K Mag are loving us lot right now. Here's an interview with me, to coincide with the release of my Mustang EP on Sub Slayers. Looking back over it, I sort of feel like I should've gone into more detail on the old midrange/sub quandary. I remember a few years back, chatting to a record shop owner in Vienna, who told me that he always finished his club night with our track 'Hood Thang' - and the next day, people would come into the shop, desperate to find out what the track was. Then they'd listen on headphones, and decide not to buy it. Was this because the bass is all sub and only really comes into its own on a system? Or maybe it only sounds good when you're pissed. Hey ho. Anyway, read the interview here. And don't forget my summer mix, embedded below:
OK you lucky lucky people, we have something very special for you lucky lucky lot. A verified legend of Bristol, and indeed the UK, music scene, if you don't know about Die, do your research. From countless classics on Full Cycle and V Recordings, through winning the Mercury Music prize with Reprazent, to working with Ben Westbeech and Clipz, to setting up his label Clear Skyz and continuing to drop ridiculously good club anthems, Die has seen and done it all. A proper musical hero of both me and Ed, we were honoured when he came back with some properly in-depth answers to our questions. Read, enjoy, and don't forget to cop the next Clear Skyz - Die, Interface and William Cartwright - out in the next week or so.
Let's start somewhat back in the day... Do you have a musical background or family? What inspired you to start making your own tunes?
My first memory ever was seeing Pink Floyd at Knebworth park festival when I was 2 years old. My Mum and Dad were hippy types so I used to go to loads of festivals when I was growing up - I've been going to Glastonbury for as long I can remember and got to see and hear many different types of music. And my Dad played guitar and sung a bit and was in various bands.
I guess I got inspired to start making my own tunes by meeting the people I did. And also not having the right tunes in my DJ box, we had to create the music we really wanted to play.
It must have been amazing to see the Bristol D'n'B scene blow up in the 90s. When did you start to get an inkling as to how far you could take it?
I never really had a clue it was going to blow the way it did - I was just a kid that was in the right place at the right time. I started to DJ because I loved Hip Hop and was fascinated to know how to scratch - 'how do you make that sound?'. Before that I was a skater - I saw learning how to scratch and mix the same as learning a new trick.
From there the journey just unfolded in front of me. Living in Bristol it was easy to get into the scene that was happening all around - there were always house parties and warehouse jams going on and I did my best to go to as many I as i could. DJ crews like The Wild Bunch, Too Bad, FBI Crew and the Fresh 4 were killing it at that time. You also had Ashton Court Festival, which was Europe’s biggest free festival, and St. Paul's Carnival. They were great places to catch some of Bristol’s finest DJs, rappers and crews throwing down.
I hooked up with Flyn Ites and Krust from the Fresh 4 around 1988 and started to roll with them - they were interested in skating and I was interested in DJing. I used to go to various parties and illegal warehouse jams to watch them play - that’s where I really got a proper taste of what it was like to be a DJ. In 1989 The Fresh 4 landed a top ten hit with the track "Wishing On A Star" and things really blew up for them. It was great to be around their success and it inspired me to get deeper into the music side of things.
I met Jody Wisternoff (Way Out West) who was in a Hip Hop Crew with his younger brother called 'Tru Funk' and started hanging out at his yard. I begged him to show me how to scratch and later started producing beats with him. We started off making little hip hop beats, then later made a house tune called '4 AM' and it ended up coming out on Smith and Mighty's 3 Stripe label in 1990. This would be the first record i was part of; I was 18 at the time.
2 years later after honing my skills on the turntables at squat parties, house parties, free raves and anywhere I could get on the decks the whole rave thing exploded. I landed myself a DJ set at a massive legal rave called Universe (In2Orbit). It was at this rave I met up with Roni - we hung out in front of the speakers and listened to LTJ Bukem play. We had a weird connection and seemed to share the same feeling for the music we were hearing; we later found out we also shared the same birthday. The next year I spent going to and DJing at illegal free raves up and down the country. We would meet at Smith and Mighty's studio on Ashley Road, wait to get the info from the rave hotline then head off to some distant location. This pretty much went on every weekend for the whole year. One weekday that year Roni invited me to come to his brother Didi Shrue's studio and make some music with him. In the first session we made 'Agility' which would become one of the tracks from the first V Recordings (then called Vinyl Experience) release 'Made To Fit'. In the next session we made "Music Box" which would become the first release on Full Cycle.
Fast forward four years - after many releases on Full Cycle and V Recordings the LP 'New Forms' came out on Giles Peterson's Talking Loud Records by a band called Reprazent. The band members were Roni Size, Dj Krust, Suv, Dynamite MC, Onallee, Si Jhon, Clive Demer and myself. Later that year we won the Mercury Music Prize and it all went apeshit. World tours, high profile TV appearances, music videos and of course the mad parties. It was rock and roll but with drum and bass instead of guitars.
I never thought ahead past the next week, I literally followed my feet.
How did Dope Dragon come about? Why did you feel you needed a new set of projects / aliases?
