Creative Conversations 058: Iti on Curvework Vol. 1

By Joshua MacGregor (Dream Coast)

Meanjin (Brisbane) producer and Pocketmoth label co-founder Iti returns with the captivating dance floor release Curvework Vol. 1: As Time Passes. After a period of refining his sound and reconfiguring his creative practice, the EP presents a discussion of heritage, personal evolution and ephemerality.

The EP begins with ‘Saba’ (wind or breeze in Urdu): an airy groover that combines the percussive textures of Iti’s Pakistani heritage with soft, breathing pads. This is followed by the broken-beat title track, ‘As Time Passes’. Here Iti’s signature vocal chops weave amongst thundering rhythm and tabla sections.

The later half of the EP sees two of Meanjin’s most exciting producers Axon Growth Factor and Nora Drum (X Club) contributing remixes. Axon Growth Factor continues his excellent form with some intricate drum programming on ‘Saba’ while Nora Drum flips ‘As Time Passes’ into a scorching Drum and Bass weapon.

We sent some questions to Iti to learn more about Curvework Vol. 1: As Time Passes and his creative process.

Futuremag Music: Hello Iti, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. We were lucky enough to be at your EP launch party at the warehouse. It felt like just about everyone else in the electronic scene in Meanjin was there too! How have you been finding the reception to the EP?

Iti: The EP has received a lot of love and support, for which I’m very grateful. I’m genuinely blown away with the response in all areas.

Futuremag Music: Let's talk about the making of ‘Saba’ and 'As Time Passes'. How did these songs come together?

Iti: Both tracks came about incredibly quickly. I’d been wanting to incorporate more percussive elements (particularly South Asian Percussion) into my music for a while, and everything seemed to fall into place once I did. Featuring tuned percussion really changed my approach to writing melodies and drum grooves.

Futuremag Music: Your bios for the release touch upon concepts of the passage of time, heritage and growth. Can you add a bit on how you approach such weighty themes through your music?

Iti: These themes made themselves apparent in a very organic manner.

I’ve been working at my craft for a decent while now, and learnt a lot in both production and live performance over the last two years in particular. It was at this point that I decided to finally attach my personal identity to my music, and take full ownership of my creative output.

Releasing music under my own name naturally incorporated more of my personal identity, which is heavily influenced by my Pakistani heritage. I’ve always had a strong connection to the music from that region, thus incorporating those sounds into my music was the logical next step.

The speed at which this EP came about felt different than any other music project I’d worked on. I firmly committed to a deadline and came to understand that finishing music during the height of the creative process is really valuable. Creativity is very fleeting, and once you spend too much time on something, the inspiration dwindles. I want to stay in the moment and finish things.

Futuremag Music: The last couple of months have seen you performing live and playing DJ sets essentially every weekend. There were a couple of ambient events you were involved in as well: Gentle State and Downstream Festival. How does ambient music play into what you do?

Iti: My goal in music is to transport people, and creating immersive listening experiences is fundamental to that. My favourite ambient music does just that, and definitely inspires my musical process. Most of my music features textural ambient pads layered with drums, so playing all-ambient sets comes quite naturally to me.

Futuremag Music: Pocketmoth has had a long-term working relationship with visual artist Madeline Holt. How do you go about planning Pocketmoth events like the EP launch together?

Iti: Mads and Pocketmoth have been working together since the beginning of the label. Cross-medium collaboration has always been at the forefront of both parties respectively, and we’ve been able to provide one another opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t be available. We’ve grown a lot together, so the relationship is very synergetic. When we decided to throw the show, I called Mads and spoke to her about it. Her art direction at the time (and currently) was perfectly aligned with the EP and the space, and it basically fell into place seamlessly. We are very grateful for her.

Futuremag Music: What is next for Iti and Pocketmoth?

Iti: Pocketmoth has a V/A vinyl pressing coming out in early 2022. That includes a track from myself. Other than that, I want to release lots of music next year, and perform live whenever possible!