Issue 29

• Who are you?

My name is Rory Sweeney. I’m a music producer, songwriter, sound designer and DJ.

• Where did your journey begin, where did your love for music come from?

My two brothers back when I was like 10/11 had me listening to a lot of early dubstep like Digital Mystikz, Skream, early James Blake, burial etc. I was messing around with GarageBand a bit at the time. I properly started making music at 16, trying to recreate songs by Mica Levi, Evian Christ and Tim Hecker out of obsession rather than creativity.

• What influence has social media had on your career so far, and what impact do you think it has had on the music industry as a whole?

Hard to say really. It’s definitely destroyed a lot of hierarchies within music and In ways gotten rid of the idea of scenes and subcultures.

It also has taken a lot of power away from massive record companies and publishers which is generally a good thing.

However that’s a double edged sword because nowadays, most labels only sign artists who are successful independently, essentially making them nothing more than a bank as they don’t offer the same promotional tools as before. So you’re kinda broke and fucked either way.

Being on the internet constantly to promote my music/respond to work messages, has no doubt impacted my mental health and is pretty easily the worst part of my job and has me considering quitting constantly. Ideally I wouldn’t be on instagram whatsoever.

• What does “Dedication’ mean to you?

I’m actually trying to be less dedicated right now. I think the pressure of being your ‘best self’ all the time is making everyone feel really depressed and inadequate. I would overall like a big slow down for everyone. I think most mental health discussions I see are built around making you more productive, which I think is kind of the route of a lot of these problems.

• What motivates you to continue learning and creating, how do you stay creative?

It makes me happy to write music, good or bad. 30 mins working on a song will always set me right, no matter what I’m going through. I also really cherish the relationships and friendships I’ve built through music and collaboration.

Writing music and my friendships from music are the only reasons I do it, everything else often leaves me upset and disappointed, and I try my best not to seek joy from playing shows or success generally, as I often feel very empty after.

• What advice would you have for anyone else looking to get into your space?

Write to have fun and to meet like minded people you can befriend.

Generally any sound that is on a short enough loop will sound good. Roll with your first idea and finish it every time, even if it's shit.

Don’t delete anything, especially when you're starting out. Through naivety you will write so much interesting stuff that you won’t realize is brilliant till years later.

Watch the Fact “Against The Clock” videos and production videos where producers go in depth about their workflow and creative process, that's how I learned how to use software like Ableton.

• What is your biggest milestone to date?

That’s a tough one, but a few so far would be playing at Open Ear Festival 2022. It was probably the best day of my life, a brilliant gig spent with some great friends.

Releasing ‘Watching Us with Sloucho’ and then charting for 2 days.

The Success of Myself, Curtisy and Sloucho’s albums over the summer and what that's led to for us.

Kojaque remixing "Men On A Mission".

• Who inspires you the most in your industry?

Bjork for being the best to ever do it. The Haxan Cloak for balancing really interesting solo music, with brilliant production work and soundtrack of all shapes and sizes. I would look to them a lot as a reference for what I’d like to do with my career.

Sloucho for the futuristic approach to sound and the incredible world building they do.

Autechre and Matmos inspire me every day to make music.

Mica Levi for making me fall in love with music and for never compromising on their vision.