This week sees the release of High Maintenance’s second outing on Audioporn. Four tracks strong and coated in vibrant technicolour sonics, Never Enough is yet another reason to track every single move Shimon’s imprint makes. With a stunning back catalogue on Mainframe, Overtech and Fatality, High Maintenance’s profile is getting more and more impressive with every release. Just as his name suggests, Never Enough demands attention. We gave Audioporn’s pushy missus a call to see how things are going….
What’s with the name, dude? Are you a trophy wife or something?
“Ha! I can’t remember where the name comes from. I think an ex girlfriend gave it to me. I’ll probably regret it!”
Nah, it’s a good name. So anyway… Never Enough is pretty epic! What inspired it?
“I’ve been working on it for a while. I sent a load of tunes to Shimon and Never Enough was actually a half finished idea that I included. He really like it so within a day I finished it. He decided to make it the title track of the EP. It was a bit of a shock! That was one of two half finished tracks, I didn’t think he’d want either of them. Weird how these things work out. It’s been doing really well, I’ve had loads of emails from DJ mates saying it’s blowing up for them. It’s a good feeling.”
Katie’s Ambition. She’s unavoidable at the moment. How did you hook up?
“We were friends on Facebook. I’m not sure how. We’d never spoken to each other! I heard her on a Mattix track, emailed her to see if she was up for making a track and she told me she’d love to. It went from there.”
How did she contribute to the track?
“I sent her the track. She sent it back with vocals that sounded lovely. It’s great to work with a vocalist who knows how to work a computer!”
I bet. So how are things working out with Audioporn?
“I’m signed exclusively to them for three years. I was talking to the Prototypes, sending them tunes, and they said to talk to Disazt who runs Mainframe. I had a few releases with him. He spoke to Shimon and they signed me up. It’s been great so far. It’s all new and exciting for everyone and it keeps getting bigger and bigger. I don’t want to sound cheesy but we’re a tight little family. We DJ in places together and it feels like a school trip with the label managers being the headmasters!”
Haha, let’s go back to the EP. Any highs and lows?
“It’s been a massive learning curve! I spent about six months trying to get everything perfect. A month before the release I was spending 60 hours a week on it! There’s a lot of pressure on me. I’ve got to pull my socks up.”
It’s a huge punt isn’t it? All those hours and you never know what reaction it’s going to get…
“Yeah it’s weird. You just sit in front of your computer and lose time. You’re in the zone and time is gone in the click of a finger! I love it though.”
And it’s paying off! So you’re giving away Drop It…
“That’s up for free download at the moment. It’s doing really well. I’m working on a VIP right now.”
Cool. Are you keeping that strictly to yourself?
“No, I’m hoping it will come out pretty soon. Audioporn are chatting about a compilation with some very big tracks so I’m hoping it’ll be on that.”
Nice! So how’s your year been anyway?
“Everything just keeps getting better and better. I’ve been to some cool places, played at some great parties, sampled some fine wines! Everyone who’s been there with me has supported me been really cool. No one’s been a pain in the arse yet!”
Good to hear! Any memorable gigs?
“One of the best was in a town called Rennes in France. I did my first stage dive there. I dived in and the crowd carried me further and further back and by the time I got down the tune had run out! Austria has been great for gigs too. You only have to be 16 to go to the party so the crowd are younger and more energetic. If I stage dived in the UK people might be a bit too old and tired and move out the way and let me fall to the floor!”
Haha. So let’s finish off with a silly question. Your track’s called Never Enough. What five things can you never have enough of?
“You can never have enough battery life on your iPhone for starters! I can thank Nike for never having enough money because their shoes are pretty badboy. You can never have enough beer, love, music or parties. Oh, and you can never have enough Facebook fans so go and like my page!”
Haha, very nice…
Never Enough is out now on Audioporn. Listen and download.