Miles Mortensen - Tales Collective

We recently caught up with Miles Mortensen, a techno artist that also has a knack for making a mean cup of coffee (that’s actually how we found him – working at C.R.E.A.M. in Shoreditch, our Online Manager’s go-to brunch spot). Originally from Sydney, Miles moved to London in 2013 before starting ​Ossa di Mare​, an experimental duo renowned for creating dark and ethereal sounds. He’s also part of ​Tales Collective​, a group that collaborates across both techno music and art. The collective started out by throwing parties across East London, combining music with art installations to give audiences an interactive, audio-visual experience. Recently, they’ve been focussing their energy on their record label, with the first release set for the end​ ​of​ ​November.

So, when did you move to London?

I​ ​grew​ ​up​ ​in​ ​Sydney​ ​and​ ​ ​moved​​ ​in​ ​March​ ​2013​ ​to​ ​study​ ​music​ ​–​ ​the​ ​courses​ ​here​ ​were more​ ​in​ ​line​ ​with​ ​what​ ​I​ ​wanted​ ​and​ ​I’d​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​move​ ​to​ ​London​ ​for​ ​a​ ​while.​ ​I​ ​met​ ​​Frank​​ ​and​ ​we starting​ ​writing​ ​music​ ​together,​ ​then​ ​later​ ​met​ ​Ricky​ ​and​ ​Alessandro.​ ​Ricky​ ​was​ ​actually​ ​working​ ​at Point​ ​Blank​ ​after​ ​I​ ​left,​ ​and​ ​we​ ​ended​ ​up​ ​starting​ ​a​ ​label​ ​together.

What was studying in London like?

It​ ​was​ ​great!​ ​I​ ​got​ ​a​ ​totally​ ​different​ ​experience​ ​to​ ​what​ ​I​ ​would​ ​have​ ​in​ ​Oz.​ ​When​ ​I​ ​was​ ​studying​ ​in Australia​ ​it​ ​pretty​ ​much​ ​focused​ ​on​ training in ​a​ ​very​ ​classical ​way.​ ​A​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​music​ ​theory,​ ​ear​ ​training, recording​ ​instruments,​ ​which​ ​was​ ​helpful,​ ​but​ ​I​ ​was​ ​more​ ​interested​ ​in​ ​sound​ ​design​ ​and programming.

Right – what you do is all digital.

Not​ ​entirely,​ ​I​ ​use​ ​a​ ​combination​ ​of​ ​hardware​ ​synthesizers​ ​and​ ​software​. What​ ​I​ ​needed​ ​to​ ​know was​ ​how​ ​to​ ​use​ ​these​ ​properly,​ ​so​ ​when​ ​a​ ​friend​ ​told​ ​me​ ​about​ ​Point​ ​Blank​ ​in​ ​London​ ​I​ ​just​ ​thought screw​ ​it,​ ​I’ll​ ​move​ ​there.​ ​Bye!​ ​Saved​ ​for​ ​six​ ​months​ ​and​ ​then​ ​crashed​ ​with​ ​my​ ​best​ ​friend​ ​who​ ​was already​ ​living​ ​here.

And here we are!

Yeah!

So was that the first time you properly started making music, when you moved to London?

No​ ​I​ ​started​ ​DJing​ ​after​ ​I​ ​saw​ ​a​ ​friend​ ​pick​ ​it​ ​up​ be​cause​ ​his​ ​brother​ ​was​ ​a​ ​DJ​ ​when​ ​I​ ​was​ ​about sixteen/seventeen​ ​and​ ​was​ ​super​ ​into​ ​it.​ ​I’d​ ​always​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​make​ ​music,​ ​but​ ​there​ ​was​ ​never​ ​really an​ ​instrument​ ​that​ ​really​ ​made​ ​me​ ​think,​ ​“Yeah,​ ​I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​play​ ​that.”​ ​So​ ​I​ ​started​ ​playing​ ​around​ ​with Ableton​ ​[a​ ​digital​ ​music​ ​software]​ ​and​ ​basically​ ​got​ ​sucked​ ​down​ ​the​ ​rabbit​ ​hole. I’m​ ​kind​ ​of​ ​going​ ​in​ ​the​ ​reverse​ ​direction​ ​now​ ​with​ ​production​,​ ​taking​ ​away​ ​the computer​ ​as​ ​much​ ​as​ ​I​ ​can​ ​and​ ​playing​ ​with​ ​more​ ​hardware​ ​gear.​ ​Making​ ​music​ ​with​ ​machines​ ​or the​ ​computer​​ ​is​ ​great​ ​because​ ​you​ ​can​ ​do​ ​everything​ ​–​ ​you​ ​can​ ​do​ ​it​ ​by​ ​yourself​ ​or​ ​you​ ​can do​ ​it​ ​with​ ​ten​ ​other​ ​people.

