On the eve of the release of ‘Still Let Me Down’ on Stepback Sessions 5, Madcap spoke to us about his work on the remix alongside Furney and his involvement with legends in D&B… with an eye on the future.
You’ve recently been involved in the Stepback Sessions 5. Before we touch on this, could you tell us what influenced Madcap?
The early 90’s Hardcore, Jungle/D&B had a very big influence on me. Artists & labels such as Omni Trio, Foul Play, Studio Pressure aka Photek, Moving Shadow, Good Looking… the list goes on!! So I guess with that in mind my tracks have an old skool nostalgic feel to it. I love the musical/rolling side of D&B & hopefully that reflects in my output.
Who would you say are your direct allies in the field?
Recently I’ve been producing with Furney Paul SG, Jaybee, Andy Skopes & Tango. I’ve also completed original material & remixes for Randall, LTJ Bukem & Nookie.
At the end of 2013 I was involved with re-launching 90’s record label Creative Wax with DJ Pulse. To work with artists I grew up listening to & especially remix them is an honour & dream come true.
How did the Tom & Jerry remix come about for Stepback Sessions 5? It’s a great track, sounds like lot of fun to have worked on, was it?
Many thanks: we enjoyed remixing it.
First of all it’s one of my favourite Tom & Jerry tracks. A few years ago I had put it on a DJ mix & Furney had heard it, this was before we were recording together. We’d always said one day we should do a mix of it. Fast forward to now & with my link with Randall, I had previously released a remix of an old Tango & Fallout track on Step Back Sessions 4 and afterwards was on the phone to Randall discussing future projects. He suggested I looked through the Reinforced back catalogue and as he had a strong relationship with Marc Mac said if our mix was good enough would forward on to him.
Furney and I sampled parts from the vinyl & tried to keep it true the original. We enjoyed playing new strings and finding our own samples to fit around it.
Hopefully the Old Skool heads like our version.
Some may not actually realise the importance of Tom & Jerry in the history of jungle/D&B so can you actually throw some light on the act?
Tom & Jerry was an alias of 4-Hero & a sub label from Reinforced.
Funnily enough I was listening to an great interview from Marc Mac recently and he explained it was a label set up to focus on the dancefloor as he felt Reinforced at the time catered for the more experimental vibe.
They had some classic tracks on the label with ‘Maximum Style’ for an example being a rather large one! They were limited presses, which probably explains why they fetch for so much on discogs. Luckily I’ve got most of them ha ha.
Where can we find you playing out?
Apart from a residency with Liquid Sessions, I guest up & down the country on a regular basis. Forthcoming gigs include Back 2 Da Future, Step Back Sessions with Randall, JazzSticks Recordings Label night in Sheffield, events in Derby & London, plus a mini tour to promote Atmosphere Chapter 5 with Nookie & Furney which includes, Prague, Estonia & Poland with more dates to be confirmed.
Does the live arena feed back and inspire your work?
My productions are influenced by many things in life, and going out hearing new music certainly helps with the creative process. In my opinion DJing and producing go hand in hand. It’s fun to make VIP’s and edits of tracks to play out.
What’s a favourite aspect of production, for you? I feel like you really savour working on beats, for example.
Yes for sure I love layering breaks and percussion, though finding good samples that work together and playing strings, piano, bass etc over the top and getting it to work is enjoyable.
What’s a snapshot or two of significant memories you have of D&B?
Winning the Movement/Technics DJ Comp 12 years ago at The End nightclub was a fantastic memory.
What’s in the production works right now.
I’ve several projects on the go with Furney. There original material due out on labels such as Good Looking, Creative Wax, Sheer Velocity & Criminal Records.
A remix of Cloud 9 ‘You Got Me Burnin’ out very soon on Nookie’s Phuzion & a Re-edit of Bukem & Peshay’s ‘19.5’ due out on GLR.
What’s 5 tunes you like right now in D&B?
Furney ‘Jah Jah Say’
Explicit ‘Soul Attraction’
Furney ‘Love Music’
Ivy Lab & Hydro Ft. Frank Carter & Lucy Annika ‘Make It Clear’
Stunna ‘Come On’
Got some shouts?
I’ve got to take this opportunity to give a massive thank you to Randall for all his support & for sorting this out for Step Back, Big up sir! Also massive shout to all artists, labels, promoters, punters & anyone who buys & supports our music.