Episode 65
Dj Hype pt. 2 - reflections
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DJ Hype's Links:
In this episode, we're back again with Jungle legend DJ Hype to discuss his career from the early 90s to the present day, looking at what he's done, the awards he's won, and really to take from his experience and wisdom in the scene.
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
Right, well, welcome back to Once A dj, DJ Hype.
Speaker A:How are you today?
Speaker B:Bit painful on the leg, but it's all part of my recovery.
Speaker B:Apart from that, all good.
Speaker A:Well, fingers crossed it'll get better soon, mate.
Speaker A:So, yeah, so where we left it last time, DJ Hype had just been born thanks to a couple of T shirts.
Speaker A:And so it was really interesting that you.
Speaker A:That there was so much that you'd done before you were DJ Hype.
Speaker A:I didn't realize quite the level of backstory there, but.
Speaker A:So, yeah, where did it go from Fantasy, then?
Speaker A:Oh, just.
Speaker A:Just before I ask you that.
Speaker A:Sorry, those shows that you were doing on those two stations, were you purely mixing rather than on the mic then, at that point?
Speaker B:No, no, I was present when I started Wibs show with Daddy Earl.
Speaker B:I'd never presented in my life and I was very.
Speaker B:For someone who talks a lot off mic, I think I would like.
Speaker B:Earl was a.
Speaker B:An MC anyway, you know, like in the dance.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So if we were doing a show, he would do the reggae bit, I would do the hip hop bit.
Speaker B:So when he's playing the reggae, he'd be standing on a chair, mc, you know, he's going for it and I'll be sitting there.
Speaker B:What am I gonna say?
Speaker B:You know, in my head, really overthinking.
Speaker B:And then I'd have a tin attendance to kind of loosen up, you know, and I'd be all right, I've got no record.
Speaker B:If anyone out there's got a record, I've even googled it.
Speaker B:I can't find any recordings of when I did that show.
Speaker B:So I have no idea what I sounded like, but I think I went that bad.
Speaker B:That was just.
Speaker B:If you was videoing it, you know, when I'm not talking off air, I'm in the room, really think, what am I going to say?
Speaker B:How am I going to say it, you know?
Speaker B: frame because I think it was: Speaker B:1989.
Speaker B:I joined fantasy straight away on there.
Speaker B:Mixing but talking.
Speaker B:Yeah, right.
Speaker A:Just because on the ones that I'd listen to, I think it's someone else doing the talking, you see, that's why I was asking of what?
Speaker B:Fantasy?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Then I meet them.
Speaker B:Or it's me, maybe.
Speaker A:Maybe it's the show before or something.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I'll have a check on it.
Speaker B:I always presented.
Speaker B:There was the odd one we used to call the Night Ride where maybe one or two of us would go from like midnight to the morning, call it like the night ride and just be mixing.
Speaker B:And I think that's a long set.
Speaker B:We just vibing any.
Speaker B:I'm young and young and happy and enjoying it.
Speaker B:I'd play forever.
Speaker B:Back then, used to be me, DJ Chrome, sometimes Rhythm Doctor, Big up Rhythm Doctor, where we might bring in a third deck and just.
Speaker B:Oh, nice vibe.
Speaker B:But yeah, I was presented back then.
Speaker B:I was quite a popular presenter.
Speaker B:I think I was the most popular presenter on the station at one point.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Oh, amazing.
Speaker A:How easy was it for you to keep up on new releases then in hip hop at that time?
Speaker A:Was there certain good shops nearby or.
Speaker B:I would live it in Hackney.
Speaker B:You had.
Speaker B:Oh, God, I ain't gonna remember them all wide for sound.
Speaker B:I can't.
Speaker B:I bad is that I can't remember the name.
Speaker B:There was a record in Mare street in the Narrow Way that was moved from one place to another.
Speaker B:There was wired for sound, Mr. Music.
Speaker B:There was a few shops.
Speaker B:But back then I never had money.
Speaker B:But I didn't keep up with hip hop, as you say, you know, I bought.
Speaker B:I bought a bit of hip hop.
Speaker B:I didn't have a.
Speaker B:You know, I'm from a poor background, mate.
Speaker B:I ain't got no.
Speaker B:No family to give me money for records or anything.
Speaker B:So when we were doing the sound system, we used to sort of chip in together and buy records.
Speaker B:Me, Smiley and Daddy L&PJ.
Speaker B:And when I was on Fantasy at that point, I mean, I. I had all money, mate.
Speaker B:I. I was probably begging Boris.
Speaker B:Like my.
Speaker B:The first rave music I was ever played was borrowed from my friend Vincent when I very first went on Fantasy because I didn't.
Speaker B:And then I slowly bought.
Speaker B:I wasn't buying every kind of hippo at all.
Speaker B:I never did.
Speaker B:I wasn't a big.
Speaker B:I mean, I wanted the break beats, you know, I used to try and get older the original breaks and I would buy hip hop, but not up to date in everything.
Speaker B:I was never a hip hop dj, which a lot of people think I was.
Speaker B:I entered the mixed competitions.
Speaker B:I'm a reggae, so hip hop was part of my.
Speaker B:But it wasn't the be all end all.
Speaker A:Got it.
Speaker A:So how did DJing develop from that point then?
Speaker A:Did you start getting booked out more for playing live from the pirate shows?
Speaker B:Not initially.
Speaker B:Initially I was doing Fantasy Radio.
Speaker B:I joined.
Speaker B:I don't know if we covered it on the last one about GTI Records kicking me doing the Be the Exorcist well, basically when I joined Fantasy, at first I'm just on there and I loved it, really loved it.
Speaker B:It was like a new world to me and I found it very easy and I would get gigs, but I wasn't like smashing it everywhere.
Speaker B: se on their own labels called: Speaker B:But after they'd done that, they didn't want to do anything else with it, like with G, they wanted to do their own thing and stick with what they were doing.
Speaker B:But Peter Harris would always ring them about music like, what do you think of this release?
Speaker B:What do you think of that?
Speaker B:Should I do this?
Speaker B:What should I do?
Speaker B:And Smiley was always telling him, you need an A R man.
Speaker B:And he suggested me.
Speaker B:And I had no idea what an ANR man was anyway.
Speaker B:But I remember getting a call from Smiley going to me, oh, this geezer is going to call you and to be an A R man.
Speaker B:And there was, you know, I was going to get paid and his name's Peter Harris.
Speaker B:And I'm like, what's an A man?
Speaker B:And he's like, don't worry, you'll be good at it.
Speaker B:Because it was Smiley that had all the faith in me.
Speaker B:He still does, it's amazing.
Speaker B:And so Pete Harris rang me, offered me a job as A R man.
Speaker B:I said yes.
Speaker B:When I went to visit in Westbourne park, the first time I went, he gave me a big bag of cassettes, demos of everybody to listen to and decide what's good for release.
Speaker B:I listened to a lot of them and I didn't like anything if I was honest.
Speaker B:And there was one guy, the Scientist, who Peter had kind of took under his wing anyway, I think if I remember right, he was only 17 at the time and he was like a techno, making techno at that stage.
Speaker B:I was making my own demos at home, yeah, with that basic equipment, four track sampler, drum machine and obviously sampling records and breaks.
Speaker B:And I'd play him on fantasy little demos.
Speaker B:And one of them was the Exorcist.
Speaker B:And that was the first thing I did with the Scientist.
Speaker B:I brought the demo to him.
Speaker B:We went, I went to his house.
Speaker B:Well, he lived with his mum.
Speaker B:I had a keyboard that was a sampling keyboard.
Speaker B:He had a keyboard called an Ensonic SQ80, which Adamski used, I think literally to write his album.
Speaker B:Back then, right?
Speaker B:And I didn't know that.
Speaker B:I knew that through scientists like Phil.
Speaker B:Phil the Scientist was a lovely kid.
Speaker B:So we hooked up the keyboards.
Speaker B:I've got the Exorcist demo, but I don't play.
Speaker B:I'm not a competent player, you know, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm samples and breaks and so I got him to play stuff over it and it became the first song.
Speaker B:And then about a week later, I lent on his keyboard and this B sound came out of it that I was quite like, surprised.
Speaker B:I didn't realize.
Speaker B:I just heard a beat and I was like, is that the keyboard?
Speaker B:And then I'm pushing the notes singularly, and if you push them together, you'd get like a swarm and you could play it.
Speaker B:And back then people took LSD and trips, you know, like in raves.
Speaker B:I've never done that, but I've heard stories where people tell me they're raving and they felt like, you know, there's spiders in their hair or something, you know, know.
Speaker B:So in my head, being.
Speaker B:I think I was about 22 at the time, I had this great idea of like, if we make a tune with this sound, if he was in a club tripping balls and there's like bees coming out the speakers, that's going to you, you know.
Speaker B:So we made this tune called the Beat.
Speaker B:So the X's and the B was made probably in about a week, two week period.
Speaker B:And then they came out one after the other and they were very successful tracks back then.
Speaker B:So even then I wasn't getting a lot of.
Speaker B:I was getting DJ work, but not loads.
Speaker B:And I wasn't earning a living, as they say.
Speaker B:Yeah, I was earning the money that I was getting paid to work at.
Speaker B:Kicking and a bit of production money.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:So how long were you doing the work at kicking?
Speaker B:Not that long, because I fell out with everybody working with the scientists.
Speaker B:I at the time didn't want to be the artist.
Speaker B:I wanted to be a cool.
Speaker B:My mindset, I'm going to be this cool producer, you know, as long as I've got production, you know, everyone.
Speaker B:What I learned back then is if your name ain't on the front of the record in big people ain't reading the small print.
Speaker B:Even nowadays I meet people go, I didn't know you made that song.
Speaker B:And I'm right here.
Speaker B:But I probably blame myself for that.
Speaker B:So he was doing the interviews, you know, like he was doing like he's the front man.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And at that time, what was happening is we were making the music.
