Running a successful label is no easy feat, let alone two. But that is precisely what Dance Artifakts mastermind Terron Darby is setting out to do with FNR, this time in connection with Davin Coady. Designed as a breeding ground for some of DA’s select artists and friends to explore music without boundaries or preconceived notions, FNR is now behind its second release, this time, courtesy of seasoned dance floor maestro and co-founder Terron Darby, as he conjures his ‘It’s All Up In The Air’ EP, an emotion-driven journey that stands as a testament to the artist’s lush and widescreen sound.
Today, we catch up with Terron Darby to learn more about the drop of ‘It’s All Up In The Air’, how he manages various successful projects at once, his sound, origins, and more.
EG: Hi Terron! Welcome back to EG! It’s a pleasure to have you with us, as always. How’s your year so far? What have you been up to these days?
Terron Darby: Hi. Glad to be back, and thanks for having me. What year is it? Lol, this year’s theme – is family time, producing music, and radical self-care. Keeping a steady regiment with exercise, a balanced diet, and yoga has become an integral part of my life. On the music front, new music from Dance Artifakts and FNR Records. Really excited about what’s to come. A Europe trip was planned, but the restrictions have postponed things. Staying positive and looking forward to playing out again.
EG: First of all, congratulation on the release of your ‘It’s All Up In The Air’ EP for FNR! What has the initial reception been like?
Terron Darby: I appreciate all the support from EG on this release. Overall, the feedback from the early promos has been amazing and that’s all one could ask for. I’m getting positive responses from Hernán Cattáneo, Gavin Hardkiss, Powel, Stimmhault, Steve Parry, Nicolas Masseyeff, Wild Dark, David Orin, Nii Tei, and others. It’s an honor to get positive support from touring DJs and friends.
EG: And sonic-wise? What can your fans expect on this one? Did it take long to find the palette and imagine the worlds created on both tracks?
Terron Darby: Sonically the two tunes were made with the same synths, different rooms. I approached ‘Garden of Eva’ with loads of re-sampling, field recordings with custom drum hits, and percussion. The synths were a combination of a Nord Lead, Minilogue XD, Elektron Analog Four, and Moog Grandmother. That one was conceived in 2019 and finished with a second round of sessions in late 2021. It originally was intended to have a vocal, but in the end, I felt the violin was enough to carry it. The song is dedicated to my grandmother. I wanted to release it, but it needed a counterpart, so ‘It’s Up In the Air’ was born. The bulk of that one happened rather quickly in one jam session. It was literally a live pass with the XD, and Moog Grandmother, utilizing the modular aspects of the Moog and two hardware reverbs with tweaks to the arrangement.
My favorite components of the sound design for both tunes were the use of hardware reverbs: the analog spring reverb, and Strymon Big Sky pedal – they just have such a distinct ambience that I simply can’t get with plugins. All the automation and filters were in real-time, which gave it a nice flow. I like tracking in synth knob tweaks, as it helps with the sounds interacting together. Also, capturing sounds live allows me to capture “happy accidents” that can never be recreated. Thank you to Davin Coady and Matt Davis for all the help with these mixes. I think we landed in a great spot. Dav and I changed the mix like 4 or 5 times and ended up using the first one he did for ‘Garden of Eva’. That’s normally the case.
EG: This is the second release from your label, Faoi Na Realtai. How has the label been faring so far? Can you anticipate in any way what’s about to come?
Terron Darby: Dav and I could not be more excited. So far we have received amazing responses from his EP and now mine. We have an exciting year planned so stay tuned for more info very soon. We are looking at a release per month with FNR. That may increase, but we like to give things room to have their own space.
“First and foremost, it takes a team of people to tackle large projects. Not just a team, but the right team. The people I work with I’ve been friends with for years”
EG: We’ve had the pleasure of sharing the premiere of your video for ‘Garden Of Eva’. How was the concept for it born? Who was involved in the making of the video?
