Big Up Vol. Sixteen - Long In The Game issue

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04—07 SEPT. 2014

• OVER 300 ARTISTS • Performing live at the opening concert

MS LAURYN HILL • WITH LIVE SUPPORT FROM •

SUBMOTION ORCHESTRA • FATIMA • ANDREW ASHONG Pula’s Roman Amphitheatre • 03/09/14

Performing at the festival • 04/09/14

BUSTA RHYMES

BARRINGTON LEVY • DJ PREMIER • ANDY C BURAKA SOM SISTEMA • HORACE ANDY JAH SHAKA • FRICTION • MOODYMANN DAVID RODIGAN • CHRONIXX & ZINC FENCE REDEMPTION • DIGITAL MYSTIKZ •GOLDIE DJ MARKY • DJ EZ • DJ ZINC • FLOATING POINTS MJ COLE • CALIBRE • SPY • DBRIDGE • BISHOP NEHRU • JONWAYNE • KAYTRANADA • ONRA SPECIAL REQUEST • ANDRÉS (SLUM VILLAGE) STWO • HIGH FOCUS RECORDS • YOUNGSTA LOEFAH • FUNKINEVEN • WOOKIE • ELIPHINO 03—07 SEPTEMBER 2014 Fort Punta Christo, Pula, Croatia

MICHAEL PROPHET & DUB ASANTE BAND • RANKING JOE • IRATION STEPPAS • SUBMOTION ORCHESTRA • THE BUG FT. FLOWDAN & MANGA • CHANNEL ONE • DILLINJA MUNGO’S HIFI • PINCH • ALIX PEREZ • DUB PHIZIX & STRATEGY • ICICLE • SPECTRASOUL • GROOVERIDER • THE HEATWAVE • MARCUS INTALEX • FLAKO • PRINCE FATTY & HORSEMAN AUTHOR • APPLEBOTTOM • HANNAH WANTS • MY NU LENG • ANDREWASHONG•STYLOG•MICKEY PEARCE • DADDYFREDDY • EGLO BAND • FATIMA • KUTMAH • DOC SCOTT • SKEPTICAL TOTAL SCIENCE • DJ DIE • KAHN & NEEK • SOURCE DIRECT • RADIKAL GURU+CIAN FINN • THE MOUSE OUTFIT • NECESSARY MAYHEM • GOTHTRAD • HATCHA • MR WILLIAMZ ALEXANDER NUT • SEVEN DAVIS JNR • V.I.V.E.K • J:KENZO • SUNSHIP • OBF • BLACKBOARD JUNGLE • MC GQ • STAMINA MC SP:MC • DLR • STICKY • KLOSE ONE • DUSK & BLACKDOWN • OPTIV • BTK • CHUNKY • FRACTURE • BUSHKIN • DJ Q • ANT TC1 WILFRED GIROUX • CHARLIE P • SAM BINGA • LOWQUI • MAFFI • PROXIMA • CHIMPO • GANTZ • LOGOS • WEN • COMPA • FOKUS Sound systems from: Martin Audio Longbow, Void Acoustics, Noise Control Audio, Mungo’s Hi-Fi

www.outlookfestival.com

One day, I'm minding my own business, and Skream, the dubstep geeza, Ollie, my mate... he says "Bruv, that "Heatwave" hook is shit".

18 Wiley

Shaun Bloodworth

10

My best memories are of semi-legal parties with no real facilities, where 100 people would ram into a single small room, and you’d hear some amazing music.

I was going down to that studio almost every day. I was on unemployment benefit then, and I’d spend all my money on travel cards and weed.

dBridge

Cover Artist

30 Apart from talent, I think you need a lot of discipline. Successful creatives are usually hard workers, it´s just not a nine-to-five job.

Atelier Olschinsky

40

Dusk+Blackdown We want to create something that is diverse enough to be interesting and focused enough to have an identity and coherent direction.

52 I think every portrait is a selfportrait to some extent, which reflects one's position in life.

Ron Carter

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Long In The Game issue General Inquiries: bigup@bigupmag.com Writing Contributions: katya@bigupmag.com

Mailing Address: PO Box 664, New York, NY 10150

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Q-Tip called me up saying he's putting together a record and he wondered if I was interested. I told him: "I'm busy right now, let me call you back".

Editor-in-Chief Katya Guseva

Big Up Sixteen

Stefan Zsaitsits

Cover Artists Verena Weiss & Peter Olschinsky Art Direction Katya Guseva

Contributing Writers Joe Aycox, Sam Neek Barrett, Julian Brimmers, Yanni Zribi Photography Ashes 57, Jacob Blickenstaff, Shaun Bloodworth, Bill Douthart, William Lulow, Spencer Murphy

Publishing Big Up Magazine, LLC Printing Heidel Print Distribution Ubiquity Distributors

The advertising, features, and reviews appearing within this publication reflect the opinions of the respective contributors, and not necessarily those of the publisher or its affiliates. All rights to art, writing, photos, design, and/or likeness and copyrights are property of respective owners, and no assumption of ownership is made by this publication or the publishers. The publisher will be glad to correct any mistakes or omissions in our next issue. The content may not be reproduced in part or in whole without written permission from Big Up Magazine and the respective contributors. Š2014. Big Up Magazine.

#BIGUPMAG

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Store Front

8

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Store Front 11

photo by Spencer Murphy

I don't know anyone else in England, who's actually done what I've done and been able to do that for the past 10 years. Underground and overground.

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Wiley

Wiley is the type of badman, who says he is a badman. Pioneer of grime, Eski Boy is making millions off his numerous overground Number Ones, while staying faithful to his first love of the underground. Having inspired millions of grime and bass music producers in the UK and around the world, Wiley doesn't believe he has a fan base, or that he can make it in America, but for many of us he's number one regardless.

photo by Spencer Murphy

We asked the fresh blood in UK grime, who was raised on classic Eski Boy records - Neek - to chat with Wiley about his long time in the grime game. Wiley picked up the phone, while breezing through passport control and checking into a hotel, and here is what came out of their 45-minute conversation...

I’ve sold millions.

I don’t need to stress my brain trying to sell anymore. I just need to do good things. interview by Sam Neek Barrett

I want to start out by asking, over your time in the game, how has your approach to music changed?

going. They give me energy to want to do it. Just like they must want to do it as well, you know what I mean?

It hasn’t really changed. All that’s happened is times have changed, where there are loads of other people doing it. I suppose some people I have started out doing it with are not about anymore. But I approach it the same way. I just make sure to get the job done, how I want it to be done.

Do you think your fan base changed over the years?

Do you think you still have fans from the start?

Has the music industry changed at all?

I don’t think I’ve got a fan base, to be fair with you. I just think if I do one pop song, loads of people, who are not like yourself, are going to buy it. And if I don’t do a pop song, no one’s going to buy it, but it’s going to beat you up. So I don’t believe I’ve actually got a fan base. With twitter it's different. I think I’ve got followers of people, who want to mess about, but a fan base, not sure. I mean there is one. But it just buys whatever song it likes. So it’s not necessarily my fan base.

The internet is one big thing. Obviously, It’s not Michael Jackson's "Thriller" days anymore. I actually accept that. I understand that my music is not old, but it will become extinct one day. Because even if it's something you want to listen to now, it's not gonna last forever.

So it goes with what’s in trend?

So do you think YouTube and stuff like that on the Internet killed off the sales?

Yeah, it goes with whatever is urban now. So if it's Dizzee, or Tinie, or Wiley, it sways to whatever is urban now.

Well, yes. But I’m not saying they should abort Internet, because I actually quite like Internet, but because of it, music is not in your hand anymore. I used to buy cassette tapes, vinyl, CDs, you know what I'm saying,...

Today you can’t actually touch music. You can't touch an mp3. It's a file, just like any other file, that someone might want to download. I love music so much that I understand and accept, that God might just say, "You know what, you’ve had a great time. But let's end this all now".

So where do you see your music going now? I know you're gonna keep doing grime, but are you going to keep doing pop tunes too, for the crowd?

No, no, no, no, no. I’m not saying I won't do a quick bar on a club tune. But you know what it is... I don’t care about that anymore. 'Cause I’ve sold millions of them.

I don’t need to stress my brain trying to sell anymore. I just need to do good things.

As you go along, how do you stay relevant?

And where do you see grime genre going in the next 10 years?

I think by listening and working with people younger than me. That means if it’s Skepta or JME or Chipmunk or whoever it be, them people are the reason why I keep

Wherever it goes, I won’t be there. I’m old. You need to ask 20-year-olds that question. 'Cause I’m 34 now. At 44, do I really want to be doing that? Not really.

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If you were actually born in England, how the hell are you going to go to America and be best rapper?!

They're 30-40 years ahead.

Do you see UK grime artists getting more acceptance in the US, like Darq E Freaker doing a tune with Danny Brown for example?

I don’t care about that, as it goes. Because the only way to win in the USA, is you have to be born there.

Or you have to speak their accent. If you don’t, they just won’t allow it.

You think they just don’t get it?

There's nobody who’s done shit, 'cause they ain't Slick Rick. Even still he’s got an American accent. I respect Slick Rick, but no one is ever gonna do another Slick Rick, are they?

What do you think of trap's or modern US hip hop's influence on grime?

I don't do that. I know what it is, I’m aware of it, and I like it. But I don’t do that. I’m not saying I haven’t spat on anyone's track that sounds trappy, 'cause I have.

But when I go to make a grime beat, it’s not trap.

I wonder, when you were starting producing and making beats, did any of the American hip hop influence you at all? Or was it all inspiration from the UK? You know the truth is, urban artists around the world have influenced me. They could have been from Jamaica, they could have been from America, they could have been from wherever... But wherever they were from, they influenced me and what I do. And of course my dad also. My dad was the first musician I've ever met.

I was asking, because in grime, I see a lot of template is there from dancehall with different riddims, and MCs sharing riddims...

Absolutely. A million percent. Grime exists because of dancehall.

So why do you think US hip hop and US urban music gets more radio support than grime in the UK? Well, at the moment you could say that about anything. The truth is, grime is just a genre, the same as garage, or house, or hip hop. The reason why grime ain’t in the charts is because people who were at the head of it - the Dizzees, the Kanos - didn’t stay on it. They walked over to try and sell and be number one. And myself included, so I’m not going to hate.

But I've always done grime, it's where I've always been. I record grime, day in and day out, no matter what. I use my "Heatwave" money to do my grime.

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Haha, no, not really.

The other day I tweeted: "I wish I was born in America," and everyone was trying to argue with me.

But they missed the point. They missed the point, that I’ve come to realize, if you weren’t born there, how the hell were you going to be anyone there?!

Like with a voice, I mean. As a producer. I mean if you were actually born in England, how the hell are you going to go to America and be best rapper?! They're 30-40 years ahead. So who are we? We've just done grime for 10. When did they start over there? In the '70s, '80s?

Yeah, late '70s, I suppose.

Well that's it man... So I've accepted that I wasn't born over there. I was born in England, and I hate the system in England, as you can imagine. I'm not gonna mope about that, 'cause it's all about acceptance. You have to just accept what it is and live with it.

So what so far has been the highlight in your career?

Number Ones. Really and truly, I don't know anyone else in England who's actually done what I've done and been able to do that for the last 10 years.

Underground and overground. I don't know anyone like that, to be fair.

Do you feel like you've made any mistakes, that you've learnt from on the way?

I wouldn't say mistakes... I mean, we all learn from mistakes, but I don't have to make a mistake to learn, I can learn from an error. I have learnt one thing though: if we all stuck together and stayed in it from the start to this day, we'd be much better off. Take away all Dizzee's Number Ones, take away mine, and everyone else's...

That clean slate would have been better.

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photo by Spencer Murphy

So you mean, If everyone had stuck in it, as in if the grime team stayed tighter?

photo by Spencer Murphy

Yeah, if we went back, and we started it, and we all had bills, and we helped each other, instead of trying to run off in different directions. But what happens is, if managers have got someone special, they try and show them that they're special. So obviously the person who thinks he's special, thinks about money.

To tell you the truth, between me and you, I don't know why Tinie Tempah or me have had single runs and sold units, and Kano didn't. 'Cause Kano stands above both of us. It's weird and backwards, man. Listen to me, Tinie Tempah will never be better than Kano in his life. Ever. There will never be a day, when he wakes up and he's better than him. But he can say "Rah" and sell out an old tune. It's almost as if you have to come on a wave, and if you don't, you'll struggle.

Well, I suppose he's doing TV and stuff like that now...

This is what I'm trying to tell you: how can people in England think that Tinie Tempah is a sick rapper, when Kano is a million times better than him? And I'm not trying to diss anyone, because I actually like Tinie Tempah, but I'm just saying... Sometimes I think, "Don't worry about it, just get on with it". But it always bugs me, bruv. Always.

Do you have any advice to people who are trying to make grime now?

[Long pause] Sorry, I was just going through passport control... Nah, you know what, I used to have advice, but the truth is, people don't actually follow advice. That's my advice: just follow your own intuition, 'cause you are your own person.

Out of everyone in your field in music so far, who did you rate the most?

It's probably Kano, because he's the best. Pure best. Not because he could say the worst things about your mum.

The best person ain't the person who can say the worst things about your mum. The best person is someone who can control their skin and win

without even saying anything about your mum. Kano is the best MC out of all of them. Because he didn't even try.

He beat me without trying. It means that he's good. All the other people were feeding off of me, 'cause I called them out. In mine and Kano's instance it was a set up. That's the main one, where you can say I lost and walked away, and I got better because of it.

Sorry mate, I'm just trying to check into a hotel out here. Stay there... [long pause] Alright, sorry bruv, go on.

Where does your name Eski Boy come from?

How can people in England think that Tinie Tempah is a sick rapper, when Kano is a million times better than him?

That comes from the cold naming of the songs. I made a tune called "Eskimo", and "Avalanche", and the times were cold, and it's cold in England... It was just a cold time, and we made music, and it rescued us...

