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What Is Mastering? In Depth with Kevin @ Wired Pt 2 - Exclusive!

(continued from pt 1)

What are some interesting projects you have worked on?

They're all interesting in they're own way!!!!! I know that's a total cop out, but I really mean it. Obviously some are better than others musically, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of meeting the artists and bands. It doesn't always follow that the people that make the best music are the most fun to sit in a studio with!! My website has a list of some of my projects on, and only the good ones we REALLY liked doing make it onto the website. 

What makes something interesting to me would be incredibly dull to someone else… sorry.

What's your 'standard' signal chain, and why is it better than the kind of plug-ins bedroom producers have access to now?

Playback computer 
–> 
Weiss EQ1 (Digital Parametric Equaliser) 
–> 
Apogee DA16X or Apogee Rosetta 200  (Digital to Analogue Converters) 
–> 
Maselec MTC-2 (Master Transfer Console) 
–>
Maselec MEA-2 (Parametric Equaliser) 
–> 
Maselec MLA-2 (Stereo Compressor) 
–> 
Chandler TG12413 Zener Limiter (Stereo Compressor / Limiter) 
–> 
Manley Massive Passive Mastering Edition (Parametric Equalizer) 
–> 
Maselec MPL-2 (Peak  & High Frequency Limiter) 
–> 
Apogee PSX 100 (Analogue to Digital Converter) 
–> 
Weiss DS1 (Digital De-Esser / Compressor / Limiter) 
–> 
SADiE (Destination Computer).

The most relevant part about this signal chain is the Maselec MTC-2. It is the heart of the studio. It's essentially a two channel mixer, with multiple insert points. The great thing it is that all of the outboard can be flicked in and out of the signal chain at the touch of a button. It also has high & low cuts, an elliptical filter and stereo width adjustment. It allows me to use the inserts in M/S at the flick of a switch and also to use the Chandler as a 'parallel compressor' - along with all the standard stuff such as being able to monitor in mono, and out of phase etc.

Most importantly is its ability to monitor at any point down the signal chain and at matched gains. When a piece of outboard is inserted into the chain, if it increases the gain by even as little as 0.5 dB then it can give you a very false sense of its actual merit. It is CRITICALLY important to be able to evaluate every eq and compression adjustment at exactly the same level. If it's louder it's going to sound 'better' and that's not necessarily the case.

I would also add that although this is my signal chain that doesn`t mean that EVERYTHING gets pushed through it regardless. There are times when just a little bit of extra gain and a 0.5 dB shelf on the top end will do! The way the desk works means that if the insert points are not switched in then the signal doesn't go through the kit - which is very different to running music through kit in bypass mode. Again, there are times when just a little bit of digital EQ with the Weiss will suffice, so then the audio won't go anywhere near the analogue domain. It is very important to treat each track on its own merit, and not just religiously bang tracks through the same path for the sheer hell of it!

As far as why this chain is better than a load of plugins, that's easy – they sound better. Of course I love all the big buttons & flashing lights, who doesn't, but honest to God, if the plugs sounded better then I would use them. Ultimately, it's about the end result. I would love to hit save on my computer rather than having to note down every setting, I get through an awful lot of notebooks! I do think that plugins are getting very good nowadays and there are certain situations where they are as good if not better - it just depends on what you're trying to achieve with them. Again, ask me the same question in a year or two…

What's the pimpest bit of kit you have?

The room, speakers and amps! They work in conjunction with each other, so I kind of view them as one. Everything else is utterly irrelevant if you can`t hear what your fancy compressor is really doing. Besides, if by 'pimpest' you mean 'most expensive' then they definitely come out on top!

Cheers Kevin!

************************************

Binga.

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What Is Mastering? In Depth with Kevin @ Wired Pt 1 - Exclusive!

Wired Masters is a mastering house in London that works with a massive range of material - everything from Black Sabbath to Ibiza Annuals, from Tectonic Plates to Bjork... and The Body Snatchers album, which is where I met their main man, Kevin, and proceeded to drive him mad with requests like 'make it loud...  but not too loud' and 'this one needs to sound epic, but in an intimate manner' and 'have you got any more biscuits, I'm hungry'. 

'The Madness of Sam Binga' aside, Kev did an amazing job on the album, working both from final stereo mixes and from stems, allowing us to make sure things like vocal and bass levels were properly set and matched across the album. It was also really interesting to spend a day sitting in with someone who has such a passion for audio and geek out on the equipment, techniques and approaches involved in mastering.

Wired recently moved to a super slick new facility, so we thought it would be nice to catch up with Kevin and get him to shed some light on what can often seem like a highly-respected but little-understood area of the music industry. So, without further ado, here is the Bass Music Blog Mastering Interview with Wired Masters!

How would you describe what you do, and what are you trying to achieve?