Terron Darby: The concept was born from a small brainstorming session. We do all of our art, graphics, videos, websites, mixing, and mastering within our core producers/artist circle from the labels. We get together online and throw suggestions in the chat and we make a few versions then pick one. We call the creators of our videos the “Anonymous Architects”. We are simply a small group of friends that all support each other. I’m truly blessed to be surrounded by such talented and solid creatives. (You know who you are) It’s teamwork that makes the dream work.
EG: You are quite the busy one, and are behind a lot of projects, including Dance Artifakts, FNR, Playdate, and Lost People. How do you manage to stay on top of everything? What advice would you give to someone who’s feeling like they are stretching themselves too much?
Terron Darby: First and foremost, it takes a team of people to tackle large projects. Not just a team, but the right team. The people I work with I’ve been friends with for years. I’m very fortunate to have such supportive friends. Some good advice would be to foster strong relationships with mutual respect. The unfortunate complexity to it is that so many people are just out for themselves and can’t see the big picture as a team/unit. Normally this has to do with age and personal development. I start with long-term thinking, patience, and understanding. I also have a full-time job that takes up a large part of my time, I’ve been fortunate to work remotely last two years, which allows me to schedule time for each of these areas. Unfortunately, when I turn up the heat in one area, another one suffers, so it’s really a balancing act. Yoga and personal self-care help me keep a calm balance and a clear understanding of how to prioritize things. Be patient, it takes time to find your pace and place. For me, now that the labels are up and running, we will shift our energies to gigging again across the U.S. and Europe. There are some cool events planned for 2022 if ‘restrictions’ permit, so I hope to see you on a dance floor soon. Where should we come to play? Reach out.
EG: How would you describe your sound by now? How was it evolved since you first started producing? What would you say are your main strengths and what would you like to improve?
Terron Darby: Such a tough one for me as I feel at this point, I’ve explored all genres and audio possibilities extensively and I really think it boils down to ‘mood’ or “what are we making today” for me. The sonic sound changes for the mood. I look at it as listening to music, dancefloor music, Soundtrack music, or good for podcast music, etc. As for my strengths? Hmmm, I’m good at getting a sound to what I want it to do or sound like I want it to sound like, with loads of happy mistakes. What could I improve on? I could improve on going to “let it go.com” and just release more music and get out of my own way.
Electronic Groove: Now, down memory lane…How did you first get involved in electronic music? Do you remember your first rave or live DJ? Was there a record or track or artist that pushed you down the rabbit hole?
Terron Darby: This will date me, but I was introduced to electronic music in the late ’70s by my dad. He turned me on to Kraftwerk and I never looked at music the same again. Also being a 70’s kid, I went through a lot of bands, including synths and drum machines with acoustic instruments. I started djing in the late ’80s in college. My roommate was a DJ and had loads of vinyl. He bought an Alesis ASR-10 sampler and I bought a Kurzweil 2000 synth. We played vinyl and sampled records! I started doing events during that time in local clubs with him and the rest is history. My first rave or club that really influenced me was a few clubs in Florida, one in Gainesville called Simons, Groove Jet in Miami and an event in Orlando called Ahhz. The DJ that did it for me was Sasha, hands down. There are so many but he really inspired me in my early stages and still today.
“Yoga and personal self-care help me keep a calm balance and a clear understanding of how to prioritize things. Be patient, it takes time to find your pace and place”
EG: What else can we expect from Terron Darby in the future? What new milestones are you looking forward to in 2022?
Terron Darby: This year I’m planning to start up gigs again, if the current restrictions permit ill announce things as they come. I’ll also be releasing new music and working with the release schedule for Dance Artifakts and FNR Records. It’s going to be a busy year. There are some very special surprises in store.
EG: Thank you for your time Terron! We wish you all the best for the future!
Terron Darby: Thank you and the EG team for the continued support and looking forward to more musical experiences with you.
Terron Darby’s ‘It’s All Up In The Air’ EP is out now via FNR. Purchase your copy here.
Follow Terron Darby: SoundCloud | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify
