A labour of love that began in Brisbane in 2022, the Sleep Pressure EP emerged from a series of late-night jam sessions. Now based in London and Naarm/Melbourne respectively, Iti and Axon Growth Factor have reconnected to finish what they started - this time from opposite sides of the globe.

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The opening two tracks, Sleep Pressure and Black Box Society, are direct products of those late-night sessions, capturing the immediacy and warmth of their machine-driven approach to making music. While the EP’s second half, Square Anywhere and Debiasing, sees each artist stepping out on their own.

A varied collection of tracks designed for both the head and the dancefloor, Sleep Pressure showcases forward-thinking techno, IDM and broken beat, brimming with vibrant melodies, brooding atmospheres and undeniable groove.

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How did you find the process of working collaboratively with Axon Growth Factor in the studio and then remotely from different ends of the globe? Is there a benefit to jamming together and then returning the music later with a fresh perspective? 

It ended up being a really productive way to finish a record. For me, the first 80% of a track always comes naturally, and then the challenge comes with overthinking the final details. But revisiting the record at distance after three years meant we had both fresh ears and limitations on what we could change. So beyond mixing and a bit of arrangement, the tracks are as they were. And this felt right, because we wanted to keep the great memories of those original sessions intact.  

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A raw take of Black Box Society became the final version of the track after the initial session file was lost. As a producer, how do you feel about embracing imperfections or accidents in your music?

At first, part of me wished we could have polished the track more. But in hindsight, what we have is an exact snapshot of that moment in time, and there’s something kind of beautiful about that. In generally good with embracing imperfections because there’s soul in the humanisation of machine-made music. 

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Did you approach the making of Square Anywhere to match an overall feel or vibe? Was there a conscious effort to create a certain sound with this EP?

There wasn’t a conscious effort to make a certain sound per se, but I opened a new session thinking about what sonics might complement the tracklist. Square Anywhere is certainly more 4x4 in its drum programming, which aligns more to my general style. 

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Did you learn anything about collaboration while making this EP? And do you plan to work with Axon Growth Factor on future releases?

There’s a sense of relief in collaboration. It’s hard to explain, but it seems to remove pressure from the process. It also allows you to explore styles that might not be native to you, which is cool. Bevan and I make quite different styles of electronic music, so piecing together elements from our respective repertoires was very fun. Bev is super talented, works quickly, and most importantly is a really close friend. So it’s a great recipe for creativity and we’ll certainly be making more things together in the future!

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