And now we're "Heatwave"...

talking

about

Sometimes when you see me moaning about "Heatwave", you know I don't hate it, I actually like it, but I hate the fact that people don't respect me for it. This is why I hate the industry. 'Cause the industry will make it Number One, and that same industry will go behind your back and say, "that's shit". When you're at a high point, and you're winning, the people behind the scenes and the label people don't rate you. So then you ask yourself, "Do you want a Number One, so they can sit in their offices and talk shit about you?"

I've sat in an office where people were swearing blind to you, that they got love for everyone, and in another room they're saying, "What you reckon, Tinie's next album's gonna do bad?" So I know he's not the only person they talk about like that. That's what makes me mad. Then I think, "Alright, cool, even if I got Number One, the people in the office still don't respect me. So how do you really win in England?"

And that's when I learned: you don't.

Some of my favorite people are in music industry journalism, the ones who interview me. And even they do it! Even they will sit in the office and say: "Bruv, look, he's got Number One, the hook's shit".

One day, I'm minding my own business, and Skream, the dubstep geeza, Ollie, my mate... he says "Bruv, that "Heatwave" hook is shit". He's done that, trying to get at me, and I wanted to argue, but I just left it. A year later... Ollie is a house DJ...

So that's what I'm saying. That's what makes me not wanna do it. Some people tell me to be strong and all that, but I come from somewhere real, I know I can spit bars, so this shit makes me mad.

Do you think you'll ever do another freestyle on Westwood?

I would love to! But you know again, people don't care if I'm spitting anymore. People know I can spit. It would be like I keep proving myself on the same thing, when there are loads of other things to be done. Like the O2 arena to be sold out.

For someone like me, who wants to win, or thinks they're winning at different points, if you actually looked into it, you're not actually winning.

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Paul Woolford

Once you realize you have a skill that can make people look good, then the power shifts to you from the subject.

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Shaun Bloodworth

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Toddla T

Arguably the most iconic images in the history of underground dubstep and UK bass music in the past 10 years are what we know and praise Shaun Bloodworth for. Sheffield's native has probably taken a photo of your favorite producer even before he became your favorite producer. He attributes it to being at the right place (London's FWD>>) at the right time (around 2003, when it all started), and to his fundamental photography skills acquired through years of training and working in the field.

But his love and passion for the music play just as (if not the most) vital part in creating perfectly cinematic and poetic portraits of the scene.

That, for me, is where photography has lost its way. It's gone from being the best medium for showing what was happening in the world to an introspective art form.

interview by Katya Guseva

Almost every other good press shot of underground electronic musicians is coming from you. Is there one photograph that you get asked about or praised for the most (for whatever reason)?

That's very kind of you to say. There’s no one specific image.

Certain ones do get used a lot, like the picture of Skream. It depends on who is popular or is making the most interesting music at that time. Paul Woolford keeps cropping up this year. I try to give all the pictures a certain feel, so hopefully the viewer will associate it with me. I try not to let anything be released unless I’m happy with it.

You said you’ve never had a 9-5 job ever in your life.

That's not strictly true! When I was 18, I worked in a friend's bakery for six months. We’d go straight to work at 3 am from the night clubs.

Well, that's still quite an achievement for anyone in the photography field and in general. Congratulations! What’s the secret here?

I’m not sure if there is a secret to it all. I went to college for two years, then moved straight to London and knocked on doors for work as a freelance. I guess we had a good vocational training. There were lots of magazines in those days, and there was a progression - you started out in the trade magazines, then moved onto the consumer titles, then work with designers and hopefully to advertising. It took many years to get to that stage. That apprenticeship isn’t there now - photographers straight out of University try to go in too high along that path.

I'm sure since then lots of changes happened in technology, methods and media. With rolls of film being the thing of the past, polaroids discontinued, and the disposable nature of imagery these days, how do you think the path of a young photographer or a film maker today will differ from yours?

One one hand, it should be a lot easier. Technology means we can all take half decent images with inexpensive gear.

But on the other, the market has narrowed, so a lot of testing and working for free is done now. That didn’t happen when I first started.

I would imagine it's tough starting out now. And I find a lot of young photographers, who ask to come and help out on shoots, actually want to find who your clients are, how you get that effect quickly, etc... and don’t actually want to learn basic skills.

Those basic skills as a photographer starting out in 1989 are a lot different than now - most magazines were shot on transparency, so you had to get the exposure bang on (no rescuing later), make definite decisions about lighting, and also be able to talk to subjects and explain why certain things took time. If you wanted a grade or effect, it was done in camera. And if a magazine wouldn’t pay for polaroids, then you had to guess or imagine the finished result. These skills have stayed with me until now, particularly being able to look through the viewfinder and imagine the finished picture.

There's also the need to do many things: photography, film making, illustrations, design, because it's the only way to survive financially. But my feeling is to become very skilled at one thing, not average at lots. Saying that, there's a number of young photographers, that I know and encourage, who produce fantastic work, but finding market for that is the hard part, and I fear for their future if they don’t specialize.

What is your general sentiment about the state of the arts?

I recently went to an exhibition of work from the last 40 years of my college. Each photographer gave two pictures to exhibit. What was very apparent was that anything taken up until the mid '90s was about communicating someone else’s experience, whereas from mid '90s onwards the majority of work was about personal experience and looking inwards at yourself. That, for me, is where photography has lost its way.

It's gone from being the best medium for showing what was happening in the world to an introspective art form. Maybe that's a generational thing.

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Gaslamp Killer

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My best memories are of semi-legal parties with no real facilities, where 100 people would ram into a single small room, and you’d hear some amazing music.

What are your first memories of underground raves? How did you start photographing DJs and producers?

When I was at college in South Wales, I did the usual club experiences. Our local place was called Cico’s. I had a friend, who had lived in Berlin in a squat in the '80s, who used to dance to his own music in the club, in headphones and an old Sony walkman.

My interest after I left for London was travel, which I did extensively in the '90s, so I missed out on the rave and Sheffield techno scene.

I was ill around 2003, so I started to look for projects closer to home and returned a favour to Stuart Hammersley on an early Rinse release. We went to FWD>> one night, and I was hooked straight away. I think I met Sarah Soulja that night (who ran Tempa and FWD>>) and she asked me to take a few pictures. It all developed from there. The first DJs I photographed were Youngsta and Hatcha for a CD cover.

Do you ever get nervous before photo shoots?

Early on in my career I did, but not now. Once you realize you have a skill that can make people look good, then the power shifts to you from the subject.

Marcel Dettman

About three years ago, speaking of the music scene, you were talking about the upcoming saturation point and nights becoming too big, while expressing nostalgia for smaller underground events with less people. Has it changed now in your opinion? Do you still go out a lot to the music events?

That happens with all scenes. Nights in underground rooms get bigger until they become stadium gigs. The mainstream takes over to appeal to even bigger audiences, money is thrown around by corporate sponsors, and the music starts to get watered down.

Then a new scene starts and we begin again...

My best memories are of semi-legal parties with no real facilities, where 100 people would ram into a single small room, and you’d hear some amazing music. That's what made places like FWD>> and Low End Theory amazing. I don’t really go out much now, because I don’t feel a part of it when I’m in a crowd of 5,000. But I’m sure there are young ravers who love that. I don’t begrudge any DJ making money in these big gigs though, it's the music equivalent of advertising photography.

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Everyone you spoke with was either in the industry or about to be.

It was a wonderfully friendly place.

What are you listening to right now?

If I look on my iTunes from the last few days, there’s an xlr8r podcast from Lucy, another from Beneath on RinseFM and one by Max Cooper on FactMag. Some folk rock by Pentangle, a bit of Prince and some Nils Frahm - all quite eclectic. My friend Stuart Hammersley from GiveUpArt usually tips me off with mixes. I also tune in to The Black Dog’s online radio station BlackDogma.

Did you ever get into any dodgy situations while at a photoshoot? Any crazy memorable stories to tell?

The most difficult one was the first Skream's album shoot in the West Indian Centre in Leeds. I was completely out of my depth, we couldn’t hear each other, a few people eyeing up my gear, not much space... Fun to think back afterwards though.

Apart from that, nothing springs to mind. It’s usually security guards who can be the biggest problem, when you are on land you’re not supposed to be. I try and be polite and back down. Sometimes it works. I do think the biggest danger always comes when you ignore people or treat them with disrespect. People who are drunk are a bit unstable, best to give them the time of day. And that has certainly worked in LA and NY on a number of occasions.

Trim

With all your experience and time spent in the music scene, we’d like to hear your take on it. If you look back on the years you witnessed in electronic music, what would you say was the “renaissance” period so far and why?

Well I’m no expert, I just happened to be there at the right time. I was at FWD>> with Stuart Hammersley during the glory days of '05-'08. All the artists would go as well and have their own parties there. I can vaguely remember having a long chat with Pearson Sound early on, when he may not have even been old enough to get in. Everyone you spoke with was either in the industry or about to be. It was a wonderfully friendly place. The sound was so good and focussed, that you could chat normally and then disappear behind the black curtain to have your head vibrated off its own neck. After I got to know Mary Anne Hobbs, I worked with her and the BBC when they brought that sound to Sonar, and we had a few amazing years, where new names were propelled onto worldwide stages like FlyLo, Skream, GLK, Martyn and Blawan. So there have been certain periods that have been real experiences for me.

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Hank Shocklee The best night I ever went to… I think the Brainfeeder night at Club Mondo off Sonar in 2009. The whole crew was there in a very small space, FlyLo tore the roof off, and half the audience seemed to be from Sheffield for some reason!

How do you archive your files? Is there a place in your garage full of film and SD cards?

I've been using digital since about 2003. It's all backed up on multiple drives, but I print all the portraits out to A3 as I do them, because I can’t see the drives lasting forever. I'm also with an agency, so the archived work is on their drives as well. It's a problem; in 30 years time lots of these files are going to be very unstable.

What would you say to a kid knocking on your door asking for money to go to an art school?

I can’t imagine that happening here in the UK, do people do that in the States?! I’ll happily give my time and advice to anyone taking that route, and my email is pretty available for anyone to contact me.

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We all make music for different reasons. Mine is selfish in some ways.

It’s a way for me to be remembered. And I don’t want to have any regrets musically. And I don’t want to compromise. dBridge 33

Darren White has been a part of more musical groups than you can count with one hand, let alone the amount of variations on his main alias dBridge (aka Da Bridge, dBridge Flipski, Darren The Bridge). That's just a tiny fraction of his constant self-reinvention, which he attributes to the main reasons for his success. Fear of being bored and the healthy spirit of competition are the other constants he reminisces about, looking back at his long path in music.

We asked the man and the legend to walk us through his journey of achievements and realizations, where the amount of rewinds and money seem to have no influence at all. It's never easy to compress over 20 years of musical and personal history into a two-hour conversation.

But we tried...

My original plan of career path was to get into computeranimated movies.

But weed and music got hold of me.

interview by Yanni Zribi

Let's start from the beginning. What did you listen to growing up? And what was your introduction into electronic music?

I didn’t get into electronic dance music until I moved to London in 1989. Before that I used to live in a place called Malvern, in the countryside. I was always into ‘80s pop and ‘60s music. My aunt and my uncle were really into rock 'n' roll, so I got into Eddy Cochran and Buddy Holly. And when I started to discover music that I was personally into, rather than what I was being force-fed over the radio, I started to get into things like Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. When I moved to London, I ended up living with my brother, and that’s when my real musical taste started to develop. We used to go out to nights like Orange at Hippodrome, Roast in Astoria, Desert Storm out in Lea Valley Trading Estate…

These were all jungle parties. We lived in South London, and the club closest to us was a place called Lazerdrome. It was literally an old laser-tag base, turned into a rave place. You would see Reinforced 4 Hero, early Goldie, there’d be people like Five-O on the mic, people like Frost… Everyone used to pass through, and that was where we used to go.

At what point did you realize that you wanted to start making music?

Pretty much straight away, to be honest. My brother (Steve Spacek) was making music already, and he had the equipment. It was a time when home studios were really starting to develop. Things were becoming a bit more affordable for home setups; it was still a lot of money, but people could build their own studios and didn’t have to go to purposely built ones anymore. It was in the early ‘90s,

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and I was just messing around. I already had a computer background — I was into computer languages and programming — and using Cubase wasn’t that much of a push for me. It was kind of like learning a new language.

How did you learn programming?

I was studying it at college. My original plan of career path was to get into computer-animated movies. But weed and music got hold of me. Once music took over, I just couldn’t be arsed to do coding. It got to be too much for me. To be honest, I just wanted to smoke weed and have a laugh. I used to write in Pascal, Cobol — all these bloody languages — and it became a bit like, “Nah, I’d rather program a beat and the bass.” I never looked back really.

So you started producing music, because it was easy for you, and your brother already had the whole studio setup in your apartment. And you were already going to these nights, where you could hear good influences. Were you with any label then?

Back then everyone was doing everything themselves. We made some tunes, got a group of tunes together, raised the money to get the music mastered and pressed, and then literally went around London trying to sell records to the shops. That’s what everyone was doing. We approached 24 Karat — an old distributor — and they bought a lot of records off of us. It was sale-or-return kind of deal.

What alias were you producing under at this time?

We were called Sewage Monsters.

Haha. OK. What kind of music was it?

It was quite slow, like 150-145 bpm. Almost dub techno, dub house, some breaks. We were very influenced by dub then. We used to go out to Jah Shaka nights, I even started growing dreads. Haha! It was a big part of what we were doing.

So when did dBridge come about? What does it stand for?

It actually used to be dBridge Flipski. It was kind of cool-sounding (don’t know about the Flipski bit. Haha!)

We lived in this old shared house, and the guy we lived with was a boxer. So we used to have boxing matches in the house, which always ended up getting out of hand.

They’d always try and knock me over, but they never could. So this guy used to call me The Bridge. So I was like, “Yeah, sounds alright. The Bridge, dBridge.”

Ah, I got it now. d for Darren. It looks cool with the lowercase 'd' and capital 'B'.

That was me being like, “Oh, that looks like the decibel symbol.” Hahaha! Always thinking me.

So then I got introduced to Lennie De Ice, who made “We Are i.e.”, which many people say is responsible for starting jungle and the whole scene. Huge tune. Around that time I moved out from my brother and got my own place, so I didn’t have ready access to the studio anymore, but I still wanted to make music. So Lennie let me use his studio.