What I essentially do is to make music ready for commercial release. 

Mastering is in essence the final stage of the recording process – the last chance to address sonic issues before delivery to the public. Personally, I am trying to achieve loud, open, well balanced masters. On an album project I want a general good sonic consistency to every track so that the album has a sense of continuity. And of course, I want happy artists & happy record labels!

Why is mastering important?

Mastering is  the last chance to address any mix issues, breathe some life into, or just squeeze that last few percent out of a track before delivery to the public. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, delivering your music in its strongest possible form is absolutely essential. From a dance music point of view you may have musically the strongest composition in the world but if it sounds weak on a system, no one is going to play it!

Also as so much dance music is made 'in the box' (i.e. entirely within a computer - bmb) it is the last chance your audio has to see some nice transformers, valves & circuitry before becoming digits again. I think most audio 'deserves' the chance to be analogue at some stage in its life prior to manufacture!

What are the most important techniques you use?

Listening! Assessing what needs to be done before diving straight in!

It is so easy to get lost in adding a little bit here, a little bit there, a shelf here, touch of bass there, all of a sudden you`ve just basically turned the track up but in a really awful clumsy way!

From a technical point of view, I guess the most important techniques are 'corrective EQ' & compression in series. 

I don`t think that I can really talk too much about EQ, other than to say that I fix what needs to be fixed and push what feels right to push! I tend to use high and low cuts on all dance music - cutting anywhere between 20 to 30Hz and 18kHz to 25kHz. There just tends to be crap above and below these frequencies that takes up energy.

Each of my EQs has their 'sweet spots' so I tend to use different outboard for different frequencies. Also I tend to 'feather' the EQs a bit. That is to say, I'll use maybe two or three overlapping bands of EQ to add some of the missing frequencies rather than just have one band doing a lot – to my ears it just sounds a bit nicer that way. Unsurprisingly, I tend to do corrective surgery at the start with a digital EQ and all the nice sweetening EQ with my analogue EQs.

I use several compressors & limiters all doing a tiny bit of compression. You will hardly see much movement on the gain reduction meters moving in my studio. None of the kit is ever working that hard from a gain reduction point of view - it's the sum of the parts. Unless I'm going for a real compression 'effect' I don't want to hear them working. They all have different attack and release times and it's the way they interact with each other that gives the overall effect.

I guess the way I get nice clean level increases is by hitting all the outboard kit pretty hard, and letting the overall gain build up throughout the chain. It is a very personal process but one that sounds good to my ears; it keeps the music sounding 'open' which is very important.

What can producers do to help you get better results?

For me, several things:

1. Build a relationship with your Mastering Engineer. All of my artists and producers speak to me on a continual basis. They send me tracks long before their delivery deadlines and we talk about them. If things can be fixed in the mix and not at mastering that is far better. I would much rather spend my time and use my equipment to sweeten things rather than fix them!

2. Make sure that you are not mastering the day before your delivery is due (oops - binga). This can buy us some time to correct any issues if needs be prior to the mastering.

3. Critically listen to your peers. Most artists have a 'sound' that they are going for. Cross reference against finished tracks that you know sound awesome in a club. It is all to easy to sit in a studio making music, thinking it's the nuts and then get it out on a system and realise it's a million miles away from where it needs to be.

4. Play your track out as much as possible and get a feel for the overall vibe of it as well as the sonics. DJing it out on systems is invaluable. I know this is stating the obvious, but I'll do it anyway - play it on as many home systems, laptops, cars, DVD players as you can. Each different system will give you a different insight into the track. Record a DJ mix with it in and listen back to it in the context of other tracks. It's really important to know how it will work between other tracks – if you are thinking 'wow, this is the fattest track ever, it's got more bass on it than anything else I`ve ever heard' then chances are that you're in problem territory!

5. Be HONEST with yourself. Mastering can only do so much.

6. Don't smack the shit out of it with a limiter.

7. Attend the mastering session! If needs be, bring your laptop - a large percentage of my mastering is done directly of artists' laptops. That way, as I'm working on it, if needs be we can change one element in the mix. If the bass is great but the kick is weak, we can treat just the kick, rather than having to notch up the kick on a stereo track, which will ultimately affect the bass as well.

How did you get into mastering?

Someone I knew told me that a mastering facility was looking for a tea boy / tape duplication 'engineer' and I applied. They didn`t want anyone with skills, just someone who was prepared to work hard and learn! I got the job and spent about two years making tea, changing light bulbs, emptying bins and copying tapes. I got paid atrociously, but I spent all my spare time hanging out with real engineers, learning. When I got a chance to move up the ladder, I was ready. I think that is pretty much the standard way. 

