Interview Mike Mannix

Dublin Roots, Detroit Soul

When you meet Peter Sweeney, better known as Rustal, there’s this steady current beneath everything he says — equal parts humility and voltage.

We’re sat in the infamous city centre Pawnshop venue, the clink of pints in the background, and he’s talking about Detroit like it’s some kind of spiritual compass. For a man who built his name out of Ireland’s DIY techno trenches, he’s remarkably grounded.

Rustal isn’t one for airs or ego. He’s the type who’ll talk about rusted edges and broken beauty in the same breath as Oberheims and 13‑hour sets. His story arcs from damp Dublin basements to the warm, beating heart of Detroit — and now, across the Atlantic again to New York. What follows isn’t a clean sterile interview; it’s a conversation —open, alive and up for the craic!

 

Mike: You started talking about Detroit earlier — just go for it. We’ll hop around a little bit.

Rustal: Yeah, no worries. Detroit was amazing.

Mike: You were playing a few gigs over there as well, weren’t you?

Rustal: Playing with Tom and Bill from Detroit Techno Militia, yeah.

Mike: That’s savage — that connection goes back a few years, right?

Rustal: Yeah. They invited me to play last year but I was playing Open Ear Festival and I couldn’t say no to that. Open Air is such an important festival in Ireland, especially for me. I’d wanted to play it for ages, so it was an honour.

Mike: So you told Bill you’d come back the year after and do it right?

Rustal: Exactly. I said to Bill from DTM, look, we can just come back and do it next year. So we did. The music ran from 12 to 1am — thirteen hours. I was on in between Tom and Bill. They gave me what felt like the peak slot.

Mike: Even getting invited over by that crew — that’s a big nod.

Rustal: Yeah, I was a guest. It came about because they’d played one of my records before in Detroit.

Mike: Did you know them at that stage? Did they reach out to you?

Rustal: Not really, just a little. We’d kind of talked a bit and then they invited me to be a guest on their show in Detroit. They wanted a live set, so I recorded something and sent it over. It aired on radio in Detroit. That was amazing — that was 2021 maybe.

Mike: Deadly.

Rustal: I’ve established a really good connection with Detroit and the people there.

I feel strangely at home there. Past life maybe? It’s weird — I don’t know”

Mike: You did it all under your own steam as well. You made that connection happen all the way out there yourself.

Rustal: Yeah, it’s really strange. The first time I went there was 2018. I played a Subspec label showcase in a basement with Sean Tate and Mollison Follison — aka The Butcher and The Body Mechanic. That was an experience. It’s grown ever since. I’ve just got to know more people there.

The Dublin graft doesn’t end in Dublin. It gathers weight and crosses the water, finding an echo in Detroit where the humility, the work rate, and the love of the craft read the same. What started as basement endurance becomes a sense of place—so the conversation naturally shifts to what that ‘homecoming’ feels like on a Detroit dancefloor.

Mike: Because you stayed consistent, that consistency stayed back with you, yeah?

Rustal: Yeah. The last time I went, I got a taxi from the airport and the driver said to me, “Welcome home.” I got the chills. Then at the venue, Tom Linder says, “Welcome home.” It was almost a bit emotional.

Mike: That’s mad. Like Dublin Airport when the lads say “Welcome home,” and you’re like — am I?

Rustal: I was a bit taken aback. Messed with my head a little bit — but in a good way.

Mike: Pretty cool.

Rustal: Yeah. When I landed, I was playing the Friday. I wasn’t nervous; I was ready. The set was great. I met Shawn Rudiman there as well — I’m a big fan. He hung around for the set. I played one of his tracks.

The energy is so different compared to Europe

Mike: Touch on that. I’ve heard this from other lads — the way the scene’s set up there. Even though it’s branded “techno” over here and “techno” in Berlin, the energy and vibe are different in Detroit. What is it?

Rustal: It still has this weird, beautiful community spirit — like a family almost. There’s this family buzz I’ve never felt anywhere else. Sometimes in Europe people try to be too cool — like putting on an act, feels a bit disingenuous. Especially in Berlin. I was at Berghain recently and I wasn’t really feeling it. I left. Different nights can change it, but still.

Mike: I’ve never heard anyone come back from Berlin saying it felt like family or community where everyone’s out for each other. But with Detroit I hear that all the time.

Rustal: It’s very warm.

Mike: What are they like — the community, the people you’ve never met but you meet for the first time? Is it like you’re part of the crew?

Rustal: They’re so happy to see it. It’s energetic. It feels alive. Even though the crowds are older there — older than here — they’re right there with you.

Mike: Maybe some of the ones who were there from the early days.

Rustal: Maybe. There are younger Detroit artists coming through, but yeah — it seems an older vibe in the clubs. Not sure why. Demographics maybe.

Mike: When you say “family,” is it like inside the club too — like the halcyon days, where you introduce people to friends and everyone’s there for the music?