Speaker B:The music was great, but he was getting interviews in magazines and he's not even mentioning me.
Speaker B:They'll be talking about the techno side, the keyboard elements.
Speaker B:And he.
Speaker B:He's very talented guy, you know, I'm not taking nothing away from.
Speaker B:I thought he was a genius, but.
Speaker B:But it weren't all him, you know.
Speaker B:They would also go, well, there's a lot of hip hop breaks and reggae influence and blah, blah, blah.
Speaker B:And they'd be like, yeah, yeah, I've always been into Reg.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:Oh, that's hype.
Speaker B:So that used to piss me off.
Speaker B:Then I'd have Peter Harris in the office on the phone all day, talking as if the whole thing was his concept.
Speaker B:So they're all taking credit and I'm sitting in the middle feeling a bit disgruntled about it all.
Speaker B:And then one day I just made the decision because working with the Scientists as well, we've done the X is the B, and then we've done one called Sound Clash, which was under another name, Kick Squad.
Speaker B:And all those tunes done well, and all those tunes were done with him and me.
Speaker B:But he's listening to me, you know, I'm making the suggestions.
Speaker B:It's all going fun.
Speaker B:Then all of a sudden, you know, three singles in, we're doing a track.
Speaker B:I'm coming back the next day.
Speaker B:He's like, I made a couple of changes.
Speaker B:It's like, cool.
Speaker B:When I listen back, I'm like, this is a different tune.
Speaker B:This is not even the tune we're working on.
Speaker B:And what he's done, I don't like any of it.
Speaker B:So it was like the.
Speaker B:You know, you stop listening.
Speaker B:Also, by then, he's got people around him that.
Speaker B:Friends, you know, people that just.
Speaker B:I call them yes men, you know.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So when he's playing the tune, they're all loving it and telling him how great stroking his ego.
Speaker B:And now the person that was giving him the advice, that was working, he's not listening anymore, you know, because now I become the bad guy, you know, like, everyone else likes it.
Speaker B:I mean, where I am in my career now, you know, I'm used to it after many, many years, you know, like, certain people listen, and certain people, as they get more up the food chain, they stop listening.
Speaker B:It's like their egos get bigger.
Speaker B:But, I mean, back then, anyway, so the music was changing to where I'm like, this is not me, and I don't know what you're doing here, so I can't relate.
Speaker B:You're not listening anymore.
Speaker B:So I'm like this, I don't want to do this no more.
Speaker B:Then I'm looking at Peter Harris on the business side.
Speaker B:I'm not getting paid that great, you know, I feel like, I feel like I'm being undervalued.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I'm the, I'm that, you know, like I'm that middle wheel that's keeping it all.
Speaker B:So anyway, I just said to them, I'm leaving, I've had enough.
Speaker B:Then I left.
Speaker B:And Peter Harris, quite a strong minded, you know, he was a very good businessman for him.
Speaker B:So I thought that's it, you know.
Speaker B:And then about a month later I got a phone call from him and he wanted me to come up and have a chat and I went up there and he.
Speaker B:I was very shocked because I didn't, you know, when I left I wasn't like, oh, I'm amazing, you lot need me.
Speaker B:I was just young, feeling like I'm not getting a. I'm a sort of person.
Speaker B:If he's not working, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm off.
Speaker B:I don't want to work with.
Speaker B:Even if I don't, if I'm not getting on with you for any reason, I'm off.
Speaker B:Especially back then.
Speaker B:So he called me back and I went up to Westbourne park to kick in and sat in his kitchen and he begged me.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:I was very, I was sitting there choir and he was very, very nice to me, respectful fool, but was literally begging me to.
Speaker B:He said, I'm begging you to come back.
Speaker B:I need you in this, you know.
Speaker B:But I just said I can't, I can't do it.
Speaker B:I said, I just got no good vibrate because I didn't trust him business wise and working with scientists, you know, at that point the ego had got bigger.
Speaker B:I mean, now I'm older I realize that we were, we were.
Speaker B:He was 17, you know, he went from nothing living at his mom's to living upstairs at kicking, getting like 600 pound a pa.
Speaker B:So, you know, part of growing up.
Speaker B:So it just, it went like that.
Speaker B:And that was all whilst I was on Fantasy.
Speaker B: So sort of: Speaker B:I don't think we'd done anything in 92, but I can't remember.
Speaker B:My memory is not that great.
Speaker B:And by then I was going to move on to other people that I worked with on different labels before I actually started doing my own labels.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So what came next once you left Kicking?
Speaker B:At that point I knew Mark Ryder from being in DMC in the mixed competitions and at that Time, I very much like the guy.
Speaker B:Got on with him quite well.
Speaker B:And he offered to come and work at Strictly Underground, which was his label, and be with his brother Mike James, and him be like a production team.
Speaker B:That was the sales pitch.
Speaker B:And I. I like being part of a team, so it was sounding great.
Speaker B:So when I went there, they were in Romford.
Speaker B:Soon as I joined, his brother left.
Speaker B:Not because of me, he just left.
Speaker B:And I thought, that's not a good sign if your own brother ain't working with you.
Speaker B:And then what happened is nothing bad, but I just felt like, I'm making tunes.
Speaker B:Give him the tunes.
Speaker B:He put some out.
Speaker B:There was no production team.
Speaker B:The things that he kind of.
Speaker B:What attracted me to wanting to work with him didn't happen.
Speaker B:And then at the same time, when I was on Fantasy Radio, at one point, we were in a tower block in between the Bow Flyover and Stratford.
Speaker B:Can't remember Abbey Lane, I think the Road, but it was a big tower block.
Speaker B:And one day I was going, you know, back then, when you go on pirate, no one's.
Speaker B:You don't tell anyone where the station is in case it gets raided, you know.
Speaker B:And I had my records and I.
Speaker B:There used to be a calf, like a kind of news agent, cafe, grocery shop at the bottom of one of the tower blocks.
Speaker B:And as I walked in, the owner looked at me and he was like, you're going to do your show or you just coming off the show?
Speaker B:And I looked at him like, like what?
Speaker B:Like, no, I'm not there.
Speaker B:And he's like, no, don't worry, I'm all right, you know?
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker B:And then he started telling me about his son, which turned out to be Danny Donnelley, Suburban Base Records.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:And he was just saying, oh, my son's got a record shop in Romford.
Speaker B:You should go and visit him.
Speaker B:He'd love to meet you, you know.
Speaker B:And then one day, me and Chrome just got the train up there.
Speaker B:So this was probably about 90 or 91.
Speaker B:And I. I used to hang out at the shop, go and visit them.
Speaker B:So basically, when it wasn't going too good with Strictly Underground, because by then I was getting on with Donnelly and, you know, I liked going up there.
Speaker B:It was a nice little vibe up there at the time.
Speaker B:I started doing music with him on his label and I done Shot in the Dark, Trooper, Roll the Beats, you know, a couple of remixes, and I enjoyed initially, I was really enjoying it.
Speaker A:So from that point, then, when did the music start to develop more into jungle?
Speaker B:I Don't know what you call jungle.
Speaker B:You mean pure jungle, like modern day tradition?
Speaker B:It's all kind of junk.
Speaker B:No, you can go back to.
Speaker B:If I play you the be the B is break beat bass line.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:You know, like the influence is there, you know, like we're pre jungle, but it's, you know, myself, shut up and dance.
Speaker B:There's other producers that were making music that wasn't, you know, 160 to 170bpm or anything like that.
Speaker B:It was the, you know, it's got the break beat.
Speaker B:It's got the, the raga sample either, you know, if you listen to sound, Clash, kick squad, you know, just got that.
Speaker B:But it's not modern day traditional.
Speaker B:I'd say for me, making just what you'd call modern day.
Speaker B:Not even modern day, you know, like 94 jungle.
Speaker B:Probably 93.
Speaker A:Yeah, 92.
Speaker B:93 is when it was getting less hardcore, more jungle, if that makes sense.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:So was that.
Speaker A:Were people starting to kind of split into the two different sort of styles a bit more at that point then?
Speaker B:Well, there was a lot of splits if you go 91 to sort of 93.
Speaker B:That era, you know, when it was the rave scene, you know, like there was like a split that was kind of like you got the break beat side, which is not necessarily jungle, but it's got jungle.
Speaker B:There's jungle here.
Speaker B:You know, you, you had the hardcore sort of rave scene that went like break beat.
Speaker B:And then other people went more stayed purists, you know, that house techno.
Speaker B:And then you had this British sort of hardcore kind of sound.
Speaker B:Hardcore jungle, I don't know.
Speaker B:And that probably run 91 to 93.
Speaker B:And by night, I mean they, they would have been, you know, proper jungle made in that period, but where scenes are started and then the kind of happy hardcore lot started going that way and then you had your jungle going, you know that hardcore was one scene.
Speaker B:I, I hate doing this because I'm not always perfect with my analogy, but roughly, yeah, you've got this hard questions.
Speaker B:It's a mishmash of, you see, like you've got shut up and dance, you know, putting the brake beat in it.
Speaker B:And you've got the techno influence, you've got the stab sounds.
Speaker B:It's quite noisy and a lot of the tunes.
Speaker B:And then what happened like after you had the rave with the techno in house and hardcore.
Speaker B:Hardcore split, I'd say happy hardcore and jungle because, you know, I do events like Dreamscape Helter Skill where they'd have, you know, like a Jungle DJ a happy hardcore DJ a jungle DJ a Happy.
Speaker B:That would be the lineup one.
Speaker B:And at first it was the.
Speaker B:The kind of hardcore sound that was dominating Happy.
Speaker B:And then we just took over.
Speaker B:I remember, I think it was DJ Vibes, who was by then playing a lot of happy hardcore.
Speaker B:You know, you had just sort of Dougal Slip, Matt, they took that path.
Speaker B:And then I remember one of them looking.
Speaker B:I'm sure it was Vibes.
