MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #146 - Dub Mechz

Back in February, after a few weeks’ of discussions, Wil and I decided to call time on the MIG x FatKidOnFire feature series - after a prolific 3+ years and 145 features. We left the series at an unsuspecting end (albeit a high one with Calski/ Lamont’s brilliant feature) with one or two outstanding interviews and feature requests floating about. One of these was with DEEP MEDi’s Dub Mechz, a south London-based production and DJ duo who Wil and I had been long-time fans of. When the guys hit us up around the time of their latest MEDi065 plate, we got the ball rolling on one last MIG x FKOF feature - the final farewell if you will…

How’s it going guys, you both well? For those that don’t know you, who and what are The Dub Mechz?

The Dub Mechz is a way of life, like a direction or guideline of life. In terms of music it’s the creation and manipulation of spiritual, emotional and visual sound.

How would you describe your sound?

Colourful, Raw, Astral. Haha!

How did you guys meet?

We’ve always known each other - just through living in the same area and stuff.

When did you decide you wanted to produce dubstep - and were you producing individually before you started making The Dub Mechz tunes?

K-Man: well I mainly produced grime. In between the times of me making grime, I was gliding more towards dubstep. I’d always produced music, even back from school days… Even though it wasn’t of a certain standard!

Kero: My main part of producing started from knowing K-Man for a few years - while he was making a lot of grime. After about a year of standing in front of the speaker at FWD», I starting trying to build dubstep. I built loads of hip-hop stuff back then as well. The Dub Mechanics started when we realised we had extremely similar mentalities towards life and music.

How do you go about building your tunes? What’s your production setup like?

Normally, we can go on anything (even if it’s like a little sci-fi blip or something).K-Man mainly likes to go for a soundscape when building tracks. We’re using a very basic setup at the moment, mainly because we move around quite a lot. We use 5:1 surround speakers, a midi keyboard, a pair of Sony M7506s and our DAW preference is PC (or Mac for a few hip-hop bits).

You’re affiliated with some of the best labels in dubstep, and have had support from some of the biggest DJs in the scene. How did you first getting talking to Mala and how did the Deep Medi release come about?

It’s funny because we’ve been going to FWD» from the very beginning. In those days, most other producers were young too - so we were all involved and eager to link up with them. I’d say we’ve known Chef from pretty much the beginning, and we’ve always linked up as friends and in music. He’s been supporting our stuff for many years. It eventually got to the point where we had a ridiculous amount of tunes but no releases or anything so Chef picked out some bits and sent them to Mala and he was feeling what we were doing. After a few link ups and talks he said he’d like to sign us to MEDi and that’s how it started…

Another standard question you’re probably bored to death of. Do you prefer turntables or CDJs for playing out? Does it matter?

We like the conversion of sound on turntables, but CDJs are convenient for people who want to travel light. As long as the sound and music is good and consistent it doesn’t really matter too much in our opinion!

How long have you been playing out? If you could pick any of your recent bookings, what would be your favourite - and why?

We’re been playing out for about 2 years now. Our favourite booking has been Italy mainly because it’s a really nice place and the people have a good positive attitude (and vibe) towards music. Plus we got a lot of people we consider family over there so it’s always good to be in their home country!

Have you always produced dubstep? Ever tried your hand at anything else? Do you think producers need to make more than one genre of music these days?

Nah we’ve produced grime, hip-hop,jungle, D&B, house… Quite a lot of stuff over the years.

Km: Well in my opinion that is the definition of a “producer”. You’re meant to be able to translate your feel and style into anything and everything. Producing other genres is definitely a thing people should do; it keeps you fresh with ideas and styles to pick from and incorporate where ever you choose.

Where do you see the dubstep ‘sound’ moving to over the next year or so?

Km: Hopefully it will be revived from the stage it’s floating on at the moment. I’d love to see it develop into something unique because it definitely has the potential.

K: I feel the same, and do kind of feel like there’s been a big wave of multi- genre experimentation in dubstep the past few years, some would see this as an evolution, and to some a devolution. I think this has been good experience for dubstep mainly because as a new genre it will have phases of trial and error to define what the true sounds of dubstep really is - like most other genres that have been around for more then a decade. It’s a fact that good music stands the test of time, and I can see this coming year defining the strongest and most timeless musical areas of dubstep.

Other than the releases discussed earlier, have you got any tunes forthcoming we should be looking out for? Anything physical?

K-Man will be dropping a free EP every month until Dec 2013 , but there’s loads of other stuff going on which we can’t really reveal at the minute!

In terms of advice, what are your top points for new producers and DJs looking to get heard or signed?

Stay true to yourself and make sure whatever image you’re trying to put across is solid. Getting heard or signed properly is a hard journey and can be discouraging. Originality and dedication is what counts the most.

3 producers we should be following are…?

Km: Numa crew, L-Wiz and Cluekid.

K: I’d say Perverse, Subtle Minds & Commodo as newcomers.

Best dubstep track ever produced is?

Ahhh! It’s between Skream’s ‘Colourful’ and Coki’s ‘Seek Knowledge’ (if that’s even the name of the track).

Best producer in dubstep to collab with is?

We’d say Silkie.

So this is it. The final MIG x FKOF mix - and what a mix it is. Thanks to the K-Man and Kero for a fitting end to the MIG x FKOF series. Good to finally get you guys involved A massive thanks also go to the artists, labels, fans and everyone else who have contributed to the series in the last three years. It’s been awesome!

Click to DOWNLOAD

Let us know what you think of our last mix in the series either via Facebook or Twitter.

MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #142 - Juss B

So it’s about damn time to kick this year’s MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire series off. We’ve had our eyes and ears on Juss B for a good long time now - and in our continued efforts to find decent new labels and support their releases, we caught up with Torrey as his latest EP dropped on Vulcan Audio…

Yo! What’s good?

Ez bro, been real good! Thanks.

Introduce yourself, who is Juss B? It’s a question you might get asked a lot, but the tattoos! Tell us about them?