Wow, so you got to produce with one of the forefathers of jungle?

Yeah. But I was just this quiet little kid in the back of the studio. Me and Gary Cox went under the name Dubb Hustlers back then. We had a few releases on Do Or Die and one on Lennie’s label – Armshouse Crew Records.

This was around ’92, I was under 20 at the time.

Then I became friends with Jason Maldini. I met Jason at Trouble On Vinyl. I was taken there by a mutual friend; Tony Luckhurst. They had a preproduction upstairs and a big studio downstairs. And you had to cut your teeth in the one upstairs, before you could get downstairs, into the big one.

I was going down to that studio almost every day. I was on unemployment benefit then, and I’d spend all my money on travel cards and weed. I was going under the alias dBridge, and eventually I had my own release on Trouble On Vinyl (“Bring the Flava").

Were you playing at any club nights then?

No, no. It seems like a lot of people’s way in music comes from deejaying first, but it was never really my thing. I was more about producing. That was where I felt comfortable. I would practice and have a go at it, but I’d never play out — I almost didn’t have the confidence for it. It was an art form, that I wasn’t ready for at the time. I was just working on dubs, raving and listening to Rush FM.

I was going down to that studio almost every day.

I was on unemployment benefit then, and I’d spend all my money on travel cards and weed.

What kind of sounds were you drawn to?

Back then it was Moving Shadow, Omni Trio, Foul Play, the Tom & Jerry stuff, Suburban Base. Hype did a remix of “Hello Lover”, and I loved that tune. I seemed to go through a transition of hardcore to jungle.

Production wise things started to change. People who came out of jungle were refining their sound, and moving away from these big sample loops into creating their own compositions out of the samples. So people like Dillinja, Source Direct, Photek — they were really pushing things forward in that sense. They were still using samples, but to the point where you asked yourself, "Where did they get those samples?" They were refining their skills and becoming their own voice, rather than layering big elements on top of each other. This was in ’95-’96.

At that time I learned a lot from Nico, who ran No U-Turn (early Ed Rush, Trace, Fierce, all those guys). Nico was the guy, who engineered it all, basically. If you listened to any No U-Turn record, they used a lot of similar bass sounds, but no two were the same. They were slightly different, because we’d get the sample, and Nico would process it slightly differently every time. It wasn’t the case of preset sounds. He would use different levels, pedals, tones, colors… And that process went across all elements: drums and bass. As a result, the tunes were not all sounding the same.

Nowadays, with the advent of digital, people can have the same access to the same presets. If we liked the break that someone else used, and if they left it clean on their record, we’d sample it, and then did our own processing to it. It all worked towards the advancement of that break in some respect. The easiest example is "The Amen". If you listen to the original, and all the different versions of it now ­­­­— they all came through resampling.

That was a big moment for me. I started getting into outboard effects, distortion, slowly getting my head around compressors and gates, trying things out, getting happy accidents and stuff. I started finding my own sound, realizing what I want to do now.

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It wasn’t about getting a response from the crowd, it was about getting a response from your peers, the fellow jedis. It was like a music battle.

What were you listening to at that time?

We were all going to Blue Note and being blown away every week. Metalheadz, Dillinja, Digital, Bailey, Ed Rush & Optical — they were all playing there. To be honest, it was all about Dillinja at that time, what new Dillinja tune we’ll hear that week. It was good hearing people like Source Direct and Photek, and thinking, “How the fuck did he do that? What the fuck is going on with that break?” I loved that. It would push me back to the studio, to experiment and dream of coming up with the track, where someone would come up to me and say, “How did you do that?”.

It was the time of the music, that was still in a very early stage, raw and somewhat thrown together, but already more polished.

It was this entity that no one has ever heard before, so new and, as cliche as it might sound, so forward-thinking. There’s been a massive shift in drum and bass, where the audience didn’t have any affect on what was going on. They were almost just witnessing these jedis at work. It wasn’t about getting a response from the crowd, it was about getting a response from your peers, the fellow jedis. It was like a music battle.

Ed Rush & Optical would come down and they’d play “Watermelon” or “Life Crisis”, and you’d go, “You fucking assholes!”. They’ve got the most amazing music, and it spurred you up. You had to rethink your whole process again, go back to the studio and move on a little bit more in your career. And it wasn’t until 1998, when I was in Bad Company, that I was able to be at the place where everyone else would come looking at us.

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You could go from left to right on the radio receiver, and there’d be about 10 pirate radio stations, all playing jungle... It was the way of life for me and a lot of people.

How did that whole chapter come about?

By then Jason and I were producing as Future Forces, and we pretty much kicked off Renegade Hardware label. We had the first 11 releases on there, and things were going well.

Through Renegade Hardware I met Fresh. He was a cocky little shit! [Laughs] But the kid had skills. We made “The Code” and “Refuge” and wanted to release it under the name Bad Company. But the guy Clayton, who ran Renegade Hardware, didn’t like the name.

[Laughs] In hindsight, he should have thought otherwise. Haha! Because in the summer of 1998, when they tried to sign us, things went pear shaped and everyone left the label.

Actually, it was quite special, when we made “Refuge”. When we were cutting it, Jonny L came up to me and asked how I’ve done something on the drums. And inside of me something went “Yesss!”. It was a very personal moment.

Anyway, in the summer of '98 everyone left the label, and we went over to Fresh’s place, compiled all our equipment, borrowed two grand off his mate and spent half of it on speakers straight away. We bought a pair of Mackies HR824s (they just came out) and we spent the rest on guitar pedals and sample CDs. And we spent pretty much the whole year at his parents' place just writing music.

That was when “Inside the Machine”, “The Nine”, and “4 days” came around. So it’s taken me seven years of hard grind, before I started seeing any return.

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So when was your first deejay gig? Can you remember it?

It seems to me that there's always something to do in music.

My first gig was in 1995 in Norway, in a town called Trondheim. But my first meaningful London gig was with Future Forces in 1997. It was a night called Technology. Renegade Hardware vs. No U-Turn. It was Future Forces, Ed Rush & Optical, Trace, Kane, GQ; it was sick! The stage was in the middle of the club, everyone was looking at you, leaning over, watching what you’re doing.

What feels like a natural progression for me is the label — giving other people, the new artists, the outlet. The same way I was given that outlet. That feels wicked.

That sounds sick!

It wasn’t! I was about to shit myself! They had these massive monitors staring down at you, the sound system was ridiculous, and there was no escape. I can still see it in young DJs nowadays, they put their hands on the pitch and they’re shaking: “Pleeeease, stay in time”.

[Laughs] We managed to pull it off though, ‘cause when I listen back to it, the mix is actually pretty tight. My memory made it out way scarier than it was.

That sounds like it was an amazing time to learn and grow in the music scene.

What I liked the most about those early days, was that you never said no to anything. It wasn’t about the result, it was about the journey, about being a part of something, that takes up so much of your life. Especially in London, you could go from left to right on the radio receiver, and there’d be about 10 pirate radio stations, all playing jungle. Everyone was into it: it was blaring from the cars driving by, people were going out to listen to it. It was the way of life for me and a lot of people. Another cliche, but it brought all these people from different walks of life together and threw them all into the mix.

And all the things I’ve learnt in the early days of my career still stay with me today. The morals, the standards, that I’ve grown up on musically, the core things are still with me today. And in some ways I attribute that to why I am still here, still doing it. You get out what you put in.

As long as you’re willing to craft.. To be honest, I don’t know anything else. Being here and making music is all I know. It kinda scares me sometimes… In the next 10-15 years what the hell am I gonna do?

Comparing the new artists back then and now, is it easier to get your stuff heard and picked up by a label now, than it was back when you started off?

Because of the way the dubplate culture worked, it wasn’t cheap. It cost 25 pounds to cut a dub, so those two tunes I cut on a plate had to be fucking good. As a result, there was a natural filtration. It helped shaping the scene, because all the shit didn’t get through.

And for the labels too, it wasn’t cheap for them either. That’s why when you look back at all the unreleased stuff, and you wonder why it wasn’t released, the simple reason is, it wasn’t good enough. Looking back, it seems good, but at that time, it wasn’t good enough.

There’s this tendency with some people now, where every tune they write has to come out.

But no, it doesn’t. I don’t feel like that. You have to learn to let go and better yourself. I only want to let other people hear the best of my stuff. In some respect it’s selfish, but it is also my prerogative. There’s so much music easily accessible and available now, so there’s a lot of throwaway shit. Some of our stuff is throwaway as well, that’s just something everyone has to learn.

Ok, so let's go back to your musical journey.

So you became a part of Bad Company and you're producing and playing gigs all over...

Being in Bad Company felt like being in a pinnacle of the world music at the time. And there were some moral dilemmas, which were coming to the forefront for me. I was making a shit load of money from deejaying, but I wasn’t enjoying making music anymore.

Especially considering where the Bad Company sound was going; it was moving forward, but not in the direction I wanted to go. At some point it turned into me literally having to play the tunes that I had nothing to do with. It didn’t sit right with me.

I had this horrible feeling, I wasn’t depressed, but I was really sad. And when Fresh left to go do his own thing, it was a blessing in disguise. There was only three of us left then, We did one release, but I started to feel lost musically within the group. So I started going back to my laptop and doing things on my own. And one day I told the guys that I wanted to do a dBridge album on BC label. And they were like, “How are we all going to benefit?”. It didn't really work - I had all this music, but I couldn’t release it on our label. So I had to start my own.

So you left Bad Company. How did it feel to come out of the group and continue solo?

It felt like I had to start over again. Which I liked. It was a challenge. I realized I can still do it - I can make music on my own, without relying on anyone else. When every group splits, people are watching the individuals, and when one of them succeeds, people think it was that person, who did it all in the group. I had to fight through that. But I was never really concerned with the big wins, I just liked going back to basics and starting again in small venues. I went back to sampling, crate digging, and really enjoying the process of piecing things together to make new music.

Musically things were changing too: Pendulum came through then, and that kind of sound started taking off.

But I didn’t have any connection with it personally. I felt more at home with Creative Source, Calibre, and what Fabio was doing. I liked soulful side of things, but with a gritty aspect to it. I used to call it 'aggressively beautiful', where you didn’t know whether to get angry or cry. I’ve always liked that contrast.

“True Romance” boosted my confidence a lot at that time, seeing the recognition it got. It was funny, because originally Goldie signed “Bellini”, and “True Romance” was picked for the B side. It was almost like it could have been anything. But it ended up being the biggest bloody tune.

The funny moment for me was when I sent my stuff to Andy C, and he was like “I love it, I love your stuff, but I can’t play it”. That really perplexed me. I realized that things changed to the point, where music was being made to get a response from the audience, rather than for the love of it. The audience now dictated the music. Even with Bad Company we would have these cliche elements, that we knew would get a rewind. And as a DJ you’d be like, “If I don’t get six rewinds within an hour, I haven’t done my job properly”. So everyone would be playing this same tune, just to get a reaction from the crowd. It was so strange…

I realized that things changed to the point, where music was being made to get a response from the audience, rather than for the love of it. The audience now dictated the music.

Anyway, when I got that from Andy C, I also realized that I don’t have any connection with that anymore, so I don’t have to worry about it all. So now it really felt like starting over again.

Do you think people do that a lot - make music and deejay just to get a response from the crowd?

We all make music for different reasons. Mine is selfish in some ways. It’s a way for me to be remembered. And I don’t want to have any regrets musically. And I don’t want to compromise. I want to stay true to my belief in what music is about. I play the music I love, the music I want to hear when I’m out. And sometimes the crowd looks at you like, “What the fuck are you doing?” And they may request some obvious tunes from me, but my attitude is like, “Well, the guy after me is probably gonna play exactly what you want to hear, so you'll get to hear the tune you like for the millionth time anyway”.

But actually, because I don’t have a massive system at home, and I don’t have the ability to hear the tunes I get sent, the way they’re supposed to be heard, I often times play new stuff just to test it out for myself. “Right, it sounded good on my monitors at home, so it must sound good out, let me try it”. Sometimes I get it wrong, and I apologize to those people who had to hear it. But my label, and all the music we release, is based on me trying things out when I deejay. I use that time to kind of A&R releases for the label.

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This is what you can take from me: learning and not being afraid to start over. Starting from the bottom is still adding to the collective YOU. It's pretty amazing, that you get sent a lot of varied styles of music and that you can piece it all together and play it out in the same set, because it seems like all genres overlap now.

Yeah, all genres are influenced by each other, it’s a hybrid of everything nowadays. Hopefully, as an artist, you can find your voice within all of this. What I like about the way the music scene is like now, is that people are not so anal about things like, “I only like drum and bass” or "I only listen to techno". It used to be like that. But people are a lot more open to different styles of music now. I can play a deejay set right now and throw in some half-time stuff from Fracture and Stray. It’s not so far removed from drum and bass, but it’s dnb-influenced hip hop or hip hop-influenced dnb. I don’t even know which way it is. They have influenced each other over the years so much, and I’m thankful that we are able to piece it all together.

But I have to say, I’m quite fearful of too much of outside influence, in terms of listening to other peoples music, as opposed to working with other artists. I love doing collabs. It’s like a friendly competition, a constant battle, it’s what drives me.

What’s the ethos behind your Aptitude project?

It’s about people who have a natural ability to make beautiful things. I wanted to be able to give people a platform for it.

The name of the show came from that as well. With the vinyl series, the packaging and the visual art are equally important as the music. It just all became about finding artists who are skilled at what they do. Aptitude releases were about trying to create something collectible, something limited, something that would stand the test of time. But it turned out to be too costly. We took so much time, and it cost so much to manufacture. And then you’d go on Discogs, and people would be selling it for 25 quid.

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That’s just not fair!

It’s not fair, but that’s the way things are. Originally it was supposed to be a very limited run of a 1000 records, which I was going to post out individually. And then it turned out that 1000 is not so limited actually. You’re lucky to sell 400500 units nowadays. Definitely not the units we used to sell back in the days. We sold like 15,000 of “The Nine” back in the '90s. Since then it’s changed drastically… It’s just the nature of things moving forward. To play vinyl nowadays you need two technics 1200s, a mixer, speakers… it’s not cheap.