To be honest, I didn't know what mastering was! I wanted to be a multi track engineer with a big desk and loads of outboard, but there were no jobs going. I saw an opportunity and went for it. Initially I thought that I would piggy back into recording or mixing, but as I learnt, I really got into the process of mastering and thought that it suited my personality  – really anal and a bit OCD! It's all about attention to detail, and I`m definitely good at that!

Has mastering been affected by the downturn in the music industry?

Not for us down here. As record labels have been selling less units per release, they have had to put out more releases to keep their profits up. Every release still needs to get mastered, so in fact we're busier than ever. 

Also, because more and more music is being made in bedroom studios, I think the mastering stage is now more critical than ever, as it has to iron out the inconsistencies in 'bad' monitoring environments. This is much more so now than say ten years ago, when much more music was being made in studios. A&R are much more aware of this now and are themselves seeing mastering as being more critical than maybe it had been.

However, ask me the same question in a couple of years and it could be a VERY different answer. A lot of labels went bust a couple of years ago when the distribution companies like Interscope / Pinnacle et al went down. As a commercial studio if too many of your labels go, you're gone. So far we've been lucky that most of our clients haven't been affected too badly.

Any thoughts on the loudness issue? Do you get a lot of stuff that has been compressed / limited to death before it reaches you, and why is that a problem?

I both hate it and understand it. I think that we're ultimately tying ourselves in knots. There's the whole 'iPod shuffle syndrome' and then there's what sounds good. Ultimately, the client is right and if they want a track to sound as loud on their iPod as a Black Eyed Peas record then it's their call. It's fine on a crappy little system in a bar where there is never enough level, but on a big system the tracks sound better to me when they haven't been hammered. I have certain artists where I make them an unlimited version for playing out on big systems and a 'LOUDER' version for giving to the labels and for retail. They all claim that when they play the unlimited version out on a big system the whole club 'breathes'. Speaks volumes….

Yes I get a massive amount of tracks that have been peak limited. Am I able to get new versions – often not. Labels unfortunately leave mastering to the very last minute and then getting hold of an artist to get an un-maxed out version in time is virtually impossible. That said, it`s not always too bad and I wouldn`t say that you HAVE to supply an uncompressed / unlimited version - it really depends on the program material.

I know a lot of artists now that actually write into a compressor and limiter. It can give a very current / trendy clipped & aggressive sound and it can actually suit certain styles of music. If they pulled all the compression and limiting off before they sent the track to me then the mix would fall apart. I would probably then be far too 'respectful' to the audio and perhaps not give it the aggression that they're after – and then I'd end up with an unhappy artist.

Undoubtedly I can do much more with some headroom, but I`m not so precious as to reject material that has been hammered. No it's not ideal, but it`s the world we live in. We are talking about dance music here, not audiophile jazz! If it's part of the sound, I'll work with it. One thing I would say however is that if you are writing into the plugs then leave them on, but if you're flinging them on afterwards just to get some level then don`t bother.

For me, the main issue is - does it sound good? I get some stuff through my door that sounds AMAZING and it's clipped to shit – does it sound good? That's really all that's relevant. There's also an element of knowing what you can get away with. You're not going to get a big gospel house record as loud as a techy minimal one. The techy minimal one can come in to my studio battered and I can still do a surprising amount, but if the gospel house one comes in battered, there's very little I can do.

What are some interesting projects you have worked on?

They're all interesting in they're own way!!!!! I know that's a total cop out, but I really mean it. Obviously some are better than others musically, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of meeting the artists and bands. It doesn't always follow that the people that make the best music are the most fun to sit in a studio with!! My website has a list of some of my projects on, and only the good ones we REALLY liked doing make it onto the website. 

What makes something interesting to me would be incredibly dull to someone else… sorry.

(continued in Pt. 2)

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Interview with Boris @ Dub Studio - Mastering, Acetate and Vinyl

Aight so originally this was gonna be part of the Free Tune Friday section but Boris - aka Borai (who did the Funky take on We Here) aka the studio manager at Dub Studio - got back to u just after we posted it up so we're separating em into two - aint no thang tho :)

BMB: Boris, you work at dubstudio - could you tell us a bit about what dubstudio does?

Boris: We are a digital Mastering and dubplate cutting house for DJ's, producers and artists - we master for CD/WAV and cut tracks to Vinyl or Acetate Dubplate.

I've had some direct to vinyl dubs cut at dubstudio - are you doing acetate as well now? Why would people prefer acetate to vinyl?

Yes we do cut to acetate, and this is a good question. We look at acetate as being a premium product, like in the Hi-Fi world some people just want it to sound the best and acetate can give you that. The sound quality is higher, more "vinyl like" and can give more of that analogue warmth that people strive for. 
Saying that some people just prefer playing acetate dubs!

What would you say the advantages are of cutting dubs over playing CDs?