Speaker B:He was like, he goes, you lot are going to be ruling this room soon.
Speaker B:It's like he knew it, you know, and then within a year or, you know, those events, it was mainly jungle in the room, one, you know, apart.
Speaker B:And you had your.
Speaker B:Obviously, your pure jungle events, you know, like your jungle fevers and your roasts, you know, Desert Storm and so many.
Speaker A:Yeah, because I remember, like, I'm a bit younger, so at that sort of time, it's more like just the tape packs that I was like, managed, you know, we'd be swapping them around at school and stuff.
Speaker A:And it was always say you'd get six tapes in a Vibe light pack, for example.
Speaker A:It was always the jungle one.
Speaker A:That was the best one.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, fiber like.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's Mansfield in it.
Speaker B:Viberlite was that or Doncaster.
Speaker A:No idea.
Speaker B:I just thought, because your accent, you'd know.
Speaker B:I don't even know it.
Speaker A:No, I just assumed everything happened in Milton Keynes for some reason.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:So you'd have these mishmash events where slowly but surely they started purifying, you know, and then you already had, like I said, you had your sort of jungle events in London and around the country and it all come out.
Speaker B:Some people disagree with me, but I always say, I think end of 93, beginning 94 is not where jungle started, because a lot of people muddle up when I say this, like they think I'm setting it.
Speaker B:Oh, no, it was going on here.
Speaker B:And yes, I never said it started, but it's when he actually blew up, you know, and became like an actual trend in, you know, like dance magazines, you know, it became, you know, even though there was a strong infrastructure and underground anyway, you know.
Speaker B:But then it becomes mainstream.
Speaker B:We're being interviewed in magazines.
Speaker B:Majors want to sign people, you know, that was the difference.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:So when did your DJing start picking up, then?
Speaker B:I'd say about 92.
Speaker B:92.
Speaker B:I started just getting a geek more gigs, you know, because I was still living in Morton Stone.
Speaker B:My mate.
Speaker B:I used to have a little diary, you know, I never had it.
Speaker B:No one had agent, you Know, promoters phone you do the bookings and you just go and do it.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And initially, I mean, I've always been.
Speaker B:Yeah, 91.
Speaker B:I went Japan with Shut up and Dance.
Speaker B:I think then I wasn't doing too.
Speaker B:I was DJing, but I said I wasn't.
Speaker B:Weren't paying my bills with it.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:How was that as an experience the first time?
Speaker B:Crazy.
Speaker B:I love Japan.
Speaker B:And then I went 92 and I thought that was on the back of the Shut up and Dance tour, but apparently it was.
Speaker B:A Japanese magazine came to London to check out, you know, the rave scene and said that Orange at the Rocket was the best club in London and I was the best DJ on the night in that club.
Speaker B:So I ended up getting a. I think I did a 10 day or two week tour again in 92.
Speaker A:Amazing.
Speaker B:And then I think 96 or 97 is when I started going out there every year.
Speaker B:You know, by then I've signed to BMG as the ganja crew and every year was going out there doing Tokyo, Osaka, not doing the.
Speaker B:Like when I went 91 and 92, we done these massive tours of the whole country and there was no scene then at all.
Speaker B:You know, we're playing at clubs where they're playing pop music, we're at festivals where again, we're like a.
Speaker B:No, no.
Speaker B:Nobody understands what you know.
Speaker B:There'll be a minority that's loving what you're doing.
Speaker B:The rest are like, what is this?
Speaker B:You know, that is alien to them.
Speaker B:You know, I remember doing one club where everyone was in suits, like business people.
Speaker B:But I had a great time.
Speaker A:I've listened to a few podcasts where they're with sort of old mixed martial arts fighters.
Speaker A:And in that sort of scene they sort.
Speaker A:One thing they talk about is how well treated you are in Japan, but the other thing they talk about and you can see like on early sort of mixed martial arts, like the footage, like the crowds are absolutely silent.
Speaker A:There's a kind of, you know, there's no rowdiness there.
Speaker A:They're just really sort of quiet and respectful.
Speaker B:I mean, maybe at that.
Speaker B:But the raves, they love it.
Speaker B:They, you know, it was just what I'm talking about.
Speaker B:When I was initially going, they didn't know this music.
Speaker B:Like once it got established, he used to do a club in Tokyo called the Liquid Rooms and then you'd go to Bayside Jenny in Osaka and these crowds were like, you're like a pop star.
Speaker B:They're going nuts.
Speaker B:If anything, they're going more nuts.
Speaker B:I found Japan if They're into something.
Speaker B:They're into it, you know, like.
Speaker B:It's like they've studied it.
Speaker B:They'll have the clothes, the dance.
Speaker B:Yeah, anything.
Speaker B:If they like punk rock, they.
Speaker B:They didn't.
Speaker B:I don't know about now.
Speaker B:I haven't been through it since before lockdown, but it seemed to me like you've got traditional Japanese culture and then you've got the west that they emulate.
Speaker B:They didn't seem to have their own underground scenes, so they're.
Speaker B:Yeah, you know, so if.
Speaker B:If they're into what you do, they'll probably know more about you than you could.
Speaker B:They'll study it.
Speaker B: e there when I was touring in: Speaker B:I think it was Gemini or Jimmy Magic.
Speaker B:I can't remember which one.
Speaker B:You know, there's a couple of DJs, they're playing at a club, but all the girls are dressed.
Speaker B:It's all Japanese, but they've got the fashion to the tea.
Speaker B:All the guys have got bandanas.
Speaker B:They're all talking yardy, but with, you know, like a couple of them talking to them.
Speaker B:They go to Jamaica to emulate patois, you know, so they can come back.
Speaker B:So they're.
Speaker B:Yeah, they.
Speaker B:They get into I. I love Japan.
Speaker B:I like the people there.
Speaker B:Whenever I've been there, I've been treated lovely.
Speaker B:For a city that's so compact and busy, there seems to be a lot more order than, say, London.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:So when this sort of, like the jungle scene was kind of starting, and it was all starting to kind of find its own lane and take over in the raves, then who were the other DJs that you were around that were kind of really at that sort of era of it?
Speaker B:Well, you've got Fabio, Groove Rider, DJ Rap, Mickey Finn, Kenny Ken, DJ Run Brocky, Darren J, Randall.
Speaker B:How could I forget Randall, Blow Me.
Speaker B:There was loads.
Speaker B:And most of them are still going now.
Speaker B:Like, they're all doing it.
Speaker B:That's what I love, you know, 20, 25, the age I'm at, apart from the ones that have passed away, I think I'd say 90 of that era are still doing now.
Speaker B:You know, some are doing better than others, but most of them are quite good.
Speaker B:Oh, Brian G. I forgot to mention Brian, obviously, Goldie.
Speaker B:Goldie's still doing what Goldie does.
Speaker B:Yeah, they're all still there.
Speaker B:What.
Speaker A:What it always looks like as well.
Speaker A:If I see a post on any you guys where you've got bumped into each other while you're doing something together.
Speaker A:It just looks from the outside like a really like close knit community as well.
Speaker B:Well what you mean now?
Speaker A:But now if you see things from now, it just looks like everyone's still really close.
Speaker B:Well, because we've all known each other for 30 years at least.
Speaker B: ve known since probably about: Speaker B:Randall, the same.
Speaker B: w, I've known him since about: Speaker B:And the longer you know each other, I mean there was a time when I looked at a lot of those names as my rivals.
Speaker B:You know, like I said, because I had a sound clash mentality, I'm not looking at them as friends, I'm judging them on their mixing and that's it.
Speaker B:But knowing them for as long as I have, I love them all.
Speaker B:I, I really do.
Speaker B:And they that when I see them now, sometimes I get a little bit emotional about it.
Speaker B:And also just seeing our sir, you know, we're all different characters.
Speaker B:Even though we're part of this family that you call jungle drum and bass.
Speaker B:Everyone's done their little bit in a different way.
Speaker B:Pubs have, you know, and I like sometimes when I'm out, like, we're still here, we're still here and we're still relevant and we, we, you know, like I said, the way UK dance music has spread its wings into all different, you know, over the years, you know, whether it's UK garage, grime, drill, you know, the dubstep, it all kind of floats back to where we were.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:So when you were coming up then with that kind of everyone's my rival sort of mentality.
Speaker B:Not everyone, but yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker A:Most of them.
Speaker A:Were there any of these guys and girls that you saw mixing and you were just like, they're good, they're really good.
Speaker B:No, no, not a mixing.
Speaker B:I mean there was good mixers but I didn't judge.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:To be honest, you know, I was a competition scratch DJ and nobody could do that one back then.
Speaker B:Yeah, no one was doing it.
Speaker B:So I felt, you know, like mixing, I've.
Speaker B:I'm a lot more appreciative of a good mix now.
Speaker B:Whereas back then I'll be like, will he just mixes?
Speaker B:He just does that to the left, deck to right there was so good.
Speaker B:But you know, obviously the way you.
Speaker B:What tunes you're mixing and how you do it, it make a big difference.
Speaker B:But back then, I wasn't.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was more what they're playing.
Speaker B:You know, you're like, what's that tune?
Speaker B:What's that dub?
Speaker B:You know, the cutting dubs at Music House, where not everyone, but a lot of us would meet in the week, we're not meeting up, we're all cut.
Speaker B:We have to cutlet, you know, so we'll all be there.
Speaker B:And I'm, you know, certain people are shutting the.
Speaker B:The cutting room door.
Speaker B:They don't want to hear what they're cutting.
Speaker B:You know, some people want to hand out the tune to everyone.
Speaker B:You know, Brian and Frost might come down or, you know, with their V. They had some great me and, you know, they're not giving it to me, you know, for about another year, you know, but it was all.
Speaker B:It's like friend, friends and rivals at the same time.
Speaker B:We all kept each other.
Speaker B:I. I believe also there was a lot more musical individuality and musical.
Speaker B:What's the word?
Speaker B:I don't know the right words, but we would look out for each other.
Speaker B:If you turned up at Music House to cut a song and then Leon or Paul or Chris is cutting it and they put it in and they thought, that sounds like a hype tune.
Speaker B:You know, they'll be telling you that straight away, mate.
Speaker B:This sounds like they'll be phoning me, hey, this geezer's copying you.
Speaker B:You know, people in the music.
Speaker B:If there's other DJs that might.
Speaker B:We'd all be saying to me, where are you going with it?
Speaker B:They, you know, it's very protective was the way we're all, yeah.
Speaker B:You know, even down to a snare, you know, or, you know, like very, you know, having your individuality.
Speaker B:And it was a lot more.
Speaker B:What's the word?
Speaker B:You know, like, people would get phone calls, you know, I'm coming to take your studio.
Speaker B:I would change that tune or, I'm gonna take your studio kind of thing.
Speaker B:And we were a lot more protective.
Speaker B:And, you know, like, nowadays people just sample anybody.
Speaker B:People send me, they.
Speaker B:They hit me up nowadays going, yeah, I've done a remix of your tune that I might be releasing as a bootleg.
Speaker B:And it's like, I get.
Speaker B:Were you touching my.
Speaker B:For do your own thing.
Speaker B:And then I get other people to go, well, you sample.
Speaker B:And it's like, yeah, but I didn't take a reggae tune, sample it and just make the same reggae tune, you know, like, you take A part of tunes and create your own thing, you know, which is very different.
Speaker B:So, yeah, it was a lot more protective back then.
Speaker B:And that's where you'd hear what's coming, who.
Speaker B:You know.
Speaker B:It keeps you on your toes.
Speaker A:Yeah, it must have been.
Speaker A:It must have been hard to kind of, like, stay.
Speaker A:Stay ahead of the game with that sort of thing.
Speaker B:No, no, I think where it.
Speaker B:I probably find it harder now, although I don't, because I've resigned.
Speaker B:I'm not trying to stay ahead like when I was young.
Speaker B:You're just doing it like you.
Speaker B:You've got that natural.
Speaker B:No one's sitting there going, oh, I can't.
Speaker B:I can't keep up with everybody.
Speaker B:Unless you were, you know, it's okay.
Speaker B:You're in a competitive business, you know, it's because you get people.
Speaker B:Oh, no one likes my tune.
Speaker B:I'd get people coming down there, or, I've done a mix.
Speaker B:Can you listen to it?
Speaker B:And I'm like, what am I listening to your mix for?
Speaker B:That's not doing nothing.
Speaker B:And also, I was very.
Speaker B:Not ignorant, but, no, like, no one opened doors for me.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:The character I am, how I looked from my humble beginnings, you know, like, I had to fight my way through and prove who I am.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Nobody went.
Speaker B:He's not all that, but we'll give him a go.
Speaker B:You know, you got, you know, the proof of the puddings in the eating.
Speaker B:So it wasn't hard.
Speaker B:We were just doing it.
Speaker B:We were loving it.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:Like I said it.
Speaker B:The beauty back then, it was that it was a.
Speaker B:The scene was big.
Speaker B:But we, as a collective, most of us, would see each other regularly.
Speaker B:I felt like it's, you know, like.
Speaker B:Like a musical.
Speaker B:Costa Nostra, our thing, you know.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And, you know, like, nowadays, there's people, drum and bass, jungle work in all industries.
Speaker B:You know, back then, majors, you know, like, we were the first generation, you know, the majors didn't understand it.
Speaker B:They'd signed.
Speaker B:I remember the guy that signed me didn't have a clue about anything, you know, and he'd be telling me what he's doing.
Speaker B:And now.
Speaker B:And I'm like, you know, and if I played him a song, whatever, I played him.
Speaker B:Oh, it's amazing when.
Speaker B:And in my head was like, you don't know nothing.
Speaker B:You know, Whereas now there's people that are grown up on the music, work in the industry, you know, they have a bit better understanding of it.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:It wasn't a chat.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:It was a natural Challenge.
Speaker B:But it was saying we all love doing and enjoyed and bounced off each other, I think friendly rivalries.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, there'd be moans as well there.
Speaker B:You know, there'd be times when certain people are at music house, you know, you.
Speaker B:You know, kind of slagging off one style over another style or.
Speaker B:But it was always quite unified to a point.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Tell me if you're sick of talking about this then.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker A:Something I found interesting when I read Rap's book was she was talking about the time when Incredible came out and saying there was like a big boycott of that.
Speaker A:What's your memory of that?
Speaker B:Yeah, it was a big boycott.
Speaker B:No, he is supposed to have said he run jungle.
Speaker B:I didn't hear the interview.
Speaker B:I just heard that.
Speaker B:And then I remember at the time I was on Kiss Frost.
Speaker B:I had a tune at the time called you Must think First on Ganja, one of my labels.
Speaker B:And Frost kept using that.
Speaker B:I think, if I remember, he played a tune and be having a go at General Levy, who now is total opposite.
Speaker B:Everybody's forgotten and moved on from that, you know.
Speaker B:But at time, yeah, he did pretty much got boycotted in a big way because, you know, what was told was he basically went on wherever he was interviewed and said he runs jungle.
Speaker A:So it was more that than the tune then itself.
Speaker B:Nothing to do with the tune.
Speaker B:Everybody played the tune, supported it.
Speaker B:It was just he.
Speaker B:And if you watch his interviews now and he says what he actually said and he didn't mean it in the way it was perceived, and.
Speaker B:And for years now, everybody's loved him.
Speaker B:Look, he's massive.
Speaker B:He's probably bigger now than he was back then, you know, I saw him a couple of weeks ago, festival I did, and, you know, we had a video together.
Speaker B:He's a great guy.
Speaker B:He's a good ambassador.
Speaker B:Very.
Speaker B:He got integrity in that.
Speaker B:He's not like a big ego, turns up and acts like he's the be all, end all.
Speaker B:But, yeah, back then, it's what he said, nothing to do with the song itself, you know, the song was MB with him.
Speaker B:Massive tune, you know, and we were all playing it, everybody, you know, like.
Speaker B:And then all of a sudden I said.
Speaker B:Because what he said or what he has was alleged to have said.
Speaker B:Everybody was like, we're not playing it no more.
Speaker C:And, yeah, got you.
Speaker B:But, yeah, like I said, that's all in the past, you know, everybody loves him again.
Speaker B:And that's.
Speaker B:We've loved him for a few years now.
Speaker B:Quite a few years, you know.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:So did.
Speaker A:Did that song kind of signal, like a bit of an explosion in jungle or like, was that a point that changed and made it mainstream?
Speaker B:Maybe it must have had something to do with it.
Speaker B:But at the time I wasn't seeing it that way.
Speaker B:I just saw the scene naturally was getting bigger.
Speaker B:But of course it was a. I can't remember.
Speaker B:I think it was number one in Japan or something.
Speaker B:It was, you know, it was a huge shooter.
Speaker B:It's still today, you know that.
Speaker B:And look, epa, he performs it today and everybody is probably, you know, that and Original Nutter are probably the two.
Speaker B:You know, if he was going to have a pub karaoke night.
Speaker B:I used to joke about it back then, you know.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, so I know we've gone a bit forward.
Speaker A:How did you end up on Kiss fm?
Speaker B:Well, Kiss FM had started to do this sort of.
Speaker B:They were going to do a jungle show and they were testing different DJs.
Speaker B:I wasn't in the first round of DJs.
Speaker B:I think you had Mickey Finn, Fabio, Groove, Frost.
Speaker B:I can't remember everybody.
Speaker B:And then what happened is.
Speaker B:So they were doing like a 2:1 or 2:00 clock in the morning show, but it wasn't a permanent show.
Speaker B:And then they made a permanent show which was a Wednesday, if I remember correctly.
Speaker B:And then I'm.
Speaker B:I'm not.
Speaker B:I think it was through that, like, at the time I was at sub base and I. I might be wrong, but I think Donnelly put in a word for me.
Speaker B:Nice, Danny Donnelly.
Speaker B:But I might be wrong.
Speaker B:And then I was asked to go on there, which, to be honest, when they were first doing it all, I didn't even want them to touch our music because I always had a very.
Speaker B:And you know, like commercial radio.
Speaker B:I'm like, they don't care about.
Speaker B:They're not, they're not.
Speaker B:They're not going to big us up and they' drop us.
Speaker B:You know, they're not going to support our scene properly.
Speaker B:But then I ended up going on there and being the longest running one of the lot.
Speaker B:I was on there for like 25 years or something.
Speaker B:And I left.
Speaker B: I can't remember if it was: Speaker B:I'd had enough.
Speaker B:I felt like the good side of being on that station was they let me do my show the way I wanted.
Speaker B:They never told me I got have a guest or play this song.
Speaker B:The downside of being on there, I just felt like they don't promote nothing.
Speaker B:I just go and do the show and go home.
Speaker B:I didn't.
Speaker B:I felt I deserved more than what they were giving me.
Speaker B:And in the end I just felt like, especially as it's moved into that digital era, that I'm like one, I could probably do the same show at home and get the same listeners, you know, and I wanted at that time I didn't.
Speaker B:But my plan was to get back into production then, like, if I'm not doing the radio, use that time to produce.
Speaker B:But yeah, I had a 24, 25 year span on the.
Speaker B:I think I won a couple of awards.
Speaker A:So you must have enjoyed it a fair bit then.
Speaker B:No, no, I enjoyed, I enjoyed doing the show.
Speaker B:I didn't like the station because there was no support, you know, the frustration when 1, when Radio 1 Extra was first about, you know, like.
Speaker B:And I think Bailey, DJ Fly, L Double they had a show and I knew at that time because you get the, the listening stats, you know, how many like me on Kiss had a much bigger audience.
Speaker B:But I get what, 30 quid a show.
Speaker B:They get a tour bus with graffiti, you know, like the money spent because it's BBC in it, license fee money, blank check.