Not every kid can afford that. When people still were buying vinyl, their Hi-Fi systems had a record player in it. You didn’t have to buy the whole setup. Everybody had a record player in their house.

If you look back at over two decades of your career, what is the winning formula that keeps you afloat, relevant, and at the top of the game?

The simple answer to that, and what has always been my mantra, is to keep myself interested. I don’t see the point in constantly repeating myself. With “True Romance” for example, I could have easily done 10-15 “True Romances” after that. And some people do that, They think there it is, that’s the winning formula. But once you start repeating yourself, you devalue it each time.

I listen to my old stuff, and I’ve got no idea how I did half of it. I don’t know where any of the samples are, I know some of the breaks, but not the bass… Every time I start a tune, I start it from scratch. I have some samples, and I piece things together that way, but I’m not good at having copies of things or being able to draw for that break again.

I have this fear of being bored. That’s how I felt towards the end of Bad Company, and I didn’t like it. Even though we were earning a lot of money, it was really fucking boring. So this is what you can take from me: learning and not being afraid to start over. Starting from the bottom is still adding to the collective YOU. My outlook on life is what helped me too. I don’t have time to fuck around with small shit, I don’t have time for arguments.

I’m generally a happy guy, and it takes a lot to phase me.

Things generally don’t make me angry, it’s not within my nature. Being able to let go and move on has helped me through this journey.

[Big Up ] Skeptical, Stray, Fracture, Kid Drama, Consequence, for giving me music that makes me want to smash my monitors. It’s like a big audio “Fuck You”, which drives me to do the same back. .

What is your main motivation? What still drives you now?

I wish I could have some big philosophical answer, but ultimately I’m just driven by happiness. Happiness and wanting to share the experience with other people around me. When the Exit night started to come about, it was a really big proud moment for me. I’ve created something that was generating work for other people. I love that. It’s amazing to have a platform to play music that I love and get paid for it as well. If you think about it, I get paid to see the world. It’s the fucking greatest job in the world! I couldn’t be happier.

And if other people can share this experience, it’s just amazing.

It must be hard to not get distracted by all the new things going on, and people watching your every step, and judging you on it...

That’s how all new things start, when you don’t look at what other people are doing. Look at dubstep, or any of the new scenes, it started out of people doing things for the love of it. That’s really the core of what I do, 'cause once you start doing things for the wrong reasons, it shows, and everyone can hear it. You might make a lot of money, but it won’t last.

I’ve always been in it for the long run. So when new things and new sounds come about, I’m not the first one to jump on it.

Take Velvit for example, my house/ techno project, I’m still taking it very slowly, because I’m still finding my feet in it. Even though I readily accept it, but I’m ignorant to house and techno. I love it, but I don’t know it. I’ve been deejaying since 1997, and I can literally deejay drum and bass with my eyes closed, but I started taking Velvit gigs now, and I’m shitting my pants again. I’m really attracted to that fear, not being quite sure what I’m doing.

It reminds me of the first time I deejayed.

I’m lucky enough that I’ve already established myself in another scene, and maybe some people will listen to my house music just because of that. But drum and bass is still very appealing to me. The possibilities in it seem endless. I don’t want to get caught up in any of the formulas and rules in techno and house, 'cause I’ve gone through that with drum and bass already. So sometimes I might be making massive mistakes, in the eyes of those who take it very seriously, but that’s my interpretation of it. Sometimes I write something and send it to Damon [Jon Convex, Kid Drama], and I’ll be like: “What is this? What sort of sub genre did I stumble upon again?” I love it, I really enjoy doing Velvit stuff.

We finally got to my favorite part of the interview. What else is in the works for you at the moment?

I have a lot of things going on, I hope I’m not spreading myself too thin. I just need to find the time for everything.

The album that I’ve been trying to write in the past seven years keeps getting thrown to the back burner. Now I started working on Binary Collective.

It’s me, Jon Convex, Consequence and Joe Seven. I’m going to finish one track tomorrow, and the Binary Collective album is done. I’ve always wanted to do something live too. It’s something I want to explore. Me and Kid Drama are writing a Heart Drive LP at the moment, and we wanted to present it live. Who knows what can come out of it.

What's your favorite studio snack?

It was chicken wings and rice in the ‘90s.

In Bad Company days it was free food from the restaurant downstairs, that Fresh’s dad used to own. That was pretty good. And now I try to eat healthy. I got back into Naked bars.

Who would you like to Big Up? My brother for taking me raving when I came out of the country, Zinc for believing in my stuff and putting out my EP, Calibre for giving me the confidence to sing, the Instra:mental guys for helping me rediscover my love for analog and getting me out of the box.

And now all the artists I’m putting out: Skeptical, Stray, Fracture, Kid Drama, Consequence, for giving me music that makes me want to smash my monitors.

It’s like a big audio “Fuck You”, which drives me to do the same back.

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It must be the most difficult thing for beginners to cope with the inspirational overload.

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Atelier Olschinsky

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We hardly ever are one hundred percent satisfied with what we've done. interview by Katya Guseva

After combining decades of individual experiences in the arts, Peter Olschinsky and Verena Weiss have built up another 10 years worth of brilliant work under Atelier Olschinsky, a boutique design studio in Vienna, Austria.

The power couple creates textured constructivist illustrations of surreal city scapes and mega structures, as well as organic matters, with fascinating level of details and unimaginable colorways, leaving just enough recognizable features for us to not get completely lost in the countless layers of complexity.

With a list of clients and projects that wouldn't fit on the pages of this issue, Peter and Verena still manage to constantly recreate themselves and stay fresh in the oversaturated field of art direction and design.

Let’s go back to the days before Atelier Olschinsky. How did each of you arrive at your artistic path? And what brought you to each other and to where you are now?

We both started our careers in totally different professions, but we don´t see these times of our lives as wasted.

We´ve learnt a lot of basic skills, gained a lot of so called "experience of life“ before we decided to earn our money by doing what we really love to do.

Neither of us has a University degree in graphic design, we are autodidacts [self-taught]. And we are still learning.

The sources online disagree about the year when you met and cofounded Atelier Olschinsky. Can we destroy all the legends and have the true story of AO birth once and for all?

Peter: Atelier Olschinsky was founded in 2002, after my former partner Erik Baumann (the company was named Atelier Baumann-Olschinsky before) passed away all of a sudden.

Then I worked more or less alone respectively with different freelancers until 2005. This was the year when Verena and I first met.

Verena: In 2005, Peter and I met when we had to do a project together.

The company I used to work for was Peter´s client. It turned out that together we were a perfect team, so I soon decided to quit my other job and become Peter´s partner instead.

What quality of your character helped you the most to stay "long in the game"?

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Peter: Persistency, curiosity, passion.

That´s what keeps me going.

Verena: Apart from talent, I think you need a lot of discipline. Successful creatives are usually hard workers, it´s just not a nine-to-five job.

Do you ever get frustrated with your own work? How do you get through these times?

To be honest, we hardly ever are one hundred percent satisfied with what we've done. There is always that little devil on our shoulder saying: "You could have done it better, right?“.

Mainly when doing commercial jobs you have to be open for compromises and step back from your artistic point of view. But these jobs pay the bills…

So we are constantly working on personal free projects and use them as a kind of incubator. For us, this is absolutely necessary to develop new ideas and refine our artistic skills.

If you look back at the times when you just started and where you are now, how did things change for you in terms of your process? Are there more challenges now with technology so easily available to anyone, where a 14 year old seems to be as advanced at technology as you are.

Verena: That´s a good question. After some years in creative business you have a lot of experience, which is helpful in terms of a quick and efficient workflow. This is absolutely necessary and life saving if you need reliable and positive results.

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Ghost Cities 04

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But if you think you already know how things are done best, it can prevent you from going new ways. When you are young, fresh, naive and have to build up things from scratch, trial and error sometimes leads to a surprising output. I´m trying to keep that in mind.

Peter: Speaking about technology, to know a little more than just the basics is essential, no need to discuss that. But technology isn´t everything. The greatest technical skills won´t lead you anywhere, if you don´t know what to use them for. And being up-to-date with all the innovation can be quite exhausting.

But it´s true that technical facilities are also a great playground, and I spend a lot of time on improving my skills, testing new features, just to see what´s possible.

That leads me to another question. How important it is for your work to stay relevant and up-to-date with the current trends and new emerging artists in the scene?

It´s more or less the other way around. In times of internet, it´s rather difficult not to be influenced too much by current trends, with so many super talented artists out there… It´s really easy to get lost or to become battered by great stuff. We think it must be the most difficult thing for beginners to cope with that inspirational overload and to develop their own style.

Do you ever get copied? How do you relate and deal with it?

Getting copied (in style) is not so much of a problem for us. Once in a while we have to deal with people who just re-use a particular illustration or photography for their own designs, which can be a little annoying. But usually these situations are solved quite quickly, when we get in touch. We like to talk things out and also don´t want to get a reputation for being litigious.

Architecture plays a great role in your work.

Would you like to expand into that area, actually designing structures and buildings?

Good architecture needs a lot more than just design. We are not only fascinated by the looks of buildings, but also interested in the relationship between humans and their surroundings. The idea of the Cities and Structures illustration series was to create a fictive world, a vision of the towns of tomorrow, humans excluded. These cities are all lifeless ghost towns, consisting of blocks, labyrinths, structures, shades and lights. If we had to design real buildings or spaces for people, they would definitely look different.

At the moment we actually are starting a project together with real architects, where we will do some design. Just a small supporting part in the whole venture, but we are looking forward to learning a lot of new things.

Working together must be like doubling your superpowers, but can also at times lead to conflicts. How do you find a compromise? And what are your individual signature strengths?

Peter: Working together is a great thing, but it also needs a lot of caring. Most important is that you respect your partner in every single way. Funny thing, the more we have to do, and the more we are under stress, our teamwork becomes even easier and more sufficient, because we are focusing on the same goal.

Verena: I think we match perfectly. Peter is the truly driven artist, I´m more down to earth. When Peter´s mind is bubbling over with ideas, I try to organize. While Peter is constantly thinking lateral, I try to make sure we still hit the bull´s eye and that everything is done on time.

When you are young, fresh, naive and have to build up things from scratch, trial and error sometimes leads to a surprising output.

If you were to share some words of wisdom with the younger artists aspiring to be in it for a long run, what would it be?

Keep on working. Never stop. The journey is the award.

You have 24 hours to live. What do you do?

Peter: We would get married, finally. We didn´t have time to do that yet.

Verena: Yes. Have a big wedding party with all our friends. And I would definitely clean up my desk before I leave.

When you dine out, do you have your smartphones on your table? How do you balance your online and offline lives?

This really depends on the situation. We dine out a lot, because our best friend owns a restaurant, and after a hard day´s work it´s just easier to go there than to cook ourselves. Our conversation over dinner often is a resume of the day´s work and also leads to discussing new ideas. But usually our smartphones are in our bags then. We are online most of the day, but we take our times off.

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Mega Cities 05

Mega Structure 02

photo by Ashes57

We love records, and we love making music, and we never let other things get in the way of that.

Dusk + Blackdown

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Keysound Family on Rinse

It was all just people in the room, playing records made by people in the room. interview by Joe Aycox

In 2001 a small community of DJs and producers began to form at a small London’s night club. All sharing similar musical values: a love for garage and the darker side of jungle. A haven was forged to inspire and experiment with a new sound that pushed the boundaries of lower level frequencies. This was the beginning of dubstep and London’s legendary movement, FWD>>.

Dusk (Dan Frampton) and Blackdown (Martin Clark) were among the first of the thirty or so members of this family. The knowledge and principles they've instilled from FWD>> are present within their music and how they now govern their record label Keysound. The two friends have run through the gamut of bass music, changing perceptions of dubstep, grime and garage by blending aspects of these genres and creating their distinct sound.

With no sight of slowing down, I wonder if this all would have happened without Stevie Wonder’s tune “Superstition”...

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What kind of music was playing in your households when you were growing up?

Dan: I’m quite old. Ha! I was born in the last century. My mum and dad weren’t really into popular music at the time, so I grew up listening to stuff like Kris Kristofferson, ABBA, and tunes from the musicals. So it wasn’t until I bought my first pop cassette tape in 1987 (I was around ten) that I was like, “Wow, what’s all this stuff?" There was “Pump Up The Volume” on it, juxtaposed with Nina Simone's “My Baby Just Cares For Me”, which is a brilliant combo. So when you’ve only been listening to Kris Kristofferson...

It’s definitely a change of pace.

Definitely. And by the time I was eleven or so, there were all those big underground dance tunes getting into the charts. Then De La Soul and all that kind of stuff around twelve, and then... The rest is history.

Martin, how about you?

Martin: I think the music that was playing in my house had little to no bearing on where I ended up.

I don’t remember music being an especially prominent thing, but it probably was, I just don’t remember it. It wasn’t until I began to come into contact with youth culture... When you become old enough to become aware of it, then music starts to have a big impression on you, and it starts to form your identity as a young person.

So, I was definitely around music, but then I was around a lot of stuff like sports etc... The music I heard as a child is almost the opposite of what I ended up doing. It wasn’t very influential. It was more about the process of exploring both who you are musically and who you are as a person. And because those things for me became intertwined and inseparable, that’s why I formed such a strong relationship to music for such a long time.

For me, it is about who you are and what you listen to. When I look at people who care deeply about fashion and what they look like, I know, that who they are is deeply intertwined with their looks. Whereas, what clothes I wear is lightly intertwined with who I am as a person. I like shoes, trainers, I wear jeans a lot — I don’t think it’s a particularly important statement in life. I know it’s very different for fashion people, because it’s who they are. So the music I discovered, rather than the music I was around as a child, became a part of who I grew up into.

When you guys first met, what Stevie Wonder tune was Dan playing?

Martin: I would bet it was "Superstition."

Dan: Yeah, that would be my guess as well. I think at that period of time, I didn’t own a copy of any other Stevie Wonder stuff on vinyl good enough to play out.

So it all started with "Superstition" then?

Martin: Yeah, so we met in that club and started talking over that record. And I thought: “If he knows that record and he’s playing it, he must be alright”.

Dan: And from my perspective it was like, if he’s not coming up and saying, “Have you got anything good?” He’s alright as well. [Laughter] Martin: Seriously, that question —“Have you got anything good?” — is such a deep diss for a DJ, because it’s self-evident, that obviously I don’t. But yes, Dan and I have been friends long before we started making records together, and I’ve always thought that we’d be friends long after we make music together. I don’t know if that’s true of all production duos. That’s just a way it’s worked out with us: we’ve liked similar things and we’ve hung out a bit for years. It’s going on twenty years now.

Dan: I reckon it's going to be true for some people. Can you imagine Youngsta and Toast not being old duffers together?

Let's talk about the early days of FWD>>, Is that how you were turned on to dubstep?

Martin: Just for historical accuracy, that word didn’t exist when we started going to FWD>>. It was at least two or three years before it became such a thing, because FWD>> gave birth to the scene. There we discovered a place, where at

least two of our favorite things coincided, which were garage and the dark side of jungle. And at the time when the darker side of jungle was getting less interesting, which was like 20012002, it was getting stiffer and less exciting, we found something that was really really unique.

It’s a fact that in that space there was a serious community of people, who shared the same set of musical values. We liked the dark side of jungle, we liked UK garage, and nobody else did. And there was only about forty or fifty of us, but we would continue going to this space once every month or two months. And then it became really obvious that it was all just people in the room, playing records made by people in the room. So to be a part of that very small community, you had to be contributing. I just remember feeling, “Oh, I wish I could hear my record there. I wish I could be a part of this in a deeper way than just going.” And almost everyone, who is now big in dubstep, was there at some point.

Dan: It was nice, because everyone was roughly at the same sort of level, or maybe one or two steps ahead. And you'd be getting tips off people, and no one would be really embarrassed to say: “I ain’t got a clue how to do X Y Zed. How’s he done that?” It was a good bit of comradery I must say, which is really helpful. ‘Cause I imagine now, if you’re a young producer starting up, it must be really daunting.

Most scenes have loads of established people, and this was something a lot different. So if a tune did flop, nobody was going to get upset, because at worst you’ve only annoyed thirty or forty people. It was more of an experimental space in that regard. Even though it was all about the dance floor, you could still get away with more, than you can when you’ve got sweaty one and a half thousand people wanting the next biggest drop. It was exciting times.

When was your first gig together? How did it go?

Martin: Oh man, it was long before dubstep existed. We each got about half hour to play in a fully lit bar.

Dan: But the more important gig was the first time we played FWD>>. It was a really big moment for us, 'cause we had all these dubs we spent about two years compiling. And to turn up and unleash them all in one go... On one hand, it's amazing, and on the other, "Oh, if this doesn't go off, we ain't got nothing left."

[Laughter]

If a tune did flop, nobody was going to get upset, because at worst you’ve only annoyed thirty or forty people.

Martin: The first time we played FWD>> was a monumental thing. Firstly, because we had been witnesses to this place, and it had been our little sacred space. It was the place that gave birth to dubstep, and we'd been going there since the first one in 2001 (we played in 2007). So to be asked to play at Plastic People was just incredible.

Also, we had spent three and a half years writing an album, and we had it all on 10inch dubplate, ready to play and present four years of work.

And the final thing, I think it was the first time anyone had heard Burial's "Archangel," because we cut it specifically for that set, before anybody had played it. Yeah, all in all it was pretty intense.

Dan: The only downer about that was one of my mates thought it was one of our tunes. He said, "That was one of the best tunes I've ever heard!" And I said: "You liked the one tune, that wasn't written by us. Cheers, mate." [Laughter] Martin: I still have that dubplate somewhere, and it's different from the album version.

It seems that starting your own label was becoming a necessity in getting your work heard at that time.

Martin: Necessity is the word. We started Keysound, because no one would release our music. So it was just simple DIY spirit. There were a lot of people who helped us out. Loefah designed the logo for Keysound. Mala gave us distribution and manufacturing advice. Pinch gave us a tip, that went on to give us our first distribution deal for the first twenty eight releases. I used to speak to Kode9 for hours on the phone, and I really valued his input.

And that's not name dropping, these were the people who were all friends. They were some of the 30-40 people in that room at FWD>>.

At the time it was all pirate culture, DIY ethos. You wanna do something, you've got to do it yourself, 'cause no major label is going to come along and give us the money to do this. And even the established players at the time had no money.

At that point we've been writing music for about four years, so why not release it ourselves. What's the worst that could happen?

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When it comes to producing, who brings what strengths to the table?

Dan: It’s fair to say that I’m much happier than Martin to sit down for three or four hours just playing around with parameters of a synth.

That would just drive him mad. But equally, he’s much happier working out exactly how it's best to arrange something. Sometimes I just can’t see, for the life of me, how to put things together, and it would annoy me to do that for ever and ever. I think he’s much better at arranging than I am. What do you reckon, mate?

Martin: Completely. And I can see arrangements in my head. I can be in a gym and be like, “It needs to be like this, we should swap it, switch it around…” Whereas, endless permutations of synths make my brain implode. I just want to hear the perfect synth sound, I don’t want to spend three weeks getting to it. I just want to use it and write music with it. And I accept that as a necessary evil, but I just don’t find pleasure in it. For a while I was much more into spending lots of time editing samples and bringing them to a session. Like all the stuff on "The Bits" was a couple days of me sampling Chinese records and bringing the sample sources to the session, in a way that you would work on synths.

Those are our differences, but there's also lots of similarities. When we program, we both share the love of percussion and funk. What we do is intuitive beat programing, where each of us will put different bits in, and what comes out is neither what one of us would have done separately. And then we edit the mistakes.

Dan: It’s quite nice watching that happen on the fly, especially in a program, where you can visually see, where the notes are.

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That kinda runs into my next question.

Margin Music has strong Eastern presence.

What inspired the sound of that record?

Martin: Well… London really. The multiculturalism in London. And also records that had come before, that we thought were unfinished business. Like "Sub-Kontinent" by Kode9 and "Sholay" by, well, it’s attributed to High Plans Drifter vs Goldspot, but it’s Benny Ill and Goldspot. I also used to listen to a lot of UK Desi and Bhangra stuff. We just wanted to find something that felt fresh, instead of you know, “Hey, let's sample a reggae beat, that’s a good idea.” That was just done to death.

So what can we sample, that comes from a different point of view?

Dan: That’s exactly it. Obviously, you can’t sample every different type of music you hear throughout the years, but I think it’s a good stab at various flavors of London, while there’s still lots of structure to it on the album.

Dasaflex was a further exploration into your foundations of electronic music from the past and present. And it seems like you've run through the whole gamut of bass music, touching a bit upon everything. What can we expect from you next?

Martin: What we’ve been trying to do in the past two years is rebuild. Not just me and Dan, but us in collaboration with the other Keysound artists. And it feels like people are starting to understand that. If you follow the sequence through, we've been a part of the dubstep scene since the beginning, we were closely excited by the grime scene (I covered some of those guys as a journalist). Grime kinda plateaued a bit; some of those artists went

Dubstep exploded even larger and became unlistenable and really divorced from anything that Dan and I had any kind of interest in being around.

really commercial, others stayed underground.

Dubstep exploded even larger and became unlistenable and really divorced from anything that Dan and I had any kind of interest in being around. It started growing in 2006, and by 2008 it wasn’t interesting anymore to us.

It really lost its groove when it's gone halfstep, that was a terrible thing. Then the UK Funky scene came along, and it was great and suggested possibilities, but didn’t linger for very long. And now that strand finds itself in what people call "deep house", which isn’t something we are focusing on. And then you’ve got people being interested in trap and juke, which have more or less varying degrees of interest to us...

That’s the sort of pattern of how things have been going on. So what we're doing now is trying to rebuild something that represents the values of music that we're interested in. Like the bass and the sense of tension in jungle, or the mad samples and swing swong beat in garage, or the strange synths that come out of funk stuff, or the crazy drums from UK funky, or the groove from UK funky, or the groove from garage... Many of these elements weren’t in any of the preceeding scenes.

So, can we create a space and find likeminded people, who want to collaborate with us, like when we were a part of the early FWD>> scene? Can we pull together interlocking ideas, and have the space to play around with them? To answer the question “What can you expect from us next", is the attempt to do that as producers and also as a label. To have a label and a Rinse show, to present other people's music, and try to find some coherence in that. We want to create something that is diverse enough to be interesting and focused enough to have an identity and coherent direction.

What is that identity and direction? What do you look for in artists and music, that you release on Keysound?

Martin: That’s a good question actually.

One we think about a lot. I think at the very simplest level, they’ve got to share musical values with us. We try not to release all the same style, but broadly, I would say all artists on Keysound have some interest in some

of garage, grime, jungle, hip hop, UK funky, dubstep, reggae. And other things too, but at the very least they have some core interest in that. And then there’s the question: are they making records that are distinct enough and have enough identity? I think some of our records also have texture to them and a sense of atmosphere. I think that could be a calling card of Keysound - a sense of space and texture. Not always, but often.

Dan: Often, it’s a bit of genre mangling, isn’t it? Which I think goes back to the FWD>> thing, not really knowing what the name of the music was. That kind of genre bending and blending, stuff being sort of on the edge, combining things in unusual ways, definitely help with the aspect of someone having their own identity. Quite often, if someone's going to do a carbon copy of Burial tune, it’s of no interest. Even if it’s the best carbon copy ever, I’d rather just listen to Burial. If you see what I mean.

Martin: And there’s the paradox right there. It can’t be so wide that label has no identity, but equally, it can’t be so narrow, like Burial clones or just one sound, that the label becomes monochrome or monotone. There has to be some middle ground between those two extremes. Of which there is a lot, and yet somehow, we try and make it coherent.

Dan: You can lay out all the records we’ve released, and there will be links between them all. It won't be one straight line, it will be a weird-looking net. [Laughs.]

We want to create something that is diverse enough to be interesting and focused enough to have an identity and coherent direction.

Martin: Think of it as a field, where people have different proximity to each other. The connection between two artists is stronger or weaker based on their shared interests.

What you can say about grime? Wen likes grime, Logos likes grime, Grimino makes grimy stuff, we like grime... Now, let’s think about garage. Wen has garage-influenced stuff, but take Amen Ra, they don’t share the grimy bit, but they share the 2-step bit. Then you think about jungle, Double Helix, and Dan and I, and Sully have jungle influence, but then Sully has a garage influence as well.

Then you can start this dense collection of interconnections. Not all the people on the label share all the same things, but enough of them, so it all binds them together and becomes coherent.

Dan: I don’t think anyone sits on their own in the Venn Diagram.

Martin: Exactly. And when labels do have weird outliers, I think it’s when they start to lose that sense of purpose or unity. Again, it’s a paradox, you know. We try to make our own outliers, but they're somehow still connected.

Dan: Yeah, it’s what Gilles Peterson used to call “joining the dots" - making the disparate sound similar.

Martin: But people who tried to parody Gilles Peterson often made the mistake of trying to be eclectic for the sake of being eclectic.

Instead, it would become disjointed. So both of those extremes we're trying to avoid.

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I think that 99.9 percent of all R&B is completely unlistenable. But 0.1 percent are some of the best records ever made.

For both of you, what was the hardest obstacle you've faced in music? What kept you passionate and moving forward?

Dan: That’s a nasty question, isn't it?

Martin: Time is a huge obstacle now; trying to find time to do everything at once. Also brostep and the destruction of dubstep was a huge obstacle for us, because it was something we cared about, and it fell apart or was destroyed. But we decided to react positively to that and build something else, keep going, not give up.

Dan: Yeah, just step back from the forest fire, watch it happen, wait till it burns out, and then move on.

It was more of a raging forest fire. Over here at least.

Dan: Yeah, if you stood in it, it was pretty intense.

[Obligatory brostep noise] WAMP WAMP WWWWAAAMP! Call 911!

Dan: Is it gone yet? Can I raise my head above ground?

[Both laugh] Martin: I think the harder question is “What keeps us going”. Because by all rights, most people give up by now, or a nicer way of putting it, not find a way to have music in their lives. And I would attribute that to us keeping it what it was always about. Which is the simple pleasures of hearing music we like and presenting it to other people. As well as newer pleasures, like giving opportunity to others.

When I make phone calls to people and say for the first time, “Do you want to play Fabric?” they think that they should thank me. But actually, I should thank them, because it feels amazing to be able to say to someone who’s never played the best club in London, arguably the best superclub in the world, “Do you want to play?".

And the same with Rinse: “Do you want to play on Rinse — the most interesting and independent station?"

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Those simple pleasures keep me going, because I know how much it would have meant to me as a seventeenyear-old to have a phone call: “Do you want to play on a pirate radio station?” It just feels incredible. Those uncomplicated things just keep giving. Whereas, I think some dudes just want to make mortgage money, and we’ve never had any interest in that. Or the music industry. Stay away from it. I’ve seen music journalists, who I can tell just don’t care about music anymore at all. They've been through it all before, and the effect has worn off on them. And there are probably many other DJs and promoters feeling the same...

Dan and I, we love records, and we love making music, and we never let other things get in the way of that.

And we don’t take drugs. [Both laugh] Dan: One other thing that made things difficult, and this is a particular one. I’ve got tons of records, and I’m sure people our age have tons of records, and I know what they look like just from the millimeter of the side, roughly. The minute everything went to mp3s, organizing music has become an absolute nightmare.

There’s also no crate-digging so much anymore. You can’t go to a bargain basement mp3 store and find a rare Curtis Mayfield bootleg. I'm missing the days spent in record shops, looking up weird things and not knowing if you bought an absolute load of crap or a gem, 'cause the place wouldn’t let you listen to it.

With the Rinse show, we're being sent so much music, and we're forcing ourselves to listen to all of it. 'Cause you always encounter something unlike anything you’ve heard before. In a really good way. You also encounter a few very bad things... But once you enter this digital world, you always know what you're after, and even if you don’t, Amazon knows better than you do. And before you know it, you’ve got more music than you could ever listen to, that’s already related to stuff you already have. So I think the radio show keeps our ears open. It’s very hard to do that in a digital world, unless you’re really really militant and go, “Alright. Shut my ears OFF” and force yourself to listen to sub genres of glitch, minimal, techno, or whatever it is that you don't normally listen to.

