‘We know what we want to achieve with each track and distinctively and purposely try to create something different to what is out there already’
Structured has (again – if you know Rough Edges) paired up with DBR UK for the sinuous Days Apart ep… the evocative title of which was food for thought. And turned out to be something unexpected.
Which is fitting, considering the nature of D&B.
When did this music in general come to life for you?
It all started for me when a friends dad asked if we wanted to come along to help clear some junk from a massive warehouse back in 1991, where we come to realise my friends dad was going to be holding some sort of party and said if we do a good job helping clean up we will get to come along for a while so we came back later and witnessed in full effect this type of dance sound they called acid music… looking back as a kid, seeing a DJ live for the first time spinning two tunes and the people dancing about I just took to this instantly and the whole environment. It was from that day on I continued to get into acid music then hardcore and into jungle, now drum and bass.
Later establishing and tuning in to pirate radio stations and swapping tapes at school, still being intrigued with this whole new underground sound & movement it attracted me to want to get involved and take it further than just a fan and listener.
That’s where I started my journey as an MC way way back in the early 90s aged 15 with friends DBR UK and others from our area who was also heavily influenced, starting at under 18s raves and getting air time on our local pirate radio stations then onto warehouse parties then eventually into clubs.
Ever since then I have lived and breathed the culture.
As time went on I found myself performing with some of the same artists I would listen to as a youngster and working with some of biggest names in the scene that are still going strong today.
I then decided I wanted a change things up and started to experiment with the production side of things working with the programme reason, for some time on & off but then taking it more seriously approaching 2012-13 and progressed onto learning logic and been using it since.
What artists were key?
The people that inspired me around those times were the legendary Stevie Hyper D, Kenny Ken, Jumping Jack Frost, Micky Finn, Rat pack, Trace, Krust, DJ Die, Goldie, Photek, Dillinja Mampi Swift, Phantom DBR UK and all those that was there from the beginning really…
Waaaaay too many to mention.
How have you organically come to work with DBR? Do you learn from each other?
Originally from the same council estate I have been friends with Craig & Carl since junior school and met Dan later down the line when we started playing on a local pirate station.
I started to MC with the boys from the start then after many years thought I later I decided I wanted to produce the actual music and of course, Craig was always there to advise & support me and help me with all the basics using Reason 4 to start with, then I moved onto using Logic and taught myself and so on.
So as you can gather we are all pretty tight… we talk every other day online and seem to have constant ideas and collaborations going on and all of the tracks that we create comes together so naturally as we know what we want to achieve with each track and distinctively and purposely try to create something different to what is out there already, but working with them is always a pleasure and I’m always learning from their production skills and I share whatever skills I have picked up along the way myself
Tell us about the choice of ‘Days Apart’ as a title… I found this intriguing and made me think of how time means different things.
Well the title is actually to do with mine and Craig’s birthdays!
So take us into ‘Scans’… this caught me.
I would say ‘Scans’ is heavily influenced towards the later jungle era giving that feel from the drums and bass patterns with a nice floaty pad and the female old school feeling vocal & atmosphere soundscapes to compliment, in my opinion I think we hit the nail on the head for what we was looking to achieve in this track.
What is it about the ep that says something specific about you and your approach, something unique/signature: it might be a production element?
I would say we took a very raw approach with this ep and we wanted everything to be as raw, organic and stripped back as possible to achieve that certain feel & sound… I particularly love making or using certain pads and drum Patterns in my sound and if you listen back to the ‘The Storm’, ‘Salvation’, ’Time Will Tell’ (below), all out on Dispatch now and ‘Traverse’ that was released on Broken Audio, you can notice that signature sound
How is D&B evolving, from your point of view?
D&B is always evolving at a very fast rate specially with all the new technologies and digital access nowadays… new generations of artists coming through adding fresh ideas into the music and with the help of the internet the audience has grown and still growing worldwide and is more accessible to a much wider audience and the music just keeps getting better and better.
What D&B is grabbing you right now?
I’m really feeling Digital & Spirit v Flava & Dissect ‘Primal’ that tune just does so much for me…
… also ‘Mark System ‘ You Gave Up My Love’ is just an outstanding track.
Heist ‘Sierra Mist’ just takes it there too.
That’s just part of what I’m feeling at this present time but in general I’m feeling most of the stuff that’s coming out with that slight deeper darker edge, ‘specially on ‘Dispatch, Metalheadz, Warm Communications, CIA and so forth.
What are you working on next?
I’m currently working on some solo projects at the the moment as well as some more collaberations with DBR ready to send out to the affiliates.
Any dates and forthcomings from you, and any shouts?
Well as you know I’m just coming through as a DJ /producer and I am in talks with promoters that have been hitting me up about dates.
I would like to big up the main man Ant-TC1, Alex Smiler for all their hard work behind Dispatch and for taking us on and believing in us and supporting our music and of course much love and respect to Craig, Carl, Dan aka DBR UK for the hard work & support and just being good mates… also a big big shout to Chris Hoyle at LDPIX, the man behind behind the artwork for our release and everyone who is supporting and brought the release & D&B in general.