Electronic music maestro

After he got his first set of turntables at age 14, Athlone's Joe Relihan said he "pretty much didn't leave the bedroom for the next month. I only had a handful of records but I got to know them inside out." Purchasing the turntables marked the start of a journey which has led to the Assumption Road native becoming a dance music producer with a keen online following. Joe often spends 30 hours a week creating and fine-tuning music that generally falls into the electro-house, dubstep and breakbeat categories. His work, which is released under the name Filtroniks, has been distributed by a variety of labels and has attracted an enthusiastic response on the internet. One track has received almost 2,000 plays on the Soundcloud website in the last seven months. Over 230 comments on his work have been posted on the Soundcloud site, with various tracks described by listeners as "ill", "banging" and "sick". For those unfamiliar with dance music terminology, these are among the highest terms of praise which could possibly be used. Last week Joe graduated from Athlone IT with an Honours degree in Business. Along with Mike O'Dowd of Glasson's Lakeland Studios, he currently teaches a night course at the institute entitled 'An Introduction to Music Production.' A son of Barbara and well-known photographer Joe, he started listening to music at early age. When he was 10, a dance compilation called Rave '92 caught his attention. Featuring acts such as The Prodigy and The Orb, it would influence his future musical direction. "When I came across acts like The Prodigy I thought to myself 'this definitely something different,'" said Joe. He is also a big fan of The Smiths, Depeche Mode, The Beatles, The Beastie Boys and 80s pop music. "I'm an 80s pop music fanatic. There was a lot of tripe released back then but the music in general was so broad. You had some really fun pop music that was popular but really well-made as well." As time passed he became interested in DJ-ing and acquired that first set of turntables in his teens. "For me it had to be about more than just listening to music and going to parties and gigs," he said. "I had to be involved with the music in some way, so I thought DJ-ing was a good way to get into it. I didn't know at that stage that I would go into music production but I'm happy I did." An admirer of acts such as renowned electronic music duo Daft Punk, he developed an interest in music production techniques and eventually completed his first original track in 2007 or 2008. The building blocks of his work are synthesisers, sound effects and a midi keyboard - all of which he controls with the Ableton Live music production software. Completing a track is not a quick or easy process. "I finished one track in four days, but I was working on it night and day for those four days. Other tracks you might work on every day for three months," he said. Joe used to play gigs somewhat regularly but he stopped actively seeking bookings when he was in college. He is more focused on music production than live performance - stating that he's just as happy to have his music played on a local or digital radio station as he is to have it played in a live setting. "Some people love to get out there and party but I don't even drink. I'm nearly a recluse in terms of what I do musically," he said. Outside of music he is a movie buff and his debut EP, The Pinch, contained three tracks with titles that were influenced by the world of cinema ('the pinch' is a device used in the movie Ocean's Eleven). The EP was released digitally and was very successful - reaching number six on the Audiojelly online dance music chart. "After the EP came out I got offers to do remixes and kept going with that. I only ever made the music for myself in the first place but it's great that there are people out there who want to hear it. "I have two tracks on the go now and they're very different from each other which is a great thing. I don't feel that I've been pigeonholed into a particular genre." The music industry has changed hugely in last 10-15 years and online-only releases are increasingly common - something Joe said has both advantages and drawbacks. "I'm happy that I grew up in the vinyl era because the hunt for music was a bit more mysterious then. Now it's a bit too saturated. "But there's loads of great music out there and it's easy to find which is a good thing if you're a producer. It means your stuff isn't thrown under a rock, never to see the light of day." Joe is not the only dance music producer operating in the Athlone area, and he has worked with people like Justiy, an iRadio Dj who lives in the town, and the local electronic music duo Daz and Kenny (Darren Fay and Kenny Tynan). When asked about his musical hopes for the future, he said he will be striving to develop further as an artist. "You always want to keep learning and keep pushing forward," he said. "You want to keep upping the ante all the time." * For more information, or to hear some of Joe's music, check out the Filtroniks page on the facebook, soundcloud and twitter websites.