Do you have any guilty pleasure songs?

Martin: Well, Dan and I don’t agree about R&B very much, and sometime I play or like some R&B record and feel very guilty about it in a Dusk + Blackdown context. I think that 99.9 percent of all R&B is completely unlistenable.

But 0.1 percent are some of the best records ever made. And I can’t think of another genre, that’s so divided in my head. Certain Kelis' records or Beyonce’s "Crazy in Love" are broadly out of our sphere, and they don’t even fit into what we're doing with Keysound, but I really love them.

I was listening to "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover” by Paul Simon, which again I do feel guilty about, but it’s fucking hilarious. And I do think someone should have sampled it for a hip hop record, because of the way the arrangement is built, it could be turned into a hip hop record.

Dan: It’s tricky, isn’t it? 'Cause if you like the tune, you like the tune, right? I like a bit of Engelbert Humperdink. Nice arrangements, big tunes. To some people it’s the cheesiest thing ever. I've got loads of bad things; I have '60s soundtracks, weird exotica, dodgy disco, a lot of '80s Italian disco lurking around...

Martin: You do like funny tunes. You especially like tunes that are amusing.

Dan: That Muhammed Ali tune, "Black Superman", that's a classic. That’s a good example. See, I didn't grow up in the '80s listening to the '80s music. A lot of people's guilty pleasures are the tunes they've listened to when they were seven and sung along to it with a hair brush. I’ve only heard mine like four times on Magic FM, when I’ve had the plumber over, so it hasn't hit that point. But I'm still like, "Wow, that's quite nice compressed drum!"

Last question, very simple. Favorite color?

Martin: Definitely purple.

Dan: If you asked me this years ago, I probably would have said brown. I used to wear a lot of brown clothes. But now probably dark blue.

That’s pretty boring, isn’t it. Sorts me out though.

Martin: You know what's funny? We got into running Keysound, because we wanted to release music. Our media was audio. But one of the things I’ve ended up having to do was being an art director, because records can’t

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just have all white labels. And it’s not a natural thing for me to do, but I feel like I've managed to solve that problem for Keysound.

I was talking to Wen a couple days ago walking home, and we were agreeing that subconscious instinctive reactions to certain colors exist. The designer had made one of the sleeves to his records bright orange, and he was like, “I fucking hate orange!”. And I was like, “I fucking hate orange too!” And we both were like: “Why is that? You and I come from very different places, different ages, and somehow we share a weird data connection with colors, or frequencies, or wavelength of light, and the emotional reaction that they create. And we both agree that we fucking hate orange." So we’ve changed it, it’s now red. But the question remains, and I’m sure people who have PHD’s have written loads about why those connections exist.

I was going to keep this question out, but since we're on the topic... When you produce a track, is there a visual aspect to it? Like do you see a scene of a movie in your head, when you hear a specific sound?

Martin: Never. But I do have a connection with colors. I don’t have synesthesia, where you actually see color when you hear music.

But there is a subconscious association with color and music for me. And that happens less for you, Dan, is that correct?

Dan: Not at all. But certainly I’ll have a scene in my head for some tunes. It’s weird.

Sometimes it’s really abstract and I won’t see anything at all, but some tunes (it must be the sample) I'll have a weird scene in my head. It’s a really good question actually, I never thought about it before.

How did you guys feel about being invited to play Reconstrvct?

Dan: It’s an honor, isn’t it? Absolute honor.

Martin: I think it's interesting that Reconstrvct managed to pull together loads of artists on our label, that are pushing in this different direction, which in part is connected to dubstep, but equally isn’t dubstep. And it’s very exciting to present it all together in one place. Especially somewhere like New York, that’s been so iconic over the years and has been so welcoming to us the two times we’ve played there (we played for Dub War and we played for the XX). It’s going to be really fun.

The designer made one of the sleeves to his records bright orange, and he was like, “I fucking hate orange!” And I was like, “I fucking hate orange too!”

There’s only two other places we’ve tried this selection of artists together, which is in room three at Fabric and the two Keysound sessions in London. And it’s going to be really interesting to see if people are receptive to it.

Dan: The venues seem to be quite brilliantly chosen for these parties. It has a bit of an experimental flavor; the fact that it’s something different each time, rather than it being at the same overpriced bar. It must be so hard to do that, but full kudos for making it happen that way.

Martin: I can't imagine. I couldn’t wish that upon myself. All the boring things that make parties work well, they're not very glamorous or a part of the artistic creation, but they actually make the party work. You’ve thrown the dice again and are like, “Do the toilets work?” "Will the cops show up?” “Will they see beer?" "Do we have a license?” “Is the venue to big?" "Is it too small?” “Is it close to public transportation?" All those things are actually not very interesting, but affect whether the party is going to work or not.

So we’re really excited, and we’re gonna be bringing loads of new music that we’ve not played out for people.

Is there anyone you would like to Big Up? Martin: I recommend people to go and check out Wen. He’s a badman. His album's coming out in March. Like many people, he’s very passionate about music, and he kept his head down and kept drafting for a few years, and now has come up with some unique stuff. It’s pretty exciting to see him coming through and doing well. I’m using this as an empowerment message: that could be you.

What worries me regarding technology in general, is that the belief in it seems to be bigger than belief in humanity.

Stefan Zsaitsits

I do have an addiction to buying a lot of different pencils and storing them in my desk.

Pencil drawings of Austrian born Stefan Zsaitsits are cute at first site, but a millisecond into it, you are confronted with your deepest fears, darkest dreams and some intuitive feelings buried in your childhood memories.

There's a piece of you and I in every little boy and little girl Stefan draws with his magic pencils, if only you spend the time to look and notice tiny details in these portraits.

With over a hundred pencil drawings, unnumbered publications and exhibitions, one self-published book and one on the way, Stefan Zsaitsits is destined to stay 'long in the game.'

interview by Katya Guseva

What kind of magic pencil do you use?

How many do you own? Are they all laying around everywhere in your house?

Every pencil could do magic. That is the fascinating thing about drawing: you just need a pencil and a piece of paper. I like the simplicity about that. But I do have an addiction to buying a lot of different pencils and storing them in my desk. I try to keep them all together, so they don't get bored.

These little people you draw, who are they?

How do you relate to them personally?

These characters and their stories emerge in my head during the process of drawing. I think every portrait is a self-portrait to some extent, which reflects one's position in life. I see myself in the boys as well as in the girls, and I'm trying to make it possible for the viewer to do the same.

From your portfolio I gathered that you stopped painting after 2009. Is there a reason why? And are you going to come back to it?

I used to paint before drawing with pencil.

That's how I started making art. But I wasn´t satisfied with the results of countless hours of my painting, so I started drawing. This was when I discovered the power of a pencil. However, I feel like coming back to colors and the sensual qualities of painting is definitely in my future.

Are you ever going to use color pencils?

I´m not sure yet, but I think I'd prefer to start painting again, rather than working with color pencils.

Roughly how many drawings have you made so far?

I've done more than one hundred since starting the "head-drawings".

How did the idea of a book come along? What was the main challenge of that project? And are you working on the next one?

Making a book has always been a dream of mine. As the number of my drawings kept growing, the idea of publishing a book with these works came along. The whole process was challenging, because I tried to do everything by myself, but I gained a lot of experience and got a lot of positive feedback on the result. Currently I am working on the next book, and hoping it will come out by the end of this year.

Speaking of learning and experience, you have a formal art education. Would you say it played a big role on your path as an artist?

Would you recommend aspiring artists to go to an art school?

It´s difficult to recommend, because there are a lot of different art schools and ways of "teaching" art. For me personally, it was a very important and inspiring time. I enjoyed working side by side with other students and getting feedback from experienced artists. But it´s essential to find a school where you would feel comfortable.

What is your relationship with technology, and the internet?

The internet gives me a great opportunity to spread my works all over the world and come into contact with people who appreciate what I do. But what worries me regarding technology in general, is that the belief in it seems to be bigger than belief in humanity. I´m aware of how technology has improved our daily life, but I think its relation to the human nature is complicated.

I never felt like giving up my obsession with drawing or painting - it's an essential part of life for me.

If you look back, was there ever a moment when you felt like giving up doing art?

I never felt like giving up my obsession with drawing or painting - it's an essential part of life for me. But I must say, that after finishing art school I struggled a lot with being an artist in terms of a profession. I had to learn the difference between being successful on the art market and being "successful" in art itself.

What’s in your headphones when you work?

Nothing in particular. Sometimes I just turn on the TV to avoid silence.

Do you have any rituals you do before starting a new project?

Not really. But coffee always seems to be a good start.

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photo by Jacob Blickenstaff

Time will take care of whether it's gonna be around after six days or five years. Time will detect what kind of impact it will have on Music, with a capital M. Ron Carter 71

BASS MUSIC Being on time is crucial to the art and craft of Mr. Ron Carter. Whether it's keeping a steady groove for the extended Mt. Rushmore of jazz and history (Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Hancock, or A Tribe Called Quest and Black Star to name only a few), or showing up at the venue hours before the gig to set up instruments – Carter’s timing is known to be immaculate: “That's why I usually never agree on interviews before the show”, he laughs.

My parents let us know that education was a wonderful thing to have. If you can find a place that will educate you.

Catching up with the man who became known as the most recorded double-bass player of all time, is a rare chance to speak to a true NYC music icon, who has witnessed the full evolution of jazz music since the 1950s - from the heydays of bebop to free jazz, fusion and beyond – from a front-row seat. Besides his own musical achievements, and occasional TV (Treme) and big screen (Bertrand Tavernier’s Round Midnight) cameos, Carter has become an important cultural educator, having taught at the jazz faculties of revered East Coast music schools such as Berklee, Juilliard, and The City College of New York.

We sat down with the Jazz Hall Of Fame inductee in Greenwich Village, right before his gig at the Blue Note.

interview by Julian Brimmers

17. I was 17 years old.

Before playing bass, you were a classically trained cellist. What circumstances made you switch instruments?

I started playing cello at the age of 10 or 11. I played cello up and through my junior semester in high school at Cass Tech Detroit. All through these years I was practicing diligently, with hopes for a career as a cellist in an orchestra, or a solo career. As I got older and older, I played fewer and fewer gigs with cello players on them – and there were no African-American cello players. I thought that I certainly deserved to play. During my senior year in High School I recognized that the orchestra would go out for these small orchestral concerts, little festivals and social PTA kinda events. However, I never got the call, and I was concerned that I wasn't worthy of the call. So, at that time the 72

bass player was graduating. My logics said, the only way I can make them call me is if I'm playing bass. There's no other bass, and they do need a bass player. And here I am. (Laughs) You graduated from highly prestigious schools such as Cass Tech in Detroit and Eastman School of Music in Rochester. How important of an issue was education in your family?

Well, you know, I'm from a large family: another brother and six sisters.

While education was not banged into our heads, we knew clearly that my parents wanted us to have a higher educational degree than they had. And we're talking about the 1940s, '50s, and '60s… Of course, at those times, African-Americans were not really encouraged to do anything except manage to get past the 8th grade.

My parents would have none of that.

As it turned out, we all have college degrees. I have two, my sisters have two. We have several nurses, a lawyer in my family... My parents let us know that education was a wonderful thing to have. If you can find a place that will educate you.

courtesy of Ron Carter

Mr. Carter, when someone is widely considered a virtuoso, one simply assumes that he started out playing at a very young age. When did you take on the instrument you became best known for?

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photo by Bill Douthart

So, Rochester was the place where you were properly introduced to jazz.

You were once quoted that you mainly started playing jazz to pay for books and tuition fees at Eastman. Did you have problems learning to improvise, instead of playing sheet music?

When I was at Eastman, I had a full scholarship that covered most of my expenses, but you need new books, you need new strings, you need clothes, meals outside of the school kitchen… (Laughs) My working outside gigs helped maintain my financial standing in school. I had summer jobs, sorting mail in the post office etc... I did those kinds of things, and I wasn't mad to do them, it was a way to guarantee I could go to school for the next semester. Back then I was still a classical player doing jazz gigs on the weekends at a place called The Ridgecrest Inn.

Making a record as a leader is one thing: it's an eighthour leadership.

Or however long it takes to get the recording done.

Many touring bands would take one stop at Rochester on their way to New York. I would be doing weekends with the house band. As for improvising, I certainly wasn't used to playing off the top of my head, but somehow it never occurred to me that I couldn't do that.

I got the gig, learned some changes and adapted to the process.

You came to New York City in…

August 1959.

What sort of place and cultural environment did you find yourself in, when you arrived in NYC? I first came here in 1958 with Pee Wee Ellis, who ended up being James Brown's band director. He did all these great arrangements for him: “Cold Sweat”, “Papa's Got a Brand New Bag” etc... I knew him because I worked as a substitute teacher in the school where he was playing saxophone. He and I drove to New York and saw John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Ahmed Abdul-Malik, the great bass player. They were working that night — Coltrane and Monk — it was such a great experience, because it was smoky and that typical "movie set jazz environment", you know. (Laughs) When I graduated, I moved to New York in August '59. Shortly before I met Chico Hamilton in Rochester at a concert with Miles Davis, Dave Brubek, Maynard Ferguson, and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, a great singing trio. As I had auditioned for Chico as a cello player that afternoon, he told me that the cello player was gonna leave. He told me to finish school, move to New York and take the chair as the cello player in his band. So I moved to New York.

Chico's cello player actually decided to stay, but the bass player wanted to go back to Seattle and spend time at home, so I just took the bass chair.

Playing for Chico, you also met Eric Dolphy, right?

Yes, Eric Dolphy was playing clarinet, saxophone, and flute.

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A good drummer turns up at the club early, to tune his drums… that kind of care for his instrument.

Less than two years after your arrival in New York your collaborative effort with Dolphy was released. It was also your first release as a band leader. You once mentioned your incredulity with the fact that younger musicians tend to want to lead right away...