Not too up themselves like parts of Berlin or even here sometimes — a bit clicky

Rustal: Detroit can be clicky too, of course, but above average it’s more open. I think they can see how much I care about this and what it means to me. They can see the passion, and they resonate with that. They vibe off it and it creates a great atmosphere and relationship. It’s real. It’s genuine.

Mike: And you stayed consistent — you have.

Rustal: Thanks. I feel like I have to. Not to be consistent for the sake of it — just because it’s expression. It’s what’s in me.

Trip by trip, Detroit stops being a postcard and becomes kin: older heads, warmer rooms, a community that clocks intention and pays it back with presence. With that belonging settled, the question turns to momentum—where does this energy go next, and who helps shape it?

Mike: Not fakery — not to have a label and say, “look what I’m doing on Instagram.” You’re following through.

Rustal: Exactly — it’s expression. That’s what it is.

Mike: Right, that leads into the New York thing. That’s been a journey.

Rustal: Yeah.

Mike: I’ve been privy to bits of conversation over the last 18 months. Can you touch on how that came about? Two major US cities you’re now properly involved with.

Rustal: The New York thing started with Jack Russell, who runs Blackcat Records.

Mike: How far back? It’s been a journey.

Rustal: It’s about eighteen months now. It was June when we spoke more seriously. Around Christmas we really set it.

He contacted me, we talked, and he invited me over”

Mike: How does that work — he just reaches out and says he likes your music and wants to work together?

Rustal: Pretty much. He said he really liked my music and would love to have an Irish person on the label — felt that I was the one.

Mike: What’s his label?

Rustal: He runs two — Black Hat Records and White Wolf. White Wolf is a bit more upfront but still deep and dubby. Black Hat is deeper. Both are dub techno heads, but one is deeper than the other.

Mike: How did you know he was serious — not just someone spamming you?

Rustal: We did a video call — proper face to face. Then he invited me over. We wanted to talk through what we’d do: the plan, where I’m at, what each of us wants, how many days we’d record. There was a lot to unbox and you want to do that before you get there.

Time’s limited. You want to create, not waste time”

Mike: So you set a date and stuck to it?

Rustal: Exactly. We set a date and I went. Tuesday to Sunday — intense.

Mike: Did you know what you were going to do or was it on the fly once you were there?

Rustal: All made from scratch.

Mike: Amazing. What was the energy like? What’s the studio like? What’s he like?

Rustal: Phenomenal studio. Jack’s a bit intense — as you’d expect. Very passionate, very particular. Difficult at times — but that’s good because he knows what he wants. The sessions were long — sometimes 10am to 10pm. The setup is fully analog. A proper outboard desk. Oberheim Four Voice.

So much gear — like thirty synths just in one stack. The place is extensive”

Mike: Nice to play with real toys — proper pots on a desk. None of the fake stuff.

Rustal: Exactly. It’s like nothing you’ve seen before — extensive, tactile, alive.

Mike: And the end result?

Rustal: Really happy. It was tough at times creatively and energy-wise — I’d never recorded four or five days in a row like that — but we got a track down almost every day. Pretty crazy.

Mike: Serious deadline. You got a track on every day almost — that’s wicked.

Momentum books the next flight. New York isn’t mythology; it’s a workshop—analog desks, long days, and a producer who asks for more until the idea snaps into focus. The talk narrows to the room itself: what they built, how it felt, and the sound that started to make sense in real time.

Rustal: Yeah, it was intense but productive.

Mike: What’s the name of the release?

Rustal: The Path.

Mike: Deadly. Literally the flight path over — love it.

Rustal: That’s where it comes from — the path across the Atlantic, the journey.

Mike: Physical release as well?

Rustal: Yeah — vinyl. The artwork has a photo of me on the back. We can use that in the interview. The design was by Femi, who I also collaborated with along with Jack on the last track — a dub tune, slow, about 85 BPM. Not even really techno — dub.

The whole EP is dub‑techno focused though”

Mike: What’s the tracklist?

Rustal: Angel of Light, Ukiyo, Flower Brick, Burn Down Babylon.

Mike: Talk to me about Angel of Light.

Rustal: It’s the lead track. One night I was lying on my couch with headphones, trying to manifest what the track meant to me. I had this vision of an angel — bright, shining a light at me. Powerful, positive energy. There’s a synth that comes in and it hits you — like bang. There’s so much darkness in the world at the moment, and she felt like a force cutting through that. That’s why it had to be Angel of Light.

Mike: You knew instantly — your instincts were like, that’s it.

Rustal: Straight away. Perfect. I told Jack all that and he loved it — said it gave the record more meaning.

Mike: That’s proper artistry — not just farming out a few tracks to finish a project.

Rustal: Exactly.

Mike: And Yukio?

