Last week, somewhere amid my tedious ramblings, there could be found a snippet of Golden Glow, in the form of a live music video. While I am quite sure you paid it no heed (I judge from experience, it’s quite failsafe) you will not get away with it twice.
It’s review time and the city that beckons is.....Manchester. From the legendary Stone Roses to the more recently formed Delphic, it’s a place you can always seem to rely on to source that infallible, no-nonsense sound. Clearly, that belief is still well maintained.
Golden Glow is a project; the man behind it is one Pierre Hall, previously front man of The Lead Balloons, a little band that saw a lot of renown in the confines of Manchester city. He terms his new LP ‘dead lo-fi’, a popular, nascent musical choice.
In this case, the raw quality finely complements his modest indie sound. It’s that melodic 80’s brilliance that is often rendered inimitable and can go so horribly wrong when attempting to be ‘revived’, but debut album Tender Is The Night is a self-produced album that demonstrates how it is done. It is a collection of Hall’s earlier demos and EPs to date, that his trusty initial batch of listeners insisted should not be tampered with, but released as they are.
Although the album generally adheres to a steady and easy vibe, there is an enthralling eeriness surrounding several of the tracks with their cold, dour words “you don’t adore me”, “I’m not afraid to be on my own” and “you left me at a loss”. A sense of deep foreboding is created in ‘The Blizzard’ by means of the heavy, clanging guitar-work and music. ‘Streetlighter’ no doubt stands out of the crowd in its warm, romantic tone while ‘All Time’ can be compared with a number of Pete Doherty’s contemplative, less-than-sober numbers. So if it is a good bit of romance you’re looking for, ‘All Time’ and ‘The Cure’ are the ones for you.
Tracklisting
1. Adore Me
2. Locked Inside
3. The Cure
4. The Blizzard
5. On My Own
6. All Time
7. Books
8. At A Loss
9. Streetlighter
10. Retreat
11. Start Again
If a drawback must be found, just slightly disappointing is the shortness of duration in each song. But all in all, Golden Glow does not appear to be reaching for the stars, so here is a record we can take for face value and enjoy for its sheer simplicity. Here’s ‘Adore Me’...
The neglect of music is, for me, a bit of a cyclical thing. It just happens. Usually around springtime, for a lengthy duration, I subconsciously starve myself of new bands, anticipated LPs and singles that emerge around me. Perhaps you suffer it too? For it does happen with music.For the love of it, you just leave it alone.
Nonetheless, my negligence is both unjustifiable and uncanny. I say unjustifiable because there really is no explanation for letting all the contemporary talent whizz passed my ears whilst I snooze. Having said that, I cannot and will not comprehend the oft-heard claim that music, namely rock, is dead – you’re just not looking hard enough! I say uncanny because I am a bit of a music critic (apparently). So scratch uncanny, I meant downright daft.
For instance, I recently got a laptop and it was not until a fortnight later that I realised that I don't actually have any of my music on it. No Johnny Cash, no Beatles, no Biffy Clyro, no Laura Marling – zilch. In fashion terms, that could be a faux pas. But fear not – despite my ignorance I have been saved and saved again.
My first saviour came in the form of my DAB radio, the choice of station being XFM. The radio is a marvellous thing in its own right. Most stations are potent enough to have your ears within the first 30 seconds whilst not being as condescending as to snatch your imagination from you. You might say I was avenging the radio and slowly killing that damned video star instead. So XFM fast became my daily fix, hitting all the right spots, and I think a few times I even felt my soul rejoicing again (okay that’s cheesy).
But a problem arises when you start listening to the radio in the same manner you might dissect a frog or scrutinise a Michelangelo painting – one tends to use every ounce of concentration. At this point, you might be thinking that I have no life. You might be visualising me sitting on a chair with my ears, or even eyes, pressed to the radio whilst night turns to day and day to night. This is not true. I do other things whilst listening like...washing up. And ironing.
Anyway, there is only one word to describe how I listened to XFM – religiously. And when that happens, you start to realise – as brilliant as the music is – there is only so much you can take of Mumford and Sons or White Lies in the stretch of a few hours. It’s also difficult to avoid the feeling that The Wombats are spurting out new releases every other day.
