Like all good Capricorns, Brad Munn (a.k.a. Somatik) does some of his best work behind the scenes. The mixing engineer, producer, artist and amateur farmer has brought sound to life for 4 Hero, Jill Scott, Lady Miss Kier (formerly of Dee-Lite), Roy Ayers, Terry Callier and a host of others. When he's not busy making everyone else sound impeccable, he works with Marc Mac (from 4 Hero) and Luke Parkhouse ( a.k.a.

Hopper) on their highly acclaimed (and quite difficult to find) Visioneers project. He also has released some tracks on his own, including the rock meets broken-beat "Interaktion." But for his musical genius, I suspect we'd find Somatik playing the Bob Vila of Wales on HGTV.
Emmerald: I've got to start with the house. You're living out in Wales in a house you've been diligently remodelling for some time. How is that progressing? How long have you been at it?
Somatik: I've been living here in the middle of nowhere in Wales now for three years. I live on a small holding with my parents and their three foster kids. There's a main, Edwardian-style big house that they all live in, and I'm in the middle of renovating the old coach house next to it. The coach house was basically a shell when we moved here, but now, three years on it's nearly a home and studio for me. Lots of new skills being learned-- planning, building, etc. Anyway, like I said, it's nearly finished now and hopefully I'll be living in there properly by Christmas.

Then I can record my first album in the spring. (laughs) Yeah right.

Emmerald: What inspired you to move from the city? How has the move and the different vibe out in the country vibe affected your music?
Somatik: I guess I just needed space. I'm a country guy at heart. Besides, living in London I was constantly struggling to survive with no time for contemplation. Being caught up in the system so badly, I don't think I was getting the chance to be original or creative. I found myself flying from one project to the next without really getting fulfillment out of any of them. Not to say I wasn't enjoying it, but I knew I needed to get back in touch with myself. Out here I have lots of space. Not much in the way of time yet, but I'm working on that. The space factor, alongside my increased appreciation of nature through working on the land, has certainly helped with the music, getting back in touch with myself and the real world. It's all about clarity.

Emmerald: You're growing vegetables as well. Are you vegetarian or vegan? Any philosophical reasons for living off the earth, so to speak?
Somatik: Yeah, between me and my Mum we're caning it in the garden! At the moment we're aspiring to grow enough fruit and veg for the whole family all the time. We haven't fully managed it yet, but we're having fun trying. We are certainly getting used to real produce, and trust me, when we have to resort back to supermarket veg once in a while, it makes us realise how terrible all that phony processed crap really is! We also make wine out of some of the stuff we grow. Mum makes loads of jam and soups. I'm definitely not vegetarian or vegan, I'm afraid. I guess getting back into the old school system of farming I can see how the livestock thing is integral. It all works together and eating the meat is all part of that system. The same anti-supermarket argument goes for meat though; although we don't have any of our own livestock (yet!). We buy meat locally from farmers and local butchers, and compared to the junk you buy from the large chain stores, well, forget it! Proper Welsh lamb that's been running around in the field up the road since spring-- My days!

Emmerald: How did you end up working with 4 Hero? What is your role with them?
Somatik: I am the 'multi-purpose dude' for 4 Hero! Been working with them since just before "Two Pages." In fact, the first job with them I was involved with was the "I am the Black Gold of the Sun" remix ? nice introduction! I was engineering at Leon Mar's studio at the time, which is where "Two Pages" was recorded. When 4 Hero had built their own studio I ended up working with them directly. Mainly I'm the engineer, but I also blag my way on loads of different instruments so I end up doing lots of sessions for them. I've been working more closely with Marc (Mac) lately, and collaborated with him on a few projects here and there, co-writing and so on. I'm also involved heavily on the internet side of things, mainly the 4 Hero messageboard (big ups to all messageboard kru!) and NuWaveRadio.co.uk of course.