Introducing Addictive Behaviour Records, a brand new label dedicated to supporting the most exciting new talent and pushing D&B creativity to its furthest extremes.
Established by a collective of devout drum & bass fans who’ve contributed to the scene as DJs and promoters, Addictive Behaviour isn’t just a new label but a way of life for the men behind it. With big plans lined up for 2014, a new chapter in their story starts today with their massive launch release: High Rollers EP.
Featuring storming cuts from the likes of Detail, L 33, Eastcolors and Minor Rain, it takes us on a whirlwind tour of one of D&B’s most exciting territories. Seeped in Balkan badness, each of the four cuts sit proudly on the precipice of D&B’s future and have received rave responses from some of the most respected tastemakers in the game including Hazard, Basher, Spectrasoul, June Miller, Maztek, Marky, Crissy Criss and many more. Read on to the end and see the glowing feedback shouts in all their hype-heaved glory.
You can check out the whole EP on the store. We caught up with Minor Rain to find out more about his contribution Powerball and grabbed this killer mix while we were there. Listen, read, enjoy… Then grab yourself a copy of High Rollers. You won’t be disappointed!
Mr Minor Rain! How’s life?
Hey buddy, thanks for asking! Just a lot of work around scheduling my 2014 projects. But all fine right now.
Where are you while reading these questions… And what are you listening to?
I am in my hometown Martin, Slovakia. I’m just listening to the latest drum & bass and electronica releases by highly respected labels and comparing their stuff with things I’m working on nowadays.
Before we start with the heavy questions, we need to know: where does your name come from?
I’ve always loved minor chords in music. Strictly major music sounds too positive and it really means nothing to me. I try to reflect my feelings to my music and they can only be realised only in minor chords as they sound very emotive. That’s the Minor part of my name. As for the second part of my name, I also love storms and especially rain. Basically rainy and cloudy is the weather I like most. It gives me my life operating power which I need.
Okay, now we know. Let’s find out about the massive Powerball. Such a tune. Were there any particular inspirations or reference points behind its creation?
I wanted to make a tune that will both be minimalistic and roll. I hope this is what I’ve done. I can´t explain why the tune sounds like it sounds, but I had an idea and I tried to make it the best way I know how. Hope you enjoy it.
Being part of a the Addictive Behaviour debut release… This is pretty special, right?
I am pleased I can be a part of this label. A lot of people can be sceptical to new labels but these guys do it very well and my personal opinion is this is a label with major potential. I believe labels are not important unless the tunes are quality… Addictive Behaviour is very important!
Do you have an addictive personality? If so, what are you addicted to?
I think I am primarily addicted to good music, which is very hard to discover. Because every day there are dozens of tunes which sounds very similar and ordinary.
I can count at least four different bassline textures in Powerball. How many actually are there and how difficult is it to create the space between them all?
Yeah, you’re right; there are definitely more than four synths! To be honest my English isn’t so good, so it’s hard to explain the full process. But I usually use resampling the most. Nowadays it isn’t hard to grab quality samples, but the most important thing is having editing, resampling and effecting skills. Without them your sample isn’t unique to you. As for space, it all depends on the tune but you basically need to make sure you have the right filtering and reverbing.
Space is a key motif for you on many of your productions, right?
Yes of course. To put it simply, a tune sounds more 3D when you know the right way to set it up. It’s all about your knowledge of plugins. When you know what you’re using and how to use it properly, space comes naturally.
What other key ingredients does a Minor Rain track have to have?
The main priority is maintaining the story of tune. It’s not important how you made it, it’s the tale it tells. If you want people to play the whole tune right the way to the outro you need to make it interesting.
What releases do you have coming up after Powerball?
I can´t tell you details but you can expect a 12 track CD LP of TOP electronica music (which will be Minor Rain’s project of year). There will also be a four track vinyl EP full of drum and bass stuff. Plus some big things which are too early to talk about.
I loved Jazz Pants on Dust Audio a few months back… I have two questions about this: is it you playing the sax on it?
I am glad you like this one! To be honest this sax is a sample which I resampled and edited. It’s certainly not mine. I have a lot of my own sax samples from the past which I used on some of my older stuff but currently I don’t have a sax and I don’t work with it. But this tune is very rare to me because here I used tape resampling for first time. I recorded many samples on analogue tape and then I reverse recorded it to my DAW for real analogue warm sound.
And do you own any jazz pants?
Haha! If I buy some I’ll drop some photos on my facebook. I´ll keep you updated.
Thank you for the mix, too! Tell us all about it…
I tried to drop lots of rollers. I really love these pieces, they reflect my tastes. I wanted to show you which tunes I usually play at gigs. It has a dance atmosphere.
Any exclusives or forthcoming Minor Rain hurters on it?
I am limited to what exclusive tracks I can put on podcasts and mixes as I have some agreements with labels so I have to respect them. But be calm, you can look forward to upcoming stuff. Guaranteed.
How does it compare to a Minor Rain peak-time club set?
This mix is a studio mix, but there is no difference because it’s just the same for me as if in a club. I always try my best to take clubbers on a journey into what makes Minor Rain tick. A peak time club set would still include all of my favourite ingredients and influences. Of course as a DJ it would be rude not to read the crowds response and mood on the night, so I never plan a DJ set too tightly.
Are you playing in the UK any time soon?
No plans so far but I certainly would like to visit UK for a gig. Hopefully the guys from Addictive Behaviour will be organizing a summer party (which we are already talking about) and I´ll be certainly pleased to be a part of that performance.
Finally, please tell us a fact about yourself that you’ve never told in an interview before…
I love Death metal! Haha… just kidding. A funny fact about me is that I have a unique ritual. I mostly vomit before gigs… not from alcohol but from the jitters.
Anyway thank you for the interview I’m happy to answer your questions and I wish you good luck to the future. Cheers!
The High Rollers EP from Addictive Behaviour Records is out now.
What the DJs are saying about it…
Crissy Criss “wicked!”
Marky “Killer tunes”
Nymfo “big ep, great productions!”
Mind Vortex “Sick tunes!!!”
Maztek “Love the ep”
Foreign Concept “Lost time is bad! Will be supporting”
S.P.Y “this L 33 Discrete track its wicked, I will play this one!”
June Miller “Wow! Great EP, techy, clever, minimal rollers at its best <3” Rene
Rene LaVice “nice and techy, really cool sound design. I like the attitude in the tunes. nice!”
SpectraSoul “Solid stuff. Will be supporting Discrete & Powerball.
Zeds Dead “Sick!!!”
Basher “this is a great ep!”
Hazard “love it”
Neon Lights “All 4 tracks are really cool, well produced!”
Chris.SU “Mad Day is a crazy track. Supporting!”
BTK “Looking forward to volume 2!”