It all becomes very trying when you can predict the next song queued due to there only being a select few on the station’s playlist. You would be forgiven for mistaking the tiresome track repetition for a technical glitch or something. However, I am not about to totally disparage XFM, because it did momentarily pull me out of a music-less slumber. So let’s revel in some of those XFM-approved tunes for a while, because here is some great music that I don’t think I’ll be shaking off anytime soon. These guys need no introduction:
So inevitably, XFM and I decided to take a break. We felt suffocated to the point that we needed time and space apart. But this time, I was rescued by the music reviewer in me!
I had always wondered where I might source that highly inspirational, exceptionally innovative, unsigned stuff. Despite the fact that it makes my day when an acquaintance introduces me to some understated and underrated band I instantly adore, I admit that I do envy them their bragging rights.
Well now I am glad to have come across a wealthy refuge harbouring those very bands and artists I crave. It’s with all the indie music webzines who get their pick of who they consider worthy of showcasing. This is one perk I’m truly fond of, and will continue to be, when reviewing music for online publications.
Allow me to share with you some of my greatest music revelations to date as a result of exercising the meagre influence I have as a music hack. This is a quite a diverse range of sounds from lo-fi mellow indie to raging screamo:
All this and Justin Lee Collins’s return to XFM = pure bliss!
Very happy to wake up this morning to the completed music video I worked on with Director/ Producer/Editor Richard Hunter for Chapter 24. As a make-up artist music videos are always fun to work on - high energy, high caffeine and all done in a couple of days! Just hold your breath, hope that the song you're about to hear 100 times doesn't induce trepanning, and get ready to de-sweat your band at regular intervals. Hey - I didn't say it was all glamour, but Chapter 24 were great and singer Claire's riot grrrl image allowed me to be a kid again and play with rainbow shades of MAC glitter and heavy black liner - it was bliss indeed!
This is probably my highlight of the year so far…. I remember first hearing this song in the depths of Wales after an extremely strenuous walk and I thought ‘God we haven’t heard such a banging song in yonks!’ It wasn’t just my then current lack of energy and desperate need to perk up - I have loved this song thoroughly from the beginning like a crooning mother hen and when Gwyneth Paltrow covered it in Glee I was all the more merrier.
This performance was everything and more to me because it was just so damn visually entertaining: Big man Cee lo in a multi-coloured feathered suit complete with glittering scalp, puppets, a live band with all those little snippets that you just don’t get from a record and of course Gwyneth charmingly larking around in Louboutins and pink feathered earrings. Priceless!
Every photographer believes they can double up as a director. I am no different. I cautiously stepped in to the world of directing with a music video for an up and coming band, Rocketeer (www.rocketeermusic.co.uk). They came up with the idea of a tongue-in-cheek battle scene set at the turn of the 19th century with a story line that a Hollywood writer would be proud of: prosthetic wounds, scars and of course some kick ass weapons. All that in a four minute video. Easy (sarcastically said!).
I assembled a dream team of make up artist supremo, Lillie Lindh and one ace assistant we shall call Jack, as that is his name. So a two day shoot followed in the depths of the New Forest with high stress levels, little sleep and a 20kg steadicam rig attached to me for 9 hours a day. The band played their parts brilliantly, got really stuck in and my dream team outdid themselves tremendously. This is what a 2 day shoot and 20 solid days of learning how to use iMovie can produce, enjoy:
Been doing some music research and there are some things that I would like to bring to your attention.....
1. Gentlemen's Dub Club- really fun dubstep group playing 3rd December at Barfly in Camden. Tickets are £6 for this.
2. Bonobo. DJ's who play all their instruments live are playing in London and Brighton on the 10th/11th December. Tickets more expensive at £20, but very worth it I have been told.
3. Nicholas Jaar playing December 10th in East London - new Dj.
All really good music and something to just let you all know about...
