After the release of his incredible EP, Hideaway, on Live For The Funk I was curious to find out more about this unknown producer, Maths Time Joy (aka. Tim Worthington). Much akin to Mount Kimbie or Two Inch Punch, Tim Worthington’s productions are deep, complex, and other-worldly – perfect for an overcast Montreal Sunday like today. I reached out to Tim Worthington to answer some of my burning questions, and now I’m very happy to be able to share them with you all.

Without further ado, the MTJ FYI:

1. Where does the name “Maths Time Joy” come from?

Maths Time Joy is an anagram of my first two names, Timothy James.

2. What setup do you use to produce?

It’s pretty basic at the moment, I use my Macbook and Logic 9 that I got for university and some fairly cheap M-Audio speakers. Most of the production I do on headphones though, I find it easier to get kind of more immersed in the music that way. Plus there’s almost no sub bass on my speakers. I’d like to get some good speakers as the next piece of equipment, and some other synths like Massive, the Logic ones are cool once you know how to use them, but they’re still kind of limiting.

3. Influences?

Loads of stuff influences my music, and not just other music. I’m a big fan of films, I think visuals are always really strongly linked with music. In terms of music though I think Flying Lotus is one of the biggest influences on my production. I think he’s someone whose approach to production is really innovative. Jamie XX is a big influence as well, in terms of his career path as well as his music.

4. Do you have a certain style in mind when you set out to make a track, or do you just let what happens happen?

I usually start with a basic idea, like a drum pattern, or some chords, them just build the track around that. I like to make music that’s progressive and has a few different sections so I think even if I had a basic idea of what I wanted the track to sound like, it would end up somewhere different. I like it to be more of an organic process of writing, rather than just sitting down with a really set idea in mind.

5. Can you talk a bit about your creative process?

I guess the first step is always listening to other music, and as much of it as possible. Even though I went to a music college I don’t think I actually learnt much there. Most of what I learnt was from just sitting at home, listening to other producers and trying to figure out how they did it. In terms of the creativeness, it’s hard to really say, it varies each time. Sometimes it starts with a vocal idea, or sometimes with percussion. Once I have the basic feel of an idea, or a song then the rest comes pretty quickly. There’s loads of tracks which I start though, and never go back to. I think part of being a producer is to know what is actually good, and what’s just OK.

6. Is there an end-goal to your work? Do you see production becoming a full-time thing?

There’s no one end goal really, and I’m sure if I set one by the time I reached it there would be another one. There were some goals I set out with when I started MTJ, and some of them I’ve already reached. Really I’d just like to be able to make a career out of it, and have longevity. I’ve never seen music as just a hobby really , it’s something I’m pretty set on doing for life. The obvious goals are getting a record deal, putting out an album, and then from there I’d like to do production for other people as well as my own music.

7. What was the inspiration for your Hideaway EP?

LFTF asked me to do a 3 track EP. I already had the basic outline of the track ‘Hideaway’ so the rest of the tracks just built around that idea of being alone, and isolation, but not in a depressing way. Just like being alone to think. I like to make the lyrics kind of ambiguous though, so hopefully other people would have there own ideas of what a track means for them, rather than just what I tell them it’s about.

8. Who are you most often compared to?

Either James Blake or Two Inch Punch. I definitely appreciate James Blake’s music, but he’s by no means my favorite artist. I find some of his music hard to get into really. I guess because I sing and produce it’s always gonna difficult to escape those comparisons. Any comparisons though, of artists I look up to like Mount Kimbie, or Lapalux I’d always take as a compliment.

Download MTJ’s Walk With Me EP (Free) 

Maths Time Joy on:
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//just ziad