After his debut on Yamatai Records, the Portuguese beat merchant sat down with us to talk about his latest EP, his style of music, plans for this year and more.
Boasting compact basslines, razor-sharp drums and intense textures at the forefront of his productions, Resslek is a drum & bass wizard from the sunny land of Portugal. Steadily building a reputation as a staple name within the deep and minimal drum & bass scene, Resslek has racked up releases on labels like Delta 9 Recordings, Engage Audio, and Impact Music, to name a few.
Resslek kickstarted 2023 with a belting 5-track EP on Transparent Audio, and the producer has now returned with a blistering 4-tracker to make his debut on Yamatai Records. The ‘Scope’ EP is the epitome of Resslek’s signature sound and Yamatai’s ethos are centered around the underground side of drum & bass.
Following his debut on the label, we had a chat with the Portuguese producer about his latest release, his style of productions, plans for the rest of the year and tons more.
TFword: Hey, thanks very much for taking the time to chat with us. How do you look back at 2022?
RESSLEK: Hey, thanks for having me. Last year was a good year for me. I’ve had a few releases and also had my first international booking. It definitely was my strongest year to date.
TF: For people who may be new to your music, how did the Resslek journey begin?
RESSLEK: The Resslek journey basically started in 2018. I bought a new PC and it had GarageBand on it, so I started to make some weird stuff on it, which basically turned into and little addiction [laughs]. Later on, I took a music production course at point blank school and from there on everything happened pretty naturally.
TF: Now a smashing release on Yamatai Records for your second release of the year already. How long was the EP in the works?
RESSLEK: If I remember well, James actually hit me up some time ago regarding a possible release on Yamatai but had to finish loads of other stuff first. Then the EP came together pretty naturally, most of the tracks were done in December ’22, as the track title “NYE“ says it was done on NYE, so I would say it took around 1 month to get it done.
You May Also Like: TFword in Conversation With BCee
TF: Your deep, chunky, and snappy style of music is the feature of the ‘Scope’ EP. How do you think your sound has evolved ever since you started making music?
RESSLEK: Definitely, I always wanted to keep my sound pretty minimal, but at the beginning, it wasn’t always that easy. In my first releases back in 2019, I guess you can hear some neuro influences. Still trying to find my own sound these days though, but I think I’m on a good way to do so.
TF: Who would you regard as your dream collaboration?
RESSLEK: Easy question. Skeptical and Alix Perez!
TF: Who are the Drum & Bass acts you have looked up to over the years?
RESSLEK: Skeptical, Alix Perez, Bredren, M-zine, Nymfo, Noisia, Arkaik to name a few.
TF: What are Resslek’s plans for 2023?
RESSLEK: Got a few other cool releases planned for the year and also I’m also working on some cool collabs with artists I rate a lot. Also got a few cool gigs lined up too, which I’m really looking forward.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Explore Resslek’s full discography:
