‘We knew we had a legit monster on our hands… ‘
The Voss & NC-17 have dropped the Show & Tell EP and as many are finding out it’s a biiiig sound. So it was fitting to have a BIIIIG discussion with the Canadian/LA duo.
Hey I was absolutely knocked out by this ep: it just delivers in waves, it’s devious, I love it.
Peter/NC-17: Thanks brother.
Dom/The Voss: Right on. Cheers, dude.
When I listened to it I imagined hearing it in a club and wondered therefore is this style big in the clubs over that side of the world? I never know.
Peter: Well each area can be different. But overall people tend to gravitate to all styles of D&B. I think one of the main reasons we tried & kept the ep as diverse as possible.
Shows out here are not genre-specific which is a good thing. But also means you have to be able to draw all kinds of styles. We felt when making the EP it was paramount to keep versatile for all fans no matter what style.
Dom: For me, it could have been either way. I would have been happy to shoot for a whole ep of dance floor smashers, but equally satisfied to mix it up also.
Is this style big in the clubs here? I think Pete was pretty spot on when he says that shows in the states tend to be pretty varied. Even most of the D&B parties here in LA play all styles of D&B.
I don’t think we always consciously try to make a certain ‘style’.
I think we just make what comes naturally to us and what we think the tune should sound like.
So this ep was a collab over time? Did you work back and forth, or… ?
Peter: I live in Toronto & Dom lives in LA so obviously we had to go back and forth with parts and ideas via the internet. Our first outing together was the Pull Up EP on Mainframe Recordings.
We found we had a very good experience together. When we did our follow up track after the EP we tried Hype as I had released with Playaz previously and had a very good experience.
We showed him Show & Tell and he wanted an EP from us. The process to complete the ep took about seven months. Everything we made we made specifically for the EP. Everything was made fresh & a lot of back and forth was going on with ideas and projects.
We also did a lot of chatting on the telephone and really was able to look back on our work after each track. We spent hours on the phone discussing each track and where it needed to go.
The process over all was very positive but also a lot of work because for seven months the only thing on our mind was the EP.
Dom: I guess now looking back on it, we did end up making everything specifically for this project. We’ve made tons more tunes and sketches but just ended up picking those to finish and submit. As far as working together goes, I think it’s safe to say neither of us ever try to force the situation… it’s just an organic process so to speak.
We send ideas back and forth, if the other person is feeling it then they pick up the project. Simple enough. That’s usually the point where the other person takes the track to the next level, and the tune starts to become something more.
I think that’s what makes it fun for us. Our personal tastes vary slightly, so I think you get something unique when combining Peter’s jungle vibes with my tech influences.
We both still write a lot of solo material, but I like to think we try and work on our little collab project we have going as much as we can.
To the ep, can you take us through ‘Sleaze’?
Peter: ‘Sleaze’ actually came last. It was a track Dom had started pretty early on in the process. It wasn’t a track I jumped on right away but Dom insisted we have a look.
It wasn’t after a few listens I realized it was a very strong track and we preceded. Now looking back its probably one of the better tracks on the EP for sure.
Dom: Think Pete pretty much summed it up. It was a sketch started early on in the process, which wasn’t revisited and finished until later on. Even after sitting for so long we felt it fit the project well.
Who are producers that you dig, that tend to rattle speakers and expectations alike? The people who mess with you a bit and make you happy to be part of D&B.
Peter: My favorite producer by a long shot is Break! I consider him the don of the genre at the moment. From his stuff on DNA audio to his stuff currently on symmetry I truly am a fan of his work.
Dom: I definitely don’t have a single favorite producer. Stuff I’m feeling off the top of my head right now is Bass Brothers new LP on Playaz is pretty sweet, actually really loving that right now. I like the Critical stuff, Emperor, Posij, Enei. and all that camp’s sound.
Eatbrain stuff is cool. L 33, State of Mind… the list goes on.
Mentioning films, and I note the use of samples so had to ask you to cite some great films that you like?
Peter: For me one of the most disturbing yet one of the biggest inspirations on me artistically was Abel Ferra’s Bad Lieutenant. No film till this day has been able to match its grittiness. I consider it a masterpiece in film making on all levels.
Dom: Peter’s the film buff. Me? I just like to make people watch A Serbian Film and see them squirm.
‘Melancholy’ struck me… what inspired the title btw?
Peter: We knew we needed something deep to really round off the EP. ‘Melancholy’ was made as a deep, dubby, moody, roller. The name is exactly the vibe of what we were going with for the EP.
Dom: The whole vibe and concept for this tune was Peter. He had shown me a clip and I loved it so I went in. This was actually just a work-in-progress title that we had originally wanted to change. We ended up just leaving it.
And ‘Show & Tell’?
Peter: ‘Show & Tell’ is actually what got the ball rolling on the EP. It was also probably the one we literally worked the most on. It was the one that we tested out the most. But we knew we had a legit monster on our hands.
We wanted to make that track epic in all ways. From the massive drum intro inspired by the film Conan to the vocal and of course the drop everything about that track we wanted to make big.
Dom: That tune went through many stages before becoming that. It was originally something else completely. It was a whole other tune that we had already both worked on and was basically finished.
I only play D&B shows a handful of times a year, and after playing Respect with SPL this one night, I woke up the next day inspired to make a dancefloor weapon. I was working on this file and just decided to flip it on it’s head and that turned into the beginning of ‘Show & Tell’.
From there it was basically back to the drawing board and a lot of more back and forth with Peter figuring the tune out… the switch ups and the different pieces and parts.
What do you listen to outside of D&B?
Peter: Actually other than D&B and Jungle I don’t listen to any other styles of electronic music.
My next love would be hip hop but I am a huge fan of film scores especially ones of Ennio Morricone. My favorite work of his is the Once Upon a Time in America score which runs through my head almost every day.
Dom: Outside of D&B I literally listen to all kinds of music, mostly because of my day job as a wedding DJ! I tend to favor mostly electronica music but I also love hip-hop, reggae, jazz, latin music and more.
Thanks, any shouts?
Peter: Just would like to thank everyone who continues to support my work. I am truly humbled by the over all support from the community. Also big shout out to DJ Hype & Pascal who got behind this project!
Dom: Big ups for the interview and to Hype and Pascal for working with us on this release and all their support through the label.