When I got to New York, I made some records on a label called Bethlehem. After I left Chico's band, Eric had signed a record deal with Blue Note. He was one of the leaders of the avant-garde at the time, really playing on the edge of chords and form and stuff. He asked me to play on his record Out There. His A&R seemed impressed with my performance and asked me to do my own record. I got Charlie Persip to play drums, Eric Dolphy, and some more friends, of whom I knew they would let me know if I'm not going the right way. I appreciated their ability. However, making a record as a leader is one thing: it's an eighthour leadership, or however long it takes to get the recording done.

There's always people in the studio to help, the producer, the engineer.

But as a band leader on the bandstand, it really is a long-term endeavour. I think what we are looking at now is, the more musicians we have, the more musicians want to be the band leader. And most of them do not have enough in-group experience, have not taken lessons from enough band leaders, to really know how to function as a leader in their own rights. You're responsible for everything: for the gigs, the arrangements, the hotels, the budget, for being on time.

I think some of the bands don't last very long because of a lack of experience of the band leader. I'd like to see those same guys spend a year or two with a band, or freelance more, to find out how to handle situations that are, unfortunately, part of the job.

When did you first come to Europe, and who were you with?

My first time in Europe was 1961 with Cannonball {Adderley}. He took a band comprised of Victor Feldman, Nat Adderley, of course, Louis Hayes and Sam Jones. It was two and a half weeks touring Paris, Berlin, the Netherlands… It was pretty extensive for the time, and, of course, it was my first time overseas, so I was like, "Hey, check that out, wow, wow" (Laughs) After coming back from Europe, you started working with what became known as Miles Davis’ second great Quintet. Seven Steps To Heaven was the first recording of that group, right?

Well, Seven Steps To Heaven was actually two bands. One side of the record was Miles, Victor Feldman, Frank Butler and me. The other half was Miles, George Coleman, Herbie {Hancock} and Tony {Williams}.

It's really interesting to hear how different these groups are. I think on

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Miles's West Coast recording the drummer, Frank Butler, does a great job, but he plays differently than Tony...

As bass player, I assume you must have a special relationship with each specific drummer. What separates a good drummer from a great drummer?

First of all, they've got to know the form of the song — is it a 16-bar tune, a 32-bar song, where is the bridge, where is the last eighth. I also studied composition, so I know what works for other composers. A drummer has to know how to tune his drums, so that they don't get in the way of the bass. Pitching his drums is something that Tony was really aware of. He should also not play too loud, when the environment doesn't demand that sort of volume. A good drummer turns up at the club early, to tune his drums… that kind of care for his instrument.

You've played bass and composed songs for Miles as well as McCoy Tyner on The Real McCoy. Why did you never release on Blue Note under your own name?

I was never asked. They never came and said: "Hey, you wanna make a record under your own name?" (Laughs). I'm not sure whether I'd said yes, but I was comfortable not to do that. It didn't seem part of my need, to make a record under my own name — I was having fun learning tunes, I was having fun playing with all these fresh people like McCoy, Curtis Fuller, Lee Morgan, Herbie {Hancock), Wayne {Shorter}. To have my name as a leader wasn't important to me. I was okay with that.

How did you then experience the advent of fusion?

I never felt I was competing against jazz fusion. That's another phase of music history that no one can control. Time will take care of whether it's gonna be around after six days or five years. Time will detect what kind of impact it will have on Music, with a capital M. One of the reasons why I didn't join that set of the musical page, was that I felt I had spent a lot of time, and was continuing to spend a lot of time, learning how to play the upright. Since that was no part of the general jazz fusion rhythm section, I just thought that I really don't want to spend the time to be competitive on electric bass. There were some great players: Alphonso Johnson, Anthony Jackson, Victor Bailey… How could I compete with those guys starting from so far back? I was pretty good with the upright, there were a couple of things I wanted to get better at, so that was my choice.

Interestingly enough, the people who complained about jazz fusion never had listened to Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage, for example.

I'm like, "Wait a minute, you ask me to defend Herbie, and I can't do that. So the question is: How many of Herbie's records do you have at your house?" And you get this big silence. That kind of answered the question. Maybe Herbie couldn't get your attention with his jazz records, so he's trying it with another record. That's just my take on it: they want the big audience, and clearly, if you don't have their records, you're part of their problem. But they left their mark on the scene, no question about that. And one of the things they left in the jazz community is that they brought their own sound equipment. They brought their own sound man. And they were determined to make their live performance as best as the space would allow. At that point jazz guys weren't so insistent on making the club sound as good as a concert hall, as good as the LP's people had in their homes. Clearly, that had a major effect on the jazz scene. Now jazz guys take their own sound man. They insist on bringing their own equipment. Those are very important things.

photo by William Lulow

Interestingly enough, the people who complained about jazz fusion never had listened to Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage, for example.

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Instead of fusion you've always incorporated Brazilian music in your work. What fascinates you about bossa nova?

I was always interested in changes, in unexpected melodies. When I first heard music from Brazil, that was not Stan Getz or Astrud Gilberto, I heard the more indigenous bossa, in lack of a better word. The changes and melodies were so astounding to me, they had like bebop chords, man! The forms were along the same lines, the bass player played an important role‌ the intent of the bossa nova fascinated me. So when I got the call to do a record with Antonio Carlos Jobim, I thought, wow, this is one of the persons responsible for making this scene and its songs work.

We did this record together and I had the chance to hear him developing an idea rhythmically in a two-day recording session. When I met him, I told him that I never played like this before, and I wasn't quite sure what role he wants me to fit. He said: "You're here, 'cause you play good. Play good and we figure how it's gonna work."

Besides being the most recorded bass player of all times, your playing proved highly influential for many genres, especially hip hop. Is it true that you had to consult your son about A Tribe Called Quest, when Q-Tip asked you to play on Low End Theory?

Well, Q-Tip called me up saying he's putting together a record and he wondered if I was interested. I told him: "I'm busy right now, let me call you back". I quickly called my son telling him that a guy called Q-Tip had approached me. "I don't know his name, or the group's name, so what about these people?" He said, they were probably the most interesting, musically, at the time, and if I had a chance to make a record, I should take the advantage out of it, for I might have found something I didn't know. So I said: "I'm always finding that out, man, I mean, I'm only the dad here, you know". (Laughs]

Q-Tip called me up saying he's putting together a record and he wondered if I was interested. I told him: "I'm busy right now, let me call you back".

I called Q-Tip back, and told him: “I did my research, and my son recommended I should do this record with you�. It worked out pretty well. Low End Theory...

I must say I was concerned about the lyrical content, and I let them know before I got to the studio, that if we were getting past my acceptance level, they'd have to find some other way to get this done. I'm not a prude, I understand language skills and the intention, but given the way that I thought language works on records of that genre, if I'm knowingly on that record, and those lyrics are going where they're going, it appears that I'm either oblivious to the lyrical content, or tacitly endorse that kind of language. So I said, if we gonna do this record, you've got to do this thing and not do this. I trusted that, as a stranger to me, he would trust my judgement and not go against my request. So we did it, and as it turned out, the album was considered by hip hop historians one of the albums of the decade. Good record.

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Hiele - Essential Oils

Only two cerebral reactions possible. First, if not accustomed with electronic music, is to put the needle off the record after a few seconds into the first track, and to never give it a second try.

Secondly, to sit back and let the ingenious compositions wash over you. .

New Music 81

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Christian Loeffler– Young Alaska

Tripeo – Anipintiros

Rone – Apache

Downliners Sekt – Silent Ascent

Label: Ki Records

Label: Tripeo

Label: Infiné Music

Label: Infiné Music

Release Date: April 21, 2014

Release Date: April 13, 2014

Release Date: April 7, 2014

Release Date: April 7, 2014

For the fans of: peaceful landscapes, emotional melodies, the Alpes.

For the fans of: leftfield experiments in techno, Darko Esser, musical hypnosis.

For the fans of: abstract tones, tasteful breaks in house and techno.

Standout tracks: "Mt. Grace", "Beirut", "Veiled Grey", "Alpine Sketch".

Standout tracks: "‘Anipintiros #1", "‘Anipintiros #6", "‘Anipintiros #8".

For the fans of: true love, minimal electronic music, classical and jazz elements, romance.

Favorite track: "Bachi-Bouzouk".

They say: "Bachi-Bouzouk" asserts itself as a weapon for the dancefloor - a few crystalline notes before a sleazy acid loop drags the listener through its infinite variations. Time for a break: the particular alchemy that characterizes some of Rone’s most intimate productions thoughtful mutations you could call them - can be found on "Apache", a new, deliciously cerebral ballad.

Standout tracks: "Silent Ascent ", "Hors Phase", "Junior High".

They say: Just before the arrival of summer this year, Christian Löffler is set to release his next musical statement and autobiographical journey named Young Alaska. The German producer unveils his unique soundscapes by delivering seven tracks, which are deeply rooted, once again, in harmony and emotion.

They say: “Like all albums, this is a very personal statement,” explains Esser.

"It's just me trying to translate the overwhelming inspiration I feel right now into sound. That, and making the record as diverse as possible without losing the purist identity of Tripeo.”

Objekt, An-i, Positive Merge – Vectors

My Panda Shall Fly – No Secrets

Vladislav Delay – Ripatti03

Black Asteroid – Metal

Label: Power Vacuum

Label: Creaked Records

Label: Ripatti

Label: Electric Deluxe

Release Date: March 18, 2014

Release Date: April 28, 2014

Release Date: March 17, 2014

Release Date: April 7, 2014

For the fans of: Objekt, metal machinery, hard techno.

For the fans of: anything leftfield, bleeps, bloops & blurps.

For the fans of: minimal techno, dance, intense percussive tangles, footwork.

For the fans of: heavy metal and techno at the same damn time.

Standout tracks: "Balloons" by Objekt, "Note" by Positive Merge.

Standout tracks: "Chinchilla", "Japanese Woman", "SSIM".

They say: As a rave Icarus turns to his companion and sighs, "We tried to touch the sun my friend, but we got burned…." these tracks leave a trail of scorched earth behind them, while you stand bewildered in their smoking wake.

Nurture your most wayward desires to these sounds coming from god knows where, and inflict them on the innocent as soon as you can.

They say: No Secrets unleashes these instrumental rainbow narratives that shift form, texture and flavour everso-seamlessly. Combining alternative programming techniques with bassorientated themes, these tracks evoke an upbeat yet mellow resonance impossible to resist.

They say: The A-side is complex and unforgiving, an intense percussive tangle that takes the dub essence of so many classic Vladislav Delay productions and reassembles them into a frazzled steppersriddim at double speed, sounding like a footwork variant of his signature dubs.

On the flip, it opens with more immediately familiar Delay markers, a dub bassline lures you in before once again re-configuring the template with a jittery percussive tangle that runs amok, with only a careful alignment of snares keeping things from falling off the edge.

They say: This is “heavy metal techno,” says Black Asteroid, “but in a very restrained and controlled way.” Indeed the hum of guitars (synths routed through guitar pedals) whirl through lead track “Metal,” a taut and punchy workout spliced with token Black Asteroid weirdness. Meanwhile, Black gets even more contained on the masterfully metronomic “Turbine”. Droid affiliate Luis Flores and Pinion (Bobby Dowell) then split “Metal” off into its opposing sectors. Flores takes things straight to the dance floor, while Pinion ramps up the noise and clangor to turn in a real unholy “Metal” monster.

They say: "We are obsessive people to say the least, and obsession is not easily shared – nor is it often appreciated. Creating music has always been vital for us. We craft, arrange and sculpt it endlessly until we’re satisfied. Expectations are always high, and the most challenging part is to keep it alive and genuine all the way. This album is us.

It is driven by the maddening wait for the conditions to be this “right” and it embodies all the frustrations and hopes we felt while making it. We hope you like it." - DS

Gillepsy – 2014 Online Odyssey

Tobias. – A Series Of Shocks

HTRK – Psychic 9-5 Club

Hiele– Essential Oils

Label: Hyperboloid

Label: Ostgut Ton

Label: Ghostly International

Label: Ekster

Release Date: April 24, 2014

Release Date: March 31, 2014

Release Date: April 1, 2014

Release Date: April 14, 2014

For the fans of: retro future, internet, dial-up modems, healthy sense of humor, bass, pixels and soundbits.

For the fans of: inventive contemporary electronic music, arpeggiated synth patterns, finesse and quality control.

For the fans of: moody soundscapes, self-exploration, relationships.

For the fans of: all genres of electronic music combined.

Standout tracks: "Feels Like Love", "Wet Dream", "The Body You Deserve".

Standout tracks: "Kaneda", "Classic Heights", "Elephant Seals".

They say: Of all the themes that run through Psychic 9-5 Club, love is the most central. The word is laced throughout the album in lyrics and titles—love as a distraction, loving yourself, loving others. Standish's lyrics explore the complexities of sexuality and the body's reaction to personal loss, though there's room for wry humour—a constant through much of the best experimental Australian music of the past few decades.

They say: Behavioral scientists discovered why watching a forest relaxes the mind while the sight of an urban jungle, no matter how intricate, stresses us out. A forest contains so many lines, triangles, etc that our mind immediately gives up on trying to see it all. This giving up is the relaxing effect.

The same goes for Hiele’s music, which is a true aural forest of all music electronic. There’s simply too much to hear: ambient, 808 jack, nineties IDM, Chicago footstep, glitchy bits and more.

Standout tracks: "Love On The Desktop", "My Little Selfie", "Log Out".

They say: Pixelord’s Hyperboloid team is very proud to release such a consistent record as Gillepsy's second EP. 2014 Online Odyssey finds him at his best - dance floor killers, dreamy melodies and video game sounds. Taking his internet experience as reference for the track names, he also created the artwork. Start your future internet odyssey right now.

Standout tracks: "Ya Po", "The Scheme Of Things", "Cursor Item Only".

They say: For an album produced largely with machines, the end result is in fact anything but rigid; a multitude of dynamics breathe life into every track.

Synth elements swim in tension, build and recede with grace, and intertwine themselves into oblivion. Warm, natural drums state their presence, but do not overpower, letting the sum of the parts create the power, rather than merely the kick alone.

