Introducing: FaltyDL

Introducing: FaltyDL

9 August, 2010 | 1.26AM

• Written by: Sean Lewis
• Filed under: Music News: faltydl, planet mu

Think you know what kind of music FaltyDL makes? Think again: with nearly every new release, the New York producer turns out to have a new trick up his sleeve. Last year his album ‘Love Is A Liability’ launched him into the spotlight for dubstep enthusiasts, but he hardly limits himself to that genre’s wobbly terrain.

His debut EP for Ramp Recordings ranged from instrumental hip-hop to sparkling electronica; his ‘All in the Place’ EP for Rush Hour tackled acid house and electro-funk. ‘Phreqaflex’, his new EP for Planet Mu, bumps and flexes like it’s 1999 all over again, and UK garage still rules the roost. And a forthcoming Planet Mu single finds him challenging Floating Points for the slow-house crown.

Refreshingly low-key about his talent, Lustman told us, “I started FaltyDL as an outlet for both my music and my ego. Coming from a background in bands, it was incredibly liberating to produce all of the instruments in a song. I first started making messy jungle tracks and ambient lounge-y stuff with a sense of humor. That soon became boring and awful.”

From boring and awful to innovative and enlightening, FaltyDL’s is music ripened for an enriched listening experience. Read on for the full interview.

FaltyDL, ‘Tom@Ramp’ [Ramp Recordings]

What is the concept behind your name?

I can’t honestly remember what I was thinking when I chose FaltyDL@AOL.com as a 12 year old. Planet Mu was almost going to release my album under my real name, Drew Lustman, but the Ramp 12” had already come out under FaltyDL, so I kept it for congruency’s sake. And it’s just a little weird, but it rolls of the tongue all right.

How would you describe your own music?

What music gets released and what gets produced are entirely two different things. I released a single and an album that made sense together last year, and then found Rush Hour wanted to release my weirder disco stuff. So I make all sorts of music. Garage, house, jungle, hip-hop, disco, some Afrobeat too. I try and play some of it all in my sets, but I love so much of what other people are doing that I play a lot of theirs too. I’ve played some sets of all my own productions, but they are stressful. For both me and the crowd, haha.

FaltyDL, ‘Human Meadow’ [Planet Mu]

Are you an early bird, late nighter, or all-nighter?

I used to be nocturnal. I enjoy a regular sleep pattern now, though. Although that being said, when I’m on tour I average about four hours a night. Every once in a while I’ll watch the sun rise and mess myself up for about a week. It’s all good though.

How do you explain your music to your family?

I have just said it’s dancey stuff in the past. My dad gets it, I think. My sister is sorta surprised it’s working out for me, and my mom loves it. She likes the album from last year a lot, but she hated the jungle stuff I used to make. “Too crazy,” she would say. 

Where do you produce?

I produce in my bedroom. I just moved apartments two days ago and now have an incredibly large bedroom. The acoustics in here are awful, I need to buy some soundproofing material and get some carpets down. It will be ok. I hope.

Do you currently have a favorite piece of gear/software?

I love reason. Reason 3.0. Nothing flashy, just fun.

What inspires you when you go into the studio?

Boredom, I think. Which is pretty pathetic as I live in NYC. I have nothing to complain about, really, in that aspect. But yeah, just sitting at home looking at crap on the internet for three hours, and then saying, f*ck, I shoulda focused all that time on a new tune.

FaltyDL, ‘All in the Place’ [Rush Hour]

How long does a typical production take you?

Anywhere from four hours to one week. The old tracks on ‘Love Is a Liability’ were all done in about five hours. Some of the newer ones I return to on a daily basis and keep checking things on them, improving hopefully.

Which record do you wish you had made?

Hmmm, Herbie Hancock’s ‘Head Hunters’.  If I could play all those instruments that well…

A mass exodus of your Brooklyn neighborhood begins, due to an unforeseen incoming supernatural disaster of untold proportions. Which one record would you grab before joining the escape party?

F*****ck, thats a good question.  A blank CDR, so I could record the alien sounds.

What was the best party/gig/festival you’ve ever attended, and why?

Herbie Hancock at Carnegie Hall. After the show I ran and was first in line to get an autographed LP. We chatted for about 20 minutes. We discussed the whereabouts of the ‘Head Hunters’ bassist Paul Jackson. It was at this point that I realized I was in an actual conversation with Herbie Hancock. I sorta went silent after that.

What was the best party/gig/festival you’ve ever played, and why?

Man, all the gigs in London have been amazing. I played Plastic People on my first UK tour. Crazy. Nonsense night. I didn’t even play a good set, it was just too much fun. The first DubWar in NYC I played with Ras G, DJG and Kode 9 was crazy too. Clouds was there too. DubWar is incredible. Oh, I also played a classical concert in a church in my hometown when I was 17. I played the double bass. I was incredibly stoned and young, and the light shining through the stained glass was sick. I also knew my parts by heart so I could close my eyes the whole time.

Musical genres: horrible and constricting categories, or needed definitions for avid fans to follow?

I dunno. Helps find reviews in magazines. I don’t really care. “Future garage” is pretty awful though.  What about just regular garage?

FaltyDL, ‘Phreqaflex’ [Planet Mu]

When you’re not listening to electronic music, what do you listen to?

Funk and soul mostly. Timeless stuff. Hip-hop, too, a lot of old ‘92-’94 East Coast party hip-hop. Actually, Slick Rick is on rotation at the moment.

When you’re not making or playing music, what’s your preferred pastime?

Hanging with my friends. Walking around New York, trying to stay out of trouble. Writing bizarre emails to the people who work for Planet Mu. Hustling and hassling.

Best restaurant in New York?

Big Arc Chicken on 1st Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets. Dirty, late-night Middle Eastern soap operas and chicken. Where the taxi drivers take their breaks, so you gotta hustle for a table at 3am.

Tell us about your upcoming gigs and releases…

Just dropped ‘Phreqaflex’ 12” on Planet Mu, the garage-y one, and in September, they’ll put out the ‘Endeavour’ 12”, the house-y one. New album on Planet Mu soon come.  An EP on Ramp, perhaps, as well as some other tricks up my sleeve, but can’t speak of them just yet.

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