Speaker B:And they get the promotion.
Speaker B:And at the time I just started thinking they don't promote nothing for me, like, why am I here?
Speaker B:So, and even at the meeting, all the specialist DJs used to complain and the people at KISS would say, like, we have specialist DJs because by law we have to, to keep our license.
Speaker B:And if it was up to them, Kiss, they would have just had it 24 hour pop music or like commercial music.
Speaker B:Because you gotta understand when you're a commercial station, there's a lot of money you've got to generate to run it.
Speaker B:You know, it's not like a pirate station where you got a mix of two decks and let's go.
Speaker B:And you know, you're up against someone, like, that's why it's the Radio one.
Speaker B:You know, I'd go there and be a guest on people's show.
Speaker B:There's like four people doing one person's job.
Speaker B:And I'd be like, how do you look?
Speaker B:It's just a waste.
Speaker B:You know, when I did Kiss, if you've got to pay for everything, you're more shrewd with what you're spending.
Speaker B:If you're getting a blank check every year like the BBC and then they still go, oh, we need more money, you know, And I'm like, what do you.
Speaker B:Look, you're not just waste money.
Speaker B:Worse I, I'm still, wait, I don't understand how the BBC still get a license and we're all forced to buy it.
Speaker B:It's like.
Speaker A:So when you were at Kiss as well, you won the Best Radio DJ at the Hardcore Awards for that show.
Speaker A:And I think you won a few more awards.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker B:Well, I've got 20 behind me that I'm not gonna go through them all now, but I think there's one I haven't got that I won, but I never.
Speaker B:I wasn't there and then I made a big fuss about collecting it.
Speaker B:That went on for about four months and then finally they phoned me up, yeah, we've got it here, come and get it.
Speaker B:And I never did go and get it.
Speaker B: n Music Award, I think it was: Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:But I've won from 19.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B: My awards run from: Speaker B:And my last award was DJ Mags, Soldier of the Scene for Best of British.
Speaker B:And I think that was nice, that one.
Speaker B:2020.
Speaker B:So it's five years ago now and I've been.
Speaker A:That's a long time to be getting awards for, isn't it?
Speaker B:Well, I've won.
Speaker B:The only thing I've never won is Best Producer.
Speaker B:And I've never really looked at myself as one of the best producers because.
Speaker B:Especially having a big break and I've never.
Speaker B:I like writing music, but I'm not technical and people like what I do.
Speaker B:But I wouldn't sit here and put myself as a top, top producer in the scene.
Speaker B:I'm just.
Speaker B:I'm all right, you know, But I've won Best Label, Best Label Nights, Best Compilations, Best dj, Best International dj, Lifetime Achievement, hall of Fame.
Speaker A:Is there one that's like, more special than any than the rest of the others?
Speaker B: ra DJ of the year, extra bass: Speaker B:And they phoned me up and said, I've been nominated, I'm in the.
Speaker B:I think it was out of me, Andy C and Friction, you know that.
Speaker B:Best DJ of the year.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B: th of March,: Speaker B:And when they phoned me and said, I'm in the top three, you know, and to come to.
Speaker B:And I'm like, well, I'm not going to win that, am I?
Speaker B:I was like, I'm not gonna win it.
Speaker B:And they were like, why would you say that?
Speaker B:And I said, well, I'm on Kiss.
Speaker B:No way.
Speaker B:A Kiss DJ is going to win the one extra Best dj, are they?
Speaker B:You know, I was so.
Speaker B:I weren't even bothered about it then, if I remember rightly, I was talking to Andy C about it and Andy's like, now we'll go to the night together, we'll go together.
Speaker B:And them times, you know, like I said, the sound catchment, I was just like, you're gonna win.
Speaker B:And I, I, I said, there's no way I'm gonna win it.
Speaker B:I'm on Kiss.
Speaker B:I mean, Radio 1's not going to give a Kiss DJ their best DJ.
Speaker B:It's gonna look bad.
Speaker B:But he was like, no, we'll go together.
Speaker B:And then I got really drunk because I didn't think.
Speaker B:I just went there and I was actually at the bar when they were shouting out my name as the winner.
Speaker B:I weren't even listening.
Speaker B:I was pissed.
Speaker B:And all of a sudden, now people like, you've won.
Speaker B:So it was.
Speaker B:It's not the best award I've won, but it was the one that I least expected.
Speaker B:And they were all really nice to me.
Speaker B:And then all of a sudden, I think, because I was drunk, I said, who would have thought a Kiss dj, we need a one extra.
Speaker B:And they were mental when they're coming.
Speaker B:Why would you say.
Speaker B:Why did you say that?
Speaker B:Because it must have been on there.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:But I was drunk.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And who would have thought that you're going to give a 1 extra?
Speaker B:At least it showed.
Speaker B:It couldn't have been fixed because they're not going to give it to a rival.
Speaker B:But then also, if I take these ones at the bottom, I mean, I've got.
Speaker B: these that I got one of these: Speaker B:I got best overall DJ, best drum and bass DJ.
Speaker B:And then there's one more.
Speaker B:These were all on the same night I cut the Princess.
Speaker B:What was the last one I got there?
Speaker B:Oh, Best rates.
Speaker B:I got Best Radio dj, best Drum and Bass dj, Best overall dj.
Speaker B:And I won these at Camden.
Speaker B:And I remember, kept going.
Speaker B:I felt a bit embarrassed, you know, I kind of left the venue quite quick.
Speaker B:I don't know why.
Speaker B:I was really happy at one of them all, but I felt a bit silly.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Because you won so many?
Speaker B:Yeah, I think so.
Speaker B:And then that one, there's a big glass one here that I'm not going to bother pulling out.
Speaker B: That was: Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And I didn't think I'd win or I wasn't looking, you know, I just thought I hadn't won.
Speaker B:I don't know, I wasn't.
Speaker B:And I was waiting to play and then MC Magica come up to me and went, oh, you've won, you've won.
Speaker B:And I told him to off, because I thought he was just winding me up.
Speaker B:I was like, off, man, stop taking a bit.
Speaker B:Then when they announced me as the winner, he was like, see, did he go?
Speaker B:He goes, I told him he won and he told me to off.
Speaker B:And that was a big one.
Speaker B:But yeah, it's nice to win him.
Speaker B:But these days I just like doing what I'm doing.
Speaker B:And back then, even as much as I it, I will, if you offer me an award, I'm gonna take it.
Speaker B:But they weren't my goal, if that makes sense.
Speaker B:So it's nice to have them in a cab.
Speaker B:Like, I've only just got this cabinet about a month ago up, but I used to have them in a. I have a.
Speaker B:Just in a suitcase.
Speaker A:That's nice to have them out.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So what can you tell me about the start of Ganja Recordings?
Speaker B:Well, I was.
Speaker B:So it was towards the end of me being at Suburban Base.
Speaker B:I was having releases on Suburban Base and I'd have a few more tunes sitting there that I'm like, I don't want to give them all to him.
Speaker B:Why don't I just press up some of my own?
Speaker B:I think the, the original ones I didn't even put my name to.
Speaker B:I was calling them dope style.
Speaker B:And it wasn't the intention to build a label of any statue, it was just an outlet instead of Suburban Base.
Speaker B:And then that just grew.
Speaker B:And then it went from ganja Records, volumes 1, 2, 3, 4.
Speaker B:And then all of a sudden me and Pascal, because we were working, helping each other, we didn't have a joint label, we were just helping each other with each other's labels in all different ways.
Speaker B:And by then I'd hooked up with Zinc and we made a decision, why don't we just start a label altogether fresh and called it True Players.
Speaker B:And at the same time, I had major record labels wanting to sign me, the individual, and I didn't want to sign an exclusive deal.
Speaker B:So I come up with the concept of why don't I do a non exclusive deal as the Ganja Crew.
Speaker B:I think I'd released one release on Frontline and called it by the Ganja Crew.
Speaker B:So the name was sitting there and I did a deal so that myself, Zinc and Pascal could have a non exclusive deal with BMG as Ganja Crew.
Speaker B:So that's one foot on the overground and one foot on the underground.
Speaker B:Still free to do Players.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B: And that was all about: Speaker B:No, it was before it came out.
Speaker B:96.
Speaker B:We did a first compilation album called Still Smoking under the label G Line, which is Ganja and Frontline amalgamated.
Speaker B:And there's.
Speaker B:I think there was one track from Sync I took at that point for that album.
Speaker B: release on players, which was: Speaker B:So I'm planning to do some kind of label tour next year and probably get a few releases, remastered and things, if possible.
Speaker A:So while we're on the labels, then we've talked about.
Speaker A:Incredible.
Speaker A:An original Nutter.
Speaker A:So if you were going to talk about what's the other one of the sort of top three best known jungle drum and bass tunes, it's got to be Super Sharpshooter, right?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:Ready or not.
Speaker A:That's a remix though, isn't it?
Speaker B:Ready or not.
Speaker B:Yeah, but it's still you saying, what's the most known?
Speaker A:Okay, yeah.
Speaker B:Ready or Not.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:And it's not even the tune, it's the sample.
Speaker B:Because, you know, over the years there's all different versions from different artists.
Speaker B:I mean, Logan D, I think he.
Speaker B:I think he done it with Dominator.
Speaker B:Their version kind of replaced the original.
Speaker B:But yeah, if you're gonna say what is.
Speaker B:I don't know, I don't think Super Sharpshooter, because you don't hear Super Sharpshoot.
Speaker B:You see Original Nutter, it's not the.
Speaker B:The trap, it's the vocals.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:That has stayed the test of time.
Speaker B:Not the original.
Speaker B:I mean, people might play the original rhythm, but there's been so many versions.
Speaker B:Acapellas.
Speaker B:Everybody's got a version.
Speaker B:Incredible.
Speaker B:I mean, there was a big time where no one played that tube.
Speaker B:I said, it's like, come back.
