Who are you and what do you do? How long have you been a working musician?

Hi. I'm Laurence Ritchie, one half of the Inland Knights. I run the label Drop Music, and my alias is Larry Fives. I've been DJing, producing, and running a record label since the mid 90's, and I still manage to make a living from it!

What is your educational background? Are there any schools, courses, or books you recommend?

I was trained in piano and music theory as a kid till about 10 years old. Warehouse parties in 1989-90 were quite educational :-) And 10 years of running and playing at smokescreen free parties around the UK too! All I wanted to do was electronic music as a kid but there were no courses or access to any studios or equipment for me until I was in my late 20's. Now you just need a laptop and the internet. So I'd recommend that :)

What hardware are you using?

Mac Pro, Prophet '08, Little Phatty, JUNO-106, Focal Twin6 Be monitors, Liquid Mix, TL Audio Fat Track valve mixer, Yamaha NS10s, Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 sound card.

What software are you using?

Logic Pro on Mac, Liquid Mix, Stylus RMX, controllers for the Prophet and Moog.

What would be your dream setup?

A room that was designed from scratch where I could control the acoustics properly, that's the most important thing. I'd like a Minimoog Voyager, but I'm close with the Little Phatty. I'd also love an SSL Matrix SuperAnalogue Mixing Console, only 15 thousand pounds though!

Can you describe your creative process? Is there a particular routine or schedule you stick to?

I tend to get some samples and layer a few tracks and just jam about until it takes some direction. Then get some synths going, do some sampling, maybe chop them up into stylus remix. When I have about 12 tracks looping, I'll start to arrange and work more and more into the producing as I go along.

Where do you shop for and discover music?

Mainly the promos sent and Juno / Stompy / Beatport. I really miss the days of going to record shops, A LOT.

What's brewing in your studio?

I currently have a new album out on Drop Music, House Bound, that's full of exclusive tracks from various acts including Inland Knights and Larry Fives. And coming up next on Drop is an EP called Head Lock from the same said 2 acts. I played around with this track to get a heavy feel to the bottom end like a techno track, but made sure it was still a house track by blending some more melodic looping samples and get a more "housey" feel and switch to a proper house bass line from the techy rumble without losing too much energy. I bussed all the beats through a mastering chain and kept the rest dry and recorded the whole thing at minus 6dB for professional mastering.

Any production tips & tricks you'd like to share?

I always reference to something I've written that I know is right on a PA and some thing someone else wrote to keep a broader ear. Then listen on another 3 sets of speakers like the car, house, laptop.

Where can we find you on the web?

Larry Fives (Inland Knights) / SoundCloud / Facebook /