August of 2007, kdh picked up “Not Over Yet” remixes by Metrik. A relative unknown at the time, there was something very special about both of these remixes. The flow, the samples, the progressions, and the layout was something that just worked. Definitely someone to keep an eye on. In the first week of January 2008, kdh picked up Metrik's “Your World” track. It was Metrik's first major release on the Intrinsic Records label. When you sample a tune online, you really only get the gist of it. Only until you get the record in your hands and drop the needle down do you really get just how massive of a tune like “Your World” really is. From that first beat, that piano riff, and the “Your World” Sample.. You can’t help but be locked in the whole time. Plain and simple.. kdh was hooked. A few weeks later, kdh picked up “Technicolour” and “Zero Gravity”. Each new order came a new Metrik track. Shortly after came “Stranger” and “Moving On” and very recently came “Forward Approach”. With these massive tunes, a lot of unanswered questions arose about just who Metrik really is. It turns out, that Metriks name is Tom Mundell. Mr. Mundell took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for us. There are definitely a few surprises in his top 10 and in who he plans to do a remix for. Before you go any further, open up another tab in your web browser and check out “Your World” here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFxknRWdOA4 and “Forward Approach” here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbhG_DLP6rg . We can assure you that you will not be disapointed.
EverydayJunglist: First off, what's your musical background? What were some of your early influences?
Metrik: My musical background is definitely a varied one. I was brought up on a diet of 80’s music by my parents so that played a massive part in my early influences (U2 / Depeche Mode / New Order). I took up playing the guitar at a young age, which led to me playing in some rock and metal bands in my early teens. I’ve picked up other instruments along the way such as piano and drums. I was at first really into rock and metal but then I bought some decks and dance music took over.
EverydayJunglist: How and when did you first get into Drum & Bass? What are some of the tracks that you'd say were instrumental in you getting into the scene?
Metrik: I used to run my own internet radio station from my bedroom and one of the DJ’s who hosted a show from London sent me a CD full of drum & bass tunes which pretty much changed my entire musical outlook. I was about 13 at the time and remember being blown away by those tracks. In particular, Book Of The Bad by Bad Company and their remix of Champion Sound, Teebee’s Black Science Labs and the RAM catalogue – Moving Fusion, RAM Trilogy etc. I was also absolutely hooked on the Moving Shadow Timecode mix CD series too – that was basically the sound track to the crazy antics of my earlier years.
EverydayJunglist: Name a few of the Drum and Bass producers who have inspired you the most. Also, are there any artists outside of DnB who inspired you musically?
Metrik: To narrow it down to a few out of a big list I’d have to say Fresh, John B, Sub Focus, Pendulum, Brookes Brothers, Teebee, Dom & Roland. Outside of drum & bass I’m inspired by a wide variety of electronic music – producers such as Eric Prydz, Adam Beyer and Dubfire. Film music producers such as Vangelis, Hans Zimmer and John Carpenter inspire me aswell as producers such as Fluke, Brian Eno and Ulrich Schnauss. I'd like to think I have an eclectic taste in music so there is a lot more out there that has touched me in some way, but far too much to mention!
EverydayJunglist: What other types of music do you enjoy listening to?
Metrik: Recently I’ve found myself listening to a bit of Fleetwood Mac – brilliant songwriters! I’m really feeling some dubstep of late too.
EverydayJunglist: When did you first start producing? What were you trying to accomplish when you wrote your first few tracks?
Metrik: I first started producing when I was 16. I decided to go on a music production course instead of taking A-levels (I didn’t have the best track record at school!). I got obsessed with making tunes and it hasn’t stopped from there really. I realized that making music was a hell of a lot of fun and being able to have such massive control over sound using a computer was a type of power that was very exciting. It combined two of my loves perfectly – music and technology. I could be the entire band as supposed to a single instrumentalist - like having a digital orchestra at your fingertips.
EverydayJunglist: Describe your personal studio setup..what hardware and software do you use for music production? Do you use any particular pluggins? Mac or PC? What kind of Monitor setup do you use?
Metrik: My current studio setup consists of a Mac Pro 8 Core running Logic 9 with a whole variety of plugins. I use a lot of Logics inbuilt plugins aswell as third party plugins such as the Native Instruments family including Massive and Kontakt. The Oxford EQ’s are great aswell as Nugen’s Audio Vizualyzer. Other favourites include Sylenth, Massive and Predator. I monitor using a pair of Genelec 1610s by day and a pair of AKG K-702 headphones by night.
EverydayJunglist: How much time do you tend to spend making a tune? Is there a specific process you go through?
Metrik: I tend to lay down the body of a track in one evening – say if I’m working across a weekend I’ll put down the ideas on a Friday night. Then I’d spend the rest of the weekend bringing it up to production standard, mixing, tweaking, fattening. I’d then mix it progressively over the following few weeks on fresh ears. I’ll continuously make tweaks to a track until I feel it’s as good as possible (and I’m finding this gets harder the further I go down the line as I become more self-critical!).