Dope Dragon was started so we could flex in a more straight dance floor style. We could do mad b-lines, take samples from more obvious sources and just have fun with it. Dope Dragon would end up putting out the tracks that we had made for that weekend's DJ set, while we kept the more experimental cutting-edge stuff for Full Cycle. A lot of the music we made we made in batches - we would make five tunes at a time, and one of them would end up on Cycle, two on Dope Dragon and we would shelve the other two.
Speaking of Dope Dragon, what is it about the rollers that you like so much? Are you into other kinds of 'rolling' music - like classic techno, or even Steve Reich-style minimalism?
I don't know why I like the rollers, maybe it’s because they're easy to make! I was really into hip hop tracks like Most Wanted 'Carm Down', Sugar Bear 'Don't Scandalise Mine', all the early stuff on Warp Records like Man Machine, Nightmares On Wax (Aftermath) and of course LFO... Also A Tribe Called Quest. There is something really satisfying about getting something that works with very simple ingredients... Don't over-flavour the soup!
Things have changed a lot in dance production from the early days - hardware to software inparticular. We heard that you have some pretty sweet outboard, and even still use some of your old samplers - is this true? Are there any other 'old skool' production angles techniques you still use?
I still have all my old bits of equipment set up like the Emu E64, Roland 760 and SP1200, plus some tasty outboard compressors and EQ and some analogue synths - and I do get them going from time to time. Sometimes it’s just to go through my old libraries but I do still love the flavours the different samplers or keyboards give. I recently spend a whole day sampling all the sounds off this old ARP keyboard into the EMU E64, I had almost run out of sample time, and then the bastard crashed. The EMU said Fatal Error whatever that is - it pissed me off. If you can be bothered to take your time and do it the old school way, it is worth it just to get that extra flavour. It shows your passion for the art!
Do you still cut dubs, and is this something that you think will endure as part of the scene?
I stopped cutting dub plates for a bit last August and went Serato because DJ gigs were getting a bit thin and I had to make ends meet. The new Serato SL3 24 box came out, so I did some tests and thought it sounded a lot better that the old box, with a louder level and clearer punch. I recorded a load of my old jungle and early 90s rave collection off a quality hi-fi turntable and through some outboard gear then mastered it a bit in Pro Tools and stated to build my Serato library up with fat quality files. I played this festival called Shambhala and had a load of new beats that I couldn't get to cut. I also wanted to play some classic jungle and rave in my set, so I thought I would give Serato a blast and it ended up being one of most fun sets I played in a long while.
I also play Boogie Funk sets under the name Laminate Radio and have built a fat library of tunes for those sets. Although I own and still buy Boogie Funk and Disco 12s on vinyl its really handy to have such a large selection of music in your laptop.
Very recently I cut a load of plates to play at Ram at Matter. I have played at some clubs recently where Serato has sounded a bit thin and I missed the old vibes of getting that fresh acetate out the bag a slapping it on the turntable. I must say you can't beat playing sets off straight dub plate and vinyl. There's something really satisfying about it - you can’t quite mix and catch the double drops on CDs or Serato as you can on dub plates and vinyl, plus they do sound fatter and warmer.
I will say this to all producers that want to learn and understand the process of making records, it’s a really good experience and exercise to get your tracks cut to dub. You will learn more from cutting a dub than you will from any frequency analyser. If you don't cut a dub plate you will never quite know how it will sound when it gets pressed to vinyl before it's time to master.
All in all though, it doesn't really matter how you play your music as long as people are enjoying the sounds that are coming out the speaker. I use it all, dub plate, CD, Serato. If it works for you then use it but remember this - 'We don't lend or borrow dub!'
It seems that DnB DJing has really ramped up over the last 10 years - the average standard now is incredible, so much higher than most scenes. How and why did that happen, and does it ever feel like an extra level of pressure to be so on point all the time?
Yes the standard is definitely high. Andy C is the boss though, 'the executioner', as he's known, is a machine. He has raised the bar and it makes you have to work harder. When you see him on three decks its hard to work out what's going on - how does any one know their record collection that well, it's sick! Randall is the originator though. He started all double drop stuff really - 'rewind the mix Randall!'
I like to hear different styles though, not every DJ has to double drop. Sometimes is nice to hear somebody roll out or just play some good music you haven't heard before... but you can't beat the impact of 2 records going off together, it just smashes up the dance floor.
Here's another installment in the slightly irregular 'Producer Q&A' series. I'll get it going a bit more smoothly soon, promise! Anyway, this time round it's West Coast beats superstar Nosaj Thing. He's in Europe on tour right about now, and is playing in Bristol tonight, with Fabric tomorrow (March 10th) as part of the Brainfeeder night featuring Daedelus, Flying Lotus, Martyn and more. Looks sick, and to celebrate, he gave away a full quality track from his album last week - grab it here if you missed it.
I'm afraid I have to hold up my hands and plead ignorance though - despite reading a few interview with the man, I have no idea what production technique he's referring to at the bottom there. Anyone?
How do you approach a tune? Drums first? Melody?
I usually start with sound design then chord progression/melody.
What time of day do you work best?
Late at night when everyones asleep
Where do you get your inspiration / motivation from?
