Dylan Lane, professionally known as ill.Gates (born October 8, 1982), is a Canadian electronic music producer, disc jockey (DJ), and educator known for his contributions to the dubstep and bass music genres, and has garnered acclaim for his innovative musical approach, collaborations with notable artists, and efforts to share electronic music production knowledge within the community.
Ill.Gates | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Dylan Lane |
Also known as | the Phat Conductor |
Born | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | October 8, 1982
Genres | |
Labels |
|
Website | illgates |
Career
editRecounting his history as an artist, Lane began experimenting with instruments around the age of seven. In high school, Lane took interest in the rave scene, learning to DJ in his basement and playing small local shows, including DJing for a breakdancing crew. After high school, Lane moved to Toronto, Ontario to pursue higher education, while also pressing original songs to vinyl under the name "The Phat Conductor".
By 2005, his songs had piqued the interest of Bay Area DJ and music producer Bassnectar, who requested Lane join him on tour. While on tour, Lane attended Burning Man for the first time in 2006, gaining inspiration from the scene. Upon returning to Toronto, Lane discovered his computers had been damaged, assumed to be related to a power surge. This event forced the abandonment of several works in-progress and prompted Lane to start new music from scratch. At the same time, Lane decided to change his alias to ill.Gates. Following the completion of writing new music, Gates published his first album, Autopirate, in 2008.[1]
Originally taking interest in industrial and experimental sounds, Gates was influenced by the likes of Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Aphex Twin, among others. He also enjoyed hip hop as well as Jamaican dub music, which helped to formulate a more eclectic approach to songwriting as he developed under his own name.[2] As he matured, Gates continued to incorporate elements of other electronic music genres, such as dubstep, glitch-hop, drum and bass, as well as non-electronic genres like hip-hop, jazz, and classical music. In describing the songwriting process, Gates had this to say:[2]
It’s a lot like starting a fire. I get a bunch of flammable things in a pile and try to set them up in such a way that they want to ignite. Then I start striking matches and watching them die in my cold fingers. Eventually one of them lights up and I get very excited. I try to calm myself and blow on the fire gently at first. Once it’s going I start blowing harder and harder until it has a life of it’s [sic] own. Then I just have to stay awake until it’s done.
— ill.Gates
Gates has consistently collaborated with many artists over the course of his career, most notably Bassnectar,[3][4][5] as well as others, such as Mimi Page,[6] Liquid Stranger,[7] Masia One,[8][9] Minnesota,[10] G. Jones, and Mr. Bill.[11] Outside the electronic realm, Gates has been credited
Sound design and production techniques
editIn addition to his musical endeavors, Gates helped pioneer various production techniques within Ableton Live, creating and selling his first Ableton templates in 2006. Seeking to expand capabilities in manipulating sounds during live performances, Gates began publishing performance templates to Ableton forums, still posting as his original moniker "The Phat Conductor", around 2011 for various MIDI controllers such as the Akai MPD32 and APC40.
Originally offering in-person lessons, increasing demand, along with a regular gig schedule of his own, grew to the point of the in-person format becoming unsustainable. This eventually spawned the creation of Producer Dojo, Gates's online learning platform, which offers resources, tutorials and workshops, along with mentorships to aspiring producers. Following the murder of George Floyd, the platform also began incorporating music history lessons focusing on various racial and political events.[12]
Personal life
editGates' father, an afro-asian from Trinidad,[12] was a professional guitarist and his mother was a teacher.[2]
Gates is married to his wife, Nunich, a war refugee from Laos.[13] Together, they have a daughter, born in 2019.[13]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit- Autopirate (2008)
- The ill.Methodology series (2011)
- Terminally Ill (2013)
- Departures (2018)
- The Arrival (2021)
- Bent (2022)
EPs
edit- The ill.Collaborations EP with Opiuo (2010)
- Sweatshop Labor EP (2008)
- Church of Bass EP (2012)
- Bounce EP (2016)
- Smoke EP (2022)
- Racks EP (2022)
- Boom EP (2023)
- The Muse EP (2023)
- Toxic EP (2023)
- Wave EP (2023)
References
edit- ^ "ill.Gates - Interview". LostinSound.org. 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ a b c Gib, Jamie (2017-04-17). "Travel, Writing, and Production with Bass Music Virtuoso ill.Gates! [Interview]". Dance Music NW. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
- ^ Beer, Nathan (2013-09-24). "ill.Gates & Bassnectar - "Expanded"". EARMILK. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Andrea (2017-03-24). "iLL. Gates and his Terminally iLL Plans". Festival Squad. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Sundius, Michael (2013-09-10). "Bassnectar - Take You Down (Special Edit)". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Selbe (2021-09-07). "[Exclusive Interview] ill.Gates Descends with New LP 'The Arrival' » Electric Hawk". Electric Hawk. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Meadow, Matthew (2016-03-23). "Your EDM Premiere: Ill.Gates - More Tea (Liquid Stranger Remix)". Your EDM. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Singh, Surej (2020-10-23). "Singapore's Masia One releases new EP, 'Freedom Fades'". NME. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Staff, EARMILK (2013-09-11). "ill.Gates - "Warrior's Tongue" (Remix Feat. Masia One) [Live Video]". EARMILK. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ "Minnesota Drops Huge "Thunderdome" Remix EP Featuring ill.Gates And More". RaverRafting. 2015-04-01. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Hilberath, Franz (2020-10-22). "ill.Gates & Mr. Bill Team Up on Funky Dubstep Collab "Cabbatsu" [Premiere]". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ a b Hilberath, Franz (2020-06-15). "ill.GATES on Racial Injustice, SummerEyes Festival, and New Single "Trapezoid" [Q&A + Premiere]". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
- ^ a b Bell, Alex (2020-06-12). "Ill.Gates & UHNK Will Make Sure You Know Their Favorite Shape Is a 'Trapezoid' (Interview)". FUXWITHIT. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
This article has not been added to any content categories. Please help out by adding categories to it so that it can be listed with similar articles. (August 2024) |