The British producer DJ Pitch’s new record is a collaboration-heavy affair. Here is a trilogy of names that you might know: Quiet Light, Tiffi M, and Tony Bontana. But it’s just not those three. Every track but two features some sort of additional name, spread across genre and scene. This musical diversity is not unlike Pitch’s larger output, which has deftly traversed the worlds of forward-thinking club music, indie, and downtempo. The producer—real name: Robert Venning—is also a major force behind TT, an equally eclectic label that was founded over a decade ago. We sent some questions over to DJ Pitch about the new record and more. Did we get a bit of “scene talk” into the mix? You never know! Read the piece, and listen to Short Glow, below.

What’s the most exciting thing to you about Short Glow?

DJ Pitch: To have another body of work out in the world after four years of singles and EPs—I hope to be more consistent in creating full albums in the future.

Tell us about the album artwork.

I’m trained as an architect and am particularly interested in how digital representations and processes skew our perception of the built environment. Ian (OST label owner) suggested working with the artist Amal (amalcrossing), and I saw that she’d previously created images of buildings in her characteristic smeared, gauzy style. I wanted something exactly like that.

I’ve always been a fan of the Gregory Crewdson photo for the Yo la Tengo album And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, so it’s also a not-so-subtle nod to that.

This is a really collaboration-heavy release. Was there any underlying conceptual vision around this record that led you to instruct these artists in a specific way, or was it more of a free-for-all?

There’s no conceptual vision for this record. In 2023 people started reaching out and asking me to make “beats” specifically for artists to add vocals to, and it was a process I really enjoyed. Simultaneously, I started the band Void with some friends and developed more of an interest in songwriting that I hadn’t explored since I was a teenager. Having had these two experiences, it felt like a natural step to bring together a group of artists I’m interested in to work on a collaborative song-driven album.

What’s your favorite way to get a tune going? 

I’ve got three approaches to making music that I cycle through depending on my mood:

1. I’ll just start noodling with reliable VSTs and sample packs that I consider core to my sound (Korg synths, acoustic drum sample packs, video game sample packs).

2. 2. I have an archive of ten-plus years' worth of unfinished tracks, loops, and ideas that I like to delve into, find ideas that speak to me, and begin working from there. If some discarded ideas from 2018 still resonate with me, then that’s a sign to me that it’s an idea worth pursuing.

1. 3. I’ll download a new VST or watch a YouTube tutorial on a production technique to get new ideas going.

“Wendy Step” has some very ASMR-ish sounds going on towards the end. Does the magician want to reveal his tricks?

Often I’ll build dense drum loops by resampling components over and over again, stretching them out and chopping them up multiple times to produce the crunchy ASMR-esque quality, that’s how I created the sounds on “Wendy Step.”

Is there anything you have learned as a label proprietor that you’ve been able to apply to your own music? Are you directly inspired by the artists you work with?

I’m always inspired by the people that I work with; that’s one of the reasons I’ve carried on running labels for as long as I have. The opportunity to develop personal relationships with artists who inspire you to push on in your work is a very special thing.

What’s the best club in London right now?

It’s a toss-up between Spanners and Ormside Projects. I’ve got a serious bias towards clubs in south-east  London that I can walk to from my house.

What has been exciting you about underground music in 2025? Where do you want it to go in 2026?

New generation of UK rap

Laptop twee

I’ve given up trying to predict where things will go next year, as I’m almost always wrong—I just want to hear music by artists who can translate what they’re doing in ways that are novel to me. I’ll be looking for things more that resonate with my emotional state next year, rather than a set of trends that are bound to pass.