Haha yeah, not much to say about the tats - other than I got the skelly hand so I won’t need to dress up for Halloween any more…

How would you describe your sound? How do you go about building your tunes – what’s your production setup like?

I would like to think my sound tends to lean on the darker, minimal side with an emphasis mainly on the sub-bass and percussion. I start every tune by setting up the beat then making the sub and so on. My production setup consists of FL Studio on a Mac running Bootcamp sitting on top of my girlfriend’s bed with a pair of Pioneer headphones… Haha!

How did you get into the deep and dark 140 sounds? What was the first dubstep track you ever heard?

I started out producing a bit more of the dancehall-type dubstep before I had heard any of the deeper/darker stuff. I was really into the older Rusko/Caspa stuff as well. The tune that turned me over to the deeper/minimal style of things was ‘Hunted’ by SP:MC & LX One.

You’re affiliated with some of the best labels in dubstep, and have had support from some of the biggest DJs in the scene. Of your back catalogue, what’s your favourite release and why?

I’ve been really lucky this past year to get in contact with labels and producers that I highly respect. I feel my strongest release as of now has been the ‘Metaphysics/Symbols’ EP on Vulcan Audio because it caught the attention of quite a few people and kind of put me on the radar within the dubstep community.

Another standard question you’re probably bored to death of. Do you prefer turntables or CDJs for playing out? Does it matter?

CDJs, because CDs are easy for me to travel around with.

How long have you been playing out? If you could pick any of your recent bookings, what would be your favourite - and why?

I’ve been spinning gigs for the last two years now. My personal favorite show to date was in San Francisco at Temple with N-Type. It was a nice and dark venue and heaps of people came out to show support (most likely because of N-Type haha).

Have you always produced dubstep? Ever tried your hand at anything else? Do you think producers need to make more than one genre of music these days? Where do you see the dubstep ‘sound’ moving to over the next year or so?

As bad as it may sound, I haven’t dabbled much in producing any genre other than dubstep. I’m pretty focused on shaping my overall sound at the moment. If other producers are motivated to experiment with other genres, good on them! I’m hoping the dubstep scene will start putting more focus on the deeper/minimal side of things and expand from there.

Other than the releases we discussed earlier, have you got any tunes forthcoming we should be looking out for? Anything physical?

There are some things up in the air which I’m pretty excited about but nothing that can be announced at this moment…

In terms of advice, what are your top points for new producers and DJs looking to get heard or signed?

Be patient. This was (and still is) the hardest thing for me to cope with. Try not to push out tracks that are premature because there is no rush or time limit. Focus on making one great tune rather than ten mediocre tunes. This will get the attention of record labels and show them maturity in my opinion.

Tell us about your MIG x FKOF mix…

I made the mix with the intention of showcasing every tune involved. It was a real treat for me to have so many top notch producers send over their unreleased material for the mix. Big thanks to all of them and of course MIG x FKOF for the opportunity!

Any shoutouts?

To all the record labels I’ve released on and been in contact with - big up! There’s way too many names for me to spell out, so massive thanks to everyone who I’ve been involved with thus far and looking forward to big things for 2013! O yeah, and out to Skrillex haha!

Best up-and-coming label we should be following is…?

Vulcan Audio, Gradient Audio and Phantom Hertz have some big releases lined up for 2013 from what I hear…

Best dubstep track ever produced is…?

At the moment, I’m really hooked on ‘Gatekeeper’ by DJ Madd.

One dubstep producer to watch for in 2013 is…?

There’s so many out there, but ‘the man of mystery’ Warsa is definitely one to watch in my opinion…

Juss B’s VLCN004 release sat up in the top 5 of the dubstep charts on Juno a good week or two after its release - and his mix for MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire is testament to both his production (with 2 Juss B dubs and 2 releases included) and mixing skills. 17 tracks, 51 minutes and a whole lot of free download! Click to DOWNLOAD

Track list:

1. Warsa - Tungsten [dub]
2. Killawatt & Thelem - Point of No Return [Black Box]
3. Olie Bassweight & Dubfonik ft. DMG MC - The Message [Bassweight Recordings dub]
4. Juss B - The Cell [dub]
5. Mesck - No Shelter [dub]
6. Juss B - Symbols [Vulcan Audio]
7. FNC - Prism [dub]
8. Juss B - The Omen [dub]
9. Skeptix & Fuced Forces - Medusa [dub]
10. FNC - Code Signal [forthcoming ????]
11. Youngsta - Poseidon [Tempa]
12. Juss B - The Incas [Sub Pressure Records dub]
13. Mesck - Conquista [dub]
14. Truth - Spook (Olie Bassweight remix) [Bassweight Recordings dub]
15. Muttley - Tiled (Boofy remix) [dub]
16. Killawatt & Thelem - Kaba [Black Box]
17. Juss B - Metaphysics [Vulcan Audio]

Let us know what you think of Juss B’s interview and mix via Twitter or Facebook.

Lara

MakeItGood x Bacon Dubs - Sparxy’s April Mix

It’s been a fair few months since Sparxy stepped up and gave us a mix (Christmas I think?) so today sees us release his latest mix for MakeItGood, and this one’s weighty! For those of you who don’t know, Sparxy is our resident DJ, and also runs Dubstep label Bacon Dubs. Click the link below to download his mix, and make sure you follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Soundcloud. 

MakeItGood x Bacon Dubs - Sparxy’s April Mix 2012

Tracklist:

MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire x North Base - Festival Competition

So, our MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire features usually follows the form of an interview and  mix, but today sees us do it a little differently. We have teamed up with the guys from North Base to give ONE lucky winner a PAIR of tickets to one of the following festivals (the winner can choose which festival they go to):

• Global Gathering
• Park Life
• SW4
• Creamfields
• Hideout

All you have to do is:

1. Answer this question “Name all six members of North Base, including their MC”
2. Email your answers to makeitgoodblog@gmail.com and make sure you include your FULL NAME in the email. 