Arveene & Misk are a dance music duo from Dublin and have been producing tracks together for about three years. Arveene has always focused on DJing and has worked hard at making himself Ireland's best club DJ for ten years. Misk on the other hand, started off on the production side of music and is better known as one half of breakbeat act, Splitloop. Together they have been remixing the likes of Mr Oizo and Zombie Nation, teaming up with rap trio Yo Majesty and all the while amassing a legion of fans including Erol Alkan, Darren Emerson and Felix Da Housecat.
With a chain of successful remixes, Arveene & Misk are now concentrating on original tracks with new one - 'Love & Lust' set to be massive when released this month on Plant Records.
There is no doubt that Eliza Doolittle’s musical talent has made a huge impact on the British music scene. Cecilia Seilern talks to the artist about her inspiration, fashion and life style as a vibrant, new recording artist…
Cecilia Seilern: What are your musical influences?
Eliza Doolittle:I listen to everything from Stevie Wonder to Steely Dan, beach Boys, Carole King, Paul Simon, Beatles, Beyonce, Burt Bacarach...loads of stuff!
CS: Were you listening to any particular music in the making of your album?
ED:I did listen to a lot of Kinks, Beach Boys, Stevie and Burt but I always do!
CS: What are you listening to a lot at the moment? Top 5 iPod picks, either artists or tracks.
ED: oooo! CeeLo - Fuck You, Janelle Monae - Tightrope, Marvin Gaye - Anger, Dionne Warwick - Do You Know the Way to San Jose, Duncan - Paul Sion
CS: You filmed the video for 'Pack Up' in Jamaica - it's amazing by the way! - Please can you tell us about your decision to shoot there and your Caribbean experience? Also, are you inspired by Caribbean sound?
ED: We needed to shoot somewhere where we knew it would be hot hot hot! Jamaica or Cuba were the choices. Jamaica was definitely a perfect choice for Pack Up. The song is about being carefree, realising how lucky the majority of us are. And being somewhere like Jamaica where poverty is a huge issue amongst other things and seeing how people just roll on with things and seem happy. "No problem" is the catch phrase over there! It was amazing fun and gave the perfect message.
CS: 'Pack Up' is about letting go of your worries and not paying attention to other people’s whispers. Is this your personal attitude to life?
ED: It's about not worrying about that kind of thing as there is much worse going on out there somewhere else so…I try and have that philosophy at all times!
CS: We really like your live act with your band; the sound, the look etc... Can you tell us about the thought process behind the way you chose your simple string and percussion arrangement? What sound were you hoping to evoke?
ED: I wanted to have something different with the live set up, something you hadn't quite seen before, so as most of the album has double bass over electric, I went for that with acoustic guitar and simple high hat snare and kick drum kit. I have extended the band now to keyboards, violin and more kit to bring out the sound from the record into the live show a bit more.
CS: What are you working on now?
ED: I am working on the live set up and doing lots of gigs. I am also working on getting my music out to lots of different countries - as far as I can go really!
CS: Your handsome three boys in the band all wear the same thing on stage, usually a shirt buttoned all the way up to the neck and beige trousers. How did that uniform come about and do you have any preference to the way your men dress?
ED:I love the look of my boys, the inspiration was classic barbershop quartet!
CS: I know you're obsessed with trainers. Do you have any favourites at the moment? How many do you own?
I have about 25 pairs now I think !!! I am constantly wearing my vintage style light blue blazer Nikes at the moment.
CS: Do you have any style tips/secrets to give away?
ED: Not really, I'm always asking for the tips myself !
CS: It was just fashion week. Did you go to any shows and if so what were your highlights?
ED: I was working in Europe for most of London fashion week but I managed to get to PPQ and Julian J Smith. I saw some of the Mark fast show online and that looked amazing!
CS: Who are your favourite designers at the moment?
ED: Mark Fast, KoKon Tozai, Moschino, Chanel, Tim Ryan, Vivienne Westwood.
CS:. In keeping with your North London roots, what is your favourite place to shop in north London?
ED: Camden. It's full of amazing vintage shops that I'm always popping into.
CS: What are your favourite hangouts in North London?
