SAYLESS: From Student Flats to Ranger Records — The Debut of Sayless

December 2, 2025

Every artist starts somewhere. For Sayless, it was a student flat, a cracked copy of Ableton, and an obsession with the deep, soulful corners of drum & bass. Years later... after a long break, a lost laptop, and a spark of inspiration, he’s resurfaced with a debut that cuts straight to the core of what he loves: deep, atmospheric drum & bass.

Now, with his debut on Ranger Records, it’s the perfect time to get to know the artist behind the name.

For anyone hearing you for the first time, who’s Sayless?

Just an average kiwi bloke, who has decided to throw his hat in the ring, just for the love of the music. Drum and Bass has provided many meaningful experiences for me, and I hope that I can contribute to the scene in the same way and that people can enjoy it.

Sayless

Where did the name “Sayless” come from?

The phrase “sayless” was something I heard being used a lot a few years ago, probably popularised by hip hop culture and all that, but it resonated with me because I always felt frustrated when people talked over music at a rave or a party, especially music that I liked. For me, music has always taken the main stage; I don’t really know why, but it’s always been more interesting and important to me than conversation. Maybe that’s corny - I dunno, but that’s how I’ve always felt hahaha.

How’d you first fall into drum & bass?

I heard drum and bass a lot growing up, although I never really knew what it was, and honestly, I didn’t much care for it. It wasn’t until my second year of uni in 2016, when I heard the song ‘Waiting For’ by Spectrasoul, that it changed for me. It was a deep, soulful tune, and yet it was somehow uplifting and danceable. It made me feel a sort of melancholic joy, like I’d been waiting for this music to find me, and now it had hahaha. It made me curious, and I immediately had to find more similar tunes - and I did.

When did you start producing, and what pushed you to give it a real go?

It was that same year (2016), I was unmotivated about my studies and frustrated that no one else around me was interested in music the same way I was. I’d played the guitar through most of my school years, but never really found anyone that I could form a band with. When I learned of DAW’s I was immediately fascinated, because I could make music without relying on the skills of others. I think I learnt about Ableton on YouTube, but being a poor student I couldn’t afford it. I downloaded a cracked version and got to work learning it, and it immediately became my life. I stopped going to uni, I failed every course that year, and I churned out about 200 dogshit tunes that year, but I didn’t care because it felt like I had finally found my true passion.

Any early influences that shaped the way you sound now?

Definitely Spectrasoul, Alix Perez, Ivy Lab when they were still making liquid, Halogenix, LSB and Calibre. They’ve always been my favourites.

Talk us through ‘Bereft / Torment’, where did this release start for you?

I’d stopped producing music for a good 5 years or so, because my flatmate had spilled a beer on my laptop, and I’d lost everything - all my pirated software, samples and presets, and I was distraught. I was still a student, so I couldn’t afford to start over again for a while. It wasn’t until November 2024 when I watched “The Amen, Brother!” Podcast, and they had LSB on as a guest, which inspired me to get back into it. I forked out the money for Ableton 12 and got into it.

The release started with Bereft, which was probably the 3rd or 4th tune that I made since getting back into producing. It was my first time making anything of that vibe, but it all came together quite easily (which is not often the case). That was probably in January 2025. I think it started with that deep tonal sub bass, which kind of became the driving force in both tunes, I made it by messing around with Vital.

What were you trying to tap into with these tunes? Any particular emotions or ideas you wanted to get across?

I wanted something rolling, minimal, and bleak but still introspective. I’d like to say I was trying to convey something, but honestly, it was just my take on a subgenre that I liked at the time, while being restricted by my own abilities as a producer, although I was pleased with the result.

With this being your debut, what part of your sound or identity were you trying to put forward?

I really like deep and melancholic drum and bass. I guess moving forward, I’d like to continue on that path, although maybe not always so dark. I like liquid drum and bass, but I also like minimal and I like the idea of fusing the two. I’d like my sound to be more ambient rather than overly musical, and more atmospheric rather than filthy dancefloor bangers.

If you had to sum up the “Sayless sound” in three words, what would you go with?

Deep, atmospheric and melancholic.

Who would you call your biggest influences inside DnB?

Probably Alix Perez and the 1985 crew, Spectrasoul, and Ivy Lab & Halogenix.

How did you first link up with Ranger Records?

I was following Phrase on Insta, and I saw he had a release on Ranger coming out. I had never heard of the label, but I liked Phrase’s tune, so I stalked the page, haha. I saw that Ranger Records was supporting NZ and Australian artists and that they were accepting demos, so I submitted a couple, and I think I heard back from Keagan within an hour of submitting. It just went from there.

What made you feel like Ranger Records was the right place for your first release?

I was a fan of the tunes that had already been released. I felt like the tunes had a similar vibe, they were more soulful and atmospheric rather than cheesy dancefloor tunes with frog belch sounding bass lines, hahahaha. I also liked the artwork and animations used for the releases.

When did it hit you that this was actually happening, your first record coming out? And what’s more exciting… or more nerve-wracking… about it?

It didn’t really hit me until we started sorting the track artwork (which I was stoked on and thought really suited the vibe of the release). I think it’s exciting, and it’s happening a lot sooner than I would have expected. I definitely feel a bit of imposter syndrome, but I think most artists probably feel the same way about their first release.

Sayless - Bereft / Torment Artwork

After this single drops, what should people expect from you next?

There’s definitely more to come. I have some liquid tunes coming out next year, and I’m working on something pretty much every day.

Any dream collabs you’d love to make happen down the line?

Naturally, any of my influences (although I think they’re a bit out of my league at this point, hahaha) and any of the NZ boys that would be keen.

Where do you see your sound heading over the next year?

At the moment, I’m really interested in more unconventional jungle-inspired drum breaks. So, aside from a general improvement in my production skills, you can expect to hear more moody steppers as well as some soulful liquid tunes.

Cheers,

Sayless.

Buy and stream Sayless - Bereft / Torment from December 5th on all major platforms.

↟ Sayless

↳ SoundCloud: sayless (NZ)

↳ Instagram: sayless.nz

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↟ Ranger Records

↳ SoundCloud: rangerrecords

↳ Instagram: rangerrecs

↳ Facebook: rangerrecs

↳ Beatport: https://www.beatport.com/label/ranger-records/130538