Those who’ve caught Longshanks opening up for Glitch Mob, Datsik or FlyLo have likely snapped their head around when he dropped this tune…

It’s called “Fractured Background” & it’s by a duo from New Zealand: MedicTune. hailing from Christchurch/Wellington, these two have an ethereal approach to dubstep that reminds us (in a good way) of… ok, let’s just say it; it recalls the swirling genius of Burial’s sound. The spectral vocal trails that haunt their tunes are masterfully executed hooks & combined with oceanic bass weight, MedicTune have a sound that offers depth & power on the dancefloor.

The  dubstep duo is the project of Tyrone Frost & Tim Hardie. Starting sometime in 2008, these two started producing together. They would just sit on a couch & chill out in front of a computer & their creative process hasn’t changed much at all. Half way through 2009, they were offered a recording contract with Dubxtent Recordings (UK) which they took as a way of furthering their sound. Despite many other offers, MedicTune have decided to release their music through two New Zealand labels; Optimus Gryme Recordings & Bassweight Recordings.

The duo are currently working on a number of releases including a full length LP. They profess that they aren’t technical sound engineers or experienced producers, they just love making tunes that they think might reach people. A dubstep duo. Life into song. This is MedicTune.

We got to chat with the fellas from NZ in a hope to fathom what makes them tick…

How old are you two?

Tim: 20.

Tyrone: 19.

You guys have been making music a short while, yet your sound is very cohesive, what do you attribute that to?

Tyrone: We both have quite musical backgrounds, not necessarily musical families but we’ve had an interest in music and even production from a young age. I think we work well together. We try to help further each others contribution to a song.

Tim: Even though we’ve both been working together for a little bit, we’ve been dabbling in music for ages, I think the first time I started playing around with electronica was when I was about 14. We also tend to spend ages on each song, we aren’t necessarily perfectionists but it’s always good to listen to a song a few times in between each production session, it helps because you might hear or notice something different that could be changed each time. I also reckon we’re both on the same wavelength, we’re always talking about the certain feel or energy that we want to incorporate in the sound.

Who are some of your earlier pre-dubstep influences?

Tim: I used to and still do listen to a lot of that NinjaTune-style downtempo electronica. Artists like Bonobo, Cinematic Orchestra, Portishead and Aim are amazing.

Tyrone: Tim introduced me to a lot of electronic music when we were younger so I am really into ninja tune stuff as well. I have always enjoyed listening to Boards of Canada, and well made hip-hop, J-Dilla is cool.

You sound does a great job of balancing deep/emotional vibes with heavier dancefloor oriented energy – is this balance a conscious thing or do your tunes just turn out that way?

Tim: First of all, thank you for saying that. We want to create a sound that has an effect on the way people think, even if at the end of the tune they become emotionless or void of thought, it still hopefully has an effect. At the same time, we make dubstep, we can’t ignore that and a lot of our influence comes from rave culture. We try to incorporate the feelings that people sometimes get from being at a rave, not particularly what goes into their ears but what’s going on in their mind.

Tyrone: I guess I would like it to appeal to real people at different times of their week. Maybe they want to listen to our music at a club, but also maybe in their headphones at work. Nobody lives at a club but at the same time people don’t want to have to think too hard on the dancefloor.

Is there a direction you’d like to take your sound over the next year+ of production?

Tyrone: I think Medictune music in the future will fluctuate back and forward from the dubstep sound that it has, but we like it to keep the emotion that we try display through it.

Are you guys interested in working at different tempos? It seems there’s a lot of potential for smoother 2steppin sounds with you guys…?

Tim: That’s a tough one because it’s always good to stick to what you know and do best but at the same time that can always get boring after a while. There’s definitely room for different tempos or more swung rhythms within our sound.

Tyrone: I really like wonky beats, so it would be cool to make some tunes in that style.

There seems to be a large film influence on your tracks…?

Tim: Yeah a lot of the things that influence us aren’t music. Taking a sample from a movie that made us think about something or change our attitude towards something brings a bit more authenticity to a tune. A few of our vocal samples are just recordings of general life around us, it could be traffic or wind or trees or a dog barking but it’s
authentic sound – it’s sound that hasn’t been planned or engineered for music. Getting sounds from places like movies or audiobooks and incorporating them into a tune builds an authenticity which you can’t get from instruments.

Tyrone: We don’t have a vocalist, and I can’t sing, so we try and get samples to speak for us. I have never thought about it but I suppose our music kinda sounds like movie music. Cool.

Are you both avid fans of dubstep & bass music in general? What artists are you feeling at the moment?

Tim: Absolutely. I’ve personally been getting into a lot of Silkie, as well as Sub Focus, there are so many incredible producers out there. There isn’t much better than hearing a good bass-heavy tune on a loud sound system or with headphones turned up, the feeling of bass rattling your ribcage is awesome.

Tyrone: I am a big fan of good dubstep, but I really like all types of music, real music with feeling is cool. I quite like future beat sorta stuff at the moment, FlyLo sorta thing but heaps of cool underground cats are making amazing tunes.

I’ve heard from a few dubstep DJs that the scene in NZ seems quite strong considering its small population – can you explain NZ’s appetite for bass?

Tim: To be honest, no, I cannot explain it! Maybe it’s the isolation of NZ but I have no idea why we love bass culture, we just do.

Tyrone: I am not sure either, but you are right we definitely do have a strong bass culture.