Making his release debut in 2015, Korzi’s artistic journey so far has experienced many chapters with his chameleon-like approach to production. Originally from Birmingham, Korzi is now based in Manchester and has been making his mark within the UK bass scene, with a focus on raw, low-end delicacies. Describing the first few years of his production output as ‘finding his feet’ through self-releasing records, it was from 2020 that Korzi felt more confident with his style and the direction he was heading in – landing his debut release on the legendary Swamp 81 imprint last year. In March 2018, Korzi launched the party series Left, Right & Centre alongside Connor Cooper in Manchester which has booked the likes of Rhyw, Bruce, Ploy, Hodge, Beneath, re:ni, Roza Terenzi and DJ Lag to name a few.
In 2020, the event evolved into a label with the first release being a compilation showcasing the sounds and style to be expected on the imprint with contributions from Henzo, Josh Scott, Heritage & Delo and Korzi himself. The label now has nine releases on it, with three compilations and solo EPs from DR MYSTERY, Pluralist, Croft, Small Crab, and Henzo. With Left, Right & Centre acting as a platform for Korzi and Connor to showcase other artists from Manchester and beyond, Korzi had never planned to centre himself within that. To cater for his own releases, last year Korzi launched another imprint, Bone Idle, which will focus on his own productions and is focused on ‘club-ready tackle, free from all boundaries’, with the second EP released last week.
We catch up with Korzi to dig deeper into his artistic journey, working through creative roadblocks, Formula 1, and celebrating five years of Left, Right & Centre.
To accompany the interview, Korzi has contributed a mix which digs into the darker side of his style with turbo energy. He says, “for this mix I decided to throw myself a curveball and totally let loose in what I just like to call gun-finger Techno. I wanted to put together a mix that consistently carries a turbo energy but has slightly abrasive with lots of broken drum patterns, stop-start headturners and moments of sheer tension.
Throughout this mix theres hints of rhythmic percussion, breaks, build build ups, huge drops and nods to the whole spectrum of bass music. The tracklist also includes an announcement of two forthcoming pieces of music from myself, a brand new one coming out on Left, Right & Centre from Henzo and the usual celebration of tunes sent over by some of my extremely talented friends that are really flying the flag for our sound.”
Before the pandemic hit you took a break from the Korzi project, what inspired this decision and what was it that made you want to pick it back up again in 2020?
Honestly, I’m sure many artists can relate to this but if I don’t finish and release tracks quickly I tend to get over them and then they’re lost in the abyss of my private uploads on Soundcloud. Prior to 2020 I just wasn’t really happy with the standard of my tunes as my taste shifted and just taking a break to get things together was really needed and Left, Right & Centre always kept the creative-itch occupied. After not releasing for a little while it does get in your head and then you start to think “have I missed the boat” which becomes a silly cycle of doubt. Getting carried away partying and then post-student life kicking in after 2018 also just made things tricky but I knew I’d come back around to it eventually.
Being able to do things in your own time and on your own terms is important to me. The pandemic was a blessing in that way where it felt like I could have a restart and treat it as another punt. I’ve been freelancing full-time since then so that opened up a lot of time for me to focus on Korzi stuff.
How would you describe your journey as a producer?
Honestly I feel like I’ve had two journeys. The first from 2016-2018 where I was sort of finding my feet. I was producing and releasing tunes a little aimlessly around then and it felt like when I made music I didn’t have enough control and knowledge over what I was doing. Then from 2020 onwards where I’m feeling way more confident in my abilities and have a direction and plan in mind that I’m working my way through.
Have you always known you would explore a creative path? What would you say is your earliest experience of creativity?
I think so but I like a lot of young people I was a bit apprehensive of the whole creative industry too. I’ve been making tunes since I was 14 and even dropped a few under a different name but at the time I was quite set on going down a bit more of a traditional academic route.
I’ve also been freelancing as a Graphic Designer since I was 16 and ended up doing a u-turn to do that in college. I used to draw F1 cars obsessively as a kid too so I probably should have known much earlier on.
Last year you launched the Bone Idle label to house your own productions, what motivated you to start your own outlet away from Left, Right & Centre?
I’ve never really wanted to make Left, Right & Centre a platform to put myself at the forefront of so keeping things separate with Bone Idle felt like the way to go. Since kicking back into gear after the Terra Preta release on Left, Right & Centre I’ve been sitting on quite a lot of music that I think needs to be out there (4/5 more releases are already quite close to finished for Bone Idle alone). That said I am going to be dropping a few tunes on Left, Right & Centre next year but me and Connor are still focused on using the label to build a crew and push other talent.
Your second EP on the label, Purgative / Burning Bridges, comes out later this month which shows a different side to your production, tapping more into a hypnotic techno sound, what would you say influenced this new direction? Have there been any artists, sets or moments that have directly impacted this?
