We also had the opportunity to catch up with Inquiry Collective co-founder Sam Leggett, aka Shy Melon, to discuss the origins and goals of the project. “Though we began meeting before this, I think Inquiry Collective really materialized after our first desert gathering that we called New Moon (this party eventually became named Curiosity) in September of 2016. I had been living in a musical household with many of our founders and went to a party called Moontribe. It was so inspiring to see how powerful a well-cultivated community of musical weirdos can be, and we felt that we should formalize our musically-driven friend group with a name and a party. Inquiry is about curious, participatory people coming together to share art and celebrate our community. We have always been about our community (a community that began with a manually-built email list of friends) and representing the musical underground in all of its eccentricities, regardless of the genre. We’ve had parties with house, techno, breakbeat and drum and bass all played at the same club event. It doesn’t matter to us as long as it is a sincere expression of the musician’s artistry and lends itself to our community’s underground musical taste. This is our place to express our weirdness with other weirdos, and hopefully acquire some other weirdos along the way.”

With a couple of handfuls of tracks from members and friends of the team, Inquiry: Distorted highlights the heavier side of the collective, including everything from halftime to experimental trap. Every artist contributes a unique piece to the heterogeneous compilation, yet all of the works come together to form a cohesive listening experience. From the texture-filled ‘Exodus’ from FUXWITHIT favourite Saka to the trance-inducing drum & bass from Psymatik & Keerd, Inquiry: Distorted features something for everyone. Don’t miss it below!

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When asked about the creation of the new alias as opposed to sticking to his original house persona, Legget states, “When I’m spinning bass music, I want people to know that this is what they are in for and to not have any preconceived-notion of me spinning a Sammy Legs set. There are similarities in sound, but the set is a completely different experience that traverses a range of BPMs, whereas Sammy Legs sits mostly in the sweet-spot of house, breaks and techno.” Furthermore, he adds, “I like to put on different caps when I produce. There are many philosophies around facilitating creativity and a common one I subscribe to is that of channelling a ‘muse.’ There’s a literal interpretation of this from a long time ago where ancient Greeks would channel a spirit from some other dimension and the art would flow through them into the material world. This allowed the artist to not think of the art is coming from them but, rather, coming from something they could not control. It helps to dissolve ego and overthinking about your craft, as the art you create is not you, it is your ‘muse’s.’ In a similar way, when I go into the studio, I put on my Sammy Legs cap and am trying to think as little as possible, other than “what would Legs do?” With Shy Melon, I’m not asking myself that question, and am trying to let creativity flow from a different part of me.”

No matter what cap Legget decides to wear, one certainty is that quality music will result from it. In ‘Hint of Grape,’ a minimal introduction highlighted by sombre melodies and eerie effects capture your attention. Further spine-chilling textures are added until the track hits its midway point, before Shy Melon adds additional layers of gritty basses and crunchy synths to create a nightmarish soundscape. Although simplistic, ‘Hint of Grape’ never ceases to peak your curiosity due to its puzzling energy and horror movie-inspired theme. Don’t miss it below and stay tuned for more tracks from the Inquiry Records Distorted compilation soon!

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