We've had Vespers on repeat for a while now, and one thing kept coming back: for a tune with this much weight, it never feels crowded. The low end has plenty to say, but there's just as much attention paid to the space around it, from the choral textures to the way the arrangement keeps things moving without piling ideas on top of each other.

That balance became the starting point for our conversation with EmZee. We caught up to talk about building tracks around atmosphere rather than drops, why stepping away from a project can be just as important as working on it, releasing through The Konklave Records, and the productions that still make him wish he'd been the one to write them.

Vespers hits hard from the first drop without ever feeling overcooked. When you were building the track, what came first, the atmosphere or the impact?

My workflow is usually quite structured, I almost always start with the drums, then move on to the basses, and only afterwards work on the intro and the rest of the arrangement. However, Vespers was a bit different. I already had a clear vision for the track from the beginning. I knew I wanted to incorporate choir vocals and create an epic, cinematic atmosphere, so I actually started by searching for the right vocal samples. I then processed, edited and resampled them, and built the rest of the track around those elements.

The low end does a lot of the heavy lifting without swallowing everything else. How do you know when a bassline is doing enough, rather than doing too much?

I usually know the bass is doing too much when it gets to the point where my neighbours are knocking on the door. Also, I’ve learned not to let the bass do everything on its own. I usually support it with leads, synths or vocals so the energy is shared across the mix. For me, bass should provide weight and movement, while other elements carry the detail and emotion. That way it stays powerful without becoming too busy.

There's loads of detail tucked into the arrangement, yet it never feels busy. How ruthless are you when it comes to stripping ideas back?

I’m pretty ruthless with it. If an element doesn’t add anything meaningful to the track, it goes. I like having a lot of detail in my arrangements, but every sound should have its own purpose. Sometimes removing a layer can make the whole idea feel stronger and give the important elements more space to breathe.

What was it about The Konklave Records that made Vespers feel like the right fit?

Dylan from The Konklave Records reached out to me quite a while ago, and since then I’ve been really impressed by what they’ve been putting out. The releases have been consistently strong, with interesting tracks and a great selection of artists. I also liked the idea of working with a label based in Africa, as it’s something I’ve never done before, so Vespers felt like a really good fit.

You've become one of the names people are increasingly keeping an eye on within Czech neurofunk. When you listen back to your earlier productions now, what's the biggest difference you hear between those tracks and Vespers?

I think the differences between my older productions and what I’m making now, especially Vespers, are pretty significant. Whether it’s the arrangement, which I now try to make as DJ-friendly as possible, or the overall sound quality, from the mixdown to the mastering, I’ve definitely evolved a lot. These days, I focus much more on my own sound design and try to create most of my sounds from scratch. I also take my music more seriously now, but one thing that has never changed is that I’ve always tried to put a piece of myself into every track I make.

Do you ever reach a point where you have to stop producing and simply trust your ears, or are you someone who'll happily keep tweaking forever?

Over the years, I’ve learned to step away from my tracks, recharge, find new inspiration and come back with a fresh pair of ears. I rarely work on something for just a short session and revisit it every day. Usually, I’ll spend a lot of time on a track, then take a few days off before returning to it. When I start running out of ideas, producing other genres really helps me reset and take a break from 174 BPM for a while. That being said, I can definitely keep tweaking things for a very long time!

When was the last time another producer released something that genuinely made you think, "I wish I'd written that"?

Giant Growth by IHR and Merikan is definitely one of my all-time favourites and probably the track that’s caused the most bass faces from me. When I first heard it, I wasn’t even producing neurofunk yet, but later on I definitely found myself wishing I’d written it. There are so many sounds in that track that inspired my own productions and influenced the direction my music eventually took.

Outside of drum and bass, what's been getting your attention lately, musically or otherwise?

Music-wise, I’ve surprisingly been getting back into dubstep lately. I’ve also been spending more time DJing. In the past, I didn’t really connect with it that much, and it wasn’t something I saw myself focusing on, but recently I’ve started to really enjoy it. Meeting new people who share my passion for music has been an amazing experience and has made me appreciate it a lot more.

If someone asked you, "Play me one track that sums up who EmZee is as a producer," would you hand them Vespers, or is there another tune you'd choose instead?

I think I’d have to make a mixtape for that rather than pick one track. The music I create always reflects my mood and the period of life I’m in, so it’s hard for me to imagine a single track capturing who I am. That goes for me both as a person and as an artist.

Completely unrelated to music, what's a skill or hobby you've always wanted to get good at but never found the time for?

It’s not completely unrelated to music, but I’ve always wanted to learn guitar properly. I can already play piano, but I’ve never really found the time to focus on guitar. Outside of that, I’d also love to get really good at graphic design and video editing. I really enjoy it, and it naturally connects with what I do, so it’s something I’d definitely like to improve over time.

You're stranded on a desert island with one turntable, a generator and one record. What's it going to be?

I’d definitely go with Lost by Linkin Park. The title actually fits the whole situation on a desert island pretty well. I’ve been a big fan of Linkin Park for a long time, and this single is absolutely iconic to me. It’s one of those songs I don’t think I’d ever get tired of. There’s something about their sound and emotion that always hits in a very unique way, no matter how many times you hear it. I also think it carries a lot of nostalgia, so it would probably keep me sane on a deserted island for a while.

Our thanks to EmZee for taking the time to chat with us and for sharing a little more about the thinking behind Vespers. If the single is any indication of where his production is heading, there's plenty more to keep an ear out for over the coming months, both in terms of sound design and the balance between atmosphere and outright weight.