Introducing ACAY: The British DJ and producer hailing from Reading quickly became one to watch in the UK electronic music and tech house scene. With a string of successful releases on prestigious labels such as Toolroom, King Street Sounds, and Wyldcard, ACAY has gained the support of some of the industry’s biggest names, including Annie Mac, Mark Knight, and Riva Starr.
ACAY’s latest release, “Mind Be Free,” is a testament to his affinity for piano-driven house music. In our exclusive interview, he explains how he wanted to take his time with this track and create a classic house sound with chunky piano, M1 organ bass, melodic strings, and a powerful female top line. The result is a groovy, melodic track that’s perfect for the summer months.
Released on Storm Music Group, “Mind Be Free” fits seamlessly alongside ACAY’s existing catalog of releases. The label had been on his radar for a while, and he was drawn to their playlists via Spotify. With several releases locked in until September 2023, including a collaboration with Lauren L’aimant and Perfect Havoc’s Milkwish, ACAY shows no signs of slowing down. His dedication to producing what he loves and his persistence in facing challenges will surely take his career to new heights.
Hey ACAY! Could you tell us more about how Mind Be Free came to be. How did the track start, and when did you know you were on to something special enough to finish and release?
I wanted to take my time when I started this track.
I built a 16-bar loop to emulate the classic house sound that attracted me to house music in the beginning, chunky piano, M1 organ bass, melodic strings, and a powerful female top line. After around 1-2 weeks, I had a 16-bar groove that I knew had to be made into a complete track, and could be the recipe for a summer hit.
Why did you choose Storm Music Group as the perfect outlet to release this track? What drew you to the label in the first place?
Storm Music Group has been on my radar for several years now. I originally came across Storm when searching for new music and found their playlists via Spotify. I found myself connecting with each track one after another, and It was at this point I thought to myself, “I have to release a track and be a part of this label”.
How does Mind Be Free fit alongside the rest of your catalog of releases?
Piano house is arguably one of my favorite styles of music to produce. My first piano-driven track I made was an unofficial remix of K Klass ‘Let Me Show You’. After releasing the track as a free download, I received an email from Anton Powers offering to take it as an official remix on Universal Records, making it in Kiss FM’s playlist.
Since the first one went well, I thought I would make another in this style. After releasing ‘All About House,’ it was played by Ben Remember for the Toolroom takeover on BBC Radio One. It was only natural I would make another, thus ‘Mind Be Free’ was born. Whether I’m producing piano, tech, deep or progressive house, which is what my catalogue consists of, the one thing they all have in common is melodic and euphoric sounds
What was the most difficult thing you encountered while working on this track, and what did you learn about yourself or music production while overcoming this?
It was actually the intro and build to the mini break that gave me a tough time while making this. With the piano being a key element and playing for most of the track, it was important to keep it exciting & diverse throughout. I chopped and rearranged the individual notes of the riff, and trying to create a hook that felt fluent for the intro build took quite a few attempts. What did I learn from this process?….. persistence!!
Where do you see your career going over the next year? Do you have more music in the works with Storm Music Group or anything else we should keep our eyes on?
There is no doubt about it; trying to make a career in the music game is a long one. I’ve tried many different approaches over the years, and have learned that producing what I want to make works best for me and keeps my enjoyment levels high while making music. I hope to keep improving with every new track made and grow my fan base even more.
I have several releases locked in until September 2023 now, including on Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto Records. I have two collaborations brewing with Lauren L’aimant and Perfect Havoc’s Milkwish. I also have a new solo track currently being worked on that will go straight to Storm Music Group for consideration on the label as a follow-up to Mind Be Free!
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
