Today my brand new single ‘Abstract Funk’ got its Worldwide release on the LoveThatBass label.
Usually I would write a feature, or interview the artist to accompany a release announcement, but it didn’t quite sit right with me to write about myself… Or the even more wanky option of interviewing myself!!
In the end I decided to put the offer out on social media for you all to submit the questions you wanted me to answer, anything about D&B music, production or running events. Below are a few of your submissions answered to the best of my ability…
Your Questions Answered…
What or who inspired you to become a DJ / producer?
That’s a tough one. I don’t think any one person inspired me to become a DJ. I was buying records before I had a set of decks. I got swept up in the early rave scene & everyone I knew in those days wanted to be a DJ.
Pirate radio was definitely an inspiration. DJ’s from Cyndicut, the local station to where I’m from, were very active on my local club scene, so I guess it was people like DAZ (Splash / Undercover Agent), Just Jones, Embee, M.A.T.T. & Andy C who used to play on there back then? Also guys like Colin Favor & Colin Dale on Kiss FM.
You’ve DJed for a lot of years but how long have you been producing?
My first experience of making tunes was in the early 90’s, maybe around 94ish? My mate Nicol had an AKAI S900 sampler & an Atari set up. But to be honest I didn’t bring much to the table cos I didn’t have a clue what he was doing when he was pressing buttons. I was keen to learn more.
Nicol had done a course at SAE in London, I signed myself up for that same course. It was mostly recording bands, setting up mics, working professional mixing desks, tape editing & live sound. At the time it wasn’t so heavy on sequencing computer music, but I enjoyed it none the less.
After the SAE course I actually worked at a studio for a short time & was lucky enough to be there while artists like The Verve, Sly & Robbie and Shola Ama were recording. Unfortunately the money was pretty much non existent so I had to go make a living.
I landed a job in a record shop after that and DJing became my priority. I had a few releases out over the years, but I’ve not been prolific. My first passion has always been standing in front of a crowd playing music, not sitting in a studio staring at a screen listening to the same loops over & over. That said I’ve learned to enjoy it more in recent years. I made a lot of music over lockdown.
Where do you get your inspiration for making music?
My main intention when sitting down to make a track is to create music that I want to play in my DJ sets.
I’ve made A LOT of music over the years but my own standards for myself are maybe a bit too high as only a handful of those tracks have ever seen the light of day. This track ‘Abstract Funk’ got tested a lot in sets, live streams & radio shows before I was confident enough it was worthy of a release.
How do you get your kick & snare in key with your bassline?
It’s a bit of an old skool method but I use my ears!! I’m sure there’s a plug in that does it, but I can hear when things don’t work musically.
I usually start my tracks with the drums and will then record a bass line that works with those drums.
My melodies & other sounds will then have to work with the main drum & bass elements.
What DAW do you use & what are your favourite plug-ins?
Ableton is my DAW of choice. I was using Reason for many years, but switching to Ableton was the best move the I made with regards to making music. I can actually lay down the ideas I have in my head. ‘Abstract Funk’ turned out pretty much as I’d hoped it would.
Plug-in wise, I don’t actually use that many. The plug-ins and effects in Ableton are all pretty good.
I do like the Softube Saturation Knob that AKAS recommended in an article he did for this site listing his top 5 free plug-ins… In fact my best resource for studio tips full stop is AKAS! We talk most days and he is a bonafide genius at making music!!
Who’s your biggest inspiration in the events industry?
I do a lot of work behind the scenes at events and have been lucky enough to see how a lot of promoters do their thing. But I’ll be honest I don’t have one inspiration in the events industry. Most of what I’ve learned event wise has been self taught through trail & error.
90% of event promotion is marketing, email & spreadsheets. If you can think of creative ways to sell the same thing in many different ways & use Mailchimp and Excel then you can be a promoter, run a record label, or be a booking agent!
What’s been your favourite event to DJ at?
Another hard question!! I’m not sure I can name on single event. I have many favourites for many reasons.
Atomics was a favourite venue of mine & playing Pure Science there was always a great experience. AWOL at Ministry of Sound was a great one to play at. My first set for Movement at Bar Rumba, I only played in the bar area, but it was fucking good fun!
I always love playing at Warning. The crowd there have always been incredibly receptive to what I do & I got so much time for Pete, Barrington, Five Alive & all the Warning family
Of course I’ve played a lot of sets for Innovation over the years. This set from Innovation In The Sun 2014 went pretty well, also Me & Skibadee played a real memorable set at Melkweg for Innovation In The Dam one year…
Thank You
Thanks for submitting your questions & thanks for your continued support of the LoveThatBass site & the music we’ve been releasing.
If you like ‘Abstract Funk‘ then please add it to your playlists and share it on your social media pages for all to hear. All profits made from the music we release goes straight back into running this website so the more plays we get, the longer we can keep the site going.
More Music For You
Have a listen to all the freshest drum & bass on our very own LoveThatBass record label. Our music covers the full spectrum of the jungle / dnb genre with tracks from the likes of Kleu, Waypoint, Glitch City, AKAS, Jaydan, Georgia Phoenix, Oversight & more!
