Think all DJs love the limelight and sweating their ass off under stage lights? Think again. Rameses B, the liquid drum and bass extraordinaire, longs to compose – and one day hopes to be part of a movie soundtrack. Here we talk about how he got noticed.
The Sauce: Let's kick off by just getting one thing straight – your primary ‘genre' is melodic drum and bass….right?
RamesesB: I’d say so yeah, but my work is quite varied so it’s hard to put it in a specific genre to it unless you just call it ‘Electronic Music’.
The Sauce: But you basically switch genres every other track, and honestly they are all so great I can't tell which is your ‘native tongue.'
RamesesB: Most people know me for my drum and bass, dubstep and chillout but I also produce electro, house, glitch hop and even orchestral music. It really depends on what mood I’m in, but one thing they all have in common is the melodic qualities of each track. I just love melodies, it’s hard for me not to have them in a track!
The Sauce: When did you first get into music (djing?)
RamesesB: I think it was in 2003, I was at school and a friend of mine lent me his game, music generator 2. I got so addicted, putting all the pieces of sound together I guess you could say it was a PS2 game that sparked my interest in production.
The Sauce: Did you start teaching yourself the piano before or after that?
RamesesB: That was a couple of years after, in 2005. I was familiar with the virtual keyboard in the music software and by critically listening to other songs I was able to match the bass and melody notes in a track with the keyboard on screen. I had about 2 years of piano/keyboard lessons but after that I have taught myself by ear.
The Sauce: What's your life like now – do you frequently do shows or are you locked in a studio making tracks everyday?
RamesesB: If it’s the one thing I like to do most, it’s making music. Nowadays I work hard on making new material, which takes up most of my time. It’s a conscious choice for me, I prefer to focus my time on Music Production than I do in live performance. I’ve played live a few times and had an awesome experience but ultimately it’s not what I want
to do for a living. But who knows what the future holds, I’ll keep my options open 🙂
The Sauce: Do you consider yourself to have ‘made it'?
RamesesB: Well that’s all relative. In my mind, I’ve nowhere near made it because every achievement I reach I see a new goal ahead of me. I guess that’s good because it keeps me going. If I was to ‘make it’ I would probably be sitting in a studio like Hans Zimmer’s making music for blockbuster movies and games. There’s no rush though, I’m a patient guy and I’d like to take it one step at a time.
The Sauce: How has your life changed since becoming more mainstream and popular?
RamesesB: Much has changed but all is good! There is such a great community of people who support me and my music now. So I listen to the feedback and improve on things people have mentioned, they are directly making an impact on the outcome of my next track. All the positive feedback pushes me to make more music and try out new things. It’s like they help me make the music they want to hear.
The Sauce: That is such a great outlook. I know too many DJs who don't listen to feedback…Do you think there's any one person or site or show responsible for your success – like, something that pushed you over the edge and made a lot of people aware of your music?
RamesesB: I know exactly what helped me with that, youtube. I remember hearing youtube was a great way to get you noticed so I thought I’d try it out. It was only about 2 years ago when MrSuicideSheep found one of my tracks ‘New Horizons’ and promoted it on his own channel. I will always be grateful to him for that… Ever since then I have just been getting my music heard by more and more people.
The Sauce: So uh, I'll be candid. If I was judging based on your tracks, you seem like the nicest guy – probably a little softhearted. True or false?
RamesesB: I’m a chilled kind of guy I guess, I can get along with people easily especially if they’re into good music haha. I don’t like to do wrong by people… I think it’s a lot better to be nice!
The Sauce: What inspires your music?
RamesesB: When I hear other great pieces of music, I hear it how it sounds and also imagine how it would sound if I was to make something like that. This must spark my desire to make music, just by listening to other music makes me want to produce.
The Sauce: What songs do you feel are your best? (which are your favorites?)
RamesesB: I always seem to think that the latest song I make is always the best because I always try to make it better, but looking back there were a few that I was quite proud of. One of which was ‘I Need You’ that had a more clubby feel to it. I wrote the lyrics for Charlotte to sing and decided it should be included in the Memoirs EP with all the remixes. I was surprised how well ‘Memoirs’ did but when I listen back now I have to admit I get nostalgia.
The Sauce: What about your other interests besides music?
RamesesB: I love movies and games. I just think it’s the way forward for entertainment, especially in the gaming industry. I’d love to do what Hans Zimmer did and write music for games and film. I like some geeky stuff, space and tech interest me but I’m still a down to earth guy, I like going out with friends, parties, just doing what normal people do. 🙂
The Sauce: What are you excited about/any recent News?
RamesesB: I’m excited for finally releasing ‘Drift Away ft.veela’. It’s been about a year now since I made it but the long wait is over, I can confirm a release date on 3rd December. I also have releases on 5th and 12th November, a D&B and Dubstep track so keep an eye out for that. I have plans to work on a few singles, new EP and a new album; the future is very busy!
Thanks again for interviewing with us man, and keep up the amazing work!
Readers – Rameses B gives away a TON of his tracks on soundcloud so I urge you to check that out. On his facebook you can name your own price to purchase a whole album, so do that.
