INTRODUCING
30 Century Man
“I try to find things in music that I can’t sound like”: 30 Century Man’s debut EP brings us a myriad of sonic surprises.
“I try to find things in music that I can’t sound like”: 30 Century Man’s debut EP brings us a myriad of sonic surprises.
In the front room of a small cottage in rural Yorkshire at all hours of the day you can find artist and producer George Smith, also known as 30 Century Man. Around him are a mix of instruments, from ocarinas and jam-packed pedal boards to a fully-fledged tape machine from the 1970s. In the few minutes of spare time he acquires not mixing 24/7, Smith feeds back his compositions through the tape machine at various different speeds to warp his creations into unusual ambient sounds. When a project is mostly formed, he takes it over the road to the drum studio - previously a games room, smothered in colourful rugs and tapestries for soundproofing.
“If I did have all the money in the world, it would go into a studio that was where I live [...] the funnest thing is when making music can be part of your daily life”, says Smith, absentmindedly plucking a viola. In conversation with the artist in his home studio, I temporarily became submersed in the sonic world of the debut self-titled EP, 30 Century Man.
His classical background has also influenced his production process in a variety of ways. ‘Ten Years’ begins with low-fi piano and voice, before gently leaning into a chilled back rock ballad. In the build, tinkling piano ices the track with cascading melodies, and the vocals become looped until they melt into the dreamy mix. If one had to pinpoint Smith’s signature producer touch, it would have to be the sonic spacing in each project. From sparse to fuller textures, everything has its right place and knows when to give and take; each track builds to sparkling heights yet never seems crowded or overdone. Part of this sonic spacing has been influenced by classical orchestral recordings: he loves “the amount of space that’s in a recording, given the amount of music [...] it’s incredibly dense. You can spatialise in your head exactly where everything is [...] there’s kind of a magic to that”.
‘Smile’ brings us laid back swung guitar and double tracked smooth vocals, whilst ‘6thing’ reveals a contrasting percussion led track. When discussing the final song, Smith listed another interesting influence: Debussy’s impressionist orchestral works.
He had it in mind for the final build, but in a way that more aligned with “ambient stuff, like Brian Eno”.‘6thing’ is the standout track in terms of groove; the live drum kit sounds almost electronic and looped, with skilled and energetic playing. Morter sets a jazzy pulse over the spacey shoegaze cloud of layered electric synths and guitars. Smith’s voice again floats in over energetic bass and drum rhythms with an ethereal melody singing ‘I found my wasted years/ no solace to fall back or lie on’. The track is an electric lullaby to end the EP; the cello fades out the EP with an ‘impressionist’ wash of sound.
George Smith is a multi-instrumentalist, proficient in singing, cello, guitar, bass, viola - the list goes on. His work as a producer includes with indie band Just Me and the Geese, and on Wrender’s most recent album I Couldn’t Speak Without Saying Your Name. Smith wrote and recorded each instrument part on the EP, aside from the drums: Archie Morter drapes every track with a skilled and complex groove. Smith’s genre is hard to pin down - influences range from Tame Impala, Mac DeMarco, Sonic Youth, The Beatles and Scott Walker, from whom the project title, ‘30 Century Man’ comes.
“I try to find things in music that I can’t sound like”, Smith informed me. One artist listed was the Belgian theatrical singer and actor Jaque Brel: Smith’s takeaway was “the way that he sings, the way that he gets his mouth around the language is so powerful”. The opening track of the EP is testimony to the detail in vocal articulation. ‘Desire’ opens with immediate interest: the panned sounds heard offset in each ear are in fact sped up church bells. Smith’s voice is unique from the outset, coming in with an emotive drawl that mimics the clear-cut guitar riff rhythm. He half speaks, half sings the words in an almost Bowie fashion, before soaring to melodic heights in the chorus. His range is showcased as his voice fittingly floats above the mix in harmony for the refrain ‘so watch you float away / turn your back and close your mind’.
So, what is in store for 30 Century Man? Smith has numerous projects on the go, including his second EP. In terms of his role as a producer, we have the debut album from Just Me and the Geese to look out for, as well as future collaborations with other artists such as Wrender. In the meantime, only his tape machine will hear the hidden secrets of 30 Century Man.
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