Speaker B:Like since General Levy's out there every week doing what he's doing and people play it now and there's versions, but when it initially come out and then it was kind of boycotted, so there was a big period when no one was really playing it.
Speaker B:Original Nutter, it's the acapella.
Speaker B:Like the actual vocal, I'd say, is what has stood the test.
Speaker B:Like over the years we've all had acapellas that we dropped.
Speaker B:And nowadays you will hear the original dropped as well.
Speaker B:But yeah, you know, if I had to talk about tunes that have stood the test of time.
Speaker B:The actual whole tune, you know, which doesn't go far back as that.
Speaker B:I'd say hazard, you know, Mr.
Speaker B:Happy, brickstone roll, you know, like they especially Mr.
Speaker B:Happy from the day I'm it, I think two years before we released it to today.
Speaker B:If you play it, the whole place goes nuts and everybody knows it like it, you know.
Speaker B:And if you want to go back to the Jungle.
Speaker B:Jungle, like the original Jungle era, like saying what's the most popular, well known, that it's been played the whole time or just what's popular.
Speaker A:Just popular generally.
Speaker B:Well, there's quite a few I could go through but because I'd.
Speaker A:I'd have thought Super Sharpshoot is a really popular one.
Speaker B:But you're not a German bass dj, so you.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm not saying it's not popular, but you're not gonna hear that, you know, like original Nutter you could play at an upfront event where it's 20 year olds and they're all.
Speaker B:You're gonna hear that tune mixed in somewhere.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Probably more than one dj.
Speaker B:You're not gonna hear Super Sharp Shooter getting mixed into everything.
Speaker B:You don't.
Speaker B:If you go to an old school event, you're going to hear it.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's a great track.
Speaker B:I mean I released it so I'm not, you know, and I helped shape it.
Speaker B:That whole style kind of came from me, you know.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:That was the kind of.
Speaker B:When I used to work with Zinc and Zinc would sit there with a pen and paper and go, what shall I do, Kev?
Speaker B:And I'd go do this, shape that, change that.
Speaker B:And he would do it and you know, he was a great producer, what he did.
Speaker B:And I was good at helping him mold that kind of vibe.
Speaker B:But I wouldn't say that tune is as.
Speaker B:As big as.
Speaker B:Like I said, original Nutter has been that vocal, has been acapella and played throughout time.
Speaker B:If you had to go.
Speaker B:Yeah, you know, there's other classics you can say that are great but you're not going to hear them at every upfront rape.
Speaker B:Sorry, you're just not.
Speaker B:And you don't need Super Sharp Shooter.
Speaker B:There was a remix done of it about a year and a Half ago by TI&D Mines that got a bit of play and now it's forgotten again because it.
Speaker B:You know where it's ready or not again, that, that.
Speaker B:Not the.
Speaker B:Not the original bootlegs but the sample itself ready owner has been used loads of Times and, you know.
Speaker B:But I'd say Mr.
Speaker B:Happy is the one where every.
Speaker B:And brickstone roll that still can smash a dance.
Speaker B:And the mix down is fat as the day it was made to today, I think.
Speaker B:When did Mr.
Speaker B:Happy come out?
Speaker B: About: Speaker B:And like I said, who doesn't play non D and B DJs play it.
Speaker B:They do different versions of it, you know, like people have.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:But, you know, there's no competition.
Speaker A:So kind of as it.
Speaker A:As it moved on.
Speaker A:Like, I remember going to a drum and bass night in.
Speaker A: I think it was like: Speaker A:And just the style I like, I've.
Speaker A:You know, I've not followed it closely.
Speaker A:But like, I went to this night and just the.
Speaker A:The production had got so kind of like dark and dirty by that point.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:That I was like, not kind of feeling.
Speaker A:It's not my sort of thing.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Again, I think it was.
Speaker B: It was before: Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because even me, there's plenty of good music in that era, but there's also a lot of music.
Speaker B:I didn't.
Speaker B:I didn't like the way it had all changed.
Speaker B:But I don't know if I mentioned it in a lot.
Speaker B:Like, you know, when the jungle scene first exploded, it was multicultured and, you know, it was great.
Speaker B: By the early: Speaker B:The elements that I liked within it was slowly stripped away.
Speaker B:You know, like the reggae, the break beat.
Speaker B:And it become also, if you looked at the crowd, they, you know, women.
Speaker B:There weren't so many girls in the raves.
Speaker B:They weren't.
Speaker B:It weren't as multicultured.
Speaker B:Most of my black friends started not like, because it couldn't relate to it, you know.
Speaker B:And then there are people again that loved it.
Speaker B:It went through a change like it always does every few years, you know.
Speaker B:And the people that some people will.
Speaker B:Will say that's the best era for drum and bass, you know, and other people.
Speaker B:Again, I think everybody has their favorite era.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like, I went to something else around that similar time and I was there out with a little like heavy metal fans.
Speaker A:And they were really into that type of drum and bass at the time.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, that was quite an eye opener.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I was gonna use that as a reference because that's what I found.
Speaker B:There's like a rock crowd that, you know, like people that were.
Speaker B:Oh, I used to like punk or I like metal music and that.
Speaker B:No, you know, that was kind of the more techy and bringing that in.
Speaker B:You know, and then you got your sort of pendulums and I played the stuff, you know, but I wasn't mad on a lot of it.
Speaker B:I had arguments with producers at events where I'm like, look at the crowd.
Speaker B:Like, there's not.
Speaker B:There's no women, it's just white guys with their tops off, you know, the music is supposed to be a melting pot of everything, but at the same time it was doing fine.
Speaker B:We were traveling the world and it evolved again and again and again, you know, that's why I like the last sort of few years.
Speaker B:What I do like about our scene is anything go, you know, like whatever your.
Speaker B:What you like.
Speaker B:There's a market for it somewhere.
Speaker B:You know, if you just like the old traditional sound, there's new school producers that are making old school music.
Speaker B:There's, you know, the real upfront, you know, like stuff that's huge, you know, you got commercial, you got liquid.
Speaker B:And if I play out, I can probably get away with playing it all when there was a time when I want to do that, but I know I'm not getting away with it, you know.
Speaker A:Did you have to be really careful then?
Speaker A:Because you just mentioned a couple of minutes ago about.
Speaker A:About the sort of production in the sonics and stuff like that.
Speaker A:Was there a load of stuff that you were just like.
Speaker A: l this, say, like sort of mid: Speaker B:No, but that's always been like that.
Speaker B:That's not something that happened as long as I've been making music.
Speaker B:There's music that's great, there's music that's recorded great, but I don't like the song.
Speaker B:And then there's music where I really like this song, but it's recorded so bad.
Speaker B:I mean, I did a set a couple of weeks ago, Coco in London, the old Camden palace for Orange, who I used to work for, like 91, 92 era, 93, I think.
Speaker B:And that's probably the most experimental time to me, you know, like the.
Speaker B:The different styles and things being, you know, things being done wrong.
Speaker B:But out of that came great.
Speaker B:When you compare the production techniques, not.
Speaker B:Not the actual writing of the track, but you know, the mix downs and that, they're awful because half of them were done in bedroom.
Speaker B:You know, there's no.
Speaker B:Yeah, it done uneducated people that don't know much.
Speaker B:Just being creative from what comes from the heart and the mind.
Speaker B:With the limited equipment and Money they had.
Speaker B:And it's a beautiful thing.
Speaker B:Whereas nowadays people go, right, sample pack, go online.
Speaker B:I just think he gets bass the way he gets his base.
Speaker B:So you get this market flood of clones that just regurgitate what someone else has done, which is inevitable.
Speaker B:And there's still creative people, but it's a lot harder to find them because you've got this.
Speaker B:You know, the scene's a lot bigger.
Speaker B:You know, like I said, if you go back to music house days, if we're not playing your record, if we're not into it, it's not going nowhere.
Speaker B:Whereas now you can put it online, you know, tick tock this, but you don't even need nobody to.
Speaker B:To possibly have success with it.
Speaker B:And yeah, the production techniques are a lot better now than what they was.
Speaker B:But at any era everyone's kind of in that same mold and you will get stuff that.
Speaker B:Yeah, I can't play that.
Speaker B:I get that today where I some quite big talented producers where I'm like, I like what you've done, mate, but the mix downs and they won't have it.
Speaker B:And then I say, come out with me.
Speaker B:I've done it to a couple of people where I'm like, your tune's good and I'll be playing it in the mix.
Speaker B:So in the club, there's two tracks playing.
Speaker B:Your tune has now got a layer of drums from another track.
Speaker B:But it sounds great.
Speaker B:As soon as I come out of the mix, your tune dips down in volume.
Speaker B:You know, you can hear the drums are too low.
Speaker B:And that's when I look at the Bruno.
Speaker B:See, I told you.
Speaker B:But what I do with certain tunes now, if I really like it that much, but the production's a bit low or not quiet, then I said, I just drop it with another tune and make sure the other tunes are stripped back, you know, so I'm using like the kick and snare on a the left decks tune to kind of compensate for the lack of what's in.
Speaker B:And you can eq, but if it's that bad, it ain't getting played.
Speaker B:But there's so much music there and I would say majority of music I get sent.
Speaker B:Mix down is not usually the issue, it's just the track.
Speaker A:When we've been talking through this and you've talked about production and stuff and how you like to work with others.
Speaker B:I never used to.
Speaker B:I do now.
Speaker B:I used to hate that.
Speaker B:I used to not want to do that.
Speaker B:I actually used to be quite anti people that, like, if you didn't make the tune on your own.
Speaker B:I'm like, he's not a producer, he done it all.
Speaker B:But then what I learned over time is even some of my most famous, you know, outside the drum and bass, people that I used to respect, you know, like as musicians or bands or whatever, from all different.
Speaker B:They have produced, you know, it's.
Speaker B:People work within.
Speaker B:Also.