Competition will close at 2PM on Friday 13th April, so get entering! 

For those of you who don’t know, the guys will be playing at all these festivals! North Base’s 140 BPM Bass Music is already receiving support from some of the most popular DJs on the planet, from Mary Anne Hobbs & Skream to Sub Focus & Jack Beats. Already carrying out remixes for popular artists Laidback Luke, Ms Dynamite, Kele le Roc, Labyrinth and others in the pipeline, this somewhat new act to the scene has infused Hardcore, Rave, Dubstep & much loved Old School styles into a Bass Music, unmatched in originality and untouched in calibre.

Make sure you check out North Base’s Facebook, Souncloud and Twitter. If you would like to book North Base, contact Nikki at Acute Promotions. 
 

MakeItGood x FKOF host room 2 @ GetDarker’s ‘This Is Dubstep 2012’ album launch - 3/02/12

On Friday 3rd February; MIG, FKOF and GetDarker open the doors to one of London’s best venues, Cable, for a night celebrating the launch of the ‘This is Dubstep 2012’ album with the deepest and darkest sounds from a selection of the genre’s finest talents.

GetDarker’s very own Darkside, along with dubstep pioneers Plastician, Coki, Kryptic Minds, Cyrus and upandcoming legends J:Kenzo, Phaeleh and Compa promise to destory the dancefloor of Cable’s main room.

MakeItGood and FatKidOnFire will be tearing up the venue’s 800- capacity bar with five of the scene’s rising stars; Benton, Killawatt, Thelem, Syte and Sparxy.

Tickets from: Ticketweb or UKF Live

If you are around on Friday and don’t have any plans, come down and party with us! We can guarantee you a wicked night! For more info, visit the Facebook page.

MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #90 - PanLeft

For those of you who’ve been following MakeItGood over the past year or so, you’ll have noticed the MakeItGood x FKOF series taking off – in 2011 we released 58(!) interviews and mixes/ free downloads. If the past few weeks are anything to go by, the next 12 months are going to be much more of the same (if not better). So today, just in case you didn’t believe me, there’s the following interview and fantastic 120-140bpm mix from Essex’s PanLeft. We hit him up for a spot on the series and he has definitely not disappointed…

Who is PanLeft?

PanLeft is a 24 Year old Music Producer hailing from Chelmsford Essex, producing tracks influenced from various genres of Electronic Dance Music, such as house, garage & dubstep.

What got you into mixing and producing bass music? How would you describe your production style?

I think as my brother is a DnB producer & DJ I was always quite inspired by what he was up to. But saying that; I’ve never made anything above 140bpm! My productions to date are quite varied – I write tracks between about 120 & 140 bpm. Often I like to include some ‘off grid’ drum patterns, some pads, maybe an arpeggio or two, and there is definitely always a lot of bass.

What software do you use to produce your tracks?

I mainly use Ableton Live 8 and Soundforge 10. I have used Reason 3.0 in the past as well. After making the switch to Ableton nearly 2 years ago, I think I’ve watched every production masterclass on YouTube, read every article in the production magazines… I think I like it a bit too much as it goes! I create a lot of my tracks live using my Akai APC40 and play a lot of the instrumental parts live using a midi keyboard, and often record some guitar parts in as well. I’ve also borrowed quite a lot of hardware over the last year or so, from friends or my brother, such as a Roland SH-201, a MicroKorg and Roland 303. However I think most of my tracks have come from the use of VSTs! I would love to start collecting and using more hardware though.

Turntables or CDJs?

I would love to say turntables & the use of vinyl, but I think I simply missed the boat. By the time I was getting into producing music, CDJs had already become club standard and for someone who was just getting into the scene, buying a few MP3s and burning them to a blank cd was a lot cheaper than buying everything on vinyl (not to mention a lot less effort to carry around). Having said that, I’m already moving away from the use of CDJs. I put together a lot of my sets in Ableton Live now, using my APC40. I admit it doesn’t make me a ‘true DJ’, but with Serato & Traktor being so wide spread now days, who really is. The use of Ableton for DJing means I can create my own FX chains, trigger loops and do live edits. Which makes it much more unique in my opinion.

How long have you producing and DJing?

I started off writing music in a band when I was about 16, with two other friends. We started to become more inspired by EDM and started adding synthesizers and playing along to pre-programmed backing tracks. It never really went anywhere but it was a lot of fun and I would love to do it again. About the same time the band started to fizzle out, the guy who owned the studio (now a good friend and someone who I still make music with) started inviting us to stay after practice and try our hand at using software to create music. For me, it could be a lot more personal, plus I could work on music in my bedroom, so I felt I didn’t have to wait until a Friday Night rehearsal to make music. We finished a few tracks together and it was good learning curve. For me, it was always produce tracks first and get DJ bookings after. So my DJing experiences are pretty limited _ I’d say I’ve been DJing for about a year; only a few clubs and parties. I do really enjoy the buzz of it so am now on the hunt for more bookings, now I feel I have a few tracks of my own that I could play out at least.

What’s been your best gig and if you could DJ alongside anyone, who would it be?

It’s a bit of a strange one. At the end of last year I went travelling around some parts of South East Asia. I turned up to a club on one of the islands off Thailand and asked whether they needed any DJs for that night. They said for me to bring my CDs and they might be able to squeeze me in..at this stage I had no CDs! I made a mad dash to the convenience store and started frantically burning CDs using my laptop. I didn’t have a permanent maker so had no idea what tracks were on what CD! I ended playing to about 300 people in this bar that sprawled out onto the beach, and into the sea. There were locals spinning fire sticks and all sorts. Was mad and something I’ll never forget! If I could DJ alongside anyone I think it might have to be Joy Orbison. I have been inspired quite a lot by him over the past couple of years.

Who are your top 5 producers at the moment; and why?

