Chymera

The guilty pleasure?

Nelly Furtado – ‘Promiscuous’. I do believe that this is the finest pop track of the last 15 years. It also always reminds me of my time spent living in Costa Rica in 2006 which was my first time living outside of Ireland. It’s just got a fantastic chorus – the chord progression gets me every time. Me and my housemates used to play this on repeat.

The last track of the night?

I’ve got a handful of classics I always reserve for last track of the night. I very often drop JT Company’s ‘Don’t Deal With Us (Piano Jazz Cappella)’. I’m ashamed to say that by that stage of the night I will be a little the worse for wear and I usually bust out the air piano moves.

The best chillout record?

Tangerine Dream – Love On A Real Train. Quite obvious, but spine-tinglingly perfect.

Nine Inch Nails also made a very subdued album called Still. It’s got versions of some of their older tracks plus a few brand new ones. ‘Leaving Hope’ might be one of the most perfect tracks ever made.

The best record for a family party?

Ministry – ‘The Missing’. Obviously.

The soundtrack to a lazy Sunday afternoon?

DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing is one of my favourite albums of all time. The way it’s constructed and sequenced, the intricacy of the sampling and production is just mind boggling. Everything has its right place.

The record you’re proudest of?

Every record that I’ve made has a special place in my heart. There are some that I’m especially proud of how I managed to make them and they each remind of of an emotion at that specific time. One such track is ‘Ellipsis’. I made it during an especially productive period of my life. The guts of it came together in a matter of hours and the arrangement was recorded live in one take. Afterwards I just added in a few small details and that was it. It’s got a very simple melody repeating over and over, and I like how the sequence evolves… building and building, then dropping back before it hits its peak. Sometimes you get false feelings when you make a track – you think it’s great but the next day when you listen to it you realise it’s actually not so. With this one I knew straight away that it was special and that I would like it the next day, and the day after.

One of my recent tracks which I’m also very proud of is ‘Aloof’ from my 2012 album Death By Misadventure. It also came together quite quickly. I’m really happy with how all the elements fit together. The only hook is in the bassline but all the rest of the elements support it. It was one of the last tracks that I made in the album process.

The future classic?

Blondes – Lover. There’s many tracks that I love which are and will always be classics to me, even if to no one else. But I think this one has the potential to be a future classic for others too.

The 2014 refresh of Chymera’s ‘Shadowdancer’ is out on 4th August on Break New Soil. Find him on Facebook, Twitter and SoundCloud.