Q&A - Yeti Mind Tricks
Yeti Mind Tricks encompasses the foundations of Techno. As a byproduct of Glasgow's legendary Sub Club, where he received his music education by seeing some of the most influential artists in the industry on a weekly basis, he understands the culture. Blending classic Detroit sounds with his own twist, encompassing Hip Hop and Garage. Yeti delivers sets that keep the crowd going and hanging onto every track. As a DJ - playing at incredible venues such as RADION Amsterdam, Sub Club, SWG3, LA Cheetah and Room 2 - Yeti has honed his craft over many years and has recently secured a residency with Amsterdam based event series FURTHER, which is fronted by the legendary DJ Bone. As a producer, Yeti is a relative newcomer, but has already amassed a strong back catalogue supported by some of the biggest names in the scene. With releases on FURTHER, Motech, Kuukou, Jackie Knows Karate and PL7, there is only more to come.
This week we had a few questions for Glasgow’s Yeti Mind Tricks including what his 3 desert island albums would be, the low-down on his latest residency with DJ Bone’s FURTHER & some advice for upcoming DJs & promoters. Read & listen below:
We have to ask...Where did the name Yeti Mind Tricks come from ?
Honestly it came about after I struggled to lock down a Spotify/beatport artist page under my old Alias Breezy. So I needed a change. My friends have always joked that I'm more Yeti than Human so it seemed the logical direction to go in!
Where do you discover new music?
I'm quite particular in what I play and I try to steer clear of what's getting rinsed regularly in other mixes etc. I tend to do my digging through Beatport/Trax source. I also follow loads of pages on Soundcloud that I feel fit my vibe, Artaphine being a particular favourite.
You are really active in the Glasgow club scene putting on different nights under your Bassment brand and bringing different international artists over. How long have you been running BASSment and what advice do you give to any other promoters starting out in Scotland?
BASSment began in January 2015 down in Stereo. Hugely underrated venue as it happens. I think the biggest advice I could offer is to stick with it even when the chips are down. Don't believe insta, not every event starting out is rammed. But if you believe in your brand, the sound you're putting out there then you need to give it time to grow. With BASSment we weren't in a position to even consider booking international guests until we made our Sub Club debut in 2017 where we booked Butch. But I don't mind telling you the 3 years leading up to that were a slog. Wouldn't change it for the world though.
Also, never accept an agent's first offer; there's always wiggle room to haggle! My dms are always open to young promoters starting out because I know it can be a lot more overwhelming than it looks.
It has been great to see your gig booking grow over the years and congrats on your recent new residency with Further (DJ Bone) in Amsterdam's RADION. What an amazing venue! Can you tell us more about this residency and your experience so far playing with the likes of Bens Sims & Helena Hauff ?
The residency is easily my proudest achievement to date. Being able to work the Bone and the further crew is an absolute dream come true. It's amazing working with such a talented collective who have the same feelings as myself about the scene and the culture. Getting to open for the likes of Bone b2b Ben Sims and Helena has been a huge learning curve too purely because of the licensing hours. Over here I feel like the warm up has kinda died. People going full throttle from the get go. I get it, we only have 4 hours in the club so why wait right? Over there though, if you are opening at 11pm, the first headliner isn't playing until 3am. So that definitely factors into the thinking when you're planning your set. I can't say I completely stuck to it though! Playing over there, one of my favourite things is there barely a phone in sight. living in the moment. Connecting with the music. The way it should be.
You are already signed with some fantastic and established labels such as Motech, reached the Beatport Top 10 and have had support from the likes of Peggy Gou, John Digweed, Marco Faraone, Laurent Garnier, Slam, Drumcomplex Ken Ishii, BBC 6 Music and many more...We've heard there's more music on the way?...can you let us in on what's coming up ?
Well I'm constantly working on new material. The One I'm asked about on an almost daily basis is the Track "We Ain't Like Them" which DJ Bone played in his last Boiler Room. It is coming very very soon. There's a full E.P coming on Bones new Label Further which will feature a remix of the title track by the man himself. I also have a track coming out on Boxia's label Outerworld.
Choose 3 albums if you were stuck on a desert island?
Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the 36 Chambers,
The Roots - Phrenology,
Madvillain - Madvillainy
Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer these questions. Could you leave us with some inspiration for the upcoming future Scottish DJs & producers ?
I feel like the biggest turning point for me was when I stopped making what I felt like I should be making, and started making what I wanted to make. Your music should be a reflection of you. You aren't gonna achieve that if you're not making music that's genuine to you. Again, DMS are always open on Instagram for young producers looking for advice, feedback or anything.
Listen here or below and check out BASSment’s next event (Fri 18th Aug) here: https://ra.co/events/1740847