909originals catches up with Archie Hamilton
Archie Hamilton is looking ahead to 2023 with confidence following a stellar few years for the London-based producer and label owner.
In 2019, he released his debut album, Archive Fiction, with the long player one of more than a hundred releases over the past ten years. He’s also an Ibiza regular at nights such as Circoloco, Music On and Paradise – not to mention global events in South America, US and Europe – and recently held a Frequency showcase at Shelter in Amsterdam during ADE.
As well as his longstanding Moscow Records and Moss Co imprints, his newest label, MicroHertz, is also going from strength to strength, with Hamilton himself releasing an EP, Motion Lotion, on the label in September.
Over the Christmas period, Hamilton popped over to Dublin for a gig at Here&Now – bringing “seriously festive vibes without the Christmas jumper“, as he put it himself. 909originals caught up with him.
Hi Archie, thanks for talking to us. From the looks of things, 2022 was a particularly busy year for you. Any particular highlights?
It was pretty mad! Highlights would be this season in Ibiza, getting married and moving into a killer new studio.
You seemed to be at Ibiza almost every week last summer at Paradise, CircoLoco, Elrow etc. What sort of a season was it out there – has the vibe returned from the pre-pandemic days?
It was my best season to date, for sure. The vibe was nuts, definitely back to the island we all know and love – it’s great to see people back in the clubs having the time of their lives.
You’re also a regular on the festival circuit. Would you approach a set at a festival differently to if you were playing in a club – let’s say Fabric London or Shelter Amsterdam?
Yes, for sure, depending on the festival of course. Bigger stages can be more difficult to translate a deeper sound on and I’m always thinking that there are a percentage of the crowd who don’t know me, so I sometimes play slightly more accessible music.
That said, there are smaller boutique festivals, with more intimate stages where you can play just as deep and twisted as you would at a club like Fabric or Shelter.
It’s more than three years since your most recent album, Archive Fiction. Any plans to release a follow up?
This year has been so intense with touring that I haven’t had the time to get in the studio as much as I would have liked to, so I haven’t had the time to put a full body of work together, per se.
I would definitely like to do something soon as I have so many ideas I’d like to put together coherently.
That album saw you experiment with a variety of different sounds – drum ‘n’ bass, trip hop – as well as the house music you are renowned for. Have these types of sounds also permeated your DJ sets, i.e. are you experimenting more?
Perhaps so – I love taking sounds from the music I love from all genres and that always influences my selections. I listen to so much music outside of house and techno when I travel, and when I’m at home, and have an ongoing list of tracks and time stamps that I have made notes on to reference when I’m in the studio to think about sampling.
Your label MicroHertz – how are things developing with that?
It’s been an amazing year for us to be honest. we’re so lucky to be working with so many amazing artists, and I’m so excited about the year ahead. It’s been such an amazing journey watching the label develop, grow and evolve.
Any plans for further Arkityp releases, alongside Rossko?
We’re sitting on so many different tracks that are almost ready to go, so in theory yes! Ross has a super busy schedule too, so it’s not easy to find time together – especially as he lives in Berlin now.
What’s next on the agenda for you in 2023?
Personally, I’ve been working on some really different music for me; very much going back to my roots of what I loved when I first discovered house music – a much more classic sound – so I’m really excited for people to hear that. Regarding the label, more of the same; classy club bangers galore.
Events-wise, we’ll be doing some very select Frequency parties in the best venues we can find. And of course, DJ-wise getting to as many cities around the world as I possibly can!
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