Fable

Fable

Fable was part of the proficient PNG crew along with dub heads Congi and Solero, who used to tear up nights like Detonate and Dollop back when the movement hit its pinnacle during the late noughties. After a string of renowned EPs since 2007, the beat maker finally decided to release his long awaited debut album, Transitions. Now residing in the humdrum of Manchester, he still holds Notts close to his heart, which is where he recorded the bulk of the album. 

You’ve been making conscious music and gaining a solid worldwide fan base for over a decade. Why has the debut album taken so long to transfuse?
It's something I’ve wanted to do for the last three years. Before that I never considered or thought about doing an album because I was still experimenting with my musical direction. I was never really confident enough to put together an album. Making tunes is one thing but building this was a huge personal step for me.

The album seems to have been developed, produced and cultivated organically at your own control with no pressure or vexation from outside sources. How important is this in the construction process of generating something so personal and pure to the artist?
Just like everyone else, I've had certain things on my plate to deal with and it would be unfair of me to say that there hasn't been any influence of pressure or vexation from outside sources. There have been positive influences too, but these are just things we all have to deal with in life. Aside from all of my other general influences, its things like pressure or vexation that enhance the organic elements of my music.

The whole album incorporates a wide selection of musical influences that makes the sound unpredictable and fresh. Is it difficult to keep pushing the boundaries and to test yourself creatively?
Since day one I have always tried to push my musical boundaries. I'm not from a musical background, nor do I play any instruments, so my thought and doing process would always be different to, let's say, a beat maker who knows musical theory. I don't find it difficult to push the boundaries within my music but it's certainly challenging. Like for example, I spend most of my time listening to hip hop, but I wouldn’t build a typical sounding hip hop beat; I will try to extract and represent certain elements of hip hop in a different way. I would apply the same method with, let's say, dub or reggae music and so on.

What are the top five records that mean the most to you and why?
This is a hard-ass question. OK here goes:

• Big Pun – Yeeeah Baby LP
: This album just brings back my childhood; my older bro always played me Big Pun.
• ScHoolboy Q – Oxymoron LP
: I have only started bumping Q in the last year. If you know me well, you'll know how ignorant I can be towards new music but after listening to some of his old mixtapes and eventually Oxymoron, ScHoolboy Q definitely brought back gangster rap. I like how this album is almost commercially tailored but it still holds the essence of real gangster rap. 

• Nas – Illmatic LP
: One of the most creative LPs ever to hit stores, enough said. 
• Mr. Rigsby – Run: This was the first dubstep record I ever heard on a sound system back in 2007 that got about three rewinds (I didn't have a clue what was going on). I had no info on what the song was called or who made it, but I managed to find it years later. Love this tune.
• Goth-Trad – Sunbeam
: Everything I want in a dubstep record. Gets a play in every set without fail.

I was struck by the raw yet sentimental cover art of the album. How did you go about choosing it?
There were no intentions of having my grandad on the front cover. My auntie was shooting some photos for the album in the garden and he came outside to see what was going on, so we got him involved in a couple shots and when shortlisting the photos, I knew I wanted to include him somewhere which then ended up being the front cover. It’s a subtle homage to the man who made me who I am.

The promotional aspect of selling an album can be extremely difficult for underground artists. How do you make sure your music is reaching the right ears?
I don't really know what the right or wrong ears are. It's a self-released album which means there is no record label funding or marketing the release, but I've always received a great deal of support from the public as well as certain industry heads who are always keen to help me out, which I think is really cool. There have also been various blog writers who have written reviews on the album, which has given it more exposure too. Regardless of how it sells, I enjoyed putting the album together and building such a personal project to me. If people want to listen and buy my music then that's cool. If not, then financially it's a loss on my end but I'll take that – it won't change my music, which is what it's about.

You gained recognition as a dubstep artist during the early noughties, playing at the prestigious Detonate nights when the movement really took over Notts. Since then the genre has been in a steady critical decline. What are the reasons for this?
I don't spend too much time being concerned with why that is. Since early noughties we've been living amongst a fusion of music where it's all about progression and development, however an artist intends to do that. Obviously today it's clear to visualize and hear that other types of music have taken over the dance floor but that's cool, you gotta roll with the times.

Do you feel a lot of artists in electronic music try to copy each other and therefore sound generic? How do you try to be original as possible?
I think there are always elements of replication in all music, but I think it's hugely dependent on two things; an artist's initial reasons for making tunes and also an artist's influences both past and present, and how they fuse and apply that to making rhythms, designing sounds or sampling etc. I think there will always be subtle nods towards an artist doing similar music, who, let's say, has pioneered a sound that has influenced your style of production.

Is Nottingham a beneficial place to create music or does it restrict the opportunities to further your production techniques in terms of facilities and equipment?
Nottingham is a great place to make music. It's down to how much you want to learn about furthering your production techniques. For example, I studied at Confetti for four years where they provided students and guests with free equipment and studio access via booking systems with a studio technician present who always helps you out with any engineering problems or enquiries. Big up Lez. As well as good facilities, there are some keen, vibrant music makers and enthusiasts who are always down to talk music, make music whatever.

If you had to liken the album to a particular type of coffee, what would it be and why? Or maybe another type of hot beverage if you’re not a coffee head, but something tells me you are?
Yeah, I do enjoy a coffee more than the next man. I only really drink espresso but I think the album is more like a mocha maybe? It's a tough question to answer in fairness. It's probably a cappuccino with a couple spoons of brown sugar for a bit of spice. Or it could be a cuppa tea, it all depends what the listener is feeling and tasting, they’re the ones who interpret it, everyone hears something different and takes it in contrastingly.

Transitions by Fable is out now. 

Fable Bandcamp