Introducing: DJ Tankard

From underground DJ workshops in the South West to global recognition on the electro circuit, DJ Tankard (aka Fin Tankard) has been making serious waves. With a sound rooted in the raw energy of Detroit electro-think AUX88 meets CEM3340—his music fuses deep bass, funk-driven synths, and a relentless dancefloor pulse.

Now, with the release of his highly anticipated debut EP, Crash Landing, Tankard is stepping up in a big way. The record not only showcases his evolution as a producer but also features heavyweight remixes from Brick Sweat Records boss Slim Shae, Argentina’s The Deserter, and Venezuelan electro innovator Watara.

With releases already on labels from Portugal to India and backing from international DJs, Tankard is quickly becoming a name to watch. We caught up with him to talk about his journey, influences, and what Crash Landing means for his future in the scene.

Your music is heavily influenced by Detroit electro legends like AUX88 and DJ Maaco, as well as the funk-driven synthesizers of artists like CEM3340. How do you blend these inspirations into your own sound, and what makes your approach unique in the current electro scene?

I like to always wear my inspirations on my sleeve because ultimately, without these artists and groups (alongside too many others to mention) I wouldn't know where to begin, even if that's a bit of a cliche to say. They are totally fundamental to my music creating process; whenever I'm starting a new project there's always some conscious thought about someone that's inspiring me in the moment. In that sense, I think when you're creating this type of electro which tries to harken back to the analog sound of the 80s and 90s Detroit electro you're never going to be truly 'unique'.

But like everyone I would hope to leave something of a unique footprint in some ways. My tracks never take themselves too seriously for their own good; I'm always willing to inject some of my own recorded or sampled vocals into a track to liven it up, or add some sci-fi/'video-gamey' sound design cheesiness to put a little smile on your face when you hear it. For example, the collaboration track with Caninetoothfairy translates to 'Age of the Bass Machines' and the German lyrics talk in robot-vocoder tone about how these machines are travelling from the darkness to invade Earth alongside that very mechanical metallic beat, or the robotic voice stating he is the 'human subjugator' as part of his 'Robot CV'. A lot of the vocal stuff on the EP is therefore a homage to that 80s sci-fi cheesiness (while also taking the piss out of it and myself just a little, I suppose).

Otherwise, my approach to music almost always starts with a beat and bass, I tend to spend most of my focus trying to get that correct and hitting the spot. Hopefully that is evident throughout the EP, I feel something I always want people to take away from my stuff is the thought that basslines are intriguing and impactful in their melody and sound design.

You’ve had a diverse journey within the underground music scene, from organizing DJ workshops to releasing on international labels. How have those experiences shaped the artist you are today, and what role has collaboration played in your musical growth?

I think a lot of the time when people talk about journeys into the "underground music scene" they're talking about clubs/raves but yeah, as you mentioned it's never totally been been about that, as I've always felt more at home in these smaller spaces and organising little events than heading out every weekend. I feel like it's been really productive for my growth as a DJ/producer. When I was really getting into the whole scene 4-5 years ago, having something like a uni society to go to and rub shoulders with people who are just as passionate as you about dance music but might have totally different interests just broadens your perspective so much, and gives you a space to practice your craft and get honest feedback on tracks, and so on. It's advice often given but, if you're a young person at uni wanting to get creating rather than just listening, societies or grassroots DJ collectives are so fundamental to that. Shoutout to everyone who was giving me feedback on my shit mixdowns 4 years ago at Beats and Bass in Exeter, they're probably less shit now.

As for collaboration, it's by far the biggest part of what I've been doing for the last year or so, although none of the material has seen the light of day quite yet (which won't be true in a couple of months ;) ).

Me and Canine's (aka Freddi) project SETI Code has been my main focus since finishing my debut EP, and its a process that I find really rewarding and enriching. The work is done mostly remotely, but we've had a fair bit of studio time too, which is always a pleasure. The two are such different processes though; tracks made through remote work carry larger swathes of either one of our influences at a time, while the studio work ends up with far more cohesive visions for projects for sure. Overall, collaboration has been genuinely key for me, Freddi is constantly opening my eyes to new ideas and sounds I never considered while still keeping it electro. It'll certainly leak through into my next solo projects.

The remixes on "Crash Landing" come from a range of artists, including Slim Shae, The Deserter, and Watara. What was the process like working with these producers, and how do their contributions enhance your original tracks?

First of all, massive thanks to all of them for getting on board with the project and delivering such killer remixes, I really can't state that enough. I've worked with all these guys in one form or another in the past so the process was simple as you'd like. I think if you're asking someone to remix for you, you have to give full trust in whatever direction they want to take the track, and that's what we did here, which is why the remixes vary from tracks using a lot of the source material to larger reworks into different genres.

Shae's remix of 'Electro Freak' gets rid of the booming 808 bass throughout the track in favour of a few super nasty acidic basslines that bounce with the drums on another level. To be honest, when I first heard the bass drop in on this remix I lost my mind, and I can see that doing some serious damage on the right dancefloor! For me, it totally captures the essence of the original track with its usage of the vocal samples (some of which Shae has recorded in himself to accompany the originals), atmospheric breakdowns and old school synth sounds, while stripping back some of the busier sections to focus on that groove between bass and drums to amazing effect.

The Deserter's remix of 'Home Planet Tek' turns it into a speedy electro-breaks tune which I can also see working well on a lot of different dancefloors because of its super bouncy breakbeat that doesn't let up throughout the whole track and its nasty distorted basslines which keep the track pushing along beautifully. I've been a fan of him and been spinning his tracks since I started DJing, and knew he had a real penchant for these types of electro tracks which fuse different genre's sound design together into one cohesive unit, and he certainly didn't disappoint. Shoutout to him for delivering this killer remix while he was in the process of moving across continents, too!! You can catch his next EP "Reflections from a Dystopian Present" on "Sufrimiento Records".

Watara has a bit of an eye for everything, producing electro, juke, latincore across the last few years. His remix turns 'Bass Lockdown' into a 160 monster turns the vocals into juke style chops underneath a storming latincore 4/4 beat, while the shiny synth leads and pads from the original play out in half time accenting the frenetic beat with something a little more 'electro'. He's recently started his own record label based in Maracaibo, Venezuela which shines a light on South American producers called Maluko. If you like his remix, you have to check that out, it's more of the good stuff.