Fresh Kicks 218: Maude Vôs

It’s Thanksgiving morning, and Maude Vôs is feeling a little nostalgic. The Los Angeles-based sound sculptress is spending the holidays with their family in Salt Lake City, Utah, and, as they sip on their takeaway coffee, they’re relishing in the familiarity of their former home. “It’s funny because I picked up this coffee from my old local shop round the corner,” they smile. “It’s kind of wholesome to be back here. A real full circle moment.”

The mountain-flanked city, where Maude first moved to from their LA hometown in 2006 when their parents retired, has played a key role in the trajectory of their music career – which today encompasses DJing, production, sound design, education and more. Although they’ve since returned to the Californian megacity, where they co-run the DJ Mag Best Of North America award nominated Delusional Records label with Marie Nyx and turn out hi-tech, bass-charged releases for imprints like Scuffed Recordings and YUKU, it was in Salt Lake that they first became immersed in sound system culture, and experienced the all-important sense of community in music that has guided their work ever since.

“[Salt Lake] was a little more intimate, easy to get to things, and I really found a lot of love and cool underground culture here which is so surprising,” they explain. “At the time, I was working as a hairdresser, so I was just using all my extra time making beats and starting to take gigs. I was in my early 20s and had no idea what I was doing, was partying a lot and didn’t really feel like I had a super solid vision, so I was just sponging everything in.”

Maude’s affinity for jungle and drum & bass – which had been growing steadily since their late teens – led them to Salt Lake collective Dubwise, who offered them their first DJ residency. “They took the risk and let me play,” they remember. “I’m really glad I’ve got to see them grow and see the love and care they have for honouring sound system culture.” Having started dabbling in Ableton some years before, and fuelled by their newfound DJ experience, Maude decided to pursue an audio degree, which eventually led on to a second.

“I didn’t really know exactly what I wanted at the time, but I just knew there was something out there for me in this space,” they explain, eyes twinkling. “I figured that getting some proper music education wouldn’t hurt, and it ended up giving me the chance to connect with hardware machines and go down the rabbit hole with synthesis. Now I have a degree in Media and Music, and a degree in Recording Tech, which I’m super proud of.”