Removing yourself from your comfort zone is a guaranteed path to growth. It might be messy, it might be uncomfortable, but as Amoss can attest, even a small shift in mindset can set you on an entirely new trajectory.
After years of predominantly working with Flexout Audio, Amoss is starting to spread his wings. A subtle change in mindset has seen him sending music further afield, leading to a run of unexpected signings; queue, his first full solo EP on Critical.
Hey! What have you been up to?
This weekend, I just enjoyed the sun on Saturday. Got sunburnt as I normally do as soon as the sun comes out. I did a 10k run with my partner and then just went out and had some beers. Took it easy on Sunday.
Amazing, so you’ve got a release about to come out on Critical. Is this your label debut?
I’ve had a collab with QZB and then I had a track on their compilation at the end of last year, but this will be my first solo project.
How was it working with Critical?
It’s been amazing. Everyone’s super on it. There’s quite a few people on the team, so anything you need is just handled pretty damn quick. It’s been super efficient and great to have the backing from the team and to hear they like the tunes.
I know it’s a bit different to what Critical are doing, so I was nervous when Kasra first wanted the tunes. I thought to myself- that’s great because everyone should be branching out but also thought – my sound doesn’t really sit with a lot of these people.
It should definitely be seen as a good thing, but it took a while to get my head around it.
Did you send the tracks to Kasra?
Yeah I sent them to him. Last year I was just writing a bunch of tunes and not sending to anyone. Normally I’ve been the opposite. You get hyped on a couple of tracks, send them to a label, and then work out an EP. So then you have two tracks and then I have to write to these tracks, which sometimes stunts the creative process.
So I decided not to do that at all and not share any music with anyone for about six months. I was just writing anything and everything. One day would be a soulful track, the next would be some early 2000s techstep track. I just wasn’t bothered by what I was doing creatively and I was really enjoying the process, I found it didn’t hinder anything.
It just allowed me to express myself- not all of those tracks will come out and that’s not really the point. It’s about putting pen to paper and trying to get ideas down. Without the limitations of “here’s the project, here’s the next project”, I just found I was able to be really creative.
I played a show in London and Kasra played after me with Samurai Breaks and I played one of the tracks which I’d literally written that week, which was ‘Ghost Signals’. He just kept staring over and he was just like, “What is this?”. Halfway through the track he asked “Is this signed?”I said I’d send him some tunes.
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I sent him a bunch of tunes and it took a little while, I thought he didn’t actually want some of them for a bit. He just took ‘All Out’, which was on the compilation at the end of last year. I thought it wasn’t going to happen and then he came back to me a couple of months later saying he’s playing like five or six tunes in his sets, so it makes sense that we do this.
He asked what else I wanted to put forward for the EP? I sent him a couple of others that I didn’t send him before and then we finalised the track list pretty quickly.
After sitting on all those tunes for months, how did you choose which tunes worked together for your EP?
For a while I’d always thought, when I have a bunch of tunes, I think, “Oh, this would be good on that label. That would be good on that label.” Then I felt like I was doing disservice to the label by sending just what I thought they would sign. I started to send everything to labels and say, “Here’s some music. What do you think?” Rather than me dictating what they want to sign. I’ll just give you everything and we’ll work together like a collaboration.
I guess that’s probably how Kasra has ended up signing tunes, which I wouldn’t have thought he would have. If I chose my old mindset, maybe these tunes never would have even got to Kasra and maybe he never would have even heard them before they came out on a different label.
I think sometimes you’re trying to work out what the label’s thinking. I don’t think that’s honoring their creative process as well and Critical as a label has moved through so many different sounds and styles from its inception that it makes sense now that he might want some of these tunes because it’s just an evolution of the label.
Good music is good music regardless of what’s popular or what’s going on- they’ve spearheaded a lot of great music and talent.
What was the moment that made you switch the way you sent out music?
I’ve been working with Flexout pretty much predominantly for quite a while and we’ve had a great relationship for many years and I just felt like it was time for me to push what I’m doing in a different way.
I think there’s a lot to be said about being comfortable where you are and I love Bassi who runs Flexout. We’re great mates and it was just always a great process. We’re very in tune with what we want to do. It’s great stylistically, I love bouncing ideas off each other about what we’re going to do for projects, how we’re going to put it out.
I just wanted to move things up a notch and change what I’m doing and work with other people. I guess I flipped all my previous attitudes and I was like, well, this is what I’ve been doing before. Why don’t I try this?
It’s just breaking free of everything I used to do, trying something new and just seeing what happens. And this is where I’m at.
Great place to be…
What is the story behind the EP name Cadence?
