Datsik: Do you like bass?

“Long, but amazing day full of bass, private jets and helicopters,” wrote Datsik on his Facebook as Stereosonic Perth came to a close. “Is this real life?” Real or not, it’s the life the young producer is living, and he’s loving every minute of it.

Fresh from supporting Korn (that’s right, Korn) on their US tour, Datsik is here as part of Stereosonic’s Bass Arena, which also features the heavy-duty talents of The Gaslamp Killer, Caspa and Sub Focus. We got the rising star on the phone before the tour to hear how he’s rolling.

You recently toured America with the Identity Festival over summer – I imagine there was plenty of fun to be had?
Identity was probably one of the most fun times of my life. I didn’t know what to expect. Basically it consists of 20, 30 artists all travelling across the country in a bunch of tour buses – partying, having fun and playing loud music in every big city you can think of in the US.

Do you think there’s a bass music sound that’s distinct to US and Canadian producers?
When you talk to people from the UK, they say Canada and the US are all about noisy dubstep. But I think that the only reason it’s like that is because Canada and the US haven’t really experienced good, deep dubstep on a big system. It was never introduced like that.

So it’s really hard to get some of these big UK producers who started the genre over to the US, because kids have never heard of them. It’s hard to fork out the money to bring these big heads over and have them play a show of deep dubstep when kids have no idea. That’s why the noisier stuff tends to do well over here. It’s just party music.

So what do you think are some of the dangers for the ‘US sound’ going forward?
I think as long as producers become more musical, you can’t really fail. You can have a crazy, filthy, heavy drop, as long as you still make it a song. I want people to listen to my music five years down the road and it’s not super-passé.

It seems there’s a tendency among younger producers, too, to not align with a particular genre…
It doesn’t matter what I’m playing – it can be dubstep or electro – kids are jumping around. What’s the point of sticking to one tempo? That’s the new formula for up-and-coming producers. It’s hard to say. I don’t see why I can’t play dubstep and drumstep and electro and Moombahton. Kids are still jumping around.

I think that’s a huge look for the electronic industry. If someone books me, I’m not going to play dubstep the whole show. House artists for example tend to play just house, right? And I think it’s all starting to change.

Did you manage to get any production work done on the road with ID Fest?
I tried, but it’s so difficult. You have other people on your bus and it’s so noisy all the time. For me, I have to be in my little place of Zen on a good pair of monitors. So working on a bus is really hard. The only time I got anything done is when we had days off in hotel rooms.

So what’s next for you in the production pipeline, then?
I’m working in a lot of different tempos. I just did this electro tune with Diplo and another one with Kill The Noise. I’m also doing a bunch of Moombahton stuff, which is a lot of fun. I’m trying to break down the idea of having to fit into a genre. I find myself not getting bored of making music anymore.

You’re rolling with a strong bass brigade at Stereosonic, with guys like Caspa, Gaslamp Killer and Pretty Lights. Sounds like a like-minded bunch.
Totally. Pretty Lights was also on the Identity tour; he put on a wicked show. Gaslamp Killer is a good friend of mine. So there’s no way it won’t be fun, let’s say that!