This
week, we are doing an interview with a host of a radio show that lasted for 10
years on BBC 1Xtra. Started playing music and recording mix tapes for friends,
clubs and pirate radio stations. Later on he became DJ for Metalheadz, which he
is to this day. Released couple of tunes
for Metalheadz, CIA, Full Cycle, Protechshon. Today he is touring
around the globe, while he starts an online monthly mix series “Intabeats” in
partnership with Serato on mixcloud. You can hear him play on the 13th
April at Run Mk festival
that’s held in Shtip (Macedonia).
SUB: I kept thinking if
I had a chance to do an interview with you, how I would start it.So my first question:
Do you miss the Studio, microphone, all that excitement before the show?
* Very much. Stepping to the mic every week and being able to freely represent all sides of Drum & Bass live worldwide became a vital outlet not just for me but for the thousands listening. It’s hard to find a place where you can express yourself in that way without pressure. I got great pleasure in doing that.
SUB: I was one of the thousand listeners to your last show on BBC 1Xtra. There was a lot of chatter online, and in the studio you were honored buy the biggest names in the drum and bass industry. You could feel trough the broadcast all that energy fluctuations floating around the studio and online. Pure “Unity” vibes and shivers down the spine were sent thought out the globe. Those moments are so rare, especially in the global scale.
I know it’s hard for you, but what were your thoughts at those moments, where you aware that a P.L.U.R. moment was happening and the whole globe were tuned in to give you the respect for those 10 years spent in BBC 1Xtra?
* It was like an out of body experience watching the amount of respect that was shown to me that night. Legendary DJs and producers who barely attend anything unless they’re working came to show support. I couldn’t believe all that was for me but that’s when I realised my efforts and what I represented over the last 10 years was something special. I think they and everyone else listening realised that I was there to push, talk and respect the full heritage of Drum & Bass. It wasn’t about me, an ego or a brand. I was there to make sure everyone knew what us lovers of this infectious music are about, where we came from, where we are now and where we’re going. It’s all I cared about.
SUB: As a producer you have released couple track for Metalheadz, C.I.A, and Footprint music. Are there any new releases coming from you?
* I’ve
recently done remixes for KOF, Damian Marley & Nas, Chipmunk & Trey
Songz that are out but I’ve also just done a remix of Zero T & Script’s
‘Guessing Games’ for Zero T’s ‘Footprints’ label and I have a remix of Kryptic
Minds ‘Hide The Tears’ that I’ve been sitting on for a while. I’m always
working on tracks at my own leisure. There’s a fair backlog now. Watch this
space…
SUB: After the end of your show on BBC
1Xtra, you have started a global tour.
Most of your DJ colleagues are constantly
on the road thorough the globe for a whole year, and then they do it again, and
so on. To someone this seems to be a perfect job, while others can’t manage
that constantly moving from a place to place. It’s one thing to travel just for
the weekend, am talking about heavy touring.
Where do you find yourself in that mess?
Do you like that 24/7 party people rush, or just closing your eyes moving from
place to place. And could you please tell us something more about that kind of
experience.
* There
are definitely worse jobs in the world but most of the time there’s more work
than play. The average day on tour consists mainly of queues, planes, trains
and automobiles which may seem like a piece of cake but it’s very hard to get
any real significant rest while in transit. By the time you get to your hotel you
might have an hour to eat, ready yourself and your music, then off to the club,
play for a couple of hours, head back to the hotel (if you’re sensible and
value your rest), sleep for a few hours, rise early and back to the airport for
the for the next city. Basically bad diet, alcohol and lack of sleep will
easily catch up on you if you don’t pace yourself right when doing this day
after day.
SUB: Who were your childhood music idols?
And what sort of music can be found in your music stash?
* I
was brought up on Motown so artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and
Diana Ross became my favourites. That’s what I’d see my mum singing and dancing
around the house to when I was young. We also listened to a lot of John Holt,
Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Burning Spear. Other than those names, I have quite
a vast array of music I’ve collected over the years from Pop to Techno but the
main bulk of it consists of Hip Hop and naturally Drum & Bass.
SUB: What are your all time favorite drum
and bass tracks?
1.
A Guy Called Gerald – Anything (Columbia)
2.
Splash – Babylon (Dee Jay)
3.
