大象传媒

The 24-year-old bedroom musician became disillusioned with dance music a few years ago, dedicating himself to creating a new style which draws from a mixed range of influences: "I was brought up around lots of different music that I don't think most people listened to when they were growing up, like The Eagles and The Beatles."

As he got older, Irrelevant became interested in dance music. From the age of 11 he started to DJ at club nights and at 16 he began residencies at local house nights. "I was quite happy with dance for a good few years, until I started to get a bit disillusioned a few years ago.

"I started listening to Burial, who was completely different to anything I'd heard, a bit like UK garage but with really dark, heavy atmospheres. There wasn't really anyone else doing that type of thing and he really influenced what I like to listen to.

"The structure of Burial's tracks is really loose and he builds emotional atmospheres around his beats. I've been trying to do my own spin on that.

"I've always had an affinity with melodies and I like to make things intertwine and pull out the feelings on a track. I've always been a sucker for a sad song, not in a depressing way, but I've always liked how melancholic tracks make you feel, if that makes sense.

"I'm more moved by that type of music than by a happy, happy track. I'm not a sad person but music with a depressive edge just pulls my interest more.

"I decided to record under Irrelevant because I didn't really want my name to matter, it's about the music. I wanted the music to do more talking than the name, I guess I was trying to be clever! I'm not bothered about people knowing who I am, it's irrelevant."

Feeling gloomy?

Irrelevant lists his influences as night, dark, streetlight, the city, sadness, frustration, sorrow and loneliness: "I guess I'm just trying to create soundscapes with a beat to them.

"The best way to describe this sort of music is like if you've been on a night out, you're standing at a bus stop and you start to remember bits of music from the night before, or remember someone shouting something in the street. It brings back memories of a night out without being an in-your-face dance track."

Despite his DJing past, Irrelevant doesn't intend for his music to be played in clubs: "For me, it's music that you put on to listen to at home as opposed to something you dance to, but I guess it would be put into the category of dubstep. It's just more 'easy listening' dance music."

Having drawn influence from Asian movies, Irrelevant would love for his music to one day be used on a film soundtrack: "I started watching Asian cinema and found the soundtracks really poignant and emotional on films by Zhang Yimou or Gong Li, like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers.

"In Asian music, they use a bowed instrument called a huqin, an old string instrument like a very early violin. I love violin and string sounds, I think for me they bring out the most emotional feeling. They work in Asian films because they really bring out the amazing atmospheres.

"I can imagine my music in a film with a city scene, like London, or perhaps Ipswich, to soundtrack somebody going through a tough time, someone strolling through the city after hearing some bad news."

Irrelevant's music depicts a bleak city

Take a sad song and make it better

As well as creating original music, Irrelevant also remixes tracks by artists including Patrick Wolf, Imogen Heap and his hero, Burial: "I'd never claim that I improve the track, for me the remixes are just exercises to see if I can add anything to them.

"If the remixed tracks were seen as improvements then that would be a massive compliment but obviously you have to have respect for the original artist. I think it's just putting a different spin on them.

"There are a few artists from around Suffolk and Essex that would be really cool to remix. I've never worked with a band - I'd like to, but I guess I'd have to find the right band, as most indie bands sing about things that don't sit very well with my style, but then again it would be quite a challenge."

Irrelevant believes that the local music scene is buzzing: "The thing I like most about Ipswich, which is where I am closest to, is that there are a lot of great venues.

"The only slight criticism I would have is that the variety of music available isn't really taken advantage of - you get a lot of bars and clubs that play the same sort of music. I think it's because it's only the minority who want to hear something different.

"I personally would like to see more underground nights going on in Suffolk but I guess it's down to supply and demand - if there isn't demand for it, then it won't be supplied. It would be great to run a club night in Suffolk to show off my music but it would be down to whether there's enough demand.

"Outside the big cities like London and Manchester, it's hard to put on a night for a niche market and get a massive response. I'd be happy playing in a club with 10 people if they were into what I was doing, but I think if you run a bar you want more than 10 people in there listening to the music and buying the drinks.

"However, I think on the whole for the size of Ipswich, there's a good amount of places to go to."

The elusive Irrelevant

Irrelevant released his first album, Akin, in early 2009: "The reaction so far has been really good.

"I'm on a website called Soundcloud which is a great way for artists to get their music out there, like a combination of Myspace, Facebook and Twitter. It's great because you get feedback from people who know what they're talking about and listen to this type of music all the time. I've been quite taken aback by the response, it's been really positive."

With regard to his future, Irrelevant likes to keep an open mind: "I don't really have any massive plans but I'm going to keep writing music."