Ride the Plane by T>I (Mathew South) lands on September 25 on the renowned Sofa Sound Bristol run by DLR. The EP, a four-tracker, serves up a meditative cross-over between the no-frills, raw energy sound T>I champions and the more laid back & funky imprint of Sofa Sound.
After a stint of various collaborations, most notably smashing it as Run In The Jungle together with D*Minds, getting back to releasing his own material is a pivotal moment for T>I.
What’s more; ‘The Infuriator’ sees Bristol as his second home, having nothing short of something like a city-wide residency as a DJ there. Naturally, solidifying that legacy with a first full EP on one of the most respected local labels in the drum and bass-genre holds a lot of meaning.
Tons to discuss, so let’s get to the matters at hand: having a moment to reflect on the solo return and the craft in a broader sense. And yes, there are valuable insights from the studio-minded creators out there.
Enjoy what also is the first interview with The Infuriator for UKF.
Congratulations on your new EP with Sofa Sound, how does it feel to finally put these tunes out?
I’m absolutely gassed about it. It’s my first proper solo EP in years, so there’s a real sense of relief and excitement. I do so many projects with other people that sometimes I forget to make stuff that’s purely mine. Getting this one out feels like taking a big breath, I’m finally letting something I made on my own speak for itself.
It’s weird because I’ve been busy with remixes, collabs, and VA EPs, but this one has a different energy. There’s a bit of pride in that. It feels like I’m reintroducing myself to my own music after spending so long helping other people realise theirs.
How did the Sofa Sound connection happen, what drew you to them?
It was pretty natural. I’ve always rated what DLR does. Jay is a good mate and I respect his vision. In this scene you have acquaintances and you have mates, and Jay is definitely a mate. That kind of relationship makes creative decisions easier — you don’t overthink it, you just send someone stuff and they tell you how it is.
I’d been sending them tunes for a while and Jay (DLR) was playing them. The one that really grabbed him was “Ride the Plane,” which was stupidly quick to make, literally about three hours. He loved it and he’s been playing it every set. When someone you trust plays something you knocked out in an afternoon and says it’s a banger, it gives you the confidence to push it further as an EP.
What I like about Sofa is the mutual appreciation. I listen to their output and think, “I wish my tunes could hit like that.” And Jay’s said the same about mine. That back-and-forth made it feel right to put these tracks together with them.
Was the EP planned or did it come about organically from sending tunes over?
Totally organic. I didn’t sit down thinking, “Right, make a Sofa EP.” I was making tunes the way I always do: drums first, groove first. I’d been sending bits over and then Jay started playing a few of them out. “Hold It” got a lot of love from their camp, and once a few things were getting plays, it became obvious we had enough for an EP.
Sometimes you’re too close to your own stuff to see what’s working. You need other people to road-test and react to it. In our case, Jay’s reaction pulled it together. He asked for pre-masters and suddenly we had a September release date. I was a bit stunned, because I hadn’t even road-tested a few tracks myself yet.
Talk me through how you make tracks, you mentioned you always start with drums?
Yeah, always drums. For me, rhythm is the backbone. I’ll get a groove going and the rest grows around that. I’m not a traditional “musical” type in the sense of writing full melodic arrangements first. I find a drum pattern that locks and then build the rest of the bits as layers to support that rhythm.
On the EP you can hear that method in action. There are three tracks with a strong 808 feel and those were built to hit on systems. I love that physicality, I love the idea of the music being something you physically feel, not just hear.
“Breakneck” was the first one I wrote for the project. It’s an off-step sort of track that sits in this weird spot. Older ravers get it straight away, younger people sometimes don’t know quite what to do with off-step beats. I played it in Belgium earlier this year and the response was great; they locked onto it. That’s the joy of testing your ideas on different crowds.
“17mm” started as another drum idea. At first it felt a bit shallow in the dynamic range, so I added this reese element to give it depth and space. It ended up being a bit more synth-driven than some of my usual rollers, which felt refreshing.
How hands-on were Sofa Sound with the A&R process?
They were very hands-off in the best way. I’d send tracks and check, “Are you feeling this?” and Jay would say, “Mate, it’s you — it fits.” He kept telling me the EP was “so T>I,” and he meant that in a positive sense: it’s got character and it smacks. That kind of trust is brilliant.
You talk about testing on the dancefloor, how important is that step for you?
It’s vital, but maybe not for the reason people expect. I test tracks primarily for the mixdown and for how they behave in a real DJ context.
I’ve got a formula I trust. If the groove and arrangement feel right to me, I’ll back it. But I want the track to sit in the mix properly. It needs to have the headroom and punch to survive on a club soundsystem. So I’ll test things to make sure the low end is behaving, the kick and sub don’t fight, and the energy transitions feel good. That’s why I road-test even tunes I’m confident in.
