Zero T: Retrospective Mix - Drum&BassArena

This upcoming bank holiday Dispatch Recordings are holding yet another standalone event in whats becoming one of London’s most exciting nights! With a huge lineup including Ant TC1, Fierce, DLR & Xtrah, the label is launching Cern’s album ‘Under Another Sky’. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, one of the most lethal combinations of the night will be Zero T, Artificial Intelligence and Steo. Ahead of the event we caught up with Zero T himself to chat about what we can expect on the night and what’s coming up next for him, plus he was kind enough to prepare a retrospective mix for us including previously unreleased material! For your chance to win tickets to the event scroll down to check the competition!

Ez Cian! How’s summer in London treating you?

Pretty good so far! As you can tell from my complexion I’m an avid sun worshipper, so its be an A+ summer for me. Jokes aside, i’ve been away from the studio for a while, so getting back on it this summer has been great.

Huge bank holiday coming up- Dispatch Recordings event at Plan B Brixton for Cern’s album launch: you’re going B2B with Artificial Intelligence and have Steo on hosting duties, what a lethal combination! You guys have never performed together right?

Obviously, given our shared histories, I’ve performed with both Steo and AI many times, but all of us at once is definitely a first. I think we’re all doing Leeds in the Autumn together too, so it should be a good laugh. Its been a while since i’ve played in London, so i’m really gagging to get back on the controls.

Do you have anything special prepared for the set?

I’ve been slowly amassing a new batch of solo tunes over the summer and have been collaborating with my dear old friend Danny Fierce a lot. Thats something i’m really excited about and foresee a lot of music coming from this partnership. So I guess the plan is to showcase some new Zero T music!

Wicked! We can’t wait to hear it! Some huge remixes of your tunes appearing recently with Baileys re-work of ‘Guessing Games’ and Alix Perez’s take on ‘Refusal’ (which was also remixed by Calibre), it must be humbling to be remixed by such huge contributors to the scene…

Its always nice when the people whose music you love love your music, and I’m always fascinated to hear how my music can be reinterpreted. ‘Refusal’ seems to have hit a particularly sweet note for me. It was my 1st collaboration with Steo, who besides providing the vocals for the track, also had a hand in the tracks construction and composition. It came together very organically in 1 session, those always seems to be the best ones, and it’s become a signature track of mine ever since.

Certified classic! Speaking of, you’ve prepared a retrospective mix for us.. tell us about the selection…

Its just a cherry-pick from my back catalogue with a few unreleased versions and tidbits to make it interesting. I think its a good snapshot of my output so far and shows the wide range of people i’ve been lucky enough to work with.

Nice one! You started out as a DJ and then moved in to production. Do you still enjoy the art of mixing or is production what you prefer to spend most of your time on these days?

I think they offer two very different pleasures. What I love about djing is the communal, momentary nature of it. Its never the same experience twice and i’ll never tire of the buzz you get from getting a room moving. Writing music is a largely solitary pursuit. Bringing a track from inception to completion is a hard fought thing, but thats what makes the rewards far sweeter and last far longer. In short, I love both, but for different reasons.

Makes sense! Which artists/ releases are inspiring you in the world of drum & bass at the moment?

Besides all the established people whose music I’ve been playing for years, of the newer breed Villem and that lot have an ethic and approach I really like, and DLR is going to some interesting places with his sound.

Whats on the cards for you for the rest of the year?

Ive just submitted the premasters for a follow up the Roxy Music EP for Dispatch. That’ll be another 5 tracker and includes a VIP of Roxy Music itself. My 12″ with Beta 2 on Metalheadz Platinum is dropping pretty soon, so keep an eye out for that. You should also be seeing some product resulting from my project with Fierce in the near future!

Final shouts?

Check out my appearance on Stamina’s RinseFM show. Showcasing some of the new material mentioned above. You can find it on my new agents site BASSIC.CO