The Brag

Rustie
These Beats Aren’t Made For Talkin’
By Jonno Seidler

Glaswegian producer of the moment, Rustie, is not a fan of chatter. It could be because the artist, whose real name is Russell White, is so ludicrously young (based on his image and lack of discernible facts, estimates range between 13 and 19) that talking to journalists on the other side of the equator is more than a bit daunting – but either way, pulling answers out of him is certainly not an easy task. Ironically, though, it’s entirely at odds with his music: here is a high-energy purveyour of sound whose first single for the prestigious Warp records label (Jamie Lidell, Aphex Twin) was auspiciously titled ‘Inside Pikachu’s Cunt.’ You’d think the guy would have something to say about that.

But the beatmaker, whose debut Glass Swords managed to sneak inside The Guardian’s Top 10 albums of last year, is as reticent as his music is grandiose – and he’s still coming to terms with the whole idea of being, well, you know, popular. “Yeah, it was a bit of a surprise!” he says through a thick Scottish accent. “But The Guardian have always been very supportive of my stuff over the years.” Rustie’s been active for five years now and one of the world’s most respected newspapers is already shadowing his every movement – although it’s doubtful that they printed the name of his first single in full…

Glass Swords is dubstep gorging on sugar; it’s womp-womp with double-time overtones; at this point in the game, it could well be the third book of the Bible. ’80s snare hits, MSTRKRFT handclaps, syncopated Chicago house bass, half-time beat drops, skittering hi-hats – it’s all that stuff you’ve heard before, but now it’s drinking Coca-Cola at 10pm on a Thursday and the cab doesn’t arrive for at least another half-hour. Lead single ‘Surph’ manages to take the same extreme-slo-mo approach that has made legends out of everyone from Skream to Zed’s Dead, but makes it attractive rather than aggressive. Rustie is rather philosophical about this high-sugar, slowed-down aesthetic he has going. “I’ve been messing with half-step stuff since 2003 – this was an influence of stuff like [hip hop crew] Three 6 Mafia as opposed dubstep,” he explains. “I don’t see myself stopping with that anytime soon, but it’s not something I feel bound by.”

Though signed with Warp, Rustie is also part of the phenomenal Glaswegian collective LuckyMe, who promote new music and art discovery by literally flooding the internet with it at every opportunity. Enviably, he counts topline producers like Hudson Mohawke (who is joining him at the upcoming Sydney show) and S-Type as friends – they threw a lot of the early parties he played. “They’re all good mates, but I’m not really involved so much [anymore] just because of time, unfortunately,” he says. “We’re all getting more busy individually and moving away from Scotland and stuff. But we still have each others’ backs.”

Certainly hitting up Playground Weekender in Wiseman’s Ferry may take the cake for the furthest White’s ever been from home, especially given that he’s “used to club gigs”.

In the meantime, he can hang out with the locals and work on his banter – or just lie to everyone about his past like Bob Dylan. “Making music is the boring part – that’s why Bob Dylan ghost writes most of my stuff for me,” he laughs.

With: Hudson Mohawke
Where: Hold Tight @ Manning Bar
When: Saturday February 25
More: Also playing Playground Weekender at Wisemans Ferry from March 2-4.