1. Joy Orbison - When I first heard ‘Hyph Mngo’ I was blown away. As I said above I’m really inspired by his tracks, plus seeing him at Glastonbury and Fabric were incredible.
2. Deadboy - Again I really like his sound unfortunately still haven’t had a chance to see him DJ.
3. Four Tet - ‘There is Love in You’ is a great album and whilst the whole of Glastonbury was watching Stevie Wonder, I went to see Four Tet in a small, dark but intimate Dance Tent. It was probably the highlight of the Festival for me! I would love to adapt his style of playing live.
4. Burial - His use of sampling is amazing – and how many dubstep producers get nominated for a Mercury Prize? Truly amazing. Would love to see this guy play live. Not sure that will ever happen.
5. There’s a few more in the bass music scene I could chose from, James Blake, Fantastic Mr Fox or Jamie XX. But I am going to chose the DnB producer Rockwell. His Dnb fascinates me. It’s seems ridiculously complicated and well layered. People should check out a mix called ‘Data Transmission Podcast 115’ I think I’ve listened to this mix so many times I’ve worn out the MP3!

What’s the future of dubstep – where do you see the genre going?

I really liked the early sounds of dubstep; when it was simply Drums, Bass, a few nice samples and maybe a catchy melody. When it went very wobbly and that mid range bass sound really took off, I kind have switched off and got bored. As long as people keep writing good tunes then it will stay alive. I must admit, I prefer certain other producers adaptations of the sound, such as SBTRKT & Fantastic Mr Fox, who are finding new ways to explore dubstep influences, this will really keep it fresh!

Any forthcoming releases we can look forward to?

At present all of my tracks are unsigned. I have been in discussions with a few labels about signing a few but as yet nothing has materialised. I will carry on making tunes, creating bootlegs and mixes as I enjoy it so much. I’ve got a few things in the pipeline.

Have you got any advice to upcoming DJs/ Producers?

If you enjoy it, then keep at it. I would never suggest someone gets into DJ’ing or producing thinking they are going to get signed over night and be playing Fabric the next week. Learn a few tips from other producers, some tutorials are good ways to get yourself going - however being as original as possible is pretty important.

PanLeft’s mix is a superb 120-140bpm journey of all things awesome. We’ve had it on the stereo since Jett sent it over a few weeks back and it’s still as fresh now as when we first heard it. Grab the free download and hit Jett up on Twitter or SoundCloud if you enjoy it! Click to DOWNLOAD

Track list:

1. MK - Burning 
2. 11:11 - Tourist Trap (Jamie Jones remix) 
3. PanLeft - Kingscross 
4. Joy Orbison - Jels 
5. Darksky - Armour 
6. Koreless - 4D 
7. PanLeft - Electrika 
8. Wild Combination - Palace (Mono4 remix) 
9. Burial - Vial 
10. Kavsrave - Deluded 
11. PanLeft - HRTS 
12. Synkro - Inhale 
13. XXXY - You Always Start It 
14. Nicolas Jaar - What My Last Girlfriend Put Me Through (PanLeft edit)

Let us know what you think of PanLeft’s interview and mix via Twitter or Facebook.

Lara

MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #89 - Slaven

Every so often, a dub or two end up in our inbox. Nine times out of ten, we love what we hear and a bit of dialogue starts with whoever’s sent the bits over to us – and occasionally, the artist in question ends up here featuring in a MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire. That’s exactly what happened when Slaven sent us a couple of tracks back in October. We were pretty impressed with what we heard and got talking. Luckily for us, and you guys, he’s been kind enough to give away two free tracks to accompany his MIG x FKOF interview – and keep an eye on his SoundCloud account as there are a free downloads on there too…

Who is Slaven?

Slaven is actually my name, a friend of mine thought it’d be cool to use as a producer alias so I gave it a try and it just sort of stuck.

What got you into mixing and producing dubstep? What’s your style – big, dark basslines or as filthy as possible?

I started out listening to Pendulum, the Prodigy and artists like Deadmau5, a while later one of my friends showed me the UKF podcasts. I downloaded almost all of them and got more and more into the dubstep/ drum and bass scene, listening to artists like Datsik and Flux Pavillion. I thought I’d give it a go so I downloaded the Fruity Loops demo and started trying to make filthy dubstep tracks with bit of help from some YouTube tutorials. After that I found out about GetDarker and realised that the darker, deeper vibes were what dubstep’s really about, so now mainly I produce sub-heavy dark tracks; although I’m a fan of all sorts of music and I experiment with almost every genre. Mixing just came from a love of the genre really.

What software do you use to produce your tracks?

At the moment I’m using Reason 4.

Turntables or CDJs?

CDJs. I’ve never actually had the opportunity to use turntables, which is a shame. I’d definitely like to give them a go.

How long have you producing and DJing?

I’d say I’ve been producing seriously for about a year now, maybe just under. Before then it was mainly just messing around on the Fruity Loops demo, trying to make sounds.

What’s been your best gig and if you could DJ alongside anyone, who would it be?

It’s a tough choice really, there are loads of people i’d love to gig alongside but it would probably have to be either Youngsta or Biome. I think that’s about as close as I can narrow it down!

Who are your top 5 dubstep producers at the moment; and why?

1. Top is probably Biome, as he’s been a pretty big influence in a number of my tracks and he’s just got the heavy, dark tracks down perfectly,
2. After that, Noisia - they’re just amazing producer’s really,
3. Koan Sound – because they managed to produce a totally original sound I’ve never heard before, and not much has come close,
4. 16 Bit – I saw a set of theirs once at Stink Like Sock and it was just insane, as is their music,
5. And then it has to be Burial – his sounds are also really dark and he’s influenced my production quite a lot.

What’s the future of dubstep – where do you see the genre going?

It’s hard to say really because people seem to be coming up with a new twist on the genre every day, but for me the darker side of dubstep will always be the better one!

Any forthcoming releases we can look forward to?

No releases yet, all my tracks are unsigned but I do give away tracks as free download pretty often.

Have you got any advice to upcoming DJs/ Producers?

My advice would be just to stick with it and keep trying. And of course, listen to as much music as possible!