Rustal: Japanese — “alternative world.” It’s a world we can’t see. The track is deep, emotive; it kind of pulls you away, brings you somewhere, almost skyward. Not exactly hypnotic, more emotionally deep.

Mike: Flower Brick?

Rustal: The most driving one. Ben Sims played it on his Run It Red show. He always makes tracks sound like a different track — it didn’t even sound like mine for a second, he has that touch.

Mike: (laughs) He’s got the magic.

Rustal: He does. And Burn Down Babylon — that’s the dubby one, slow, Jamaican‑sounding, a collab with Jack and Femi. Femi’s a modular wizard, also a talented designer. He released the first record on the label. That track came together quickly — collaboration makes it easier sometimes. We got it done and celebrated on the last night.

Mike: How’s the EP being received?

Rustal: Great. Kinda crazy. Laurent Garnier, Speedy J — they’re all over it. Speedy J gave it 5 out of 5. He’s a hero of mine. It’s sold out in some shops already.

You’ll find it in record stores in Detroit, New York, Colombia, Germany, England, Japan — all over the world”

Mike: Name‑drop away — that’s class. It all pays off after the graft, doesn’t it?

Rustal: It does. Still surreal, though.

Mike: You were in Detroit and actually saw it on the racks, right?

Rustal: Yeah — I was in Threads in Detroit and there it was in the dub‑techno section. Three copies. I took a couple of photos. I thanked the guy who runs the shop for stocking it. He goes, “Thanks for stopping by.” It was such a cool moment.

Back from the sessions, the record plays like a travel diary in four scenes: a sudden light, an unseen world, a forward push, and a slow dub that hangs in the air. Each title is a pointer, and each texture is a clue—so we lean into the details of how those moments actually got on tape.

Mike: Goosebumps stuff.

Rustal: 100%.

Mike: Back to the sessions — talk me through that moment with your own synth in Angel of Light.

Rustal: Right — I brought two of my own synths to New York. We’d gotten the track to a certain point. I asked Jack if I could introduce my synth into the picture. Hooked it up, got the MIDI going, dialled in the sound. First pass — Jack goes, “Don’t touch it.” It slotted in perfectly. I just jammed it and it filled the space the track needed. It sounds different from the rest of the elements — in the best way.

Mike: Your energy off the piece of kit you know best travels — from Dublin to New York — and it shows up in the record.

Rustal: Exactly. It did its job.

Mike: What was the day‑to‑day rhythm like in the studio?

Rustal: We’d start around 10am, break for a quick bite, and push until 10pm sometimes.

Some days were flow state — other days the last two were tough going”

That’s the last‑hurdle thing; your ears get tired, but you keep moving. Jack’s vision kept us focused. He’s clear — which can be difficult in the moment but vital in the end.

Mike: And you had that pre‑release party back in December?

Rustal: Yeah — downstairs here, kind of a pre‑party before the record came out. Great fun. Jack’s a great DJ.

Mike: Did you get any downtime in New York?

Rustal: A bit — the last night we went out for dinner in Brooklyn. Went up the Empire State Building. Proper tourist moment — and I loved it. Big thanks to Jack for that.

Mike: Class. So from a Dublin bunker to Detroit basements to a New York skyline — that’s a journey and a half.

Rustal: (laughs) When you put it like that — yeah.

.

It’s a quality‑first vibe”

Mike: That adds to the family feeling you mentioned — like what you love about Detroit.

Rustal: Exactly. Jack’s vision is building a family, not just a catalogue.

Mike: When you look back at Berlin in contrast — and even some places in Europe — does that family metric become the yardstick?

Rustal: I don’t want to slate anywhere — Berlin has incredible nights and people. But in some corners it can feel like everyone’s performing “cool.” Detroit doesn’t feel like that to me. It feels like people are present, connected. The warmth matters more to me than the pose.

Mike: Fair point. And you’ve been consistent about being yourself — no fakery, no chasing clout.

Rustal: I can’t do it any other way. It’s expression. I’m good at sensing what a track needs next, where it wants to go, and being a conduit for that. That’s my job — to direct the energy.

With the first wave of support landing and the shelves already thinning, the focus widens again: family over catalogue, process over pose. The future talk is pragmatic and bright—more trips, deeper bonds, and the same stubborn belief that the only way forward is through the work.

Mike: Was it fast work overall once you were rolling?

Rustal: Early days, yeah. Then the last two days were tougher. But that’s normal. We still got it done.

Mike: And seeing the reaction after — Ben Sims plays it, Garnier and Speedy J support — that must light a fire.

Rustal: It does. It’s fuel — but

I try to keep my head down and just make more. Enjoy it, then get back to work”

Mike: What’s next then? Top it, or go another route?

Rustal: I’m enjoying this moment, but I’m hungry for the next one. I’ll go back over to New York. Jack’s vision is a long‑term family; there’s definitely a future there.

Mike: That’s the best place to end — on the future.

Rustal: (smiles) The path continues.