The Range – Panasonic

Deft – Always Greener

Ital Tek – Mega City Industry

The Black Dog – Sound Of Sheffield Vol.1

Label: Donky Pitch

Label: WotNot Music

Label: Civil Music

Label: Dust Science Recordings

Release Date: March 24, 2014

Release Date: March 24, 2014

Release Date: April 7, 2014

Release Date: March 31, 2014

For the fans of: future bass, broken up vocal samples, feeling good.

For the fans of: jungle juke, stuttering bass, hyper vibes, melodic subbass.

For the fans of: footwork, post-dubstep, jungle, industrial rhythms.

For the fans of: dance floor, Sheffield, The Black Dog.

Standout tracks: "Tricky Pose", "Ed Reed Jersey”.

Standout tracks: "Emeralds", "A Little Kiss", "On The Other Side".

Standout tracks: "Dracula" Happa remix, "Always Forever" Debukas Remix

Favorite track: "Too Many Ism's".

They say: Elements of light and dark meet dense orchestration, breakbeats and a fresh approach to sampling across all six tracks, which remain true to The Range’s love of R&B, hip hop and drum & bass, channeled in a way that he has made his own.

They say: Anything this magician puts out has a pretty good chance of getting you pregnant right in the good old music hole. Says it all really.

They say: Mega City Industry continues where Ital Tek left off and for an artist that has never put a foot wrong, with a catalogue which must be the envy of the vast majority of electronic musicians, it is with some gravitas we suggest that Mega City Industry is his most engaging work to date.

They say: The Black Dog's Sound of Sheffield is the first of four EP's aimed straight at the dance floor, using the sounds of the city to echo Sheffield's heritage in creating electronic music. These tracks have been fully road tested, built to bring people to the front and forcing them to lose it with abandonment.

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Teebs – E s t a r a

Abdulla Rashim – Unanimity

Fatima Al Qadiri – Asiatisch

Lockah – Yahoo or the Highway

Label: Brainfeeder

Label: Northern Electronics

Label: Hyperdub

Label: Donky Pitch

Release Date: April 7, 2014

Release Date: May 5, 2014

Release Date: May 5, 2014

Release Date: April 14, 2014

For the fans of: freedom of artistic expression, breezy melodies, rustling rhythms, gauzy atmospherics.

For the fans of: seeking depth and defining emotions, open-minded journeys.

For the fans of: China, Asian motifs and melody in bass music, global pop culture.

For the fans of: classic electro, Miami bass, rave, slight pop trends.

Standout tracks: "Shoouss Lullaby", "Piano Days", " SOTM", "NY pt 2" (feat.

Prefuse 73).

Standout tracks: "Red Uprise", "Afar Depression", " Nothing Existed".

Standout tracks: "Szechuan", "Shenzhen", "Forbidden City".

They say: Defeating apathy by creating his own world, Abdulla Rashim's music thinks before it speaks.

Untangled energy and drive breathes life into the rigid rhythmic structures, where the wild, almost primal, core illuminates the heartfelt and soulful layers within his music. This musical contradiction between thought and letting go acts as the base foundation in Abdulla Rashim’s music.

They say: While 'sinogrime' has had many copyists over the last few years, Asiatisch is really the first record that attempts to articulate this weird complex of sonic interchanges between the West and China.

They say: Yahoo or the Highway packs 13 tracks into its 45 minute running time with Lockah's sense of synth-driven melody and pop tendencies being weaved into a rich mix of influences, from Italo disco to electro, rave to R&B, all whilst remaining resoundingly original and unconventional..

Myler – Butter Soft Leather

Fantastic Mr Fox – On My Own

Minor Rain – Dominia

Porter Robinson – Worlds

Label: Vials

Label: Black Acre

Label: Loodma Recordings

Label: Astralwerks

Release Date: March 24, 2014

Release Date: April 21, 2014

Release Date: February 25, 2014

Release Date: April/May 2014

For the fans of: techno, broken percussion, noisy atmospherics.

For the fans of: heart break anthems, hip hop influenced breaks.

For the fans of: Astral travelling, original sources of inspiration.

Standout tracks: "Channel Boom Boom", "Cake Walk".

They say: Fantastic Mr Fox returns home to deliver his most ambitious work to date. Here combining with much hyped new folk voice Denai Moore to produce a heart break anthem with genuine emotional impact. FMF underpins Denai's electronically warped siren song with soaring choral stabs and desolate bass-work. Already leaked by none other than Jamie XX late last year, overwhelming demand has drawn this song into the light. On the flip FMF returns to familiar territory with cheeky club smasher "Broke" drawing heavily on his break jacking roots in hip hop.

For the fans of: downtempo, future garage, cinematic ambient, intricate melodies.

They say: E s t a r a is absolutely, undeniably a representation of Teebs, but Teebs as he is right now. He may no longer be the upstart beatmaker that FlyLo once took under his wing, but that doesn't mean that Teebs has shed his past - he's simply evolved from it.

They say: Ireland’s up and coming techno trendsetter Myler has graced many labels internationally (Fifth Wall, Dsnt, Pennyroyal) and has garnered support from some of the biggest names like Blawan, Surgeon, Clouds, Untold and Randomer. Butter Soft Leather showcases Myler’s diverse take on techno and a keen control on his style and sound.

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Standout Tracks: "Before The Storm", "Dolphin Dive", "All With You".

They say: Dominia by Slovakian producer Minor Rains is full of lush electronica music. 12 tracks full of atmospheres and music stories give you about an hour of musical experience.

Standout tracks: "If Loving U Is Wrong, I Don't Want To Be Wrong", "Contact High Wit Big Lockah".

Standout Tracks: "Sea of Voices" They say: “One thing that I still find really compelling about dance music is that the way that it’s willing to be really loud at times,” says Porter Robinson, hinting at a sound that might appear on Worlds. “One way to really drive the emotion home is with a big bold section of the song.”

Grenier, Archie Pelago – Grenier Meets Archie Pelago

Lakker – Containing A Thousand

A/T/O/S – A/T/O/S

Alias – Pitch Black Prism

Label: Melodic Records

Label: R&S Records

Label: Deep Medi Musik

Label: Anticon

Release Date: May 12, 2014

Release Date: March 3, 2014

Release Date: March 3, 2014

Release Date: May 27, 2014

For the fans of: organic instruments with dance floor friendly electronics, lush dance music.

For the fans of: epic, alien quality techno, staggered, slurping beats and mechanistic clanks.

For the fans of: Massive Attack, sensual music, bass music, Deep Medi.

For the fans of: icy synthesizers and sinister drums.

Standout tracks: "Swoon", "Jellyfish Supernova", "Two If By Sea".

Standout tracks: "Thermohaline", "Containing A Thousand".

Standout tracks: "Deep End", "What I Need", "A Taste Of Struggle", "Nowhere".

Standout tracks: "Amber Revisions", "Vallejo’s Sapphire Views".

They say: The record was put together in San Francisco over one long hazy week, and its creators admit there is something of the west coast’s warmth in its contrastive blend of glottal beats and soft-edged instrumental strains. It’s a record that you can almost jump into, swimming among the lapping current of its crystalline mix of analogue and digital sound, drawing parallels to the likes of Bonobo, The Cinematic Orchestra and even Pantha Du Prince, but never once losing its uniqueness along the way.

They say: Lakker: ‘We’re delighted to be releasing on R&S. It’s one of those labels that has been huge in electronic music for years – anyone who is into modern electronic music will have a few R&S records in their collection. Ourselves included – classics from Joey Beltram and AFX up to the recent Tessela stuff.

It’s all in our bag!”

They say: A/T/O/S, pronounced "A Taste Of Struggle" is the project of Amos & Truenoys. Introduced by a mutual friend, A/T/O/S started creating music together, and their first album is debuting on Deep Medi Musik imprint as the first release of the year.

They say: “It’s the first album that I’ve ever done using all software,” Alias says.

“I used a Native Instruments Machine instead of MPC because I was bored and wanted to switch it up and keep it interesting. At first, I felt like I had fucked up because I didn’t know what I was doing and had to learn an entirely new process—but that was what made it fun.”

Asusu – Velez (A Made Up Sound Remixes 1 & 2)

Twin Breath – Drive-me

Turtlez– God Iz Back

Habits Of Hate – Habits Of Hate

Label: Livity Sound

Label: Elastica

Label: Skrufix

Label: Electronic Explorations

Release Date: March 31, 2014

Release Date: April 24, 2014

Release Date: March 10, 2014

Release Date: April 28, 2014

For the fans of: Punch Drunk, Livity Sound, A Made Up Sound, .

For the fans of: Italian techno, Berghain.

For the fans of: gospel samples in dance music (try it, you might like it), .

For the fans of: Happa, Manni Dee, Electronic Explorations, Rob Booth's taste, brutalist techno.

Favorite track: Asusu - Velez (A Made Up Sound Remix 1) They say: The second remix 12" from the 2013's Livity Sound compilation features two remixes of Asusu's "Velez"

by A Made Up Sound.

Favorite track: "Drive-me" They say: Drive-me EP is a project born on a foggy night. After playing together at a party with several vodka-tonics, Twin Breath decided to lock themselves in the studio and vent their ideas. The track "Drive-me" is directed mainly to the dancefloor. It was created primarily using a drum machine, an analog synth, and a powerful overdrive.

Favorite track: "Dream Of Heaven".

They say: Inspired by the trend for high energy gospel-fuelled dance music pioneered by the almighty Floorplan (aka Robert Hood), the Turtlez duo deliver their own distinctly religious track "Dream Of Heaven". Their holy offering is even more solemn and deep, and its solid kicks, scraping percussion and joyous vocals take listeners on an equally moving spiritual journey. In the track "Smoking Buckets" the Turtlez drop some broken beats and beautifully cut-up vocals, mixing something new into the old school feel that they know and love.

Favorite track: Both. Very hard to pick one. Very hard.

They say: These two slabs of brutalist techno just might be both artists' most gleefully punishing work to date, falling in line nicely with the recent output of other unhinged vanguards like Shifted, Perc and Untold.

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Glimpse – Baretta

Fred V & Grafix – Recognise

Benito – Cloud Jumpers/ Temple

Djrum, Akkord, Felix K – Dam Remixes

Label: Aus Music

Label: Hospital Records

Label: Brap Dem! Recordings

Label: 2nd Drop

Release Date: April 7, 2014

Release Date: March 17, 2014

Release Date: March 3, 2014

Release Date: March 10, 2014

For the fans of: UK dance music, Dense & Pika, house, techno.

For the fans of: drum and bass, 21st century jungle.

For the fans of: dark techno, deep drum and bass.

Favorite Track: "L.E.D."

Favorite track: Fred V & Grafix "Recognise" (Emperor Remix)

For the fans of: melodies in dance music, fresh waves in cross-genre hopping.

They say: With this new 12”, Chris Spero, aka Glimpse, once again steers straight down the house-techno divide with a set of perfectly weighted basslines, underpinning some deliciously rough-cut percussion.

They say: Offered the entire album, interestingly both remixers chose the same track! On the A-side, longtime friends of Djrum, Manchester’s Akkord, take the entire toolbox to work with their intense and detailed trademark darkside techno flex. Inspired by the original’s mid track tempo change, Akkord employ incremental galvanized drums and percussive scaffolding to build towards a killer pumping crescendo.

On the flip Felix K's reinterpretation floats majestically between hypnotic Berlin techno and super deep drum and bass a la Autonomic. Stunning.

They say: The first single to be taken from Fred V & Grafix forthcoming debut LP, Recognise, showcases these two young producers at the peak of their game. Combining prodigious songwriting, epic musicality and dancefloor sensibility, "Recognise" eschews the predictable structure of today's identikit D+B and opens with intricate arpeggios and skittering beats. Evolving into an ambitious and complex composition featuring lead vocals from Fred V himself.

They say: This 2-track sampler from the forthcoming album Ventanas De Nube showcases Benito’s unique take on 150+ bpm rhythms. Shades of footwork, jungle, hip hop, and downtempo, always bass heavy, and composed with forward-thinking craftsmanship.

Wen – Signals

Marco Bernardi - Music For Short Attentions

Piri Piri – Patterns

Circo Inverso – unmixed unmastered sketches

Label: Keysound Recordings

Label: Hypercolour

Label: Silverback Recordings

Label: Circo Inverso BandCamp

Release Date: March 2014

Release Date: March 10, 2014

Release Date: February 24, 2014

Release Date: March 3, 2014

For the fans of: grime everything, slang and pirate radio samples,

For the fans of: melancholic riffs and hypnotizing drum machines, techno in all its forms.

For the fans of: sub heavy house, dance, club grooves.

For the fans of: beats, hip hop, groovy melodies, beatstrumental dubstep.

Stand out tracks: "Peak", "Worn".

They say: Free release via Circo Inverso BandCamp is a 20-track journey through the producer's unmixed and unmastered sketches from 2007 to 2012. But in no way these beats are 'old' or of 'poor quality'. These are 20 gems you might want to snatch for your next evening listening.

Standout tracks: "Lunar" feat.

Blackdown, "Persian", "Signal".

They say: "When I send out my responses it's stamped with my identity," says Owen Darby (Wen).

"The album was a way to show some progression through that identity. It has some calmer, emotive moments, but moves into some energy and brightness, taking the temperature down to a darker place, but ramping the urgency and tension up towards the end."

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Favorite track: "Cloud Jumpers"

Stand out tracks: "No One Seems To Care", "Meteor".

They say: On "No One Seems To Care" surging Resse-esque bassline, blazing synth stabs and rock solid beats provide a real call to the dancefloor moment, the discordant vocal adding to the mood.

"Meteor" has Bernardi playing his toys to maximum effect; dark and raw Motor City vibes, shades of early Claude Young and Anthony Shakir abound here. "In Between Fire" is a groovy as hell house cut, all deft organ riffs and twisted modulation whilst vinyl closer "The Final Triangle" sounds old skool to the max.

They say: Young bucks Joe and Christopher feed off a speedballin' mix of ghetto house, jungle cuts, afrobeat intricacies, and hip hop swagger.

Inspired by ­amongst others ­El­-B, Switch and Horsepower Productions, they work the cracks in the genre pavement, and push an eccentric sound that is both forward-thinking and unpretentious. Aiming for elegance, yet not afraid to leave calm waters.­It's big room aesthetics interpreted through green room spectacles.

out now

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