Tell me about the others that you make music with.

Well​ ​there’s​ ​Frank,​ ​we​ ​write​ ​music​ ​together​ ​as a​ ​project​ ​is​ ​called​ ​Ossa​ ​di​ ​Mare.​ ​Then​ ​there’s another​ ​artist​ ​from​ ​our​ ​collective​ ​and​ ​label, Tapefeed​,​ ​we’ll​ ​just​ ​meet​ ​up​ ​and​ ​have​ ​jams.​ ​I have​ ​various​ ​friends,​ ​and​ ​this​ ​doesn’t​ ​really happen​ ​as​ ​often​ ​as​ ​we​ ​like,​ ​but​ ​when​ ​we​ ​can we​ ​meet​ ​up​ ​at​ ​someone’s​ ​house,​ ​all​ ​bring​ ​a piece​ ​of​ ​gear​ ​and​ ​just​ ​jam​ ​for​ ​six​ ​hours​ ​and zone​ ​out.

And how did you meet Kit, from working at C.R.E.A.M.?

Kit​ ​and​ ​I​ ​actually​ ​met​ ​when​ ​I​ ​used​ ​to​ ​work​ ​at Brick​ ​Lane​ ​Coffee. She​ ​had​ ​just​ ​moved​ ​over and​ ​started​ ​working​ ​there.​ ​Brick​ ​lane​ ​Coffee then​ ​shut​ ​down​ ​and​ ​I​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​C.R.E.A.M.​ ​and​ ​she started​ ​working​ ​at​ ​a​ ​cafe​ ​called​ ​Slate,​ ​which was​ ​around​ ​the​ ​corner,​ ​before she​ ​began​ ​work at​ ​C.R.E.A.M. She then​ ​moved​ ​into​ ​our​ ​house​ ​and​ ​we brought​ ​her​ ​into​ ​the​ ​collective.​ ​She​ ​was doing​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​the​ ​branding,​ ​presenting​ ​her​ ​art at​ ​the​ ​parties,​ ​and​ ​now​ ​she​ ​does​ ​a​ ​bit​ ​of​ ​the​ ​artwork​ ​for​ ​the​ ​label.​ ​Her​ ​stuff​ ​is​ ​amazing​,​ ​have never​ ​seen​ ​anyone​ ​really​ ​create​ ​stuff​ ​like​ ​it.

So what about the label – what are you releasing? When are you releasing?

We have the first release coming out on the 24^th of November. Ossa di Mare has one track on the release, and then Tapefeed has a track, plus remixes by Reggy Van Oers and another duo called I/Y. It’s the first release for our label and it’s been a long time coming! We’re planning another release for January/February 2018.

Wow that’s quite soon, are you going to drop a new release every two months?

That’s​ ​the​ ​aim​. What ​we​ ​eventually​ ​want​ ​to​ ​do​ ​is​ ​go​ ​vinyl-only,​ ​but​ ​it’s​ ​pretty​ ​expensive​ ​to​ ​do​ ​and​ ​a​ ​lot of​ ​time!​ ​There’s​ ​not​ ​really​ ​money​ ​in​ ​a​ ​record​ ​label​ ​anymore​ ​unless​ ​you’re​ ​doing​ ​the​ ​pop​ ​charts,​ ​and even​ ​then​ ​they​ ​don’t​ ​make​ ​that​ ​much.​ ​I​ ​remember​ ​reading​ ​when​ ​Pharrell​ ​released​ ​‘Happy’​ ​his income​ ​from​ ​that​ ​record​ ​was​ ​only​ ​about​ ​$3,000​ ​or​ ​something​ ​in​ ​royalties​ ​–​ ​all​ ​the​ ​money​ ​comes from​ ​live​ ​shows​ ​and​ ​merchandise.​ ​No​ ​one​ ​pays​ ​for​ ​music​ ​anymore,​ ​they​ ​just​ ​illegally​ ​download​ ​it​ ​or stream​ ​it.​ ​Thing​ ​is,​ ​with​ ​a​ ​vinyl​ ​record​ ​you​ ​feel​ ​like​ ​you’re​ ​getting​ ​something​ ​because​ ​it’s​ ​tangible, and​ ​new​ ​records​ ​come​ ​with​ ​digital​ ​download​ ​codes​ ​anyway.

