The summer sky is black, the clouds are heavy with poison refuse from a consumerist-obsessed planet and a certain Myles Bendeth AKA Code Red has dropped a lethal ep…
‘Well I didn’t want people actually DYING when they heard my music…’
… however I did want to write an EP that did some damage on the dance floor and to show people that I make various styles of D&B.
Why the title As We Enter?
I named it As We Enter as I thought of it as both myself and the listeners ‘entering’ this musical journey together.
Speaking of journeys, when did yours begin in D&B?
I’ve always had a passion for music.
I started DJing when a friend got a pair of decks and left them in my basement because he had no room at his place. So I taught myself how to DJ and started fooling around with beats. I eventually went to collage for business in music and production engineering.
And you’re aligned with Original Sin, the linkup with his label Image Audio…
I was always a big G Dub / Original Sin fan so as you can imagine it was very random that he moved 30 min away from me in Toronto. I met him shortly after he moved here and after a few years we became good friends. I’ve been releasing on his label Image Audio since 2013
Back to to the EP: ‘Cruel Intentions’ feels like it’s been considerably roadtested…
The original was roadtested quite a bit. ‘Cruel Intentions’ was my first release in 2013 and I was happy it got support from DJs like Hype, Friction, Crissy, TC, Sub Zero and Wilkinson.
The day I finished it, Original Sin was playing in Toronto so I burnt a copy and gave it to him to play. He dropped it that night and it went off. He came up to me right after and said he was going to release it on Image. That was a proud moment for me.
I made a little VIP as an exclusive for myself to play out but after it got some great feedback we decided to add it onto my EP.
So as a DJ yourself, what do you draw for?
I play all across the board during my sets. What I’m really feeling at the moment is new Original Sin, KG has got some great tracks right now, Taxman, Subzero, Majistrate, Serial Killaz, Bass Brothers, my own dubs and there’s always some Erb n Dub beats in my set.
‘As We Enter’ has got that sense of real big D&B drama, that feel that you’re in a place full to the rafters… is that the vibe you’re after?
With ‘As We Enter’ I wanted to make a track that had a jungle edge to it as well as fit in with everything else I’m currently doing. It was one of those tracks that just flowed as I was writing it. I wanted to give the intro a dramatic feel and since it’s a jungle-sounding track I had to draw for the sound clash vocal sample and the double bass.
I also added the classic dog bark sample that I sampled myself from a video of my late dog. Make him live on forever in my music.
‘Byte The Dust’, another mad, grimy one… have you got many tunes like this up your sleeve?
With ‘Byte the Dust’ I wanted to make a sneaky little roller. I have a lot more where that came from.
You mention that formidable array of support that you’ve had, who are your heroes in D&B?
Dillinja has got to be mentioned, Goldie, Bad Company, Hype, Full Cycle, Congo Natty, Original Sin, Taxman and DJ Lush
What do you do outside of D&B, what keeps you sane?
I watch a load of rap battles. I love them: Smack/URL, KOTD, Don’t Flop, Grind Time, all the leagues. I’ve skated since I was 12 so I try to do that as often as possible too.
When I’m not making D&B I make other types of music like Hip Hop. I also read a lot on production/mixing techniques. And I watch a lot of the ‘Into the Lairs’ on Pensado’s Place, which is a must for any engineer. Hunt it down and check it out.
OK, speaking of technical stuff, what singular piece of gear would you save if you had to make a quick exit from the studio?
Without a question Id have to bring my Laptop with z3ta+ Virus synthesizer which is a VST made by Cakewalk. 95% of my sounds are built in z3ta.
Thanks sir.
Shout out to all the DJs and fans supporting, to Image Audio and DNBA.