And then with a tune like “Hold It”, it’s such a straightforward heavy roller that it works as a DJ tool. I can mix three or four tunes around it without stressing. But if someone else puts it in their set and plays it differently than I would, it can show me things about it I didn’t notice while making it.
You call your tracks ‘DJ tools’ a lot. What exactly does that mean to you?
A DJ tool is a track that helps you build a set. It’s not there to be a showpiece, it’s there to do a job: add weight, hold a section together, provide a bed for other elements. For me that’s the point.
I grew up learning that less can be more. Lots of producers will stuff tracks full of everything, but DJ tools are about going the other direction: strip out what’s unnecessary so the essential parts shine. I’ll often add loads of stuff when I first sketch a tune, then bin elements until it breathes again.
Back in the day, people like Mickey Finn and DJ Hype would tell me when an intro was too long or when you lost the story. That taught me a lot. A functional track that fits into a set without clashing is incredibly useful. It makes the DJ’s life easier and, ultimately, makes the dancefloor happy.
Production-wise, what lessons have stuck with you over the years?
If I had to pick one, mixdown. Always mixdown.
I remember back in the days an engineer reminding me that mixdown isn’t about pushing things louder; it’s about pulling other things down to make the important elements apparent. That’s stayed with me. I mix down while I build the track; I don’t leave it until the end. Staying connected to the balance throughout keeps the vibe intact.
Knowing your room and your monitors is just as important. I don’t have the fanciest monitors, but I know them. You can spend five grand on speakers and still produce poor mixes if you don’t know your space. Learn your tools and your environment, and that will pay back tenfold.
Another big one for me is restraint. People will often add layers to ‘fill’ a track, but the magic often comes from taking things out and letting the groove breathe.
Tell us more about your process in the studio…
I’m an analogue head when it comes to the initial stages. I run sounds through my desk, using various synths and distortion units. It’s not that I avoid plugins, I use a lot of them, but feeding signals through hardware gives me a rawness that’s hard to replicate.
I tend not to compress heavily. I’ll do fine EQ work and subtle processing so the drums sit in front. I want the drums to punch without being squashed. Everything’s about making the studio shake if possible, pushing the low end and setting everything relative to that. That approach is a bit old school, but it’s how I get the character I like.
When I do the digital mixdown I’ll polish it, but the raw weight generally comes from the analogue chain. People like Break and DLR have commented on the length and complexity of my flow, and DLR, who mastered this EP, didn’t have to do much. He tickled the top end and that was it. That’s a compliment to the way I stage and mix things early on.
How do you balance classic hardware and modern plugins?
I’m a bit of a hoarder for old kit, but I also embrace new tech. The Emu Proteus 2500 — if anyone knows it, they’ll understand how deep that thing is. It’s a beast and it took me years to get comfortable with it. Old gear has a personality that’s hard to replicate, but it can be fiddly and slow to tweak on the fly.
At the same time, modern plugins do incredible things quickly. They’re efficient, often in key, and they let you iterate fast. I use both. I’ll sample a patch from an old synth, or run things through analogue outboard for grit, then polish it with plugins. The trick is not to chase every new toy, know the tools you’ve got and master them.
There’s a charm to the limitations of old gear, it forces creativity. When you’ve got fewer options you make more considered choices. I think that’s why some old sounds cut through; they’re incredibly tailored.
From what you explain, the new EP came about in a very natural and spontaneous way – what’s your take on working through creative blocks?
I used to try forcing it. Pre-lockdown I’d make myself go into the studio after a day’s work and grind until something stuck. That worked for a while, but now I’ve moved away from that approach. My day job runs me, I own a t-shirt printing business, so the day-to-day can be long.
If I’m exhausted after 60 hours in the print shop, dragging myself into a hot studio and trying to force a tune isn’t productive. Now I wait for the impulse. When the idea’s there, I’ll dive in and finish it. A lot better results come from wanting to be in the studio, rather than forcing presence.
That said, performing can trigger ideas. I did a day party recently and brought DJ Zinc out of retirement for one set. Watching him play straight up inspired me so much that I couldn’t wait to get back to the studio. Sometimes seeing others play lights a fire in you in ways nothing else can.
How important are collaborations in that sense?
They’re massive. Collabs have been my creative CPR. When you hit a wall, working with someone else brings different techniques and fresh ears to the table. It’s amazing how one person’s approach to drum shaping or sidechaining can flip a track.
Everyone has a different way of attacking the same problem. You pick up tips on compressors, routing, arranging, and you can then adapt them into your own workflow. It keeps you learning and keeps the spark alive.
I also enjoy doing b2b’s live, because it shows you how tracks can be used in a set in ways you didn’t anticipate. The “face-to-face” night at Lakota Gardens, where me and Benny L had to DJ facing each other was a perfect example. It was a weird set-up, but brilliant for spurring creativity.