The two free downloads from Slaven are a bit different; ‘Militia’ is a tribal drums tip and ‘Circles’ is a stomper guaranteed to get any dance going off. Both are available as a 320 free download, so get grabbing and hope you enjoy ‘em!

Click to DOWNLOAD Click to DOWNLOAD

Let us know what you think of Slaven’s interview and free tunes via Twitter or Facebook.

Lara

MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #57 - Compa

We’ve been pushing the deeper end of the dubstep sound with our recent run of MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire interviews and mixes. It’s no surprise as it happens, with the number of producers we keep discovering who are supporting the more ‘traditional’ sub-weight ever increasing. Today’s interviewee proves no different…

We’ve been following Compa for a long while now. Will’s been doing some very, very exciting stuff pushing the lower end of the sound spectrum and is hot off a recent Sweden show with our Dubstep Bastards crew. When he offered to lay us an exclusive 100% vinyl mix to accompany an interview, we jumped at the opportunity! Find Compa on Soundcloud, Facebook and Twitter and grab the DL link after the interview below…

Who is Compa?

Compa is my music production alias. My real name is William Brown. I’m originally from a small town called Clitheroe in Lancashire, North-West England.

What got you into mixing and producing dubstep? What’s your style - big, dark basslines or as filthy as possible?

After playing DnB for a long time, a few friends started buying and playing what was being called ‘dubstep’ music. One of the first tunes I heard was ‘Skeng’ by Kode9, in fact before that I think I found Skream’s tune called ‘Midnight Request Line’ that I still play today. I was hooked on the sound instantly. I used to play drums for a few years; the percussion-side of the old ‘dubstep’ music was what attracted me, and the sub-weight cemented my interest.

I started producing after I ended up doing an extra year at college. I studied video production and radio production and then ended up doing an extra year of radio production and music recording. They put Reason software on the computers that year, it changed everything for me. I was finally able to make my own music. I forgot about everything and focused 100% on music, and always have since. I forgot video and went on to do what I’m doing now; music stuff at university, playing shows and building music.

My style is dark, meditative and heavy in sub-weight. It’s being described (or restricted) as ‘the dungeon sound’ now. I don’t like that phrase, but I admit it does describe a lot of the music I make and the music I like to play quite well.

What software do you use to produce your tracks?

It was Reason (as I mentioned above) for about a year, but for the last year since (since I started university) they only used Logic, so I made the transition and after a few months of learning I’ve settled in. In fact, the first tune I ever made on Logic (‘Dreams’) was my debut release on Australian label ‘Inna Riddim Records’ earlier this year.

Turntables or CDJs?

Turntables for me. I started buying and playing records at a local youth club back in 2003. I’ve always been about physical things; holding a piece of music in my hand works for me. It feels right. Digital is invisible, easily lost and doesn’t sound just right either. I prefer to put a needle on a record, and I can’t imagine not having my records all physically in boxes at home in their sleeves with the artwork and stuff, y’know?

Same with dubplates, I love cutting and always have – since I started about two years ago. The fresh smell of acetate, writing on the sleeves, having music no-one else has, and again, physicality too. You either understand, or you don’t. Maybe it’s because when I started mixing no one played CDs, no one had CDJs. It was all vinyl, full stop.

How long have you been producing and DJing?

I started buying records in 2003, shortly after I bought turntables and started mixing the music. I was happy just buying and playing records until Reason found me two years ago at college, which was when I started making music. It’s just gone two years of building my own music as of September ‘11.

What’s been your best gig and if you could DJ alongside anyone, who would it be?

That’s a tough one, because I play a lot of gigs. For the last nine or so months I’ve been playing about eight dates a month. Playing on Get Darker TV has definitely been one of the highlights of my past. Meeting those guys, they’re all sound! Meeting Tunnidge and Joe Nice in the studio, and looking through Joe’s record bag, his collection is unspeakable, the dubs he has…!

Other than that, I played with Mala and Coki earlier this year in Manchester, that was an experience. Mala walked in behind me as I was playing just before them, warming up for two of the people who have inspired me to come this far, and do what I do. That was serious.

Saying that I got booked for a ‘Deep Medi Takeover’, again in Manchester in October with Kromestar, Hijak, Mala, Tunnidge, Cyrus, Silkie, Goth-Trad, Quest … I could go on, it’s just serious. It’s one of the countries best line ups this year I don’t doubt. Cutting lots of fresh music for that one, it’ll be a night to remember!

In fact, if I could play alongside anyone, it would be all of the above!

Who are your top 5 dubstep producers at the moment; and why?

1. Of course I have to mention Mala, he was one of the first producers who’s music I got completely fascinated by and still am. The instruments he uses, the way he composes. Everything is centered around the sub-bass and it all just comes together and sounds brilliant.
2. Goth-Trad has always been a big inspiration to me, I love the energy he creates in his music, and how he can go from something like ‘Babylon Fall’ to ‘Sunbeam’, both percy’s, both serious.
3. Kryptic Minds are building brilliant music at the moment, I definitely subconsciously take a lot of influence from the soundscapes they can build, the atmospheres.
4. Distance and Tunnidge have a serious sound too, it’s weighty, but deep and dark. It’s dance-floor but it’s meditative. They all do big things, I could mention another 50 names, and another 50 reasons but I’ll stop there…

What’s the future of dubstep music - Where do you see the genre going?

I know this might not make sense to some people, but I really hope it goes backwards, that it goes back to it’s root sound. Heavy bass, and some drums on top, and maybe a nice atmosphere, y’know.

The OTT aggressive wobbles and screaming synths really grind me to a mad extent, I understand that this is the youth of today’s rave music, but I hate how much commercial dubstep music is shoved down my throat, down all of our throats. I will not conform.

I’m just happy building music that makes me happy. I’ve never really been a mad crazy rave-goer, I just like to hear good music, and play good music. Music that makes sense, musically. Not just noise for the sake of it…

Any forthcoming releases we can look forward to?

