Ill.Gates
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Ill.Gates | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dylan Lane |
| Also known as | the Phat Conductor |
| Born | October 8, 1982 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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| Website | illgates |
Dylan Lane, professionally known as ill.Gates (born October 8, 1982), is a Canadian electronic music producer, DJ, and educator known for his contributions to the dubstep and bass music genres, and has garnered acclaim for his innovative musical approach, collaborations with notable artists, and efforts to share electronic music production knowledge within the community.
Career
[edit]Lane began experimenting with instruments around the age of seven. While attending Canterbury High School for visual arts, Lane took interest in the rave scene, learning to DJ in his basement and playing small local shows, including DJing for a breakdancing crew and acting as musical director for a paranormal call in radio show called The Grey Border on CHUO FM.[citation needed] After high school, Lane moved to Toronto, Ontario to pursue higher education, got signed to Breakbeat label 2 Wars and a Revolution records shortly there after, and began pressing original music to vinyl as "The Phat Conductor"[better source needed].
By 2005, his songs had piqued the interest of Bay Area DJ and music producer Bassnectar, who requested Lane join him on tour. While on tour, Lane attended Burning Man for the first time, gaining inspiration from the scene. Upon returning to Toronto, Lane discovered his computers had been damaged, assumed to be related to a power surge. This data loss forced the abandonment of several works in-progress and prompted Lane to start a new project from scratch. Inspired by the creative freedom he experienced at Burning Man, Lane decided to change his stage name to ill.Gates and pursue a more experimental direction. Shortly after a collaborative remix for Si Begg[1][better source needed], ill.Gates published his first album, Autopirate, in 2008.[2]
Originally taking interest in industrial and experimental sounds, Gates was influenced by the likes of Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Aphex Twin, among others. He also enjoyed hip hop as well as Jamaican dub music, which helped to formulate a more eclectic approach to songwriting as he developed under his own name.[3] As he matured, Gates continued to incorporate elements of other electronic music genres, such as dubstep, glitch-hop, drum and bass, as well as non-electronic genres like hip hop, jazz, and classical music. In describing the songwriting process, Gates had this to say:[3]
It’s a lot like starting a fire. I get a bunch of flammable things in a pile and try to set them up in such a way that they want to ignite. Then I start striking matches and watching them die in my cold fingers. Eventually one of them lights up and I get very excited. I try to calm myself and blow on the fire gently at first. Once it’s going I start blowing harder and harder until it has a life of it’s [sic] own. Then I just have to stay awake until it’s done.
— ill.Gates
ill.Gates has collaborated with many artists over the course of his career, most notably Gucci Mane,[4] Alanis Morissette[5] and Bassnectar,[6][7][8] as well as others, such as Mimi Page,[9] Liquid Stranger,[10] Masia One,[11][12] Minnesota,[13] G Jones, KJ Sawka[14][better source needed] (of Pendulum), and Mr. Bill.[15]
In 2019, Disney released a collaboration between ill.Gates and composer Zain Effendi under the pseudonym Sentient 7 and the Clankers[16] as part of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, where it is performed daily.[better source needed]
Sound design and production techniques
[edit]After creating and selling some of the first commercial Ableton Live templates in 2006[17] (as The Phat Conductor), ill.Gates helped pioneer various production techniques, such as sampler "128s",[18] "The Infinite Drum Rack"[19] and "Mudpies".[20] Seeking to expand capabilities in manipulating sounds during live performances, Gates began publishing performance templates for various MIDI controllers such as the Akai MPD32 and APC40.[21] In 2025, ill.Gates contributed 128s style wavetables for Steve Duda's popular Serum 2 VST plugin synthesizer[citation needed].
Originally offering in-person lessons and workshops, increasing demand, along with a regular tour schedule, grew to the point that in-person events became unsustainable. This led to the creation of Producer Dojo, ill.Gates's online platform offering tutorials, courses, workshops, and coaching for aspiring producers.[22]
Personal life
[edit]Gates' father, an afro-asian from Trinidad, is a professional guitarist and his mother was a teacher.[3]
ill.Gates is married to his wife, Nunich, originally born in Laos. Together, they have a daughter, born in 2019.