It’s called Cadence. It’s the constant loops, routines, grinding and the ups and downs of whatever you’re doing. And for me, it was mainly entwined with this EP. I had a lot of ups and downs with this. It’s the cycles you go through and you just have to power through and ultimately you have to get it out and create what you want to. You have to put the work in.
I went through a lot of mental battles with this EP. I want to say a big thank you to Haden, a good friend of mine- one halfIll Truth, and Revan and runs Height Mastering. I just phoned him up after breaking down one evening. I told him, I don’t think I can release this EP. He got me into his studio and basically we just sat down and he just gave me a few pointers and that’s all I really needed.
I think when you’re working on your own, you just get so in your own head. It’s quite difficult.
Do you think hearing it over and over again makes you not hear it in the same way that others are perceiving it?
I was listening to every high hat. I was listening to every minute decibel change that no one’s ever going to notice. I wasn’t listening to it for the sense of what the vibe was. I was getting too lost in the technicals.
I’ve always thought when I make music, I’m like, the vibe is way stronger than the mixdown. I was just so lost in the mix. I thought it sounded rubbish, I didn’t even think the tunes were any good.
No way. It’s such a good EP…
It was a proper battle. So this is kind of why cadence comes into it because one day is amazing, one day is terrible and I just had to power through the loop and just get through it. I want to thank some close friends around me that were listening to it. Justin Minor Forms is another one who helps out a lot.
Is that usually a struggle that you have or do you think it’s because you were releasing with new people?
It’s most of the time. But having an EP on Critical is definitely looming in the back of my head as well and I’m thinking, everyone on that label is releasing such amazingly produced music and how do I stand up to that? Where do I fit in?
I knew I had to drop that kind of thought process because I was listening to the first demos that I sent Kasra and I just kept going back to the fact that he, Kasra signed the tunes on the first version I sent. I know these versions now are way better, but I’m still not happy.
I can imagine a lot of people would go through this as well. Signing off tunes is a mental battle. You go through those loop and you have to get out of it. Sometimes you have to just believe in it. Even if you’re not happy.
It’s probably a bit of a perfectionism, wanting to put out good music of a certain quality. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do so even though I don’t think I’m where I want to be sonically. I’m sure a lot of people might disagree, but it’s so personal when you’re releasing something creative.
Do you have a favourite track on the EP?
I think ‘Ghost Signals’ would be my favourite. It sums up a lot of my inspiration there. For it to be received quite well in the modern day is really amazing as well because there’s a lot of future music being written at the moment and drum bass has all these different avenues.
I’m definitely one that’s still trying to push that old sound and that raw sound. I think out of all the tracks, that one’s the most surprising to come on Critical and that’s probably the one I’m most proud of.
We’rereally feeling ‘The Same’ because it has an Autonomic vibe. How did that collab come about?
Lissa Grace is actually my partner. She’s an amazing vocalist, she normally does R&B and soulful vibes. We said that we might work on something together at some point but then I wasn’t really doing anything soulful. I hadn’t really ventured into that. I have started to now, with stuff on Gemini Gemini and working with Halogenix.
I’m exploring that sound, and then yeah, I was just messing around and seeing if I could get something going. And it ended up with this kind ofCause4Concern style rolling drums. I thought maybe it was a bit too much, but when I got some vocals back I was like, “Okay, yeah, this works really well.” There’s a really catchy hook and the difference between some of the raw drums, and then the soulful and melancholic chords is great.
It just took a while to get the arrangement right because I just wanted everything to have its place. I didn’t want it to be a full vocal track, but I didn’t want her to get left behind a lot of the sound design stuff. So it took a while to get that one brushed up and the way that we wanted, but I think it complements everything else.
How did it feel working with your partner? I imagine you’re going to be really really honest with each other in a way that you probably wouldn’t get with another collaborator because you have that trust…
It has its pros and cons because when you are being really honest, it can sometimes be quite tough. But at the same time she knew what she wanted to get across with her vocals and the style.
Then it was just my job to try to appreciate that and put it into the track. She’s really happy with it. We did do some extra versions, we went and recorded it at Revan’s studio and he engineered the session. And so I was just there like, “Cool, I can enjoy this and just let these guys do it because I’ve done my production.” It was nice to do that and experience that together for sure.
More collabs on the horizon?
I want to. She predominantly does neo soul, so I want to write some more stuff for her projects and that kind of sound. I’m sure people will be asking her for vocals after this comes out.
I wanted to talk to you about longevity because you’ve been doing it for some time. How do you stay motivated?
I think it helps that making music isn’t my sole income. All my jobs are based around music, and I’m forever grateful for that. I don’t need to be working some job that I don’t enjoy, but I have so many different aspects that keep me afloat.