If you are ever planning on releasing your music on vinyl it's a good idea to have an understanding of how the sound is going to change when its cut to vinyl,    getting Dubplates cut can be a big help as this is the closest thing that you can get without pressing up 500 copies of your tune! If you play out vinyl and don't like playing CDs or off a laptop (like myself) then you have an alternative! And also, bass heavy music will always sound better off vinyl or dubplate.

Who does dubstudio cut for? 

We don't like client lists (for many reasons) but we do like to grab interviews with the clients that excite us and post them up on the site, some of whom can be seen here http://www.dubstudio.co.uk/info/artist-features 

What musical projects are you involved in yourself?

I have been DJing in and around Bristol for the last 11 years and producing for the last 10 years, i have watched the Dubstep scene grow out of nothing and become the monster that it is today and been guided by some of the best Artists and DJ's Bristol has to offer along to way.

The Borai name has managed to rear its head on track co-written with my good friend Dj October for Fluid Ounce (The Letter I) last year and i have been working closely with the Shanti Sound guys (Embassy, DJ Rapid) both DJing at the monthly Cosies gig and working in the studio.

This a nice pic of a lathe like the kind we use - it's not ours, because we are yet to have any pics taken of the newly renovated studio! 
We have also replaced the shown rack gear with hand picked equipment http://www.dubstudio.co.uk/studio/studio-info

Cheers Boris! And if you want to step up to the big boy DJ level, Dub Studio are well worth checking out.

********************

Binga

 

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BMB Interview - Seiji

Chuffed today to introduce this interview with the man like Seiji.  

Seiji is one part of the Bugz In The Attic, but has recently been much more making a name for himself as a solo artist - he has been producing solo for a long time (check his 12" on Man Recordings from the other year) but recently he's stepped it up, giving away loads of tunes for free on his website, seiji.co.uk.  And they're great:  funky, tracky, beaty stuff - somewhere in the new middle-ground between Funky, Broken Beat and Breaks which fit really well into any set.  I've been rinsing them, and I know Bao and TRG are too, so we had to track him down for a chat.

It's interesting to see what he had to say about the Broken Beat scene - for a minute there it was desperately exciting; loads of great beats and rhythms but with musical interest, but then it kind of became a bit Jazz, a bit po-faced.  I guess you can draw a parallel with what happened to the breaks scene - from fairly similar beginnings, both had the potential to become the place to go for people who liked interesting beats, but Broken Beat went too serious, Breaks went too rave, and out of nowhere dubstep sprung up and nicked the middle ground all to itself.   Personally I reckon both are gonna come back next year, and if they do it's gonna be amazing.  Anyway, random musings aside, lets hand over to someone far wiser than I:

You seem to have been a bit quiet since the Bugz debut album.  What have you been up to lately?

I've been working on new tracks for the site, doing a few remixes, and writing more stuff with Roisin Murphy. Getting excited about beats again, really... 

Do you feel broken beat ended up being associated with a bit of a 'smooth' stigma?

I think that broken beat stopped evolving, and closed itself off to outside influence, and so sort of got stuck in a time warp where it could only be appreciated in a nu jazz context, whereas for a time it was being played alongside all kinds of bass heavy music.

Do you hear any links between the chopped up styles of Funky these days and what broken beat was doing a while back? (or even now?)

Yeah, I like to think that Funky is directly influenced by the old broken stuff, but if i'm honest its likely that many producers may have heard only a few Bugz mixes. Its no surprise that the style of beats is finally finding the wider audience it always deserved, but it needed to be raw dance music without the muso baggage in order to be felt by the mainstream. Let's face it, these rhythms are as old as the cavemen, they are going to keep coming back in various forms over the years, so only the ignorant will try and claim ownership of them....

What artists are you checking for at the moment?

Dance music, electronic music wise, FunkinEven, Redlight, Modeselektor, Jan Driver, Joy Orbison, Guido, Lil Silva, Deadmau5, loads really so much good music right now.....otherwise still listening across the board, and strictly Radio 3 in my kitchen.

Would it be right to say your tracks are quite percussive-oriented, and if so what interests you in a drum beat?

Well, I love all aspects of music but I am drawn to syncopated beats! Having said that I'm starting more and more to appreciate a really straight beat too....

Do you see yourself as being aligned to any one sound at the moment, or are you just content to do your own thing?

I'm just doing my own thing, that's all I can do....Of course I'm influenced by everything going on, but I've never really been able to get in with 'scenes'..... I only ended up in the 'broken scene' by accident because it developed around me and those I was working with. It was the same with Reinforced back in the day, I recorded for them because they were the badboy experimental label, but I was never part of the d'n'b scene and I wouldn't even really have said that I made drum'n'bass then either, it was just some mad shit influenced by what was going on. Maybe I do suffer from a lack of 'branding' by not being easily categorizable but thats not the most important thing in music, not by a long way!  Once the marketing drives the music it's all over as an artist.... 