Dom & Roland – Thunder (Moving Shadow)
4.
Calibre – Second Sun (Signature)
5. Tom & Jerry – Dancer (Tom & Jerry)
6. Total Science – Tight Fit (Metalheadz)
7.
Dillinja – Heavenly Bass (Logic)
8.
Photek – Seventh Samurai (Photek)
9.
Breakage – Ask (Bassbin)
10. Firefox & 4-Tree – Warning (Philly Blunt)
SUB: Please tell us how did you end up in
Metallheadz?
Back
in 1994 at a rave held by Moving Shadow in Equinox, Central London, a fellow
Intanatty Crew member MC Flux introduced me to Kemistry & Storm. He told them
I was rolling with Inta and that I had a weekly radio show on a pirate station
called Energy FM. It was one of many intros Flux had made for me during that
year and I thought this one was just another one of those ones where he wanted
to make my face familiar to people. Little did I know, Kemisty & Storm
decided to tune into my radio show. They gave me a call a few weeks later
saying there was a new club starting up they were involved in and would I like
to play. Naturally I said yes not knowing this club would become one of the
most important club nights in D&B history…, Metalheadz
* It
has elements of every type of music I grew up on. Break-beats from Hip Hop,
strings that resemble my Motown influences and experimental textures that throw
back to my days of Techno.
SUB: Getting to know the fact that drum and
bass comes from an 6 second drum loop played by the Winstons – “Amen Brother”,
that later on progressed into now day’s drum and bass global movement, with its
own culture, plus making a plenty of other music genres and etc. What is your
view on that story and those 6 seconds?
* It’s
incorrect to say Drum & Bass comes only from this loop. There are plenty of
other break-beats that contributed to Drum & Bass, most of which come from
James Brown’s band ‘The JB’s’. It just happens that this particular break-beat
was sonically the best and needed no extra layering to make it stand out.
That’s why it got used so much.
SUB: Please tell us your thoughts about the
current state of drum and bass production worldwide and knowing that you have
tons of unreleased music, any new up-comers we should watch out for?
* What
I love about Drum & Bass production worldwide are the hungry bedroom
producers who have nothing to prove to anyone other than themselves with no
limitations, boundaries or pressure to fit in to what’s popular. That’s where
you get the best results. I’d say to look out for Sevin, Acid Lab, Savage Rehab,
Penny Giles and Total Recall to name a few. The quality and consistency of
these artists material is of a high standard.
SUB: Which turning point in the drum and
bass history has made an impact on you?
* There
was no turning back after Goldie’s ‘Timeless’ LP. By then Goldie’s Metalheadz
Sunday Session at the Blue Note where I was a resident DJ already had legendary
status. That album took me, the club and the entire scene to a new level.
SUB: First time to have a gig in the
Balkans. Have you ever heard of
Macedonia?
* I’ve
definitely heard of Macedonia but I know nothing of the culture. I’m excited
about going to learn about another part of the world and how they react to the
UK born sound of Drum & Bass via me having lived and breathed in for the
last 20 years.
SUB: Recently you have been honored as one of the 20 pioneers in
the world of drum and bass in an article by Vibe Magazine. Been a member in Metalheadz since its
beginnings. Your name is world widely known trough those 10 years spent in 1xtra. You stand
for a respected dj because of your technical and music knowledge. Is it really worth
it, and are you pleased that you have made an impact on the worldwide drum and bass scene?
* Being honored by a magazine originally founded by Quincy
Jones for HIp-Hop and R&B audiences in itself is a true reward for personal
sacrifices I've made to be a part of this scene. It's a sign that I'm making a
real contribution to the music I love. However, as important as they are, I
don't do what I do for these accolades. I do it to help preserve the longevity
of a music that deserves more respect even from it's own country i.e the UK. I
don't believe there have been many other independent music’s from the UK that
have lasted this long and penetrated the world to the extent Drum & Bass
has and I hope that one day the UK will embrace this music as the US have
heralded Hip-Hop. That's all I want.
SUB: Any words of wisdom?
* From
experience in this industry and life generally, understand that people always
respect and individual who isn’t afraid of being themselves no matter how hyper
or chilled that individual may be. Confidence is what draws people to you. Be
yourself.
On behalf of Skopje Urban Beats, thank you for the interview. (D.S.)
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