Family, friends, seeing other musicians live.
What do you do when you're not feeling inspired?
Not think about music. Go outside.
Do you start a tune from scratch, or do you usually have a drumset/template/etc to work from?
I usually start from scratch.
If you got a chance would you write pop stuff for a major label (if the money was right?)
Yeah, I grew up with listening to mainstream radio. Definitely influenced me.
What's the boring, workhorse plugin/piece of kit that you use all the time?
I try to change it up every time and try experimenting.
What's the coolest bit of kit you've got and do you actually use it much?
That's confidential.
Do you mixdown your own stuff? Reckon there's a stigma around this?
Yes, I mix my own tracks. Trying to get better at it and invest in some hardware.
What production technique do you think is really overused / annoying?
Everyone knows the answer to this.
What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?
I'm pretty happy with the normal process. I look forward to what's coming.
That giant blancmange of a flyer above is exhorting you to get down to Cable for Chew The Fat and watch the cream of UK bass music (and Mumdance) mash it up a week on Friday. Looks amazing, don't miss! It's also in association with the We Fear Silence guys, who've offered us a guestlist plus one for you guys - so if you want to get yourself and a mate in for free, just email an answer to this question to the usual address (thebassmusicblogATgmailDOTcom).
Which club did Chew the Fat start off in?
Once you've done that, you can read this interview with Rinse FM's Scratcha DVA. Scratcha's been making a name for himself lately, having taken Funky and twisted it out of all recognition, into a deeper, darker place. Just check out his releases Jelly Roll on his own imprint DVA, and Natty on Hyperdub. So we thought it'd be good to get him in for a quick chat, ahead of his back to back with Roska next week. Thanks to Scratcha for answering our pesky q's!
(apologies for text formatting there. Posterous is refusing to play ball)
Scratcha - who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Leon Smart pka Scratcha. I DJ, I present a breakfast radio show on RinseFM and I produce tracks for my record label called DVA Music which is where the name Scratcha DVA came from. I also wear strange glasses, I'm getting fat and I've never been to jail.
Can you tell us a bit about your grime past?
Yeh. I wouldnt say past cause I still play grime at radio and some of my production is still really grimey, but I was involved in a crew called Aftershock which featured names like Terror Danjah, Triple Threat and Bruza. It also had a lot of hungry beatmakers around which is probly why you're thinking what you're thinking now.
What made you switch tings up?
Im inspired by and like all different types of music and i make whatever music i feel comfortable making. Sometimes it ain't even music, like Jelly Roll. But yeh im always switching. I make my music look to suit my mood. I have to be in the right mood for certain ideas or the right enviroment. Sounds so cheezy saying that, but its true. Like these times i'm in the middle of making an Electronic CD project and another soulful jazzy project, and in my personal life I dunno whether I'm coming or going. My music mirrors my social state a lot of the time.
The grimey breakfast show is wicked! What's been your best moment on the show so far?
The 09 Xmas Special Show with females only. Somehow Davinche made hes way into the studio but yeh it was fun. I dressed in drag for the ocassion.
On a production side, it seems like you've been bubbling for a few years now, but it looks like it's really picked up in the last year or so. Why do you reckon that is?
Because I started to let things off. Sometimes when you're in crews and that, there are rules and waiting times and stuff. When you're on your own you can release whatever you like. So I started throwing feelers out to DJs and then just started releasing vinyl and digital myself. I feel alot of people are scared to release into shops and online, or they're just happy to hear Marcus Nasty play their tune inna dance. I find the people who have interest now are the people releasing their tracks to stores and making them available. Also obviously the Hyperdub hook up with Cooly G and Kode 9 has overly helped my profile.Have you had to change up the way you promote yourself, and get your tunes out there, since the internet side of things has got so big? People are all giving away lots of free tunes and stuff these days, trying new things...
I found its about giving the right tunes to the right channels which will determine where my tune ends ups and the response I want from a certain track. I dont give away free tracks. Only when asked by Rinse to promote something. Other than that i feel people should pay for music. Why not? Its my work. Like the RWD Magazine has always been free from my local record shop. I dunno how i would feel if they tried tell me to buy it. I dont think I would. So my music will always be sold not free. I think dats fair tho. It sounds to us like there's a bit of a shift going on - the stuff that you play, taking funky away from the cheesy stuff, and what people like Martyn are doing - going from dubstep to a slower, funkier sound. Do you think the sounds are going to meet in the middle somehow?
I just play whatever I like. Are you trying to make me say.......... 'FUNKSTEP'!!!!!? There you go i said it.
We weren't, but that'll do! Your track with Cooly G - 'Oi Dirty' is wicked - does that have a release planned?
I don't have a clue whats happening with that. I know its for The Cooly & The Gang EP which is forthcoming on either her label or Hyperdub. Cooly's mind doesn't work like ours so expect something dramatic to happen with it.
What's coming up next for you?
Natty and Ganja on Hyperdub, The New World Order EP on DVA Music which features Mr Bakongo & S.Chu and DJing in lots of dances where people cant dance properly. Thats all I want. Anything else you want to plug?
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