Why did you decide to give all these tracks away recently?  Thanks, by the way - they're wicked!  has you seen any noticeable benefit from it?

Well, yeah I thought I'd try something different. It just seems that sharing music is the way that it gets distributed nowadays! Whether you like it or not, it reaches the most people that way, so why not make it as easy as possible, and be the one doing the sharing of your own creations? I'm definitely not saying that all music should be free, or that everyone should follow my example, it's just one method in a confusing time.... hopefully people will appreciate the idea and be willing to support me when i put out a physical product or perform.

What can we expect next?

More banging tunes..... website pressure.... and some different, more abstract music in the pipeline! 

---------
i.d.

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Smutlee - Interview & Fabric Mix

So the Fabric Birthday weekend draws ever closer, and the amount of cool stuff hitting the net to hype the whole shebang gets ever larger.

London's finest 'named-after-a-cartoon-dog-with-a-wheezy-laugh' dancehall DJ Mr Smutlee came through with a quality blend of funky and bashment for them, and while we could have just bunged it up a couple of days ago, we wanted to give you lovely, dedicated dance music fans a bit more depth for your blog perusal. Cos it's not like you only want free stuff, no not even slightly...

Ahem.

So, here it is - BMB vs Smutlee.

BMB: Introduce yourself please!
Hello, Im DJ Smutlee AKA Lee. See what i did there?  Im a Club DJ, Mixtape maker, & Blend specialist, from London.

BMB: How would you describe your sound?
Hip-Hop & Dancehall are the foundation of my sound, and i'll use this to bring in other genres wether it be funky, dubstep, grime or whatever. Over the last year or so i've been pushing the Uk Funky/Bashment sound.

BMB: What would you say your main Influences are?
As long as i've got good new music, im always inspired. I'd say my favourite producers right now are Steven 'Di Genius' (Dancehall), Sticky (House/Garage) and Swizz Beatz (Hip Hop). and how can i forget West ham - when they play well!!

BMB: Any interesting plans coming up?
I really need to get into producing, its just finding time. Other than that, more djing. 

BMB: We hear you're a bit of a sneaker connoisseur... is that true?
Haha im no connosieur. i was brought up on Hi Tec squash cos my mum could get them cheap, I'm all about Air Max these days.

BMB: Oh ok. Tell us a joke then.
Heres a dodgy music related joke - dont judge me from this:

"I was in the pub yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to fart. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my farts with the beat. After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me.

Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod." 

Booooooooo - get him off!!!!!

BMB: Damn straight. But if you want to hear more like that, Smutlee is also playing the next night in Bristol, with MJ Cole...

http://soundcloud.com/fabric/smutlee-fabriclive-10th-birthday-promo-mix

Smutlee FABRICLIVE 10th Birthday Promo Mix
01: Geeneus Ft. Chino - Smutlee Special (Yellowtail VIP Riddim) (White)
02: Egypt Ft. Busy Signal & Mavado - Badman Place (In The Morning
Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
03: Illmana Ft. Stush - Ready Fi De War (White)
04: Marvin Brown - Jack It Up (White)
05: Sticky Ft. Ding Dong - Badman Forward - (Bad Gyal/Jumeirah Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
06: Suncycle Ft. Mavado - No More (Bless Beats Rmx) (Suncycle)
07: Major Lazer - Pon De Floor (Mad Decent)
08: Lil Silva Ft. Vybz Kartel - Pon De Floor (Different Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
09: BBK - Too Many Funky Tunes (Martelo Blend) (White)
10: Hardhouse Banton Ft. Vybz Kartel - Dump Truck (Sirens Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
11: Sticky Ft. Elephantman - Krazy Hype (Fugitive Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
12: Warrior One Ft. Lady Chann - King (White)
13: Maxwell D - Funky Baby (White)
14: Geeneus Ft. Ms Dynamite - Get Low (Crackish Riddim) (White)
15: El-B Ft. Mirikal - We Don’t Play (Ghost Recordings)
16: Dubchild - Show It Now (Ratio Mix) (DPR Recordings)
17: Emvee - Repeat Me (White)
18: Roska Ft. Jamie George - Wonderful Day (Smutlee Special) (Roska Kicks & Snares)
19: Danny Native Ft. Busy Signal - Da Style Deh (Rass Out Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
20: Maxwell D - Street Knowledge (Rass Out Riddim) (White)
21: Donae’o - Party Hard (Dev79 Rmx) (White)
22: Malanté & Dex Ft. New Kidz - Lions (Exploited Germany)
23: Erup - Click Mi Fingers (Grahmzilla Rmx) (White)
24: Lady Chann - Sticky Situation (Toddla T & Seiji Rmx) (White)
25: Mavado - So Special (Dj Yonny Rmx) (White)
26: Whitey Ft. Mr Vegas - Hot Wuk (Wrap It Up Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
27: Miike Snow Ft. New Kidz & South Rakkas - Get Mad (Animal Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)

**********************

Binga.

