Nautiluss Returns: Ex-Thunderheist Member Makes Solo Mutek Debut

Mutek

Nautiluss seems to have come full circle as he prepares for his debut performance at Mutek Festival tonight. Having grown up in Montreal, Nautiluss, perhaps better known as Graham Zilla (of former band Thunderheist), says he always wanted to play the festival.

"I've known about Mutek from the start, but it didn't make sense until now," he tells Spinner. "I'm honored and really excited to play.

"I'm trying to go for pretty magical. I needed a rehearsal because I wanted to see if I could pull it off. I am going for an immersive cinematic experience."

Nautiluss is billed tonight alongside Kode 9, BNJMN and Sendai, for a Red Bull Music Academy showcase of producers who straddle the genres of house, techno and dubstep.

Thunderheist's electro-rap ended in 2010, after which Nautiluss released his first single "Ultraviolet" as Nautiluss X Lord Skywave on Hemlock Records. He released Alpha, a darker dance music record for Turbo, this past May.

"I'm trying not to repeat myself," says Nautiluss. "I decided that I don't want to be an artist that finds a formula and runs it into the ground. It's really satisfying -- it just takes longer to earn people's trust."

After reinventing himself as Nautiluss, he says the best part is that it's a clean slate.

"I don't know how many people know about Nautiluss... So I can define it as I want. I've already done this once with Thunderheist."

Part of the reason why Nautiluss feels comfortable exploring sonically is because of his extensive record collection. He's got decades worth of sounds floating around in his head that he wants to get out.

"I have all this stuff in my head and I feel like I've gotten to this point with the technical side of things that I can just do whatever I want," he says. "I can make any style of electronic music -– so it's just a matter of what I want to put out."

Right now, that's translating into something more "adult" than flavor-wave dubstep. Think dubstroll, maybe.

"I'm making music that is more mature than dubstep," he says. "Dubstep is a youth thing -- it's really loud, aggressive and awfully formulaic, but it works. It's very effective... I'm making more mature stuff and the audience tends to be older."

Now in his early thirties, Nautiluss remembers his early days in the electronic music scene.

"My first DJ gigs were at raves in Montreal in the mid-'90s," he says. "I was in the warehouse rave scene that Tiga started in Montreal and now I'm signed to his label, Turbo. I remember seeing Chromeo come out of nowhere and I remember thinking I want to be part of Turbo... I'm making music now that I would have loved when I came into the scene in the '90s."

As for what the future brings, Nautiluss says he'll be putting out another EP in the fall on Turbo and another album in early 2013, followed by lots of gigs in between.

"It's not going to be what people expect," he says. "I'm really putting my heart into it and it's like I have a second chance."

Watch Nautiluss' "Blue Monday" Video