It pays to be friends with those in high places, and in this case, that friend is an intern and that high place is Comic Relief! Last week, offered two free tickets to a charity gig in Camden, Hayley kindly invited me along. Having slaved away over spreadsheets at work for seven hours straight, disinterested in the charitable cause, we were both overly excited at the prospect of mingling with minor-celebs and letting our hair down to the soothing sounds of Alice Russell, Annie Lennox and the Tings Tings.
Arriving at Camden’s Roundhouse, we were greeted by the red carpet, the flashing of lights and the hubbub of eagerly awaiting crowds. As our tickets were ‘guest tickets’ with no specific name or price, being the opportunists that we are, a.k.a. dreamers, we decided to try our luck at surreptitiously sweet-talking our way into the VIP lounge with the likes of Big Brother winner, Josie. Presented with our tickets, blank as a canvas, we made our way to the VIP entrance. Attempting to look of somewhat importance, Hayley casually (in hindsight, embarrassingly) swinging her Comic Relief staff-pass around her neck, the blagging began. Asking for this over-sight to be put right, willing to let such a mistake graciously go, we weren’t quite sent so swiftly on our way to VIP as we had hoped. Having spoken to numerous, confused-looking staff, it became clear we had nothing but wasted 15 minutes of our night on a wild goose chase. Politely told that the Comic Relief guests were not permitted into VIP, we were simply ushered along with the rest of the rabble. Due to being so ill prepared for the evening, it was likely that our mild resemblance to tramps negatively implemented our attempts. Compared to those dolled up to the nines, rightly cruising into VIP having paid £120 to do so, there’s no denying we were fighting a losing battle.
Having been brought careering back down to earth, we joined the masses in the Roundhouse’s intimate space. Drink in hand; beginning to unwind, we were graced by a friendly and cheerful Edith Bowman, looking as beautiful and vibrant as ever on stage as she introduced the very significance of Voice Storm. And so the night began…
For the first time that night I was awoken to the importance of the evening, inspired by the cause, Body & Soul. Body & Soul is a unique charity supporting children, teenagers and families living with, or closely affected by HIV. Their purpose is to simply make HIV, positive, disturbed by the undeserving stigma attached to the virus in the UK. What’s more, the night was particularly tailored around celebrating the life and brilliance of Dame Anita Roddick: founder of the environmentally-friendly breakthrough store, The Body Shop; founding patron of Body & Soul and an all-round inspiration to the charitable world. Fore grounded by Roddick, the night celebrated strong and inspirational women, illustrated through a fantastic line-up of incredible female performers: Lauren Pritchard, Mel C, Alice Russell, Annie Lennox and the Ting Tings.
Kicking off with the bright, beautiful and brilliant Lauren Pritchard, I was instantly overwhelmed by emotion as the beauty and soul of the music swept the encouragingly bustling room. It was at that point that I was grateful to have been so harshly rejected from the stuffy and clinical seats of VIP, instead moved by the intimacy of the atmosphere wielding the standing crowds. The night was no longer about getting our hands on a goody bag bursting with sponsors: Kettle Chips, Jelly Babies and Eat Natural, or bumping into the fifteen minute famed likes of B.B’s Josie. Instead, the night swiftly became entirely about the cause. The music chosen by each and every act was not only powerfully performed and full of soul, but every word exceptionally apt to the event’s engaging ethos. As Mel C performed the Bryan Adams classic, When You’re Gone, accompanied on the guitar by James Walsh, I couldn’t help but feel enchanted by the words, reflecting on the great loss of Anita Roddick and the incredible work of Body & Soul.
Despite having entered the event free of charge, something I initially felt somewhat smug about, I left with more than simply the experience of a great night. Instead, I left with an overwhelming sense of why we were there and what it was all really about. Awoken to a new perspective, I left enlightened.
It is the creativity and inspirational attitude behind events such as Voice Storm that are truly at the heart of implementing change. What’s more, recognised by The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft, it is music that is essentially power. So in the words of Anita Roddick, “This is no damned dress rehearsal! You’ve got one life, so just lead it. And try to be remarkable”.
I do not class myself as the quintessential dub 'stepper' yet I have been to what seems like a million dubstep nights and for good reason. I say I don't hold the credentials of a 'stepper' because on paper I am a University educated, middle class white girl and it just doesn't seem right to assign myself this underground status. I'll come back to this later.