Speaker B:I look on it as if you've got someone who is technically gifted and then you've got someone who's got the vibe, but they're not.
Speaker B:They're not pushing the buttons.
Speaker B:But if you listen to the technical guy, his music is made amazing, but it's a song, it's bland, you know, and then.
Speaker B:So you put them together.
Speaker B:So for me, no, if I want to decorate my house, I might have the vision of how I want it to, but I'll get you to paint it how I want it, you know?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:So when I work with, most producers I work with at the moment, they have an element of creativity in the track, if need be.
Speaker B:It's not their engineering and don't do nothing.
Speaker B:But I'm driving the ship, you know, like the.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:I direct it and show and you can hear that, you know, if I make a tune with you and you've got 10 tunes of your own and we listen to your 10 tunes, they listen to the one with me and it's just another tune you're not hearing, you know, if I didn't tell you I was involved in that tune, you wouldn't notice then.
Speaker B:It's not job well done shows.
Speaker B:I'm not doing nothing, but most of the tunes.
Speaker B:The one thing I'm told on all the tunes I've been doing since I've been producing again in collabing, is you can hear, you know, whether you.
Speaker B:I'm not saying the tunes are amazing or better or worse than anyone, they're just tunes.
Speaker B:But everyone says, we can hear you.
Speaker B:You know, it's got your identity, it's got your stamp on.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's got your, you know, typical hype, but I don't even notice that, you know.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And I've seen a few people online talking about it, which has given me a nice confidence boost again, because that's all I wanted.
Speaker B:It's just I don't want to.
Speaker B:You know, there was a time when Hazard used to say, come and do a tune with me, but I'm like, if I come with you, it's just going to be enough.
Speaker B:I wasn't ready and I felt I'll go there.
Speaker B:It would just be another hazard tune.
Speaker B:I know it'll be good for me to do that, but I don't like getting credit for stuff I didn't necessarily do.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it was a challenge for me.
Speaker B:And I'm enjoying producing again.
Speaker B:And what I like is that I can make.
Speaker B:I'm making kind of.
Speaker B:I'm not trying to just, you know, like that.
Speaker B:This style's in.
Speaker B:We gotta make it like that.
Speaker B:I'm like, you know what?
Speaker B:I'm 57.
Speaker B:I've been doing it for.
Speaker B:I should be able just make what I want to make.
Speaker B:And luckily, the first release done really well.
Speaker B:You know, I heard DJs playing it out.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The latest one that's coming out 4th of July.
Speaker B:You know, I've already seen footage of DJs playing it, getting rewinds.
Speaker B:You know, I've had great messages from my peers giving me the big up.
Speaker B:That's good enough for me, you know.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I've got a load of other music that is coming.
Speaker B:I'm trying to stay ahead as much as I can because it is a very.
Speaker B:Even though I'm not doing it to compete, there is still that competition and that sound boy underneath that's trying to get his props, but without trying to formulate.
Speaker B:I'm just trying to.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, if anything, I'm going for like a dubby kind of vibe.
Speaker B:I don't know, you go in a studio, just what comes out, comes out.
Speaker B:I don't usually have that much of a plan.
Speaker B:We just.
Speaker B:I call it just vibing, just vibes.
Speaker A:You were.
Speaker A:You mentioned last time at the start of the interview that you got to a certain point, I think you said it was at lockdown, where you realized you'd kind of gone on a journey where you'd ended up DJing out.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Quite a lot of stuff that you weren't into and you'd kind of lost yourself.
Speaker B:Well, you started.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You kind of caught up in the crowd.
Speaker B:You know, I've seen other DJs do that, you know, if you're booked.
Speaker B:Like, you know, I was enjoying it, but it was starting to get.
Speaker B:Probably the last year and a half before lockdown, where I really was.
Speaker B:The music was going in a direction that I would.
Speaker B:Not the whole scene, but, you know, like the room one, if you're doing it was getting a bit too.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I want to be polite, but I just wasn't into it.
Speaker B:And I started feeling like, this is not me.
Speaker B:I can't Relate to it.
Speaker B:This is not what I signed up for, but I was still doing it, you know.
Speaker B:But then Lockdown, having that breather and just being with my friends and having my sound system and having the time to just play music and realizing half.
Speaker B:I remember playing in my dungeon with the sound system, doing a DJ set of tunes that I was playing pre lockdown and some of the tunes would come in and I'm like, this don't sound good to me, you know, like just listening and I'm real.
Speaker B:And the tunes that I was really enjoying were all more bass, heavy belly bass, chest bass, not the mid noisy.
Speaker B:Although I still will play a bit of that.
Speaker B:And I don't, not like any of it, but I felt like it was just getting.
Speaker B:I, I didn't like it and I felt like I'm losing my identity even with my label.
Speaker B:Nights, like we were going bigger and bigger and the bigger the night, the, you know, it was all about selling tickets and getting names that are going to sell tickets rather than names that I'm actually artistically into or have a connection with.
Speaker B:And I, I remember my agent go, oh, you're getting paid, it's great, it's good.
Speaker B:Look.
Speaker B:And I'm like, no, you don't get me.
Speaker B:If it was just about money, there's a lot of things I could do over the years that I'd be a lot richer than what I am.
Speaker B:But there's an element of I've gotta really enjoy it and feel like I'm being me.
Speaker B:And Lockdown kind of released that in me again.
Speaker B:And I knew, I made a conscious decision.
Speaker B:I said, I'm not going back out there like I was.
Speaker B:And I know I'm going to get less work for it because I'm not going to be playing that game.
Speaker B:But I thought, I've got a 40 year legacy, I should be able to be all right.
Speaker B:And, and again, pre lockdown, I would never do an old school set of any kind.
Speaker B:Very, very rarely.
Speaker B:Maybe play a few tunes on the radio.
Speaker B:But how come post lock, I just didn't want to.
Speaker B:Been there, done it.
Speaker B:You know, I used to, my, I used to say this, I'm not back there, I'm going that way, mate.
Speaker B:I'm going in, I'm in the future.
Speaker B:You want to go back 20 years but then not doing it for all those years.
Speaker B:Coming out of Lockdown, I started, I liked, I genuinely like doing them old school sets and also now you can kind of.
Speaker B:I can do a 94 to 98 kind of jungle vote.
Speaker B:Or I can do a 91 to 94 kind of hardcore to Jungle Vote, you know, or I can get places where I can mix up new modern music, modern jungle drum and bass vibe with the old.
Speaker B:Last year, I think it was about May.
Speaker B:I was doing a Valve night and so was Hazard now at that point, Players has been in limbo for a bit.
Speaker B:I haven't been releasing nothing.
Speaker B:Hazard's doing his own label, you know, and then we were doing back to back and he just come up to me in the Valve night and was like, we got to get players back, we got to get players back.
Speaker B:And he, he was liking the way I, the new way I play.
Speaker B:He was like, yeah, we were talking.
Speaker B:You've got to just keep doing what you're doing.
Speaker B:And I was having Dillinger tell me that.
Speaker B:Just be you.
Speaker B:Just be you.
Speaker B:And I could see that's, that's what I need you to hear.
Speaker B:Give me the confidence to carry on just doing.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm not, I'm not sitting here saying I'm dramatically different to everyone, but I'm just being me again rather than.
Speaker B:Right, you know, that's big.
Speaker B:That's big, that's big.
Speaker B:I've got to play them all.
Speaker B:If anything, I try and stay away.
Speaker B:I'm not saying I won't play any anthems, but I do try and stay away from that stuff as much as possible.
Speaker B:I might, you know, even at festivals, I'm not.
Speaker B:I just don't want to do that no more.
Speaker B:There's no point.
Speaker B:Top 10 in it.
Speaker B:There's a million people that can top 10 it.
Speaker B:And doing the old school stuff.
Speaker B:I enjoy it because I haven't done it in years.
Speaker B:You know, you got.
Speaker B:And the real old school stuff I really enjoy as well.
Speaker B:So it's all, it's all balanced out.
Speaker B:Even my agent said the other day, in some ways you've done a good thing by having that breather because it, you know, you haven't rinsed yourself out doing all that.
Speaker B:You know, everyone else has done that forever.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker A:I guess it's nice to have had a reset and just have that time to be like, what do I want to do?
Speaker B:Yeah, and it's nice to do all the different.
Speaker B:I, I don't know why I didn't do them sets before.
Speaker B:When I look back, I'm like, use idiot.
Speaker B:I mean, it's worked out for the better, like I said, because I'm not bored.
Speaker B:I think if I've been doing old school sets for 20 years I'd be bored because, you know, you.
Speaker B:But now getting to play them, I, I quite enjoy it.
Speaker B:I enjoy.
Speaker B:And I enjoy having the mixture of sets, you know to one week I'm doing a 91 to 93, another time I'm doing, you know, 20, 25 onwards.
Speaker B:You know, it's great.
Speaker A:I suppose if you'd have been doing old school sets for that amount of time so for the past 20, 20 years, what you might have the risk of is just being around a lot of people that are of the mindset of yeah, it was all better back then and because you get it sometimes with hip hop that people are like, yeah, golden era.
Speaker B:Yeah, but that's every.
Speaker B:Look, you said it yourself earlier about when you like to.
Speaker B: You didn't like: Speaker B:Everybody depending on your age has their favorite era.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:And usually it's your, the younger you are, you know, when you first get into psych, it's new and exciting, you know and then you get bored like anything.
Speaker B:What's your favorite food?
Speaker A:Like steak.
Speaker B:Yeah, but would you have steak every day of the week?
Speaker C:No.
Speaker B:No, in the end you'll get bored of it in it.
Speaker B:So varieties of spice of life as they say.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, but all the people that have been doing it for years, they all still doing it and they all look like they enjoy it still.
Speaker B:So, you know, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much and I'm enjoying it now.
Speaker B:So yeah, you know, obviously that's a.
Speaker B:Do a radio show.
Speaker B:I do up front sets, I do old school sets, I do mixture sets.
