10 Years of Seventy Five: Ded Tebiase on Music, Silence & Mental Health

Originally released in 2015 on Village Live Records, Seventy Five marked a defining moment in Ded Tebiase’s catalogue, blending bit-crushed hip hop textures with a reflective, atmospheric tone that continues to resonate a decade later.

He followed the album with Landspeed in 2017 and Apex in 2019, continuing to develop his sound across a series of instrumental releases, as well as rap records with Ash The Author. But after that period of activity, things became quieter. Aside from a handful of digital releases under the alias Galloping Ghosts, Ded Tebiase largely stepped back from being visible as an artist, particularly on social media.

Now, ten years on from Seventy Five, he reflects on the record, the years that followed, and his experiences with mental health during this period.

Remulak: Right then, let’s start with Seventy Five.
How has it really been 10 years since this record dropped? When you think back to making the album in 2015, what space were you in creatively and personally?

Ded: Creatively it was all still so new back then. I was so happy just to get the shot at being the first LP on the label. Joey was stoked about it all and he made me feel like he'd really discovered something major in me. I'll never forget that. I've never been able to replicate that feeling. 

Personally that was a good moment in time. I was drinking a lot which wasnt ideal but it felt like I really was on the cusp of something almost life changing? Everything I started during that time ended up on Seventy Five. It felt like it was writing itself and I was a passenger.

Remulak: Do you have a particular favourite track from the record that still resonates with you today? I know what mine is. Good As Gone just feels timeless to me.

Ded: If im brutally brutally honest with you I've listened to that album probably 5 times in full since it came out..

But i remember when I found the sample for Worldwide. You kinda just know when you find something like that that you have something there and it was just a feeling of if I had the ability to be able to pull something off with it. I was obsessed with MNSR Frites “I drink coffee” at the time and was a bit conscious I was completely unknown to anyone when I messaged him to see if hes be up for working.

 

Also I Know will always be a personal fav due to my cousin doing all the cuts for it. Probably Mystery is my favourite tho. Thats a lot of sample layering! I dont think ive done anything as complex since.

 

 

Remulak: What was your process and setup for making the beats on this record? It has quite a different feel compared to Landspeed and Apex.

Ded: I was using a Maschine Micro and upgraded to the bigger one whilst I was halfway through making the record. Me and my sister were renting a flat in Fishponds, Bristol at the time so I made the whole thing in headphones.

After Seventy Five I upgraded to an MPC 2000xl which is probably why everything sounds different after that. I sold that MPC after my son was born because I had to speed up the production process quite a lot so I bought an MPC ONE. I dont love it like the 2KXL though.. not even close. Its good an all that but its so soulless.

Remulak: So what happened after Apex dropped? From the outside it felt like things suddenly went quiet musically, and I think you stepped away from social media as well.

Ded: Um… quite a lot, and not all of it good if I’m honest. I’ll do my best to condense this as best I can.

There was talk between me and Ash about doing a follow-up but for whatever reason it didn’t feel right at the time.

I got married a year after Landspeed dropped and we had a son in 2020. There was a lot of house moving and stuff like that, but nothing really slowed down creatively until it all fell apart. My wife at the time lost her dad to pancreatic cancer, which was awful. She went through hell and regardless of current feeling it was the worst thing watching someone suffer like that.

At the time my own mental health went through the floor. We were growing apart so quickly because of everything that had happened. We were new parents and the stress of Covid lockdowns and work-life pressures, and before I knew what I was doing I made an attempt on my life.

I had reached the bottom. I was so numb to everything. I was on a lot of antidepressants and shit. We ended up separating and I moved out, which meant my records and everything I used to use to make music with went into storage where it still sits today.

Remulak: You've mentioned mental health played a role during that period. How did that time affect your relationship with music and creativity?