That sounds mad…
Yeah, it was a proper concept. Instead of the usual side-by-side b2b, they set up the decks so you were literally facing each other. Each DJ had two CDJs and there was no submixer in the middle, so you couldn’t just mute their channel, you were on your own. If you wanted to load a tune, you had to lean across the decks.
It was fun. Me and Benny have done loads of sets together, so we know each other’s cues and drops. That familiarity made it work. We slid in and out of each other’s mixes just by instinct. After the set, Benny turned to me and said it was the best set we’d ever done together. That kind of feedback is gold.
Talking about Bristol, what does it mean to you?
Bristol has this community energy that’s rare. I’ve been going regularly since around 2015 and it became a second home. Promoters there tended to work together rather than aggressively compete, and that made for a very healthy scene. You’d get familiar faces turning up to different events and the vibe stayed consistent. Whether the room was packed or a bit quieter, the crowd had a real connection to the music.
Some of my best sets have come from Bristol. There was a church Halloween night I played at. It was a strange, perfect venue: big soundsystem, church acoustics, and people going off to proper music. I remember thinking, “This is mad, but it’s working.” Nights like that stick with you.
Also, the city supports daytime events well. I played at Lakota for a day event, did an early set, then did a b2b with Benny L, then another two-hour set that night on a different soundsystem. Being able to play different rooms on the same day and still have both crowds turn out is something you don’t often find elsewhere.
You’ve been a part of the scene for a long time. Do you think the current D&B landscape is healthy?
It’s changing, and like any era it has its highs and lows. There was a period where parts of the scene leaned into meme-driven drops and novelty tracks. There’s room for fun, of course, but when it starts to dominate, you can lose some of the serious, darker textures that made drum & bass compelling.
I still hear a lot of brilliant music. There are producers doing proper, serious work… the scant few who are pushing darker bass and weight back into the fold. That’s where my heart is: I want serious, heavy, well-crafted drum & bass, not necessarily moody for the sake of it, but with bite and intent.
Liquid is doing its thing too; I appreciate that side for its emotion. Artists like Calibre and Icicle (from back in the day) shaped what liquid is to me. There’s still great liquid being made, but the commercial poppier side has moved more into the mainstream, and that’s okay, just don’t let it be the only thing.
Do you teach or mentor? Have you thought about passing on your mixdown knowledge?
I’d love to. I’ve done a few taster tutor days — one with Melinki where we set up a mini-studio and had a small group come through to make tunes and talk techniques. It was brilliant, because it wasn’t a one-way thing — everyone shared tricks and we all learned.
A lot of people have asked me for tutorials, but I don’t always have the time. My print business takes up the day, and studio time is precious. But if I had the space and time I’d love to do more structured teaching, maybe a small class on mixdowns or drum programming. I’m already doing bits, where people come into the print shop and ask about processes, and I’d happily run a proper day if the opportunity came up.
What would you advise a producer who’s just starting out today?
Create your own lane and stay in it. That’s the simplest advice: don’t chase what’s trending. Find a sound you love and keep refining it.
Work on the fundamentals: mixdown, understanding dynamics, and learning how to make parts sit together. Those things matter more than the latest plugin or preset pack. I see a lot of really quick producers at the moment making quality stuff fast, and hats off, but if you want longevity, you need identity.
Also, don’t get seduced by fame-first thinking. Social media can make everything look instant, but real craft takes time. If you focus on the music and the DJ utility of your tracks, the rest will come.
Looking ahead — what’s next for you?
There’s loads on the stove. Me and D*Minds accidentally wrote about twelve tracks recently for Run In The Jungle. We didn’t set out to make an album, it just accumulated, so we’ll see whether that becomes a proper album or a string of singles.
I’m also preparing an EP for Critical and more work for Sofa Sound. Plus collabs with Limited, Benny L, and The Sauce are in the mix. There are always ideas that didn’t make it the first time round that I can revisit and refresh with new techniques. That’s one of the perks of the process, you can go back to an idea from years ago and make it work with what you know now.
My aim is to keep making serious music and support others around me who want to do the same.
There’s a lot of things cooking that I can’t say too much about yet, but expect more rollers, more tools, and hopefully some deep, darker vibes coming through.
Finally, any message for your fans and people who’ve been on the journey with you?
Just a huge thank you. I’m 47 now and still doing this after twenty-plus years. It’s mad. People who started raving with me in their twenties are now in their thirties and don’t go out as much, but they still message me and show love. That support keeps you going.
I’m grateful for the ride. I never set out to be famous, I set out to make music I wanted to hear.
To see those tunes played back and appreciated is what makes it all worthwhile.
So to everyone who’s been there, cheers for sticking through. I’m happy to still be here making the sounds I want to make.
Follow T>I: Soundcloud / Instagram
Sound Sound Bristol Bandcamp