20 odd years in the making, Dope Ammo and DJ Hybrid remix the cult classic Let Me Be Your Fantasy and with a huge Moondance show pending, Jamie links up with Coco (Dope Ammo) to get the lowdown.
Moondance has certainly been around since way back when and is certainly a fine choice to represent the latest remix single. Was that the reason behind the link up?
The original Let Me Be Your Fantasy is such an old school anthem. I wanted to take it back to the original promoters from back in the day where this track would have been first played. Moondance was the obvious choice for me. Also during lockdown they did some amazing streams during the darker times which really lifted you when it was needed.
Can you remember the first event you went to way back in time? Did you ever attend one of the classic Moondance events in the early 90’s?
Unfortunately, I was just a little bit too young at the time so missed a lot of the 1992 raves. The first event I went to was The Wedding Anniversary from Amnesia House which was the anniversary to the infamous Book of Love rave in 1992. It was one of the first ones at The Sanctuary in Milton Keynes, Ratpack played and it was just as the sound was getting darker so they brought the happy vibes to the dance.
Talking of classic rave brands, you must have seen the buzz surrounding bringing Helter Skelter back for ‘one last time’. What’s your thoughts on this? Does bringing back rave brands work or is the nostalgia somewhat rose tinted?
Yeah lol it’s been all over the internet. I speak with Dave from Helter Skelter quite a bit as we live in the same town and he hasn’t mentioned anything so unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to happen but I will keep telling him he should do one.
My biggest regret is I didn’t manage to play at a Helter Skelter back in the day as we were all local but to be honest it was probably best I didn’t because I was a little bit too inexperienced. My nerves would have probably got the better of me!
I think it is good to bring old brands back as it will bring out all the old school heads that don’t really go out anymore and it becomes a bit of a reunion. Always great to see people from back in the day and catch up to music from the 90’s which is some of the best ever made, so for me, there is nothing wrong with that at all.
Remixing classic tunes obviously works if you do it right and your remix alongside DJ Hybrid was smashing festivals to bits last year. In your opinion, how do you recreate that magic second (or third!) time around? How can you remix a classic without pissing off it’s core audience and appealing to new fans all at once?
A perfect example is our Baby D remix in my opinion. I think it’s all about keeping those original elements that got people hooked in the first place. With Baby D I wanted to make sure we did just that and kept the tempo on the breakdown at 135 (its original tempo) so it catches all the old school heads but at the same time the new generation too and they get the same feeling the older generation did when they first heard it. If you can come with a drop that is current then you will kinda hit the nail on the head and keep everyone happy. I think we have managed to do that with the version.
The live stream link up with Moondance, how did the idea come about? What’s the details of the lineup? Can people come and ‘socially dance’… If that’s a thing?
Moondance was doing great lockdown streams and with COVID I wanted to do something special so the obvious choice was to do a stream with those guys. We’ve got Slipmatt, Ratpack, Nicky Blackmarket, Ray Keith, Dope Ammo, DJ Hybrid, Sense, Twista & Trix and of course Baby D on the lineup.
With the six people rule we are struggling to even invite our friends along but at least it’s all going ahead – that’s the main thing.
As a regular DJ on the circuit, how do things work regarding live streams? It must be costing artists financially just to turn up plus all the expense regarding hiring the venues, sound, light, broadcasting – it can’t be cheap.
Yeah totally it’s better this time as at least myself and Moondance can share the costs but you are right; people just don’t get it all these DJs are playing for expenses and nobody is making any money but we all do it cos our hearts are in it.
Is Facebook live streaming dead in the water now? What killed it off do you think? Everyone was a bedroom DJ in April!
There’s a lot of rumours floating about to be honest Facebook has never been a platform to stream music, it’s for friends and family. We really need to get everyone over to the Mixcloud page which is set up officially for streaming. They pay PRS on all music played so it’s better all round for the artists too.
It was hard enough getting our mix across the line let alone trying to release the original again
The original version of Let Me Be Your Fantasy had a few killer remixes back in the day. Any word on remasters or a strictly limited vinyl repress with your latest remix on the flip?
Unfortunately we would love to do it but it’s up to the powers that be. It was hard enough getting our mix across the line let alone trying to release the original again. If they wanted to do that then they wouldn’t need us anyways lol!
Finally, what else is planned for 2020 release wise for you and your label?
We’ve managed to get the rights to Awesome 3’s ‘Don’t Go’ track off the back of Baby D so we are following up on an old school tip. This could potentially turn into an album for next year but I don’t wanna let too much off yet lol ha ha ha!
Any shouts?
Yeah shouts to Floyd Dyce, Simon at Bucks Music, Dee and Phil (Baby D),
Mark & Evs (Ratpack), Nicky Blackmarket & Ray Keith, Benny Page, Danny Byrd and James Honey whom without these people the Baby D thing would have never of happened. Massive shout to Ellis Dee, Twista, Funki and the Moondance family.
Stay up to date with D&B news
Join our newsletter to get monthly updates directly to your inbox
