drum stems and rearranged them, so they were different… beefed them up to make them loud and mental and then threw a big reece at it, doing a kind of “Call and Answer” with elements of the original bass.  

Chill, you’ve got deep roots in the Irish scene, with a distinctive sound shaped by years of DJing and production. What keeps you inspired to keep moving forward creatively?

Chill: There is clearly something wrong with me… I’m like a kitten with a ball of wool, when it comes to DnB. I think sometimes it’s in your blood. I’m still as obsessed with DnB as I was years ago. 

Chill, STEP DnB hosted some legendary names back in the day. How does today’s landscape compare to those earlier times, and do you think we’re seeing a fresh wave of that same underground energy?

Chill: You have to search out the good stuff more now that you did back in the day. I don’t think that’s because there’s less of a percentage of talent and inspiration in the scene - more that there’s a much greater volume of people making music now. It's a general trend in dance music in general now. I swear there are a load of people who have only ever raved to people on Instagram live, rather than ever being in a club. Similarly, loads of people go to music gigs and raves and don’t dance while they film everything on their iphones. It’s not as bad in dnb as it is in other forms of music, but it’s still there. The real heart and soul of dance music is still there though… sometimes you have to work a bit harder to find it, than you did in the 1990s.

Red Wreath: My process was to let the stems guide everything around the main drop of my remix. I wanted to use the harmonies of the chords from the stems and build them up... almost into a symphony. And in the drop I still wanted to use some aspect of the original stems so I resampled the vocal shots and layered them over my own style of drum and bass. This didn't happen in one go though, it took a while to get it to where I wanted but I was happy with where it led to.

Both of you have styles rooted in the heavier end of drum and bass. What influences, past or present, have shaped your current sound?

Chill: The list is endless… Ed Rush & Optical, Dillinja, Ram Trilogy, Hive, Gridlok, Noisia, Bad Company, Photek, J Majik, Goldie, Roni Size & Reprazent, LTJ Bukem, Dom & Roland, Cause for Concern, Konflict… I could go on forever lol. In terms of newer artists, I really like DLR, Break, Need for Mirrors, Homemade Weapons, Submotive, Minor Forms, HLZ, Workforce, Scar, Quartz… there are literally thousands. 

The gig that started it all off for me was actually LTJ Bukem at the Art Collage in Belfast… it was such sophisticated music but unpretentious.. There was something really beautiful about people dirtying their trainers dancing to rhodes pianos and soaring pads over sped up funk grooves. Eventually I got more and more into the heavier side of dnb, but I always look for that element of funk and soul, even if it’s all recorded through a distortion pedal lol. 

What are you hoping listeners take away from your remixes on this release? Are there any specific moods or ideas you wanted to explore?

Chill: I just want to make people dance. That’s my motivation when I DJ and my motivation when I make music. I hope my Tincture remix makes people want to punch the air and have a good time… a release of pure honest human emotion!

And finally… if you could take just one drum and bass track by any artist, from any era, to a desert island, what would it be and why?

Chill: Christ… only one? Probably Ed Rush, Optical and Fierce “Cutslo (Locust Mix)”. If you want to know why, just go and stick it on the loudest set of speakers you have! And, by the way… if you ask me that question tomorrow, I’ll probably give you another tune - hahaha. 

Thanks to Chill and Red Wreath for taking the time to share their thoughts. Both remixes are available now as part of CSC002 Remixed, out on CypherSound Cartel.