Trex has dug deep for the Soul For Sale on Mac 2, due out v soon. And as the actual video drops we go in with Trex himself: Soul 2 Soul as it were. Apart from tales of Bristol and NYC, you must check the mix at end, not to mention some personal choices that will HURT, especially if you love your Full Cycle.
Hey Trex how’s it going?
All good thanks. Just settling in to the New Year. Looking forward to what 2016 has in store.
You sound busy and the ep’s slamming, when have you been working on it? I know you have a busy personal life.
Cheers! Its taken ages to get the EP finished. I really took my time to get everything sounding as good as possible.
Juggling that with a day job and being a parent has kept me busy for sure. All good though, that’s the way it should be!
The ‘Easton’ tune got me as I am an ex resident of this part of town! What inspired it?
Over the years I’ve spent time in Easton and St Pauls visiting family or raving at venues like the Trinity Centre, The Thekla and Lakota. The track has a definite 90s Bristol vibe to it so calling it ‘Easton’ seemed appropriate.
‘Never See’ seems to have stemmed from the sample… is that so? I am reminded of certain Calibre in the steady, pulsing, chugging flow of this.
Reminded you of Calibre! Praise indeed, cheers. No real story behind the track, just got in the studio and it flowed pretty quickly. The sample dropped in nicely at the end. Think it was done in one day!
The good ones often are.
What’s your preferred way of working? Digital, outboard, bit of both?
I work exclusively on software with Logic, Omnisphere and Mackie speakers being my equipment of choice.
I did have my own studio room until my son selfishly took it as a bedroom. Now I have a corner in another room.
On to ‘Soul for Sale’, can you intro us to Ella Jones? Do love this tune and the wonderful space it takes you to. Only D&B can do this.
Ah great glad you like it. Randall jumped on this track immediately and has backed it with a video which should be great. We had a funny day renegade filming around London.
Big shout to the dLo Media lads from Manchester for shooting the vid.
Ella is a very talented Singer/Pianist/Songwriter. I’m very lucky to be able to get in the studio with her. With each EP on Mac2 I try to get one track featured with Ella. But she is also extremely busy.
It would be great to get a faster output of collabs. Hopefully this year will be more productive.
Back to the ep, ‘Harlem Nights’ is great. What is it about this area of NYC that mystifies us?
Thanks man….I think I found the vocal samples off an old Diamond D album, which depicts images of tough New York nightlife in the 90s.
They seemed to fit in with the track which is pretty gritty itself. I’ve been to New York a few times and I love it. Being a big hip hop fan I visited Brooklyn, the South Bronx and Harlem to soak up some of the atmosphere. The food, shops, music and mix of people is amazing and reminds me of London in a lot of ways.
I really like some of the USA D&B btw… Adred dropped one of the best eps last year. Do you feel anything from the US?
Yeah man there is a lot of great D&B coming from the US: Jaybee has been smashing it for a minute now. I’ve been lucky to work with him on a few collabs. Look out for more bits from him on Mac 2. Also like the work Dave Owen is doing and Ric Zere from LA.
The scene out there is healthy!
What are some personal encompassing thoughts about Soul For Sale including the ongoing work with Randall and how you guys keep it flowing.
Personally I’m very proud of the EP as I’ve put every ounce of time and effort I had into it. To be backed by Randall with a video is the icing on the cake.
As this is the third EP I’m releasing on Mac 2 I feel part of the Team and am fully committed to helping push the label forward. I usually just fling tunes over to him and he will shout me if he is into it and if there is anything i can improve on the track.
Big up to Randall for pushing my music and generally supporting the artists that work with him.
What’s some random tracks you’d select that particularly hurt you?
That’s a tough one, so many good tunes… in the last year the Mark System tune ‘Optix’ killed it for me; the way the intro builds and then catches you slippin on the drop is sick. And that bass is nuts. Great album too!
This Scar tune ‘Caged’ on Headz winded me the first time I heard it. Just disgusting.
The Serum remix of ‘Choose One’ which was released on the excellent Pieces album on Mac 2 was heavy. Pieces 2 must surely be in the pipeline!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFUXceVZ-Xs
Full Cycle/Dope Dragon has influenced me a lot over the years and ‘It’s Jazzy’ is a perfect example of that sound. All about the Felix Road mix for me though..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4iKjGPkKpA
Any shouts and thoughts for the 2016?
Big shout to all the Mac 2 Team, Randall, Cool Hand Flex, Jaybee, 4 Eye, Bradley, Ella, Tommy Quest, Cybin and Rips..and everyone that supports my music.
Catch me playing every other weds on originuk.net from 8-10pm.
Also watch out for a new label ‘Trust Audio’ which I’ll be launching with Tommy Quest in 2016. We’ve got some great beats lined up to release.