Talkin' All Atjazz

After a near seven-year hiatus, Derby-based producer Martin Iveson returns this month with his third Atjazz album, Full Circle. Utilising the talents of ten different vocalists, it's a departure from his previous, largely instrumental efforts and its delicious combination of deep house, soul, broken beat and hip-hop highlights the benefits of his near-perfectionist approach to the production process.

"It's taken around four and a half years to write, and this is probably its third incarnation," he admits. "It got to the point where I couldn't work on it anymore and had to take a decision to draw a line underneath it." However, since 2001's Labfunk he's also been kept busy producing for Clara Hill, Victor Davies, Deborah Jordan, Ernesto and Rep Life, all of whom helped him increase his experience of working with vocals and in turn probably shaped the form of his latest release. However, he didn't foresee it this way: "It was never really my intention when starting out to produce a full vocal album. However, the positive feedback I received for the vocal tracks on Labfunk convinced me that people appreciated lyrics and songs."

As well as approaching particular artists, his choice of collaborators on Full Circle came about through time spent working on their productions. "Normally when I do production work for a vocalist, I'll ask them to return the favour by singing on one of my tracks... I love to let them come up with their own lyrics and style... I want them to do their own job, to feel that they're really part of something not just singing someone else's words," he explains. One example of this 'talent-swapping' is his work with Clara Hill, who he feels helped to convince him of his ability with vocals. "A few years ago I was doing some work for Jazzanova's Sonar Kollektiv label [who produced Clara's first album] and her voice on it sounded absolutely amazing so I decided to approach her. I ended up completing a track for her follow-up while she provided vocals for two tracks that are on Full Circle. My time spent with her made me realise that I could produce a full vocal song with a structure; that I could do it over and over and get better at it each time."

Indeed, he admits that a desire to get songs "just so" contributed to the length of time it took him to finish the album, though he found it musically challenging too. "The structure of Full Circle is different from my previous productions. I had to strip it down, make sure every single noise I threw in was really important... there's more of a detailed painting of what I was feeling behind each of the tracks."

Martin's partnership with Chicago house legend Robert Owens on Love Someone is another on the album that he is particularly proud of. "We actually worked together in the studio which was a great experience... with the other singers I usually just ended up swapping tracks via the internet. He was so relaxed... it was probably my easiest time working alongside someone." With vocalist contributions from Clyde, Dawne B, Ernesto and Sarah Jane Morris to be found elsewhere, it seems natural to inquire if there's a plan to take it out live? "Yes. Ernesto and Clara have both offered to do PAs... I'd like to travel around with them and also Robert Owens, but make it more a showcase of artists than a live set - my sound relies heavily on studio techniques so using a full band wouldn't really represent what I'm about... I'll probably take the main bits of each track that can't be reproduced and let the band play over them."

Aside from these plans, Iveson concludes by giving The Skinny a bit of an exclusive: "I'm making a single, vinyl-only album that'll be coming out this summer on my label, Mantis Recordings. It's my way of taking back some control over my product... even though Full Circle isn't out yet, it's already available via bit-torrent because some of those with advance copies think it's OK to give it away for free. It'll be all brand new tracks and some cover versions... for me it's a bit of an homage to vinyl and a way of saying goodbye to a dying format."