Power duo Optiv & BTK don’t mess around, stepping up behind a still-youthful and innocent 2014, tapped it on the shoulder and silently delivering ‘Zero Tolerance/Tapout’ via Dispatch. It’s everywhere right now. It knows where you live!
Time to call a ceasefire and discuss life in and out of the studio, some mixdown shortcuts and of course grapefruit.
‘Zero Tolerance’ deftly treads the middle ground between ‘Particularly Nasty’ and ‘Uplifting’… it’s D&B so it can. When did the tune come about?
We were listening to some old dub/ragga/reggae samples and came up with that one. Sorted an off-tempo drumbeat and the idea was rolling.
httpv://youtu.be/GC8Gf_kXzak
How would you describe the respective vibes we’ll find here, then?
Sometimes you wanna go a bit more old school as in ‘Zero Tolerance’ or deeper as in ‘Tapout’.
It’s winter in the UK but for some reason am thinking of HOT places and big venues when I hear this…
Exactly what we’ve had in mind. Looking forward to play it loud on a few summer festivals. Ant TC1 [label boss] promises us that we’re doing Outlook this year and we’re so looking forward to it!
In a chat with BTK once it came clear that you share studio proximity, that you have separate studios, and I get the impression of you both bouncing ideas back and forth…
Yes… but we always finish our collaborations sitting in the same studio.
Where do ideas for your work come from, from the ‘day to day’, from travel or… ?
We just get inspired when we’re working in the studio. We’re writing new beats everyday and as it goes from the vibe of the day.
About the studio, BTK you once said to me that Optiv had huge knowledge of mixdowns… can you explain this? What’s it take?
We mix analog and digital depending on what the program material is. It is really a matter of taste and there is no right or wrong way of mixing it down, just so long as it sounds great when you play it out.
And as technology marches ever onwards: would you ever go back and re-address or remix older tunes of yours?
Not really. We rather concentrate on the future.
What are some tips for people gaining music production knowledge?
1. Don’t listen to other people and do what you want.
2. If it’s not fun, it’s not really worth doing it.
3. Get a good computer to avoid being frustrated.
I’m guilty that I’ve never seen one of your sets… what sort of things do you draw?
We’re both playing at Fabric on the 31st January for Dispatch, you should definitely come down then!
Say you arrive for the set and it’s very late, the crowd is tired and starting to leave. What do you do to absolutely smash the place to pieces?
Well, we’ll be playing the last set at Fabric’s Room 3. You will see how we deal with that in action!
And before you get back in the bunker, is there anything you’d tell us about the Optiv & BTK machine on the QT?
Optiv: Vini loves techno.
BTK: Edd is amazing at eating grapefruit competitions: He won one last year in Australia.