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2562 Album Launch + Pinch Interview

Our friends at We Fear Silence are linking with Bristol's mighty Tectonic for another night at Corsica Studios this Friday - the last one was by all accounts dutty as owt - but this time, the occasion is the launch of 2562's new album 'Unbalance'. We'll have a review up very soon (short version: it's great), but to get a bit of a different perspective, we hooked up with Tectonic label boss DJ Pinch...

How did you first link with Dave?

He hit me up on myspace actually. I really liked the track he sent (it was called 'Resistance Dub') and I asked him for some more tracks and didn't hear back for a few months. When he got back in touch it was with an 11 track demo! I knew I was interested in working with him towards an album for Tectonic from the material he sent me and we soon got that rolling. 

Was it obvious straight away how much of a badman he is?

Indeed - badman with stripes! 

What's the A&R process like between you and Dave?

He sends me stuff - I like it usually, then he spends X amount of time mixing it down over and over until he's tired of it - and then it's usually ready for mastering!

How do you feel this album compares to the last one?

It's a big move from the sound of the first, I think (without wanting to sound too much of a dick) a more mature sound than the first LP. It takes in many new influences and directions, plays around with the tempo a bit - still has that characteristic '2562' sound, especially in the drums, but the journey is a different one from 'Aerial'.

Any plans for a Pinch / 2562 collaboration?

Well we did do a tune together already - called 'Sandcastles' and are looking to get together another one somepoint soon. We did 'Sandcastles' at my place so I guess I'll need to make the return visit out to The Netherlands somepoint... 

What else is coming up over the rest of the year for Tectonic - did I hear something about a Get Up remix package?

You heard right! Remixes including the massive RSD mix - as well as the original which has never been available on vinyl before - to hit shops mid Nov. Oh and there's a music video to look out for too...

Don't sleep on the back room btw - I caught Brackles at The Tube in Bristol recently and he slewed it, man definitely knows his way around a pair of turntables. Quick mixing and great tune selection.

************************

Binga.

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Exclusive! Bass Music Mix 7 - J:Kenzo (Soul Shakerz, Argon, Dub Police)

I hooked up with Jay Kenzo recently and asked him if he would make something for our Bass Music Mix Series.
The man was up for it and got the mix few days ago in my mailbox so here you go !!

1- So first thanks you for doing this mix for us ! For people who dont know you yet What kind of vibes can we expect in a J:Kenzo set ?

Anything goes really, i love playing deep dubwise riddims aswell the more uptempo dancefloor tracks. Depends on what crowd i am playing to, on a typical set i like to fuse the two together. I believe a dj's set should be about progression... knowing the right time to build the crowd up and bring them back down again.

2- Discovered you through your excellent release on Argon called Mortal Kombat which was pretty deep, then recently you sent me that kind of soca dubstep tune called Hoods up I've been playing a lot (charted on the blog in august), you also did a remix for roska, are you going more in a uk funky soca tropical way right now ?    Or you still making different kind of tunes ?

Different kinda tunes, depends on what i'm feeling at the time when i'm in the studio.
The Roska remix was really enjoyable to build, and i'm glad its been accepted across the board from the dubstep heads to the funky crew, I think there is still a great deal of space for producers to experiment in dubstep, that was the whole reason i loved the sound from the beginning.

3 - You're playing at the dub police night @ Fabric in October, pretty excited I guess ? Doest that means you have some stuff forthcoming on the label ?

I'm really looking forward to it! It will be my first booking for dub police and fabric and it falls right on fabrics 10th year anniversary. Tune wise, fingers crossed there will be something out on dub police in the near future. I played Caspa some of my productions which he has signed, but it is all under wraps at the moment.

4- Finally, what's in the pipeline?  forthcoming tunes, remixes ?

The next project i'm involved in that will be released is from a german producer some of you may of heard of called Twisted, which is forthcoming on my own label 'Soul Shakerz'. The track is called 'Robots' and feature's a remix from myself and a remix from Roska. The track is due out late October so make sure you check it.
I'm soon to have another 12" ready for Argon Records and i am currently working on an album for release sometime in 2010.

J:Kenzo - Exclusive Mix for Bassmusicblog.com

01. Twisted - Changes
02. Von D - Berlin  Call
03. DJ Heny G - Hardo Bread
04. J:Kenzo - Constant (crack dub mix)
05. J:Kenzo - Mortal Kombat
06. J:Kenzo - Tekno Bass
07. J:Kenzo - Hoods Up
08. Roska - Holograph (J:Kenzo Remix)
09. Twisted - Robots (J:Kenzo Remix)
10. J:Kenzo presents Konnek Deep - Karizma

Enjoy !
DUB-4

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Interview: Mary Anne Hobbs

So, here we go with another review/interview dislocation special.  If you're wondering what I'm on about, we reviewed Mary-Anne Hobbs' new compilation 'Wild Angels' a couple of weeks back.  In brief, it's great.  So to follow on from the review, we asked the lady herself to answer a couple of questions for this fine publication.  She's currently on tour in the US, (dates below) so if you're in any of those cities, get over to the show.  Thanks to Mary Anne for taking time to put up with our Q's!

