5 Facts / 5 Tracks: BluePrint

Mersyside-born rising star, BluePrint, who has rapidly established himself as a dance prodigy, returns to Stress Records for an impressively enchanting four-track EP, ‘Sleeping on Your Dreams’. The 20-year-old consistently delivers fresh, forward-thinking electronic music with a refined and energetic flair. His talent has caught the eye of dance leading figures including The Blessed Madonna, Pete Tong, and Sonny Fodera, who asked BluePrint to remix his track, ‘Before U’.

‘Sleeping on Your Dreams’ is blissful, progressive, and euphoric throughout, whilst never being confined to one specific style. The title track feels like the perfect set-closer, boasting hypnotic breakbeats with trance-inducing pads and rave nostalgia vocals. The EP’s most unique track, ‘A Sunny Hillside’ (feat. Jodie Knight) moves away from the dancefloor with a combination of live-sounding instrumentation married with otherworldly vocals.

To coincide with the release of ‘Sleeping On Your Dreams’ EP, BluePrint tells us 5 facts about himself and 5 tracks that he loves and that have influenced his career.

5 Facts

1. So my first ever rave was in my hometown of Liverpool, I was at the tender age of 16 and managed to blag my way past the bouncers using my older brothers ID. The event was “Circus” which is run by one of my heroes Yousef, it was their infamous Halloween party. Breaking Bad was pretty big at the time so me and my mate decided to go dressed as a couple of meth cookers. That night was a perfect introduction to the scene, 9 hours watching DJ’s such as Kölsch, Seth Troxler, Luciano, Lauren Lo Sung, Butch, Eats Everything and of course Yousef. What a night! What memories!

2. I first started out DJing when I was 16 as well. I got a Pioneer DDJ SX2 controller for my birthday and spent every spare moment on that thing playing to “huge crowds” from outside my bedroom window. After a couple of months, I started to do my mates 16th birthday parties and house parties etc. I then borrowed a PA system from my school and went round in my dad’s van doing more 16th’s, 18th’s and various events. Basically, if you needed music I was the kid for it. My lowest point though was probably playing music at a local footballs club awards ceremony. But you’ve got to start somewhere I guess.

3. I’m a huge fan of creating sounds from scratch and essentially sampling myself and making a track around that. I used this technique quite a lot in the track “A Sunny Hillside” on my new Stress EP. I might play some guitar or play a sustained chord on a synth and run it through an array of guitar pedals whilst playing with the filters and envelopes etc. Once I’ve got about a minutes worth of audio I will then throw the kitchen sink at it inside the computer trying all sorts of techniques to totally flip the sound. Believe it or not what once started life as a guitar riff could end up being something as toneless as a shaker, or it could end up being a huge soundscape-esk sound with tonnes of movement. The best part is I don’t even know myself, I just experiment and twiddle knobs until something sounds good. Happy accidents is key to how I make music.

4. My most used piece of equipment is my Soundcraft LX7ii 32 channel mixing desk. It’s so important to my sound as I don’t treat it in a conventional way. It’s essentially a glorified patch bay for me to allow all my synthesisers and drum machines to communicate. I can patch a sound from the desk into another guitar pedal or even into another synth if I want to use its filter on a sound. I know just how to push the desk into the reds, overdriving certain sounds to give it a real analog grit which you just can’t quite achieve inside the box.

5. A few artists that I would say inspire/influence me would be The Chemical Brothers, I mean I don’t think you could name anyone as consistent as those two geniuses. Everything they make is gold! I love their approach to making music, everything is so real and so raw. It’s live and emotional. Leading more towards the clubs Maceo Plex is another huge influence for me, not only is he a great DJ but his technical side of his productions are next level, he has such a big sound and energy in his records yet they’re still so clean and crisp.

5 Tracks

A Love From Outer Space – A.R. Kane

I believe there is no such thing as a “favourite song” but wow if there was this one would be close! This song to me is true joy. It gives me that special feeling which only music has the power to do. This song has so many great memories attached to it for me and It’s one to be shouted at the top of your lungs! Enjoy.

Tinsel Town In The Rain – The Blue Nile

Not many songs give you goosebumps within the first second. This song for me is the perfect closing track. I hope one day I get the moment to close a night with this track. Early hours of the morning. Lights on. Pure ecstasy.

Cyclic – Manu Deserts

This is one of the first records that really struck me on the dance floor at one of my first raves back at Circus in Liverpool. The way this track keeps on the building is immense, and the simple riff just locks into your head.

OAR003 – Oni Ayhun

Now come on. This man was well ahead of his time. This track was made back in 2009 and still stands strong in my record collection today. It’s so euphoric and so moving, I absolutely adore this record.

Swoon – The Chemical Brothers

If there was a record I wish I made it would be this one. Not only is it so moving but the production and sound design behind it is insane. I remember seeing the brothers perform this live at Creamfields festival back in 2019 and it was probably one of the happiest moments of my life! Just remember to fall in love.