And the award for new label on the biggest roll right now is… Program! Ram’s not-so-little sister label has been consistently ace since its first release less than two months ago. Frankee’s storming debut, Wickaman, RV, Hoodlum and Mavrick’s follow up, now this meaty double header from new artist Kove. They’ve not missed a trick. We thought we’d give Kove a call and catch a vibe. But first, let’s listen to the raw, sizzling power that is Iodine…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP611usYo00
Big release!
“Thank you. It’s great to be involved with Program. It’s been a weird progression. I was sending them to Andy but didn’t hear anything back, then I’d heard he was dropping them in his sets! Eventually they got in touch.”
Nice. Viper, Hospital now Program… not bad for early stages in a career!
“Yeah, I still pinch myself a little. I’m really lucky. Futurebound picked up on some really early stuff of mine and obviously saw something in them so helped me get them to a releasable standard. He was really helpful to me. I’ve been producing for about five years; doing different genres and producing other people. Last year I really wanted to focus on just one genre and went all in on drum & bass.”
You picked the hardest one to produce. Props!
“Hahah, thanks. It is next level production-wise. I was pretty adequate at production but it was nothing compared to drum & bass – it was a steep learning curve! I’m still learning loads every day.”
What were you producing before?
“All sorts of stuff, really. A lot of downtempo Bonobo style stuff but there was no outlet for it. I did a lot of thinking and decided to get involved in drum & bass. It was a night at Fabric that switched me on. My manager took me to see the Brookes Brothers and the penny dropped: seeing that reaction of the crowd and feeling that energy!”
That’s what it’s all about! What type of reactions are you getting to your tunes?
“Well my gig schedule is picking up really nicely now, which is amazing. Seeing the reaction is what you do it for. Seeing any amount of people going nuts to my stuff is what I do it for!”
Always. What else have you got coming up?
“I’ve just finished a few remixes and got a few ideas for the label and lots more gigging. Watch this space!”
Will do. Now tell us something we don’t know about you. Something you’ve never told any other interviewer…
“Oh wow. That’s hard! Let me think…. Okay, how’s this: my favourite album of all time is Phil Collins But Seriously. It’s rubbish but I love it! It’s got nice connotations of being younger and I just love big 80s productions. Try it out…”
Iodine/Open Ground is out on Program now. Listen and download.