From the moment I started University I went out of my way to steer clear of the large, commercial clubs where silver-spooned, snuff sniffing jocks swung their t-shirts around their heads to the Baywatch theme tune. Different people enjoy different things, this is just not what I look for in a night out. Almost immediately, I found a circle of friends with whom I rebelled against the norm. This is not as exciting as it sounds. Various examples include; refusing to courier in my prom dress to wear to a hall formal (which took place in the canteen....glamourous!), refusing to willfully attend hall outings to Oceana... you get the picture. Our shared dislike for lash-culture ostrisized us from the masses and in the social stratosphere that is first year, this seemed to unnerve the other residents in our hall. But whatevs, that was four years ago and without wanting to sound like a whiney little kid striving for a nonconformist way of life, the decisions made were definitely for the better!
Before finding myself in the grimiest of hovels skanking out next to some unsavoury characters - I hit the indie scene, hard. This lastest for a couple of years and I have fond memories of dancing to Larrikin Love, et al, in a manner that was akin to being sprayed with bullets. The pretention in the indie scene is off the scale but it was so much fun I don't really care. Then electro started to permeate through. Luckily the indie-electro vibe was pretty forthcoming and the clubs in which we resided provided enough synthy goodness to sustain my interest. The turning point however - was bass. During one of my downloading sessions I stumbled across Plastician's remix of 'Some Way Through This' (The Black Ghosts) and with that I was whisked off into a-whole-nother world, leaving my friends and the familiar grip of the indie scene behind. Since then I have been brrrraappping my way through some of the BEST nights I have ever had.
Having graduated, I returned to my University city most weekends to see my friends and indulge in some bigggg weekends. Though I would skank until the small hours, while the ceiling fell down around me under the pressure of the bass-bins - I still wouldn't class myself as a 'stepper'. One obvious and admittedly materialistic approach would be to assess the chosen attire for such an event. Once upon a time, standard protocol appeared to be the brightly coloured and heavily decorated hoody-wearing male and girls of a Ms Dynamite-esque urbanity. But obviously nowadays, the music genres infinitely merge – to the annoyance of some dub-heads. A recurring example is the skinny jean/american apparel hooded/top buttoned shirt-wearing guys with undercuts enthusiastically gun-signing to the DJ. It depends on the venue and of course, the DJ.
Dubstep has definitely gone mainstream and with that, so has the crowd. I am not condemning this because no doubt for someone that doesn't know me – they'd think I had just heard Katy B's 'On A Mission' on Fearne Cotton's radio show and crowned myself a patron of the genre. Though what I most definitely am not – is a six inch heel wearing girl, gyrating on the podium with all me bits out. The general consensus within dubstep crowds stipulates this as impractical dress. I fell victim to it when a girl in heels to rival the Empire State building tumbled off of the podium and right onto me. She looked nice... she was just in totally the wrong club.
Another point of note is the ever decreasing age of people getting into dubstep. The most significant example for me being Rusko at Glastonbury Festival this year. I should have expected it, Rusko is a household name nowadays but it was a strange experience seeing two very young boys skanking out in front of their DAD who was there to supervise them. I almost felt like giving him some adult-to-adult reassurance about what the hell was going on. But judging by the look on his face and the hemorrhaging bass that prevented anyones ears from functioning adequately, I thought I best leave it. Clearly this has everything to do with the emergence of the genre into the mainstream, the only way to prevent it is to stay one step ahead of the kids. Steer clear of the Caspa's and the Rusko's and rummage around for the Youngsta's and the Gemmy's!
Like most things, genres come and go and I seem to be on a conveyer belt through them all. While I still listen to dubstep, I did have a momentary break from the ear-bleeding basslines and dipped my toe into (quite a lot of) tech-house. What I like about music these days is that it remains fresh. I'm lucky enough to enjoy a wide range of music and I'll no doubt listen to dubstep when it's no longer 'cool', as I did before it was assigned this status.