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]- Autopirate (2008)
- The ill.Methodology series (2011)
- Terminally Ill (2017)
- Departures (2018)
- The Arrival (2021)
- Bent (2022)
EPs
[edit]- Irma Vep EP (2008)
- Sweatshop EP (2008)
- Church of Bass EP (2012)
- Bounce EP (2016)
- More Tea EP (2017)
- Smoke EP (2022)
- Racks EP (2022)
- Boom EP (2023)
- The Muse EP (2023)
- Toxic EP (2023)
- Wave EP (2023)
References
[edit]- ^ Si Begg - Jetlag And Tinnitus Reworks Part 4, 2007, retrieved 2025-04-17
- ^ "ill.Gates - Interview". LostinSound.org. 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ a b c Gib, Jamie (2017-04-17). "Travel, Writing, and Production with Bass Music Virtuoso ill.Gates! [Interview]". Dance Music NW. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
- ^ EyeOnEyez (2020-08-21). Eyeoneyez ft. Gucci Mane "Polar Bear" [ill.gates Remix]. Retrieved 2025-04-17 – via YouTube.
- ^ Souleye Feat. Alanis Morissette - Emergency (Ill.gates Remix), 2022-09-02, retrieved 2025-04-17
- ^ Beer, Nathan (2013-09-24). "ill.Gates & Bassnectar - "Expanded"". EARMILK. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Andrea (2017-03-24). "iLL. Gates and his Terminally iLL Plans". Festival Squad. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Sundius, Michael (2013-09-10). "Bassnectar - Take You Down (Special Edit)". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Selbe (2021-09-07). "[Exclusive Interview] ill.Gates Descends with New LP 'The Arrival' » Electric Hawk". Electric Hawk. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Meadow, Matthew (2016-03-23). "Your EDM Premiere: Ill.Gates - More Tea (Liquid Stranger Remix)". Your EDM. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Singh, Surej (2020-10-23). "Singapore's Masia One releases new EP, 'Freedom Fades'". NME. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Staff, EARMILK (2013-09-11). "ill.Gates - "Warrior's Tongue" (Remix Feat. Masia One) [Live Video]". EARMILK. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ "Minnesota Drops Huge "Thunderdome" Remix EP Featuring ill.Gates And More". RaverRafting. 2015-04-01. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ KJ Sawka & ill.gates - Unsung Heroes EP, 2015-09-15, retrieved 2025-04-17
- ^ Hilberath, Franz (2020-10-22). "ill.Gates & Mr. Bill Team Up on Funky Dubstep Collab "Cabbatsu" [Premiere]". EDM.com. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ "Droid World - Sentient 7 and the Clankers: Song Lyrics, Music Videos & Concerts". Shazam. Retrieved 2025-04-17.
- ^ Dylan ill.Gates (2006-10-16). thephatconductor.com mouseless dj/juggle template. Retrieved 2025-04-17 – via YouTube.
- ^ illGatesmusic (2011-03-17). ill.Gates Studio Template Tutorial/Demo ----PART 1 OF 2--- 2011. Retrieved 2025-04-17 – via YouTube.
- ^ illGatesmusic (2014-06-04). ill.GATES: THE INFINITE DRUM RACK. Retrieved 2025-04-17 – via YouTube.
- ^ Ableton (2020-04-07). One Thing: ill.Gates – Sampling chaos. Retrieved 2025-04-17 – via YouTube.
- ^ Splice, Team (Dec 18, 2013). "Ill.Gates Unveils New Akai APC40 Performance Template". Splice.com. Archived from the original on Oct 29, 2015. Retrieved Dec 18, 2013.
- ^ Hilberath, Franz (2020-06-15). "ill.GATES on Racial Injustice, SummerEyes Festival, and New Single "Trapezoid" [Q&A + Premiere]". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved 2025-04-17.