Yeah, I’ve just been signed to Boka which is a big move for me. I’m so happy to have given them some music that they’ve liked enough to release it. That should be out 12” and digital within a couple of months. On top of that, I’ve got a remix coming out soon on white label (enough said!) and I’m releasing some music on Futureworks (Manchester label) late this year/ early next year.

Have you got any advice to upcoming DJs/ Producers?

Anyone can go anywhere if they have honest passion, they work hard, and they believe in themselves and what they are doing. There are no boundaries in life, or in music. Don’t conform, push forward. Also, play as many free gigs here and there as you can. Meet people, push your name out, make friends and keep up the hard work, it will pay off.

So we had a great chat with Will. Unsurprisingly, if you’ve heard one of Compa’s superb Sub FM shows or seen him live you’ll know how big his mix for MakeItGood and FatKidOnFire is. This one’s 100% vinyl – as all his mixes are – which only adds to its greatness. 10 tracks, 4 dubplates and 32 minutes 50 of greatness. Grab the free download and let us know if you feel it.

Compa x FatKidOnFire mix by FatKidOnFire

Tracklist :

1. Compa - Beginning (Forthcoming Boka Records)
2. Pinch - Swish (Deep Medi Musik)
3. Skream - Memories Of Third Bass (Digital Soundboy)
4. Compa - Root Refix (dub)
5. Biome - Chrysalis (dub)
6. Compa - Dem A Talk (dub)
7. Kryptic Minds - Six Degrees (Swamp81)
8. Compa - Sentence (Forthcoming Boka Records)
9. Vivek - The Big Bang (Deep Medi Musik)
10. Compa - Sunset (dub)

Let us know what you think of Compa’s interview and EP via Twitter or Facebook.

Lara

MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #56 - Ghost Note

We’re back with a bang with our latest MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire feature. After featuring the Perverse boys, our first ever production duo from New Zealand, we’re back there 10 days later interviewing a producer who featured heavily in Perverse’s guest mix…

When we first discovered Perverse, we also found a few other producers pushing the dungeon sound that we’ve grown to love so much. None of this Skrillex-like “insert filthy dubstep comment here” noise; dubstep how it grew up sounding in the underground clubs in London way back when. The good stuff that introduced some of us to the genre, back on Caspa and Rusko’s FabriceLive.37.

So when we came across Ghost Note, who quoted the same love for that dubstep compilation, you can imagine our excitement. And when Jacob offered us up a guest mix it almost got too much! We got him down for a chat, to find out what his influences are and what’s in store in the coming months. Find Ghost Note on Soundcloud and Facebook and grab the DL link after the interview below…

Who is Ghost Note? 

Ghost Note is the name I produce the music I love under, it’s kind of a bonus that some other people enjoy it as well.

What got you into mixing and producing dubstep? 

One of the things that really got me into dubstep is the way producers would use space in their tunes, almost putting emphasis on what isn’t there… It’s something you don’t find in most electronic music. The earlier dubstep had such a focus on rhythm, atmosphere and emotion that just seemed to fit in with my tastes perfectly.

I think when I stopped enjoying the music I had to play as a DJ (when things started getting all heavy and wobbly) it really motivated me to bring back those vibes via my own music.

What’s your style - big, dark basslines or as filthy as possible? 

I’m focused on deep bass, organic atmospheres and scattered drums with a raw dark garage influence. I do my best to avoid crystal clear over-compressed production, it makes for loud and crisp tunes but it takes away so much of the natural ambience that adds to the atmosphere of the track.

When it comes to more dancefloor-orientated tracks I prefer to focus on rhythm and bassweight rather than ear-abusing wobbles and growls.

What software do you use to produce your tracks? 

Mostly FL Studio 9, I’ve used Ableton and Logic in the past but I find I work best with FL.

Turntables or CDJs? 

Turntables when I can, although it’s pretty difficult having to cut acetates of my own tunes in New Zealand and I don’t like to play Serato, I’m not a fan of having a laptop anywhere near me while mixing.

How long have you been producing and DJing? 

I’ve been DJing for around 4 years now, I started playing around with production about 2 years ago but have only really made it my focus for the last 6 months or so.

What’s been your best gig and if you could DJ alongside anyone, who would it be? 

Really enjoyed opening for Distance last year, he’s definitely one of my favourite producers and the gig was plain mental.

I think Kode9, Mala and Kryptic Minds would be at the top of the list… Followed by Ruckspin, Loefah, Breakage and Jack Sparrow.

More than anything, I’m looking forward to doing some gigs over summer with Perverse and Tallan. They’re both pushing the deep dubstep sound coming out of New Zealand right now!

Who are your top 5 dubstep producers at the moment; and why?

1. Author – I kind of get two for one here, Jack Sparrow and Ruckspin are two of my favourite producers and their collaborative album is going to be my release of the year.
2. Kryptic Minds – Huge influence on my own sound. By the looks of some of their recent mixes, they’re sitting on a lot of fresh tunes so I’m hoping for another album soon.
3. Kode9 – He wrote a book on sonic warfare, how could his music not be amazing?
4. Formless – One of my favourite up-and-coming names and every tune I’ve heard has been quality, looking forward to seeing where this guy is going!
5. Perverse – Hit the studio with these guys earlier in the week, absolutely prolific producers… They’ve been dropping quality tunes every few days since they started. They’re starting to get some serious DJ support and I think everyone should keep an ear out for them doing some huge things in the future [hear hear, we agree]!

What’s the future of dubstep - where do you see the genre going? 

I see a lot of dubstep-influenced sound being popular for the next few years, I see a lot of established producers mixing the dubstep vibe and ethic with other genres. Future bass, garage and 2-step vibes are constantly evolving, I’ve heard some incredible music down around 95bpm happening recently too!

For dubstep as we know it, I’m seeing deep meditative vibes along the lines of 2006-2007 era dubstep coming back in a big way with far more advanced and innovative production. Dungeon sound!