Whilst I wouldn’t say these tracks are totally my new direction I do feel like the sonic character within them will be transferring across a lot future releases. Rhyw and Mor Elian are two artists who’s sounds I’ve really admired recently along with the likes of Bruce, Henzo, Batu, aya, Croft, Jabes, and Stenny to name a few producers off the top of my head who fit into this bracket.
Rhyw’s Dekmantel Podcast is also something that really captured me and it was an absolute dream having him play all night long in room 1 of our 5 Years of Left, Right & Centre party.
You mentioned in your Mixmag interview that you’ve recently learned how to overcome writer’s block, what is your method and what helped you discover this?
I feel like I found theres a couple ways I got around this.
First being changing my goals for why I’m trying to write music from “I need to release music ASAP or I’ll fall off” to just easing off the pressure and writing tracks because thats the default thing I like to do in my spare time really helped.
Comparing tracks to finished pieces of work from artists who have been in the game years ahead is a terrible idea if you have writers block but also hearing great music is something that often makes me want to open Ableton in the first place so thats something thats impossible to avoid.
Breaking the production process into two windows: writing and exploring really helps. My best tunes since have always came out of exploring new techniques, sounds, plug-ins, hardware, samples rather than opening Ableton and going “time to make a banger!”
I’m pretty sure this was something that I picked up from a Batu & Simo Cell’s Native Instruments Lecture and to be be fair being a big Timedance fan was probably the biggest influence in me forcing myself to get much better at confidently shaping and designing sounds from scratch and knowing what every little parameter does. This massively helped break writers block since I have way more control over the end product.
Recently celebrating 5 years of Left, Right & Centre, how have you seen the party evolve over the years?
I feel like we have now have a bit of a returning audience now as I keep seeing the same faces beyond our usual crew and thats been amazing to see. Also from our RA stats our crowds are a lot pretty balance gender wise which is great to see as early on that wasn’t really the case. Our crowds also don’t rely solely on students which has been a big change as we’ve evolved and gives us hope for longevity as a brand.
Being able to put on parties at venues as special as The White Hotel and SOUP does make me feel like we’re starting to cement ourselves within the Manchester scene as one of the go to parties for our sound. That said, we do like to switch up the venue we use and keep things fresh. Thats something that will be forever evolving for us.
Sonically I think we’ve stayed true to what we set out to do. I’ve seen so many parties come and go or just turn to playing it safe with their bookings over the years. Reaching that 5 year milestone was a big deal for us and were more than ready to do 5 more.
Has putting on parties changed your relationship with music?
It’s changed the way I approach DJ’ing for sure and I think without running Left, Right & Centre I’d still be stuck in my ways of only playing the really curveball tunes that only a select few want to listen to.
So I just read that you used to be obsessed with F1 growing up (same!) I’ve been looking into the connection between music and racing over the last few months. What would your hype song be before a race?
I had to Google the track name and it turns out Fleetwood Mac – The Chain is permanently embedded in my brain from the 2000’s BBC F1 Intro.
Additionally, if you had to pick a mix to soundtrack your race, what would it be?
Mad Miran’s Ilian Tape Mix is turbo as hell.
You’ve also pulled together a mix for us, what’s the concept behind this one?
For this mix I decided to throw myself a little curveball and totally let loose in what I just like to just call gun-finger Techno. Theres hints of rhythmic sound design, percussion, breaks, big build ups, a bit where it all goes a bit nuts and essentially a nod to the whole spectrum of bass music. I wanted to put together a mix that consistently carries a turbo energy but has slightly abrasive edge with lots of broken drum patterns, stop-start head turners and moments of sheer tension.
Do you have a different approach to preparation for club sets to online mixes whether that’s for a platform or radio show?
Oh totally. The dynamic of a club totally changes my selection for me. Theres a few things but the biggest factor hands down is who you’re playing too.
Prep for the club usually consists of making 3-4 small playlists with key tracks that set different directions I could go down after reading the room a little. I used to be a lot more selfish with what I’m playing and over the years I’ve let that go. Its easy to get caught up into the idea that you’re there to display your taste too a crowd and push how you identity as an artist but theres also the factor of “is this working and are people really interested” to keep in mind.
Radio is always just an opportunity to explore new music and dig but online mixes for me are usually a statement of what I want to be playing all the time!
Is there a staple track in your DJ sets at the moment?
You know what I’ve never had a track of my own that I find myself coming back to a lot but theres one on my USB currently called ‘Two Pints of Guinness & A Curried Goat’ thats doing the rounds and in this mix!
What are you most looking forward to this year?
Dropping absolutely tonnes of music!
‘Purgative / Burning Bridges’ by Korzi is out now via Bone Idle – buy here.