With an extraordinary ability to induce soul and introspection through his music, 22 year old Londoner James Blake is fast making his unique mark under the ever-widening dubstep umbrella. Unlike the aggressive, machine-like whomps and screeches associated with popular dubstep artists, Blake has taken a more abstract approach. Though his tracks aren't without warbling bass and the usual hi-hat tittle-tattle, the emphasis is on sample experimentation, distorted vocals and contemporary melodies.
His love for hearing the recognizable excerpts of popular artists is demonstrated through tracks such as 'CMYK' where the vocals of Aaliyah, R Kelly and Brandy are cleverly manipulated. Blake's own interest in the R'n'B and Hip-Hop genres explain his reworkings of urban hits such as Destiny's Childs' – 'Bills, Bills, Bills' and Snoop Dogg's 'Drop It Like It's Hot' of which he releases under the psuedonym - Harmonix.
He incorporates a medley of micro-beats and irregular silences, sped up and slowed down sample vocals as well as chopped up sound-bites of his own Auto-Tuned vocals. Blake's voice, however, is in no need of Auto-Tuning. Is there anything this boy can't do? The rich, complexity of his tracks suggest years of production experience, not the two years he has been doing it since starting university. But it's his musical background that has stood him in good stead. Since the not-so-ripe-old-age of between 5 and 6, Blake has been singing and playing the piano, classically. As something which he did not appreciate at the time, classical music has been invaluable in shaping his overall style and ingenuity.
Understanding that vocals carry a certain amount of sentiment, Blake is able to return to what he describes as 'his calling' – being able to sing and play the piano. After totally immersing himself in electronica, stripping back to basics has to be quite a cathartic experience. More recently, Blake has emphasized the use of his own vocals. 'Limit To Your Love', originally by Feist, is an example garnering a huge amount of praise. It beautifully combines his vocal and musical ability with floods of passion and sincerity. The first quarter of the track is far removed from the usual broken sound bites and lurching melodies. His vocals take precedence and are wholly captivating. Then at around 55 seconds, a thundrous, reverberating bass provides the backdrop to his dulcet tones. It is exactly this contrast Blake finds beauty in.
With that in mind, Blake looks set to be releasing more material. With the success of 'The Bells Sketch' released on Hessle Audio, 'CMYK' and most recently - 'Klavierwerke’ on R&S earlier this year, it has never been more apparent that his distinctive branching out of the dubstep genre is permeating through to the masses. As well as further collaborations with Mount Kimbie on the cards, Blake also looks set to focus more on his magestic voice by recording a vocal album.
Boasting a sound so current yet totally unique, do not be surprised to hear the electronic masterpiece that is - James Blake, exploding through your radiowaves very soon!
Mattix & Futile are D'n'B-heads Jack Wakeman and Mike Davis. They are both originally from Horsham in West Sussex and have been DJing together for 7 years. With new promo 'Rising Up/Substance' set for release on Cyntax Error Records in October, Mattix & Futile tell Ellie Wilcox about themselves, the social implications of DJing and the atmosphere within the club scene at the moment...
Ellie: Describe your sound without mentioning any current artists and genres of music.
Mattix&Futile: We like to make uplifting and energetic music which has impact on the dance floor.
Ellie: And now describe your sound using current artists and genres.
M&F: We are heavily influenced by artists like Sub Focus, Brookes Brothers, Culture Shock, Camo & Krooked, Shock One, Furlonge etc. They all share a similar style of melodic, dance floor driven drum'n'bass.
Ellie: How long had you both been DJing before you decided to collaborate?
M&F: We have both been DJing for about 10 years [individually].
Ellie: Can you describe the drum'n'bass/breakbeat genre in layman’s terms?
M&F: In real basic terms we’d describe drum'n'bass as music between 165 & 175bpm that orientates around huge drops, deep sub bass-lines, big energizing breakdowns and complex break beat patterns.
Ellie: Which particular genres or artists have influenced heavily on your sound?
M&F: The majority of music we listen to inspires us as listening to other genres and artists gives us ideas to try in our own music. Electro has probably been one of the biggest influences on our sound over previous months alongside Sub Focus as we really liked the way he began to fuse Electro with D'n'B in his tracks, ‘Join The Dots’ being a great example.