1. What were your aims in putting this compilation together?

It's fascinating to me to watch the way that electronic music moves
forward in thousands of tiny scattered steps every day.. 'Wild Angels'
is made up of a collection of Transatlantic producers building new
creative causeways brick by brick.. beyond the core sound of dubstep,
hip-hop, soul, folk and electronica.. and out into the future..


2. The compilation feels like it has really built on the LA-Glasgow
weird-hop sound. How did you first encounter this sound and what draws
you to it?

It all started with Flying Lotus for me.. the first time i saw him
perform at Cargo in London.. i was supposed to meet him after the show
and say hi.. he wrecked my head so completely that i could not form a
sentence and i literally had to leave the building.. Fly Lo and Daddy
Kev have given me the keys to LA and i'm eternally grateful to them..
the Brainfeeder and Low End Theory families in LA are some of the most
inspirational people i will ever meet in this life or the next...

Simultaneously, the work of Rustie, Hud Mo and Mike Slott.. LuckyMe,
Wireblock and All-City has also left an indelible imprint on my
soul...


3. Now that dubstep seems quite well established, how much do you feel
you need to push away from the centre into the weirder fringes?

I am so proud to see artists like Skream and Benga enjoying such major
success. Skream with a gold record for the La Roux remix and Benga
working with Eve.. Pharell ringing out their phones.. And although I'm
always so excited to hear what they will come with next, my work with
them is all but done.. My mission has always been to move forward..
the show evolves constantly and if it didn't i would never have found
people like Skream & Benga in the first place..


4. Synths, melody, and off-kilter rhythms play a very big part in this
compilation. Do you feel that there is a swing away from minimal
sub-bass purism?  And the good old halfstep?

Progression is the key.. i'm interested in artists who are coming with
something unique and elemental.. What's the point in replicating sound
that already exists?


5. You've been at Radio 1 since 1997. I found 90s Radio 1 really
inspiring - 
One In The Jungle, Mark & Lard's  random poetry, Blue Jam,
or of course the Breeze Block - it seemed a very 'open' time. Is that
a reasonable assessment, and if so, why did Radio 1 take such creative
leaps?

My my... you have exquisite taste in radio.. Radio1 has been
responsible for some really challenging and intelligent broadcasting..
The BBC never underestimate the intelligence of their audience.. they
understand that pop and comedy rule in the daytime.. but they are
happy to let people like myself and Chris Morris off the leash in the
dead of night, because they recognise that the BBC need to set a
creative bar.. and they should be taking risks.


6. What was the original ethos behind The Breezeblock? Now that
'Breezeblock' has been dropped from the name, has the aim of the show
changed at all?

There's no difference at all between the two shows.. it was a decision
the Radio1 management took, to drop all the show names... so The Lock
Up, The Blue Room, The Essential Selection etc all went at the same
time as Breezeblock..


7. What is a Mary Anne Hobbs club set like? How do you balance the
experimental and the dancefloor stuff?

You've gotta wreck a dancefloor.. people have paid good money to dance
and sweat and laugh and let loose.. but hopefully you can work plenty
of deep and twisted curveballs into the set and play every rainbow
colour in the spectrum..

8. Any future plans we should know about?

US Tour: (a dream come true.. i feel like i'm 16 again!!)

Thursday September 10 -  Smartbar (DubFix Party) – Chicago, IL
Friday, September 11 - 103 Harriet St, (Afterburn Party) – San Francisco, CA
Saturday, September 12 - The Cellar at Agenda -- San Jose, CA
Wednesday, September 16 - Holocene – Portland, OR
Friday, September 18 - Love (Dub War Party) – New York, NY
Saturday, September 19 - Shadow Lounge (SubDivision Party) – Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday, September 20 - Barcelona (MadClassy Party) – Austin, TX
Wednesday, September 23 - Low End Theory – Los Angeles, CA
Friday, September 25 - Cervantes (Bass Invasion Party) w/Skream – Denver, CO
Saturday, September 26 - Decibel Festival – Seattle, WA

9. What's the best and worst parts of your job?

My job is ideal.. Kode 9 did a brilliant interview for Wire magazine
where he talked about being 'possessed' by this whole thing.. It does
drive you to the brink of madness, but conversely, that's exactly
where i like to live..

----------
i.d.

