Creatures – Free D&B Sample Pack + Interview

Posted on 21st March 2023

Rising star of the UK D&B scene, Creatures has already scored two Beatport number 1 EPs, plus airplay on BBC Radio 1, Vision Radio and UKF. We caught up with him to chat music, production, and drop his free Aftershock sample pack.

What inspires you at the moment?

“At the moment I am tacking a lot of inspiration from hip hop and simplistic beats which focus around vibes! Keeping things simple is really helping me with the development of my sound!”

Tell us about your journey into working in music.

“My Dad was a DJ so he helped me get into that side of it from a young age. I went to college to study Music Technology and since then have been most comfortable in the studio developing and evolving my own sound.

I was introduced to more minimal DNB while I was at college and immediately I switched from making ‘Jump-Up’ to a more tech and minimal style. And I haven’t looked back since. Things just happened very quickly: one minute I was making a few tunes and experimenting and then suddenly I had multiple number 1 EP releases, support from some of my favourite artists and incredible gigs all over the world. I feel very lucky to have got to where I am now.”

Where do you see the future of music and music technology in the next decade?

“It’s becoming very clean and clinical and I think a lot of the technology will help those who struggle more with the ‘engineering’ side of music as opposed to the arrangement and vibe of a track.”

You’ve produced an awesome sample pack – tell us a bit about that

“I have an ethos around ‘keeping things simple to create complex sounds’ and using layers to build any track is always a good way to go.

I wanted to showcase some loops for drums and basses, as well as include some individual one shot hits and fx to help with production in a simple way, which can add more texture and quality to sound.

All the sounds are processed – but only slightly- so you still have room to add your own flavour to them.”

Do you have any advice for aspiring producers who are just starting out?

“Focus on developing your own unique ideas. And focus on the writing of tracks not ‘how good they sound’ the fundamental part is to be able to write a track from start to finish. So I recommend that if you’re very early on in your production journey, to use samples and loops so you can complete the arrangement first. Once you feel comfortable with that, then start replacing the sampled sounds with some of your own.”

How do you approach writing tracks?

“I start with my drums and general groove and then look to develop from there..  It’s “Drum and Bass” at the end of the day… so starting with both drums and bass I find shapes the track – working with a range of other elements to begin with such as samples and intro ideas can also work. But, personally, I find that the general groove needs to work form the very beginning and then I can base the rest of the elements around that key part.”

Use the links below to follow Creatures:

• Instagram
• Soundcloud
• Patreon
• YouTube
• Facebook