Pessimist has been responsible for some really heavy cuts and this mix leaves no doubt about his freshness. His debut album will soon be out on Blackest Ever Black. Get into the zone!
Hello Kristian how are you and what have you been up to recently?
Hello. I’m very well, I’ve been keeping myself busy working on my debut album, no big deal.
You live in Bristol. How would you describe the city and what do you think about the music scene there right now?
Yes, I was born here. It’s a great city to live in, an amazing history of music comes from the city along with some real forward thinking stuff that’s being made here right now. I keep on discovering new producers and finding out they’re
based in Bristol, it seems like the city is just churning out these clever little trendy lads who make cool beats. That said, it would be nice to see more of the Bristolian producers actually playing in Bristol, not that I go out much but maybe I would if that was the case.
Can you tell us a little bit about your Ruffhouse project? How do you make music together and how is it different to when you work alone?
Ruffhouse is basically three middle class lads but with a street name. Simple as that. It consists of myself, Nick (Vega) & Tom (Cooper). We aren’t actually writing music together anymore, we’ve all got our own things going on. Nick is very busy running the label (UVB-76), Coop is always working on his own weirdly secretive music projects and I’m focussing on my solo work.
I find when I write music with the lads it’s a very similar process as to when I’m working by myself, we all know each other very well so we’re very comfortable being honest with each other. The great thing about Ruffhouse was each track would have to go through Quality Control with all three of us who are very picky when it comes to Drum & Bass in particular, so we were always very sure of ourselves and the tracks we put out there. I think our UVB-76/Straight 9’s single was the peak for us, I’m really proud of that 12”.
What excites you besides music?
Food & Football. I support Bristol City, I’ve got nothing to say about them right now. I like to eat good food when I can, my favourite would probably be French food and I’ve been loving Rice & Things recently, which is a great Jamaican restaurant based in Bristol.
Anything coming up you want to share with us? Any shout-outs or final statements?
As I mentioned before I’ve been working on my debut album for Blackest Ever Black which I’m over the moon with. It’s been great writing a project more than just four tracks where I can really go in and express myself. I’m finishing off a 12” for Samurai and expect another EP from myself on UVB-76 with some nice surprises. Big shout out to everyone who’s supported me and bought my music over the years, big shout out to my girlfriend, my friends and my family! And a big thank you to you guys for getting me to do this podcast.