Speaker B:I'm producing again, the labels up and running next year.
Speaker B:30 years of players.
Speaker B:So I'm in a good spot for a 57 year old egg.
Speaker A:Yeah, not doing badly.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:Well, you know, you've got to have that pat because I'm in it from the heart, not for the money.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Although some people might not believe me, but it's true, you know, like even in my early career.
Speaker A:Just a couple more questions then.
Speaker B:In.
Speaker A:That sort of just going back again to the early 90s because you were the guy that scratched.
Speaker A:There was one other guy that I'm kind of aware of that was, that was a big on scratching.
Speaker A:Who was DJ Psy.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean we had a couple of times where we had me versus Psy, I think it was in Birmingham.
Speaker B:But again he's just a scratch.
Speaker B:He juice is scratch.
Speaker B:But I'm a competition DJ and I'm not gonna bad man.
Speaker B:He was a Lovely guy, but I didn't really see the connection, but I had to accept it.
Speaker B:But I get on with him and you know, he's all good.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I guess for me it was like because I just loved scratching so much.
Speaker A:You were the two guys that it was.
Speaker A:I would be excited to hear it.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, that's fair.
Speaker B:But musically we were totally different, so.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Have you got any particular favorite MCs that you've performed with a lot?
Speaker A:And if so, why?
Speaker B:Daddy?
Speaker B:LGQ are my two favorites.
Speaker B:Daddy obviously is my best friend and we've been from one deck in a sponge sound system to today.
Speaker B:And gq, I think GQ is just again, he's from the manor.
Speaker B:He grew up listening to me.
Speaker B:Like he says it on some of the gigs we do.
Speaker B:He's like, when I was a kid I wanted to be him.
Speaker B:He wanted to be a scratch dj, but he's just got that voice.
Speaker B:He knows how to present the lyrical mcs.
Speaker B:There's a load of them.
Speaker B:They're all decent.
Speaker B:But never was that big on the lyrical mcs in our sing, you know, I like to play music and have someone at more host.
Speaker B:Although nowadays I. I'm more happy to work with him, you know, whether it's Ragatoon, Shabbat, you know, Was it injured?
Speaker B:IC3.
Speaker B:I see three is another.
Speaker B:But he's good at a crowd hyping.
Speaker B:But I'd say if you look at this sort of jungle drum and bass, you know, as a scene, gq, who's still, you know, he's.
Speaker B:Because he's a good, he's a good.
Speaker B:If you shut your eyes and you was listening to him, he can paint a picture of this.
Speaker B:You know, if you go back to the, the, you know, you said about the tape days and that he paints a picture of the.
Speaker B:The event.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Not just there's a lot of mcs in this scene that are very talented lyrically in that, but because I don't work with them a lot.
Speaker B:When I work with them, there's no connection.
Speaker B:Like they're just looking at the crowd going.
Speaker B:They're not even distinguishing between a vocal tune and a non vocal tune because they don't know my set.
Speaker B:It's not their fault.
Speaker B:And sometimes, you know, where they're standing, they're not hearing it right.
Speaker B:But even that now has got better, I think for me, because I understand them a bit more as well.
Speaker B:Or I'll talk.
Speaker B:Look, I'm going to play a couple of vocal tunes here, so I need you to not.
Speaker B:You know, I never understand when you're playing a vocal tune and an MST starts rapping over it.
Speaker B:Because that's like me and you talking at the same time.
Speaker B:Like, you know, no song exit.
Speaker B:You don't buy a song.
Speaker B:Well, listen to a song and it's got a guy rapping and another guy rapping totally different lyrics over the top of it.
Speaker B:Or when an MC starts singing over the.
Speaker B:Like you're playing the song and they're singing and they can't sing better than the song.
Speaker B:So I'm like, why are you ruining the song by singing?
Speaker B:But they're all quite professional these days.
Speaker A:But this is the same with scratching with you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:With how you do it.
Speaker B:Some people don't even that.
Speaker B:I mean I've got an award in that cabinet for best compilation.
Speaker B:I think it's DNB Arena.
Speaker B:I've done one and I remember when it was out people that love it, it sold well.
Speaker B:And then you get the ones always scratches all over it.
Speaker B:And he done a mix.
Speaker B:It's like.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's a mix cd.
Speaker B:You know, you can't please everyone no matter who you are.
Speaker B:But like I said with the MCs it's mama.
Speaker B:You have a total.
Speaker B:There's people in that crowd that will they live for the MC and love the mc.
Speaker B:And there are huge part of our scene, you know, like there's no doubt about that.
Speaker B:And I would never want to take anything away.
Speaker B:And then you've got another side of people that don't want to hear them.
Speaker B:They just want to hear the music or a host a little bit.
Speaker B:So it's horses for courses and it's what you like.
Speaker B:And there's enough.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Of both to cover a scene.
Speaker A:But yeah, I was just gonna say with your scratching that the thing is like that like you.
Speaker A:What I used to do, if I used to try and scratch, I'd just be going mental trying to do the fastest scratching that I can on thing on.
Speaker A:On things.
Speaker B:No, no.
Speaker B:I used to be more melodic.
Speaker B:I'd make it.
Speaker B:I got told.
Speaker B:I used to get told this.
Speaker B: ember I'm battle DJ from like: Speaker B:You know, I haven't kept.
Speaker B:I'm not a battle DJ anymore.
Speaker B:So my.
Speaker B:My scratching is quite basic for modern day scratch dj.
Speaker B:But what I try and do is do it in rhythms that complement the song.
Speaker B:Because sometimes I used to up on purpose because I used to think people don't even know.
Speaker B:They just think it's part of the song, you know.
Speaker A:But that's it.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Being in the pockets where it's at.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But this day and age, I don't think people are that into that.
Speaker B:There's a.
Speaker B:There's a small element of people that appreciate it.
Speaker B:I think most people, they don't even know what's, you know, the modern day dj, what cdj.
Speaker B:They're more, you know, the crowd respects someone who does that more.
Speaker B:You know, the natural skills.
Speaker B:Oh, he looks too serious.
Speaker B:It's like yeah, I'm concentrating, working.
Speaker B:I'm not, I'm not got a smile and wave.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Not.
Speaker A:Not doing T shirt cannons into the.
Speaker B:Crowd and no, but I try these days I do have a little.
Speaker B:I call it drunk dad at a wedding.
Speaker B:Start getting me skank on.
Speaker A:Amazing.
Speaker A:Right, so what else can we keep an eye on?
Speaker A:Because you've mentioned that you've got the 30 year anniversary, the label coming up.
Speaker A:Anything else we need to check for?
Speaker B:Well, label wise, July 4th is a track called Kill Something coming out a collab with a guy called Japa and that's on the return of Double A Killer Volume two which is.
Speaker B:Got that track.
Speaker B:Track from Hazard, track from Taxman, track from Tyke and Prestige.
Speaker B:In regards to label I've got a probably three or four more tracks that I've written that I don't know if they're going to be up together or part of because Dub Plate Killer project is ongoing.
Speaker B:So it's going to be a Volume three, Volume four.
Speaker B:They'll just keep going as.
Speaker B:And when I get various artist track a guy called Similar is doing an ep.
Speaker B:Has got an EP coming there coming later this year Heist Tyke and I said I've done remix for Crate Classics which is David Ruddigan's son.
Speaker B:It's called Rude Boy Sound.
Speaker B:I've done a remix for Green Sleeves, Nitty Gritty False Alarm track that I'm not sure when it's coming out, but it's done.
Speaker B:I recently got asked to remix a track for Rudimental that I was supposed to have started about a week ago but we didn't get time.
Speaker B:I found some vocals from one of my best friends who passed away from the scene, MC Fats that I made like a Liquidy.
Speaker B:It's not Liquid weight.
Speaker B:For me it is but with.
Speaker B:I call it Liquid with Balls because it's got quite heavy meaty.
Speaker B:But I've done that with Heist and I don't know what I'm doing with it because I'm thinking about.
Speaker B:Because next year's 30 years of players and Peace Love and Unity was the first release on players that maybe I keep this track back and maybe have a basher remix in Peace Love and do like a vinyl, you know, like Peace Love, Fresh Fats track and a remix, but not sure.
Speaker B:And then I've got what's the opportunity?
Speaker B:This tune I'm doing with Jamie Rodigan that I'm trying to finish this week that is quite cool.
Speaker B:I really like it as it is.
Speaker B:It's just the sonic saying, right.
Speaker B:But if you listen to it here, it will sound fine.
Speaker B:I'm supposed to be doing a working with potential bad boy on a couple of tunes, but it's very hard finding the time at the moment.
Speaker B:I've got a project on the go with Tyke.
Speaker B:I started saying new with Jappa yesterday.
Speaker B:That will hopefully be the follow up to the one we got coming out 4th of July.
Speaker B:So I'm just busy producing.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Having a broken leg at the moment.
Speaker B:I've had to turn down a lot of international work that I was already booked to do, which has been not good.
Speaker B:Like, I was supposed to go to Cavos to do Breakaway.
Speaker B:I was supposed to go to Bali and do Locust Festival, which happened last week.
Speaker B:My next international, I think, is next week, which is Croatia hospitality on the beach, where we've got a player stage and I'm doing a boat party.
Speaker B:But I'm going to the hospital on Monday because the last time I went for a view, they said, you still can't fly, you know, so.
Speaker B:And Now I'm going 30th of June, I'm going again.
Speaker B:So if they give me the go ahead, I'll be going Croatia.
Speaker B:If they don't, I can't, which is quite frustrating, but hell first.
Speaker A:And yeah, well, fingers crossed for you, mate, that you're able to do that.
Speaker A:And yeah, thanks a lot for your time today and the other week.
Speaker A:I know, as you've obviously just said, you're mega busy, so really, really, really appreciate it.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:Great stuff.
Speaker A:All right, mate, well, all the best.
Speaker B:Cheers.