EverydayJunglist: Of all your releases, which tune did you enjoy making the most?
Metrik: I’ve enjoyed all of my productions, some more than others but it’s hard to pick just one. Stranger was particularly nice because it just wrote itself – it’s a great feeling when that happens. True Believer, my collaboration with ShockOne and Phetsta was massively enjoyable – those boys are a blast to work with and we had an awesome vibe in the studio. We’ll be hitting it again when I go out to Australia to tour next year for sure.
EverydayJunglist: Walk us through the production process of how you come up with a track.
Metrik: There’s a number of different ways I’ll come up with a track. Most of the time I’ll lay down a synth melody on the keyboard. I’ll then build complimentary parts, layer some sounds and structure a track. Other times I’ll find a catchy vocal and build a track around it – even just a cool sounding sample. I sometimes try to reproduce ideas in my head or recorded in my phone, which often has amusing results!
EverydayJunglist: Your track “Your World” Really took the scene by storm. Did you realize it was going have that much of an impact that it did and how do you feel about it?
Metrik: Your World took me by complete surprise. It was a track I put together one hot summer’s evening back when I lived in Brighton. It gathered some serious momentum pretty quickly and overnight some of my all-time heroes were supporting it and people contacting me from all over the globe. It was quite a surreal and humbling experience and definitely got the ball rolling with my production career.
EverydayJunglist: What was it like getting signed to the Viper Recordings Label, and how did that come about? Did you reach out to them, or they to you? Was it by accident?
Metrik: Getting my tracks signed to Viper was a very exciting time. Since holding the label and the work of those guys in such massively high regard, I was truly buzzing after being approached. It was at the time Your World was doing the rounds that Futurebound hit me up on AIM and said he’d been spinning my records and wanted to sign some and get me on board. 
EverydayJunglist: Would you consider yourself a DJ or a producer, first and foremost?
Metrik: This is a very difficult question to answer as both are very close to my heart. Being a DJ came before production so that was my first passion but I also love creating music. I see both performing and production as integral parts of what I do.
EverydayJunglist: Is there a particular city, event, or gig that stands apart from the rest as your most memorable experience?
Metrik: I’ve had some awesome experiences playing live – again it is very difficult to pick one, each is special in its own way.
EverydayJunglist: Has there been anything unusually funny that you can remember happening during a gig at some point?
Metrik: There was a time when I lived in Brighton as a student when I went to see Andy C with my mate Scott. Unfortunately Scott had to leave but I decided to stay to watch Andy play. I was having a great night, had a few drinks but strangely after my third drink I don’t seem to remember a thing. I woke up the next morning covered in dirt with scratches all over my body and my bike mangled on the doorstep. I went onto a message board and read somebody’s comment about seeing some bloke come crashing off his bike into a puddle on the way back from the gig – that was me!!
EverydayJunglist: What "classics" do you usually take with you when playing live?
Metrik: Stakka & Skynet – Decoy always manages to find it’s way into a set – I love dropping that one in cheekily with a devastating reaction on the floor at the right moment. Break - The Race is an ultimate tune for me and a classic in my eyes. It sums up so many aspects of what I love about drum & bass – it’s powerful, energetic, futuristic and emotive. It’s stayed in the bag for a long time. The last gig I played that glasses starting shaking off the bar and smashing!
EverydayJunglist: What do you like to mix on? Records, CDJ's, or a combo?
Metrik: I started out playing vinyl buying my first records when I was 13 and nothing really beats the feel of playing on them. However, I have always been keen to embrace new technology and as we’ve stepped into the digital age I feel it’s important to use its capabilities to their full advantage. Its CD’s all the way with often my own custom re-edits of tracks and variations of my own, which I’ll do on the computer. I’ll even drop the odd vinyl in here and there. I am currently working on an interesting new angle for my live shows, which I can’t reveal anything about just for now!
EverydayJunglist: Can we get a current top 10 from you?
Metrik:
Metrik - 'The Departure' [Viper]
Delta Heavy - 'Abort' [Viper]
Camo & Krooked Vs. Body & Soul - 'The Big Rush' [Nasca]
Phace - 'Strange Science' [Shogun Audio]
DC Breaks - 'Halo' [Viper]
Hamilton - 'Breathe' [Frequency]
Sasha - 'Xpander' (Metrik Remix) [Decon]
Smooth - 'Squirm' [Viper]
Smash Bros - 'So Be It' [Ganja]
Metrik - 'Sunset' [Viper]
EverydayJunglist: So what can the general public expect from Metrik for the rest for '10 and beyond?
Metrik: EP May 2010. More collaborations. A remix for Sasha. Album following year.
EverydayJunglist: Do you have any plans on making it out to the States?
Metrik: Hopefully in the not so distant future!
EverydayJunglist: Do you have any shouts to kick?
Metrik: Many thanks to Everydayjunglist.com and those who have supported my music.