How often do you play shows?

At​ ​the​ ​moment​ ​about​ ​once​ ​or​ ​twice​ ​a​ ​month,​ ​both​ ​live​ ​performances​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​DJing;​ ​it​ ​just depends​ ​what​ ​we​ ​get​ ​booked​ ​for.​ ​To​ ​make​ ​it​ ​a​ ​full-time​ ​job​ ​you​ ​have​ ​to​ ​be​ ​gigging​ ​a​ ​​lot ​ ​–​ ​even​ ​DJs that​ ​are​ ​pretty​ ​big​ ​still​ ​have​ ​a​ ​day​ ​job​ ​as​ ​a​ ​chef​ ​or​ ​an​ ​architect​ ​or​ ​whatever.​ ​I​ ​make​ ​sure​ ​I​ ​only​ ​work four​ ​days​ ​a​ ​week​ ​so​ ​I​ ​still​ ​have​ ​time​ ​to​ ​focus​ ​on​ ​the​ ​music.

What about producing other artists?

I​ ​tried​ ​for​ ​a​ ​while​ ​but​ ​I​ ​can’t​ ​write​ ​music​ ​for​ ​other​ ​people​ ​really!​ ​Also​ ​in​ ​saying​ ​that​ ​haven’t​ ​really worked​ ​with​ ​too​ ​many​ ​people​ be​cause I’ve​ ​always​ ​been​ ​in​ ​a​ ​more​ ​club​ ​style​ ​focus​ ​format.​ ​I​ ​can​ ​mix​ ​other artist’s​ ​tracks​ ​but​ ​when​ ​it​ ​comes​ ​to​ ​producing​ ​a​ ​singer,​ ​for​ ​example,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​often​ ​have​ ​different visions.​ ​Although,​ ​I​ ​have​ ​been​ ​working​ ​with​ ​a​ ​singer​ ​recently​ ​who​ ​is​ ​amazing​ ​–​ ​she’s​ ​a classically​ ​trained​ ​opera​ ​singer​ ​and​ ​we​ ​improvise​ ​with​ ​a​ ​broken​ ​beat,​ ​electronic​ ​music,​ ​and​ ​she​ ​sings over​ ​the​ ​top.

So what’s ahead…

The​ ​idea​ ​is​ ​to​ ​gig​ ​more​ ​and​ ​build​ ​this​ ​label​ ​really​ ​strong.​ ​We’re​ ​playing​ ​a​ ​gig​ ​on​ ​the​ ​8th​ ​of​ ​December with​ ​Apparat​ ​and​ ​Pantha​ ​du​ ​Prince​ ​at​ ​Studio​ ​Spaces,​ ​which​ ​will​ ​be​ ​a​ ​bit​ ​different​ ​for​ ​us. We​ ​will be​ ​presenting​ ​the​ ​experimental​ ​side​ ​to​ ​our​ ​project​ ​with​ ​the​ ​singer.​ ​Then​ ​we have​ ​another​ ​gig​ ​for​ ​New Years​ ​but​ ​can’t​ ​say​ ​much​ ​about​ ​that​ ​at​ ​the​ ​moment!​ ​Think​ ​my​ ​Mum’s​ ​going​ ​to​ ​come​ ​for​ ​the​ ​first time​ ​which​ ​will​ ​be​ ​amazing!

Tales Collective drops their first release on Friday 24^th November at www.talescollective.co.uk

Miles wears the Anton in Matte Black and Kit wears the Aries in Silver, shot on location at C.R.E.A.M.

IG: @talescollective

Photography: @photographybymiles