Ellie: Who would you love to share a line up with and where would this take place?
M&F: We managed to share a line up with Andy C last year which was probably one of our greatest DJ moments to date but I guess our ideal set would be playing at a label night like Ram, Shogun, Hospital etc alongside DJ’s that have influenced us along the way. We would have loved to have played at Matter when it was open!
Ellie: Are there any artists that you would like to collaborate on a track with?
M&F: Loads and to be honest, we’d love to collaborate with artists in all different sub genres of D'n'B. Netsky, Noisia, Sub Focus, Alix Perez, Camo & Krooked, Culture Shock, Spor, Xample & Lomax, the list could really go on forever.
Ellie: Are there any other genres you would experiment with in the future, for example; jungle, 2-step, bassline, fidget?
M&F: We’ve done a couple of dubstep tracks in the past and messed around with different genres like electro and fidget. We like all forms of dance music so we would be open to experiment again in the future.
Ellie: Do you prefer DJing live or producing music?
M&F: We prefer to DJ live - its such a buzz, especially when we play our own tracks and see the crowd's reaction.
Ellie: Do you have a regular day job and is it inconvenient when combined with perhaps having to work the next day?
M&F: We both work for a computer company. It’s not hard work but we work long hours. It doesn’t really interfere although we would much prefer to DJ/Produce full time.
Ellie: Do you drink on the job or do you think this is a bad idea?
M&F: Yeh we like to enjoy ourselves whilst playing. We try not to get too smashed until after our set though!
Ellie: When you've finished a set, do you stay out and party or go home?
M&F: It all depends on where we are and if there’s anything to do. We are always up for staying out though!
Ellie: Have you ever found yourselves DJing at an impromptu 'post-lash' after a set?
M&F: Sadly not since we were about 17/18 and there used to be decks set up at the house parties we were at. Wish that answer could have been a bit more exciting!
Ellie: How do you go about getting signed?
M&F: It’s a long LONG process! You need to get artists/label owners to listen to your tracks and that can be the hard bit. Labels are only really going to listen to something once, if they see potential in it and like the track they will be more inclined to listen to follow up tracks, offering help where they can and maybe look to sign the tracks or you as an artist.
Ellie: What do you think of the current ‘scene’ you’re involved in and the target audience it draws into clubs?
M&F: I think drum'n'bass is currently one of the strongest music scenes around. The following is huge and continues to grow. The good thing about D'n'B is that there's so many styles on offer to suit peoples tastes. I'd say the cliental a club draws in depends on whose playing on the night.Artists like Chase & Status and Sub Focus are going to pull in more of a commercial crowd as opposed to a night that had more underground acts playing.
Ellie: Elements of the dubstep genre have recently permeated into the mainstream (e.g. Magnetic Man, Katy B etc), which many 'steppers' dislike. Do you think this has happened with drum‘n’bass, what with successful artists such as Chase & Status, Pendulum and Subfocus etc making it into the charts?
M&F: Yeah, we know there's definitely D'n'B heads who think that but then there's always going to be people in any genre of music who begin to dislike an artist because they go down a more mainstream route and try to make a success of their music or “sell out” as the majority of haters put it. Personally we don’t really see anything wrong with wanting to make your music successful.
Ellie: What do you think about commercial music? Would you prefer a genre to maintain a smaller, more dedicated and knowledgeable audience or do you think it's good that mainstream audiences can appreciate the music too?
M&F: We don’t dislike all commercial music but we’re certainly not too keen on it. I think withD'n'B, not everyone who likes the mainstream side of it is going to like the more underground scene but nowadays there seems to be nights and artists to suit everyone who likes the music. You still get club nights, labels and artists who have a more dedicated and knowledgeable following anyway. The mainstream audiences help the genre to grow and if they can appreciate good music for what it is then it's all good.
Ellie: Do you endeavour to play a wider club circuit or is it difficult to secure a set at clubs? - are any clubs notoriously difficult?
M&F: 'We hope, in the future, we’ll be playing all over the place. It's very hard to get sets in clubs without being an artist as we’ve previously found so we hope, as we release more tracks, the bookings will come flooding in. We do know some clubs that are notoriously difficult but sadly not going to name and shame them!'
