London duo Real Love Seeker — comprised of Stevie Titmus and Dan Marston — have contributed a new track, Mood Swings, to Maintain Altitude 2, the latest compilation from Soul Quest Records. The release adds to a growing catalogue that positions the pair as one of the UK underground’s more distinctive acts, drawing from broken beat, deep house, jazz and soul to produce music that sits comfortably between live performance and dancefloor function.
Mood Swings is a deliberate homage to 90s house duo Mood II Swing, a connection Titmus has a personal history with — he previously interviewed the act for Resident Advisor, conducting deep research into their catalogue in the process. The track channels what he describes as a dub-house energy, filtered through the duo’s own sensibilities. Dub reggae is cited as a further reference point, with Titmus noting that movement in effects and fine editing on synths and drums gives the stripped-back track more depth than its simple melody might initially suggest. His approach to finishing a record leans toward removal rather than addition, with feedback from trusted peers playing a role in knowing when a track is done.
The duo’s workflow varies considerably from track to track. Some productions are built entirely on the MPC, while others incorporate multiple live instruments — their track Elevation features four or five — which are then sampled back into the production process. Their first track together was recorded almost in a single take, with Titmus on MPC and Marston freestyling over it live. Both describe their approach as intuitive, following what feels right rather than adhering to a fixed method.
London’s club culture runs deep in both members’ backgrounds. Titmus points to Plastic People as a formative influence, recalling nights watching Theo Parrish and Floating Points perform to small crowds on a powerful sound system, and hearing Pharoah Sanders played at peak time — experiences he says fundamentally shifted his understanding of what dance music could be. UK garage is also cited as a major early influence for Titmus, who began playing the genre as a child and ran a nightclub in Romford at the age of seventeen.
Maintain Altitude 2 draws together artists from London, Amsterdam and Lisbon. Titmus speaks positively about Soul Quest founder Max and the label’s broader direction, noting that the roster spans full vocal soulful house through to what he calls “really crazy broken beat tracks.” He attributes the label’s coherence to a resistance to trend-chasing and to connections rooted in club culture rather than industry networking — qualities he sees as central to the label’s identity and longevity.
Source: Magnetic Magazine
