Drawing a line somewhere between soundscape artists like Plaid and the inventive techno sensibilities of Objekt, Beatrice Dillon’s sound is forward-thinking and spacious. Now, it has culminated in her debut solo album, ‘Workaround’, which has been three years in the making.
As a sound artist, researcher, producer and DJ, Dillon’s extensive accomplishments in electronic music can be traced through a wide-ranging output. From her NTS radio residency, sound studies for BBC3, and composing commissioned works for gallery installations — she is a resident at Somerset House studios — to producing mixtapes for The Trilogy Tapes, Truants and Where To Now?, she has earned admiration across the scene for her introspective and emotional approach.
Born south of the river in Peckham, London has always been and remains a place to call home. DJ Mag speaks to Dillon over Skype about her enthrallment towards nothingness, her love for radio, and why pop music might be one of the greatest art forms of the human race. She tells us of her crate-digging days in Soho’s famous Berwick Street, home to Reckless Records, Sister Ray and Sounds Of The Universe: “It was just so important as a kind of place where there were maybe four or five different shops you’d visit that all had their specialties, and me being who I am, I’ve always been interested in different kinds of music. So I’d go in there, then go into the next one.”
Remembering the Rough Trade store, when it was downstairs as a dingy basement in Covent Garden, she says, “it was really good, and that’s where I discovered a lot of music really, I actually got into dance music around then”. It was in these establishments that Dillon first discovered the works of artists such as Luke Vibert, informing a love for underground electronics, as well as James Lavelle’s seminal Mo’ Wax label. “When they released a Liquid Liquid record, I remember being really excited about that. Like everybody, I knew the Grandmaster Flash sample, and I was like, ‘Ooh, okay. It’s part of something else, oh wow, I’m sure that’s a touchstone record for loads of people’. I also got into a lot of soul music there.” As a self-confessed music fanatic and audiophile, Beatrice’s four-year stint on NTS meant that she could delve into her core record knowledge, and share sounds as an ongoing project. “I’m a music collector, so to be gathering things, then sifting through them, then thinking about how to present them in an interesting way, radio is the perfect medium for that.”
Dillon’s record sees her as a master of curation, delving into her expertise to produce mixtapes for The Trilogy Tapes. “A lot of people say that there comes a point when you sort of have to switch off a bit, and say, ‘OK, no more influences, no more ideas, I’ve got to mine a bit deeper for what I’ve got to say really’, and that’s quite hard if you’re a music nut.” Recently, on a popular culture level, Dillon’s been getting into the Dissect Podcast on Kendrick Lamar. “A friend kept nagging me about it for a year, and it’s really in-depth about the lyrics and amazing production ideas.”