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Exclusive Deekline Giant Pussy Interview & Mix

We just had Deekline round to our inbox for a virtual cup of a tea and a chat, to coincide with the beginning of his new project with Tim Healey - namely the evocatively named Giant Pussy Records.   Deekline will need no introduction to readers of this blog - he's been running things for years, dropping fat miami-inspired booty bass with Wizard on labels like Rat and Against the Grain, while ex-Coburn producer Tim has been making a name for himself touring the world playing electro and fidget house to crowds everywhere - as I type he's on tour in South America.  Lucky sod.  

(The Flowdan question is cos we thought Deekline had done a track with him - but it turns out it was a bootleg.  doh!)

So - tell us about Giant Pussy.  Why did you start it, and what's the ethos behind it?

We came up with the idea during the Spring of this year. The ethos behind it I guess is drawing a wide range of genres together to make a phat sound that people can’t get enough of.

What makes it different?

I think we take our influences from everything but your average thing, and we also invest our time in artists that are new to the game but have heaps of potential.

How did you meet Tim Healey, and come to work with him?  

I DJ’ed with Tim in Kazakstan, ha ha!! We deicded to knock heads together in the studio and before long we discussed setting up ship with a label and collaborating on tunes.

What was Flowdan like to work with?  

I haven’t had the pleasure of working with him, but I have worked with some other great artists including Fatboy Slim, Ol Dirty Bastards, Sporty-O, Godfather, Benso, Armand Van Helden to name but a few.

What other cool collabs are coming up that we should all know about?

I’m re-releasing Don’t Smoke and there’s gonna be some wicked vocalists on that package, I’ve also done some wicked tunes with Ed Solo and last but my no means least are the singles continuing on from the ‘Back Off Coming Through’ album that I did with Wizard. So lots happening!

The Deekline and Wizard album this year was great, by the way - a really good mix of the dancefloor and the commercial.  How was it received?  Any more singles to come from it?

Yeah, we’ve had Angels and Bounce and Rebound is now released with some wicked remixes from Beat Assassins, and Fort Knox Five.

Do you have any good DJ Assault stories?  He's a bit of a favourite round here.

You know what, Assault is a wicked vocalist, he is unique, and his lyrics are wicked. He can knock things up in hours and bring in results. Ok, so now to the actual question, Assault stories...lol...we took him to Wagamama once and he ordered a Katsu Curry with no rice and no curry sauce. When they told him it is just two chicken breasts he asked for four!

What music do you listen to that people wouldn't expect?

I find Pop music interesting as it has some amazing, I also love old Reggae, Jungle, and House music. I do have my Beethoven moments over breakfast too! But don’t tell anyone ;)

Tell us a good joke.  Or a shit joke.

It isn’t a joke, but more of a riddle...

Man walks in to a bookshop and asks the sales assistant for a book. “Hi there, do you have a book called How to Climb Mountains By Alfredo Heights”

The shop assistant looks and has no joy finding the book. She turns to the man and says “Sir, Do you realise the book on How to Climb Mountains is written by a man called Afraid of Heights?” Lol..Told you I was bad ;)

It fish time:  discuss.

I once had sardines put on my drivers seat on the way to the Breakspoll awards, sadly for me, I didn’t notice until I got out at the other end. It was a joke gone to far, and I stank like fish to collect my award. But I got em back don’t you worry!

Finally, what's coming up next for Giant Pussy records?

Our second release is coming out next week, which is Tim Healey and Tai, its called Pocket Rocket, and its a blaster.

You can check out their promo mix here -  http://www.sendspace.com/file/ad793a 
  1. Intro with Bubbz & African Boy
  2. Fast Eddie – Yo Yo Get Funky - Tim Healey & Deekline remix (Giant Pussy)
  3. Pure sx - Shout Booty  (Booty Breaks)
  4. Tittsworth feat Kid Sister & Paserock  - WTF (Rat Records)
  5. 321 - Bring It Back  - Tim Healey & Deekline re-rub (CD-R)
  6. Wow edit (CD-R)
  7. Kissy Sell Out – This Kiss – Jackbeats remix (CD-R)
  8. Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow medley (CD-R)
  9. Rye Rye – Bang Bang – (Interscope)
  10. Foo Fighters – Times like these – Albin Myers remix (CD-R)
  11. Boltan – Nine to five - Rico Tubbs Remix (Party Like Us)
  12. The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations – Stanton Warriors Edit (CDR)
  13. Goshi Goshi - The Lock shot (Southern Fried Records)
  14. Crazy Love – The Drummatic Twins (Fingerlickin)
  15. Tomcraft – Loneliness – Tim Healey & Tai remix (Kosmo) 
------------
i.d.

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Fake Blood Video Interview (via Scion AV)

Thought this may be of interest to some of our readers:

http://www.scionav.com/music/radio17/index.html#general4,5667495

Mike HF

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