Ellie: Are you making a living from DJing? If not, at what stage can you start making a decent living?
M&F: Sadly were not making a living from DJing. If we start to get regular bookings then we can start to think about leaving our jobs but it’s hard and risky to do so unless you’re in demand.
Ellie: Is it an expensive hobby and lifestyle what with set up and maintenance costs, travel etc?
M&F: Over the years it has been expensive buying equipment for production. As it has been a gradual process it hasn’t really affected us. Buying vinyl on a weekly basis can get expensive, but when we really want [to produce] a tune then we don’t think about the money side of things too much.
Ellie: What do you think about illegal downloading? And as opposed to buying a CD, what do you think of the digital realm? I.e. downloading from itunes/beatport/other?
M&F: Illegal downloading is definitely something we don’t agree with. We understand why people do it with massive artists as they make so much money regardless but a lot of smaller labels rely on sales of records to help better the label and fund more releases. Downloading legally is obviously easier and much cheaper than buying vinyl. In the past D'n'B was only available to buy on vinyl, so if you haven’t got a set of turntables it’s no good to you. Downloading means a lot more people can access the music.
Ellie: Describe the importance/relevance of streaming from sites such as youtube/soundcloud/mixcloud etc.
M&F: It helps up and coming artists get exposure and current artists to promote themselves. Plus it’s really helpful to preview forthcoming tracks and ID them if necessary. Also youtube has a massive library of music so you can pretty much find anything you want.'
Ellie: Where do you aim to be with Mattix & Futile in say, 5 years time?
M&F: Ideally? Successful artists! Working on a second album with our own record label and an array of talented producers on it and our own club nigh! Yep, that’s the dream! Seriously though, in 5 years time if were making a living out of music we will be more than happy.
Ellie: You've been played on Grooverider's show on Radio1, are you actively promoting yourselves and do you intend to 'make it big'?
M&F: Yeh we are always promoting ourselves through social networking sites like Facebook, soundcloud, Twitter etc. Also sending tunes to the top artists for them to play out. The intent is to make it big, we just need to keep improving and getting the tunes out there.
Ellie: Do you wish to play any festivals next summer?
M&F: 'Yeh we’d love to play at a festival, that’s what it’s all about!'
Rising Up/Substance is out on Cyntax Error Records in October
Magnetic Man is the recent dubstep amalgamation of UK bass pioneers, Benga Skream and Artwork. This homegrown trio rose like hooded phoenixes out of Croydon's garage scene, as individual artists pushing experimental sounds that got heads nodding and sound systems shuddering. Rumoured to have been locked up in a Cornish studio recently, it has been confirmed that they have been cooking up an album due for release on Columbia Records in the next few months.
"There's some risky tracks on the album that we've done," Artwork commented. "We could just sit down and write straight-up dubstep tracks, but instead we're taking risks. We're not doing what people expect."
Recent performances by Magnetic Man show they have used sounds that appeal to more than just capped grimesters, in order to push themselves into the MTV mainstream. Having recently graced the cover of NME, as an example of 'the state of music today', it appears that they must be worthy of such recognition.
“With all three of us doing it it’s going to get ultra-no-holds barred,” blurted Skream. “This is Magnetic Man. It’s no longer three people: it’s a whole.” If three heads are better than one then Magnetic Man looks set to resonate their sounds globally.
Accused by the many devout dubstep fanatics to be 'cashing in' or 'selling out' it appears Magnetic Man could face constant scrutiny from loyal heads. Modelling matching white hoodies for their album promo shot, it seems the dubstep musketeers are just desperate for a taste of that boy band bling. Its definitely gonna get them the three cherries and force people to appreciate dubstep as more than just an experimental undercurrent.
Blending their finest, Magnetic Man are due to release their debut single at the end of July. The track 'I Need Air' is dance-floor riot fuel, although the dark signature wobbles of their Croydon days have sadly been neatened by poppy mash-up. It's a track to get the brightest high tops bouncing. If this is what its gonna take to lasso the masses towards the UK bass scene, get the world beating at 140, then big up.
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