Ladies & Gentlemen, Drum&BassArena Anthology 2 is out now!
Finally, after weeks of shouting the time has come… Drum&BassArena Anthology 2 is ready and waiting for your consumption. Just in case this is the first you’ve heard about it (and if so, where the devil have you been?) it’s our biggest release of the year comprising 20 years of drum & bass history with 60 tracks squeezed into three CDs. See the tracklist then enjoy our final feature in the Anthology Series with Radio 1’s chief drum & bass ambassador DJ Friction. He’s given us this classic roller he made with K-Tee in 2009…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVSu7ohVgK8
“It’s always a nice surprise to see my tracks appear on albums,” he grins. “I’m a massive nosey parker so I’ll always check tracklists of compilations and mixes. I’ll be ‘ooh what’s this?’ and if it’s got one of my tracks on I’m a very happy man! It’s great to see my material being picked up on. Set It Off is a proper vibes track, I still play it all the time. Standard!”
Of course the big question is when is Friction going to deliver the goods again? It’s been over six months since Led Astray and we demand to know what the hold-up is…
“I’ve actually cut down a little bit on the gigs so I’ve got more time to write tunes,” he smiles. “It’s all happening mate; I’ve just released a remix of Feed Me’s new single Love Is All I’ve Got. I’ve got a new single ready to roll on Shogun which I’m just sorting out a vocal for. There’s loads of production going on, I’ve just done a track for Example’s new album which I’m really happy about.”
And the progress doesn’t stop at Friction’s studio. Shogun Audio is going from strength to strength too…
“It’s been our best year to date,” grins the Shogun boss. “It’s come a long way since I started it up seven years ago. We’ve really stepped things up this year. It’s a lot of hard work but I’ve got such a good team here which leaves me to concentrate on finding new music for the label and all my other stuff.”
Other stuff being his Radio 1 show. Upgraded to Saturday night – which he admits took him by surprise a little – Friction’s found his footing on the airwaves and appreciates the legacy that set the foundations before him.
“It’s amazing,” he tells us. “My feet are in the door and I’m wedged in there! It was a massive honour to follow Fab and Groove after all those years. I’m not the most experienced radio person, I did a little 1Xtra show years ago but apart from that I’d never really done any radio. I try not to try too hard and just make sure I’m delivering the goods musically.”
You can catch Friction every Saturday night/Sunday morning at 3am on Radio1