Any forthcoming releases we can look forward to? 

In the last week I’ve dropped a 7 track E.P “Phantom Frequencies” [go cop from Juno!] along with a few free giveaways on my Soundcloud and Facebook page. Future releases are in the works already too, so keep an eye on Facebook for updates!

Have you got any advice to upcoming DJs/ Producers? 

Make the music you love because you love it, your music should be a reflection of who you are. I think too many people are trying to emulate other artists rather than do something unique and innovative, so really focus on forging your own sound. I think the most important thing is to practice… Lots! Critique your own work and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself to improve aspects of your production.

So we’ve had a hugely insightful interview from Jacob and now we’re getting to the really good bit. Ghost Note’s mix is 45 minutes of pure bassweight and features some pretty serious dubs. Check the free download (as always) and hit us up if you’re feeling it. We know we are!

Ghost Note x FatKidOnFire mix by FatKidOnFire

Track list:

1. Doctor P - Big Boss (Ghost Note’s Bro City Boss Dog Bootleg)
2. Tallan - Lure
3. Ghost Note - Nine Nights
4. Perverse - Aurorae
5. Ghost Note - Akira
6. Ghost Note - Disappear
7. Perverse - Keras
8. Ghost Note - Unknown
9. Ghost Note - Seclude
10. Perverse x Ghost Note - Untitled
11. Ghost Note - Dynamic
12. Ghost Note - Havana
13. Ghost Note - Weight o’ Eight
14. Ghost Note - Akira (Rinsey Jones remix)
15. Mala - Forgive
16. Burial - Night Bus (Clueless remix)

Let us know what you think of Ghost Note mix and interview via Twitter or Facebook.

Lara

MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #55 - B Major

It seems our recent run of MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire features are doing rather well. We’ve had our first ever free EP download, courtesy of the supremely talented Killawatt, our first ever video interview with the awesome Nikki Acute and the promises of our first ever international event with Sweden’s Dubstep Bastards.

Tonight, as we gear up for another week of work, (forecasted) bad weather and the rest of life’s little surprises, we thought we’d give you guys something to enjoy – keeping you positive until next weekend if you will! We’re stoked to be able to drop our second exclusive EP, from none other than the fantastic grime/ dubstep/ hip-hop/ UK bass producer B Major.

We’ve been following B Major for a while and have been blown away by the tracks he’s been releasing on his Soundcloud page. And when our friend from across the pond, DJ Scooter hit us up to say he was also a big fan, we knew we had to get B Major down for an interview. He was also kind enough to drop us a four track EP to giveaway! So without further ado, find B Major on Facebook and Soundcloud, and peep our interview and download links for “The FKOF EP” below…

Who is B Major? 

I’m a UK Grime producer from West London.

What got you into mixing and producing dubstep/ grime? What’s your style – big, dark basslines or as filthy as possible? 

I was given a copy of Fruity Loops 3.5 at 14 and I haven’t looked back. I’m a hardcore grime fan, always have been, so it’s always been my main source of influence. Grime to me, was always about the Bassline, so yeah, i like the bass to be as hard as possible. As far as my style goes, it’s varied. I can do hype tunes for a rave, or a more melodic tune for vocals. Depends what mood I’m in.

What software do you use to produce your tracks? 

I use FL9 as my DAW, and Audacity for mastering, alongside certain software by Izotope to bring out the sound.

How long have you producing?

I started when I was 14, I’m 22 now. So about 8 years!

Who are your top 5 dubstep/ grime producers at the moment; and why?

1. Redlight gets number 1! The guy’s versatility is ridiculous!
2. Rude Kid: another guy big on his versatility. Still cant identify a Rude Kid tune unless I hear ”Are You Ready?”
3. Faze Miyake: definitely a producer on the way up. I’m a fan of hype tunes… SIMPLE!
4. Lil Rhino: his Basslines are FKOFed!! He’s also done some big collaborations with Ghetts & Rival.
5. Flava D: again, hype tune deliverer, but very versatile too.

What does the future hold for dubstep and grime – where do you see the genres going? 

As far as I’m concerned, dubstep in the past few years has blown up! I would even say it’s been accepted in certain commercial circles, which is a good thing! As far as grime goes, it’s gonna take a while. The music is a lot more accepted than it used to be, and there IS a future innit. I’m just gonna keep making the music. Without the producers, there would be no genre!

Any upcoming releases we can look forward to? 

I’ve got a mixtape in the works at the moment. No release date set as of yet, I wanna take my time. It will be an instrumental release, and i have already got several tracks from other producers who I’ll be featuring on the mixtape as bonus tracks. Just watch the space!

Have you got any advice to upcoming DJs/ Producers?

Keep doing your thing. If you have just picked up some software for producing, this sh!t don’t happen overnight. It takes patience and practice. Even now I’m still learning. If what you’re producing sounds different than to what you hear others producing, go with it. Dont be knocked off-guard, cause it’s versatility & originality that separates producers from each other!

We’ve got to the point you’ve all been waiting for; B Major’s “The FKOF EP”. We’ve been rinsing these tracks since we got them in our inbox; here’s hoping you guys feel them too. The EP features four 320kbps tracks; ‘Androids’, ‘Body Bag’, ‘Electrolysis’ and ‘White Chalk’. Grab the whole EP below and be sure to let us know what you think!

[Special] FKOF exclusive: B Major - The FKOF EP (free download) by FatKidOnFire

Let us know what you think of The Bastards interview and mix via Twitter or Facebook.

Lara

MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #54 - Nikki Acute

Seeing as it’s Friday, and nearly the weekend, we thought we would release our next MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire feature. This feature is our first video interview in the series, and we are so stoked that Nikki Acute stepped up and had a chat with us!

For those of you who don’t know, Nikki runs Acute Promotions Agency, Family Tree Records and Synchronicity Records. With already 001 and 002 releases out on Family Tree, and the fact that she is representing a handful of well known DJs/Producers, it’s fair to say that Nikki is making moves within the dubstep scene. 