Ded: I had pretty much quit. Me and Fred were sitting on a couple tracks which we are still sitting on but other than that I hadn't made anything. It definitely contributed to my spiral. I went a good 2 years without even turning the MPC on. I took the MPC with me when we split so ive had it close to me but without the records to sit and listen to its like writing songs without a guitar. You can make it work but its a lot lot harder to make anything. I just didnt want to create anymore. I felt like there was an expectation for a Ded Tebiase record to sound a certain way by then and it didnt feel like me. I felt totally lost.

Remulak: There was a brief period where you released some digital material under the alias Galloping Ghosts. How did that project come about, and is there any chance we'll hear more from it in the future?

Ded: That project is pretty much the soundtrack to my mental health crisis at the time. No joke I cant even remember really making it all? That might sound a bit weird I guess but that period of my life is just a blur. It's an interesting project for sure but i dont know how i honestly feel about it.

Me and Dee always talked about doing something long play together. Looking back now i kinda wish It wasn't THAT but its a moment in time that really does capture where the fuck I was at.

The stuff with Fred I'd like a re-badge as Ded Tebiase eventually. I doubt im gonna use that alias again if im honest.. there isnt good memories attached to it but you never know I guess?

Remulak: Are you still making music at the moment? Can people expect to hear anything new from you any time soon? Word has it you've made some more music with Fred from the Horned HANNES duo. I absolutely love Art of The Kill that you guys dropped.

Ded: Yes and no.. we've been working on a lot of shit together but almost all of it is just demos and ideas and stuff like that.. I couldn't really play you any of it. Its just voice notes and shit like that really. Hes been in Australia for a while now so it makes the whole process so much longer because we are only both awake at the same time for such a short period. But its kinda happening..

What we do have for sure is 2 completed songs, 1 remix of an existing song and a finished music video. Im determined to get something out this year! The current chat is to do a string of singles while we work on some newer shit as this completed stuff is over 5 years old now.

Remulak: Aside from your own music, is there anyone you've been listening to recently that's inspired you? Feel free to name-drop a few tracks if there are any, including any guilty pleasures.

Ded: I dont really listen to any Hip Hop anymore so i dont really have any good recommendations or anything.. I stopped actively looking for it and listening a long time ago and I cant be fucked with it all man.

I've been enjoying really enjoying this band called An Gof from Cornwall who do some really good post-punk kinda shit. I've found that really inspiring to try and make something different.

 

 

Remulak: Looking back now across Seventy Five, Landspeed and Apex, do you see those records as connected chapters, or do they each represent different phases for you creatively?

Ded: They are definitely connected chapters. Maybe Apex not so much but the first 2 are essentially the same record! If Apex wasnt solely Ash it would've been a compilation of people just like the first 2 for sure. I think, because it isnt that, it does sit slightly differently.
One of the things ive often said about losing the desire to create was i got tired of just making the same record over and over again and I appreciate that its my decision to do that but during the process it did feel like I didnt really have any options to do anything else.

Remulak: Ten years on from Seventy Five, what does the record mean to you now, and how do you see that chapter fitting into the wider Ded Tebiase story?

Ded: I know the right answer is to say it’s a huge part of my life and I’m super proud of it and all that, and I am, but we have a complex relationship.

I think when you get defined by something that eventually kind of pigeonholes you to a certain sound it can taint the memory of it. That’s how I feel about it. I could never make that record again. Not because of talent or skill or whatever, but more because of everything that’s shaped me after it. It’s so upbeat and optimistic sounding and I just don’t live that life anymore. I think if you listen to the three albums back to back you can definitely hear a transition into a more nihilistic sound by the time you get to Apex.

I want people to enjoy Seventy Five and I’m stoked they’ve done that. It came out at the perfect time for what it is. It’s been quite wild watching copies of it trade hands for stupid money considering where and how it was made. I had dreams of doing a 10-year anniversary edition at some point, but that would only have worked if I was still prolifically releasing music. As it is now, I wouldn’t want that album to be my reintroduction to everyone, as what would follow would be too contrasting. It’s there for people to enjoy whenever they feel like it.

But the biggest takeaway I have from the 10-year anniversary is that I’m here to see it. At one point I didn’t think I would be, and that’s a far bigger accomplishment.