It sounds strange to call any producer a “darling” of a label like MethLab, but since his release of the acclaimed Oppression EP on the hard bass music label’s BNKR series, that’s sort of what Disprove has become. With Oppression and now his more recent single, “Hard Problem/Automatic,” Disprove joined Malux and Disphonia as one of MethLab’s label-defining producers, though MethLab is hardly the only label he’s graced. Disprove has been featured on Eatbrain, Bad Taste, Noisia’s Invisible label and most recently on Blackout’s 2017 compilation for his track “Circle of Confusion” with Merikan, out earlier this year on Blackout’s Evolutions series, as well as on Othercide’s The Insurrectionists EP with Posij and others. Thus, “Label Darling” is really not an unwarranted title, as Disprove’s choppy, technical and buoyant style is in high demand from multiple labels at the minute.
The most recent dual single on MethLab seemed like a good opportunity to pick Disprove’s brain about his process before he gets going on more releases this spring and luckily the Berlin-based producer is not one to mince words or avoid giving technical answers. Readers who are interested in an artist’s creative process, this is a great Q&A to get some no-nonsense insight from a producer who is clearly all about the work. 
This is your first release on MethLab since the Opression EP, and both tracks are quite different from anything on that one. How did you choose these tracks to be released now and was there a reason you chose such different styles?
The idea to release this single started when I sent “Hard Problem” to MethLab and they asked me to make something similar, or just as weird, to put beside it. I think both tunes fit perfectly into the Methlab concept and they couldn’t deserve a better place.
Speaking of diverse styles, the two tracks “Automatic” and “Hard Problem” also seem quite different from each other. Why put them together on a single release?
The tunes are different because they come from different creative periods I had in 2017.
“Hard Problem” comes from a huge burst of creativity I had between January and March, during those times I wrote that one, the “Oppression” EP and many other tracks. After that I had months of literally nothing but as soon as the creativity drop-down ended, “Automatic” was the first tune I produced.
“Hard Problem” is quite amen-driven with almost a jungle beat. What made you choose to incorporate those elements into what it otherwise a quite dark track?
I used to listen and produce breakcore in the past so I thought it was a good occasion to add stuttered amen breaks to it and indirectly tell people how extensive my electronic music culture is and how cool I am (laughs).
How did you line up the complex syncopation of the beat with the bass to on “Hard Problem?”
The main sub bass and kick are the same sound – basically a paytrance kick with long decay – so the effect comes already from the dynamic of the sample itself; the clicky percussions do the rest I guess.
“Automatic” also has some interesting syncopation, especially in the beginning of the track. How did you come up with that beat progression?
It was random, initially the tune had a standard DnB rhythm but by copy/pasting the drum in the wrong spot I came up with that syncopation.
The vocal sample in “Automatic” is quite futuristic and robotic. Did you pick it because you already had that sort of mechanical synth, or was the synth inspired by the vox sample?
The vox sample comes from a very old acid house tune I have in my hard drive. Since its quality was quite bad and I couldn’t find that tune in wav I tried to add some effects to it in order to mask the mp3-vinyl rip quality out. I ended up with this robotic voice that worked very well with the arrangement and so I decided to add it to the final arrangement.
The beat switches to more of a recognizable neuro one after the break on “Automatic.” What made you want to put those two beat progressions back to back?
I usually do radical switches on my second drops. Since the initial idea was a standard DnB tune it was easy to go fully neuro on the second part of the tune. It also makes everything more interesting, enjoyable and useful for DJs.
What is your next release going to be on MethLab or otherwise? Any collabs or touring coming up?
I have a lot of remixes and collaborarions coming out in the next months plus a pair of singles to be released around April/May.
“Hard Problem/Automatic” is out not worldwide on MethLab and can be streamed on Soundcloud. All Disprove’s recent releases are listed for purchase on Beatport. Check out the MethLab website for news on upcoming releases, shows and tours.
Disprove’s contribution to The Insurrectionists, “Hyuman,” is also playable below.