I think longevity comes from keeping it fun and knowing why you’re doing it because you love doing it and if it becomes anything other than that then you’re not doing it for the right reasons. Staying true with it, keep exploring different sounds, learning. I think that’s one of the main things. Collaborating definitely helps because every time I spend some time with someone else in the studio I’m like “oh you do this, you do that.”Learning new stuff inspires me to go home and try new things out.
Also, I think longevity comes from a love for the scene. The scene is super strong. There’s so many amazing artists that are holding it up as well. There’s always new and exciting stuff happening which is keeping things really exciting.
Are collabs where you most of your learning comes from?
I think in recent times, yeah, but I run my own platform called Members Club which is an evolution of Patreon. I was on Patreon for four years and now I’ve started my own platform, running that has definitely kept me on my toes. Every month I need to be producing educational content for my members in some form. Whether it’s showing them how I make music or dissecting really intricate parts; like how we synthesize a kick drum.
I have to keep my knowledge pretty sharp. So, I’m always watching videos and learning from other people when I’m in the studio, just taking notes on what people are doing and putting it into my own style.
Having the members club keeps things exciting for me because I want to produce the best content for my members. It keeps me curious because I always want to learn more. They come to me with stuff that they’re doing and I think “Wow, just because you’re paying for content from me doesn’t mean that I know everything.” I’ve had one to one sessions where people have taught me stuff. And I think that’s amazing.
I’m constantly curious and I have a duty now. I have quite a lot of people as part of my subscription and I just want to give them the best possible service.
Let’s talk more about Members’ Club. When did you move from Patreon?
I started that at the start of 2025 and then at the start of this year I completely moved over and fully migrated. Patreon was an amazing platform but it didn’t fulfill everything I wanted, which is why I wanted to move onto my own place.
I know lots of artists that are on it that are also holding up a career through it as well. It’s amazing- the sharing of knowledge. It just wasn’t something that was around when I started learning to make music. I was buying magazines and watching computer music videos like a lot of us were back then. And even that was really sparse. The learning curve was so slow, now people can sign up for a month on someone’s Patreon and just learn so much new stuff so quickly.
I think it’s benefiting the scene. There’s going to be so many amazing producers coming up in the next couple of years because they’re getting an abundance of knowledge. I feel very proud to be part of that.
How does it work then? If someone signs up what can access?
It’s month by month content featuring a tutorial video, a huge collection of samples and serum presets. Plus a load of various bonus content in there too.
It’s going really well, shout out to all of my members. I appreciate every one of you.
We’ve talked about curiosity and motivation but is there anything else you get from teaching?
I just love seeing someone’s progression. I find it amazing when you’ve been teaching someone and they get these little eureka moments or you could teach an hour lesson on something they’re really curious about but there’s this one little tip that they’re just like, “Oh my god, that’s a light bulb moment.” And I’ve had that so many times throughout my career. So it’s great to see that happening in the lesson and they’re super excited.
I’m really grateful for the knowledge and that just gets me excited for more teaching. It’s something I never thought I would be doing. If you asked me if I wanted to do 1-2-1’s, even 10 years ago I would have said no. I would have been gatekeeping. I was like “I’ve learned all this, I’m self-taught and never went to university.”
Maybe I had a bit of an ego around it, but it’s completely changed now. I will teach you everything I know and you’re going to do something that’s uniquely yours with it. You may start off by leaning on people’s styles, but eventually you’ll have your own sound. And that’s what I want to help people achieve.
Did that mindset switch come from your love of the scene, wanting to put back into it?
I guess when I started the Patreon, it was not really something I thought I wanted to do, but we were in lockdown- all my gigs had been cancelled. I was lucky enough to still be doing carpentry at the time with a friend. We were able to work in houses where people weren’t in them. So, that was great.
He actually told me he was like, “Oh, you should do Patreon. You’ll be great at that.” When it first started I didn’t know how to explain myself. It’s the first time I’ve ever been vocal out loud and trying to teach someone, so there was a big learning curve there. But finally I got into it and I saw the benefit and enjoyed the messages I was getting from people.
I didn’t think the first few videos were very good at all but there’s probably some good content in there for people. I would have people messaging me saying, “I’ve learned more from you than I have in three years of university.” Things like that were very special.
It just showed to me how valuable the service I was giving was. I had no proper job in lockdown. I’d lost that side of music. I thought to myself I’ll do this maybe make a couple hundred quid and then that’ll be okay and it’s just grown into something that I can support myself with. I’m still really passionate about delivering the highest quality content and teaching and just sharing as much knowledge as I can.
