Scope some producer’s discographies and it’s like a shopping list of awesomeness. Their profile developing with every pact they make, it’s as if they’ve wrote a massive wishlist when they were first inspired to make music and they’re sure as hell not going to retire until they’ve ticked every possible imprint off the list.
With releases on the likes of Samurai, Technique, Commercial Suicide, State Of Mind and Shogun, New Zealand artist TREi is definitely one of those producers.
Sorry… He was one of those producers. Now officially signed exclusively to Futurebound’s Viper imprint, it seems his days of dirty stop-out label encounters have been ditched and switched in favour of a much more wholesome monogamous label relationship. We sent him a few questions to see how this Viper charming came about.
Yes Trei…. What’s popping?
G’day DNBA crew! Summer’s popping down under; so life is good, soaking up a few rays and working on new music.
Congratulations on signing to Viper!
Oh man, what an honour. Viper have always been one of my favourite labels in the game so I’m just ecstatic about joining the crew.
I know you’ve appeared on Viper various times since 2011 but your entire discography reads like a who’s who in wicked D&B imprints. Was this always the plan? To work with some of your favourites before establishing a firm relationship with one?
Not really a plan as such; but these are all labels that I love, and run by some legendary characters so I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with them all. I’d never really entertained the idea of aligning to one label in the past. But the more I worked with Viper, it just seemed to really fit. They’re great guys, very passionate about the music and open to all styles which is a big factor to me. It’s also probably why there has been a variety of labels over the past few years. So yeah, it was a no-brainer when the opportunity arose to go exclusive with Viper. Exciting times ahead.
Obviously you made the announcement with a killer DNB60 mix on Friction’s show… Friction’s been very supportive of your work over the last few years! I’ve lost count of how many Friction Fires you’ve had….Must be a good feeling to have that level of international support?
Absolutely! Friction is one of my favourite DJs, and I try and catch his show as much as I can, so having him support the tunes so much on his show is awesome!
From international to national, what’s the Wellington D&B stomping ground like?
It’s not too bad at the moment; there’s a bit of an underground resurgence going on with the closure of some of the main clubs over the past couple of years. But there are still a slew of internationals coming through regularly and that really helps pump things along. So it definitely feels like things are on the up. Places like Christchurch are in great shape; constantly big gigs and a really healthy scene down there.
There’s a fair old wedge of talent from your ends these days… State Of Mind, The Upbeats, Truth. Who’s bubbling in NZ right now who’s due more global gratitude right about now?
Indeed, we seem to crank out our fair share of awesome DJ/producers down this end of the planet. The likes of Concord Dawn, Cern, Shapeshifter, Dose are all smashing it still and guys like Tokyo Prose, Borderline, Incognito and Eavesdrop are all doing wicked things at the moment so definitely watch out for them.
Back to YOU: what’s up next? The words ‘next studio album’ are on the Viper signing press blurb… How deep are you into your third album? There’s probably a few single releases before that…. Please tell us what to expect!
Up next is an EP which we’re in the process of finalising at the moment, then a few single releases throughout the year and then onto the album which we’ll be looking more towards the end of 2015 / early 2016. I have a couple of collabs under the belt, and I’ll be working with some great vocalists over the next few months so it’s really exciting and also a bit unknown what to expect from it even to me; but that’s the beauty of it though innit!
Let’s sign off with a Viper salute. Please tell your three favourite Viper-releases tracks…
Futurebound & Metrik – Brave New world
What a vibe! Brilliant harmonic bassline! This one has been a regular in my sets for years now. Really lifts things up when it drops.
DC Breaks – Mankind VIP
This was one of the first tunes I’d heard from DC Breaks; the whole Halo EP was huge! Halo, Babylon, Fever… All big tunes. But Mankind VIP was one I played for aaaaages in my sets.
Brookes Brothers – Crackdown (ShockOne REMIX)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbHmzrwwj8M
I was a huge fan of the Acts Of Mad Men EPs and this was a big one. Great original but this remix was just massive! Super slick from ShockOne!