Ed Rush & Audio have both had illustrious careers in the drum & bass scene. Since teaming up to form Killbox things have only gone from strength to strength.
They’re on the verge of releasing their second full-length Killbox LP on the mighty Ram Records. The fifth single from the ‘Devine Profits’ album was recently released so we needed to find out more. We spoke to Audio, armed with a bunch of questions supplied by you lot. Here’s what he had to say…
You’ve both had successful solo careers. How did the Killbox collaboration come about?
The whole project was sparked by a back 2 back set we did for the Bad Company UK reunion in Bristol and at Fabric. We had such a blast, plus the fact we are friends and have a history together from my solo work on Virus, meant it was a no brainer. Once we hit the studio and the tunes started coming we realised we’d made the right decision.
Do you each have your own roles in the studio? Is one of you the sample hunter and the other the engineer? Or are you both full hands on deck?
We both bring ideas and sketches to the table. Before COVID we’d meet at my studio once a week to run through all the ideas and move on with the tunes we felt could turn into something. Luckily, we finished the LP before the lockdown as neither of us are fans of working over the internet.
It’s fair to say the Killbox sound is very ‘aggressive’. What is the underlying attribute for achieving that harder sound?
We both play hard tunes in our sets and obviously my history comes from the legendary Therapy Session nights where only the hardest tunes were played, so that reflects in our output. I must admit as I’m getting older I like tunes with more substance than just smashing dance floor tunes, so we’re trying to get a balance in our work.
Both of you are very experienced in the studio, ever thought to leave that comfort zone & to do a Killbox live show?
I think maybe in the beginning we thought about it, but we soon realised it wasn’t for us, we both enjoy DJing too much.
What is your main source of musical inspiration outside the world of dnb?
For me it’s grime, hip hop and metal
What do you find harder, making the tunes or coming up with the name for the tracks?
Haha! That’s a good question. Sometimes the names are there from the beginning and we write the tune with that in mind. Alternatively we write the tune and spend ages trying to think of something. We both feel that the title is very important.
Devine Profits is the title of the forthcoming album. Where in the album making process do you come up with the title? And do you find you’ll make tracks conceptually around that title?
The album title came after 80% of the project was completed, we were talking about how the world is and where it seems to be going, including religion and peoples’ ever growing greed for wanting more and more, including ourselves. The ‘Devine Profits’ title came from that.
It must be quite frustrating not being able to get that club feedback from your fans?
Yeah it’s really annoying not to have that instant feedback , but we both put music out because we want to, and we would continue to do so if there was no crowd. It’s just what we do. Things will get back to how they were, and the vibes when they do will be insane!
Do you think the fact that you’ve not been able to get into clubs and road test these tunes has impacted the sound of the album?
Not at all, all these tunes where done before COVID and tested thoroughly worldwide. That’s how we came to the final track list, keeping the tunes that worked the best.
We’ve already had tasters with tracks such as the killer Cypher Pattern, what can we expect of the album?
That Killbox sound taken up a notch after Pleasure Palace (the previous album). That’s the beautiful thing about writing music, you’re always improving, learning new skills and techniques to take your sound to the next level.
Thought about what your next project will be beyond the album? I’m guessing more studio work until clubs open up again?
I have a solo album 99% finished so that’s the next big thing from me.
Follow Killbox on Facebook for more details on the Devine Profits LP
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