We caught up with her and here’s what she said…

Make sure you follow her on Twitter and check out all the websites to keep up to date with what’s going on! Also a big thanks to the guys at We Free The Box for filming and editing this interview! 

 Let us know what you think of Nikki’s interview via Twitter or Facebook.

Lara

MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #53 - Perverse

We’ve had a fantastic run with our recent MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire features. We’ve celebrated our 50th – with an exclusive EP from Killawatt and a fantastic guest mix from Sweden’s Dubstep Bastards (along with interviews with Thelem and Holland’s TMSV). Today sees yet another first for us, with our first interview with the Auckland-based Perverse. Brett and Alex have been releasing some massively exciting dubstep way out in New Zealand and their mix is testament to the skill coming out of Australasia at the moment. Keep locked to their Soundcloud account for their latest tracks (they’re on a serious roll at the moment releasing clips every few days) and follow them on Facebook for everything else. Keep track of these guys – you are going to be hearing a lot more of them!

1. Who are Perverse?

Perverse is a duo of Alex (Zander) and Brett (Ducer) from Auckland, New Zealand. We were both born on the opposite sides of the world and we feel it’s our years growing up in those different countries, mixed with the lifestyle here, that has drawn us to the sound that is dubstep, and given us freedom to bring those experiences and feelings and put them into our songs.

2. What got you into mixing and producing dubstep? What’s your style - big, dark basslines or as filthy as possible?

Well, both of us were messing around with producing for a short period of time. We had mutual friends who introduced us to each other because they thought we might work well together, bring each of our own strengths to the table and see what we could come up with. We sat down and made a tune and felt quite in sync. This stemmed into the sound you now know as Perverse. Alex started producing DnB and Brett started with hip-hop. We both loved the deep, dark traditional side of dubstep and felt we could put our own touch on it. We tend to lean towards the darker, sub-heavy side of things as realistically that represents our personalities perfectly.

3. What software do you use to produce your tracks?

• Alex - I use FL Studio 9 and a bunch of VSTs and plugins.
• Brett - Logic pro and multiple AU’s and plugins.

4. Turntables or CDJs?

For us it’s been vinyl as that’s the hardware we own. Personally, we like the feel of the moving vinyl and the almost intimate interaction you have with the hardware. Serato is awesome for playing out those digi-only tunes and for those of us that don’t have any vinyl releases as of yet…

5. How long have you producing and DJing?

Collectively about 2 years but seriously around 3 months ago.

6. What’s been your best gig and if you could DJ alongside anyone, who would it be?

• Alex - Noisia, sick night. I would love to DJ alongside Kryptic Minds.
• Brett - For me its a tough one between Kryptic Minds and Kode9. I would love to play next to Kryptic Minds – they epitomise everything i love about dubstep.

7. Who are your top 5 dubstep producers at the moment; and why?

In no particular order:

1. Kryptic Minds - originators of the “dungeon sound”. Dudes can do NO wrong. If their name is in there we know it’s our buzz
2. Distance - The dude is so, so versatile yet has this sound that is unmistakable
3. Noisia - Their versatility and top quality productions are unmatched
4. Mala - His traditional sounding percussion and interesting basslines are impossible to ignore. He could literally do no wrong
5. Loefah - BASS! The king of sub bass hands down. His minimalistic percussion and heavy bass are unparalleled.

8. What’s the future of dubstep - where do you see the genre going?

We like the direction it’s going at the moment, back to the traditional style from a few years ago. It’s slowly moving back towards that with all the artists here pushing it (Truth/ Optimus Gryme/ Ghost Note/ Tallan). To be honest we just make what we make because it’s the sound we both feel. No matter where dubstep goes, we’ll continue to do our thing and not pigeonhole ourselves.

9. Any forthcoming releases we can look forward to?

We definitely have some hush-hush stuff being sorted at the moment. But we’d like to give a shoutout to Requiem Audio, Optimus Gryme Recordings and DiaMind Records and all the others that are helping us out and showing interest in us. Our goal is to get a vinyl release so that’s what we are slowly pushing for.

10. Have you got any advice to upcoming DJs / Producers?

First and foremost, respect. If you show a producer respect you’d be amazed at how friendly most people are. There are very few egos in the scene that we have experienced, and all that took was just saying a casual hello and not being pushy about things. Be persistent and dedicate time and effort into this, it’s definitely not as easy as you first think… Trust us the effort shows. Kutz from the UK actually gave us that advice and it was never taken seriously until a few months ago. For us it was LOTS of late nights, early starts for work, back into the studio. Always try and finish a project, making 16 bar loops is a bad habit to get into. And lastly we’d like to give a shout out to Ghost note, Tallan, Vyron, RDG, Disonata, Percept, Kasket, ARtroniks, Optimus Gryme, Droid Sector, Boot, Sook, Compa, Bunzer0, Crisis, NoMan, Formless and everyone else for the support.

The Perverse guys have seriously done themselves proud with this mix. More than half of it features talent from New Zealand and almost the entire track list is composed of unreleased premium bassweight. This is one of our favourite mixes from the entire series of MakeItGood x FKOF features, so grab the free download below and get it on the stereo. Be sure to let us know if you agree!

Perverse x FatKidOnFire mix by FatKidOnFire

Track list:

1. Soulware - Return to the Source Part2 (dub) NZ 
2. Perverse - Tepidus - (dub) NZ 
3. Arkotypes - Impulse (dub) NZ 
4. Kuss & Obi - Ursa Minor (dub) UK 
5. Perverse - Mizrahi (Forthcoming Requiem Audio) NZ 
6. Mala - Eyez ( ARtroniks Rerub ) (dub) Belgium 
7. RDG - Minacious (Forthcoming Dubliminal) Denmark 
8. Perverse - Shaitan (dub) NZ 
9. Tallan - Eyes up (dub) NZ 
10. Optimus Gryme - Subtribe (dub) NZ 
11. Perverse - Gibberish (dub) NZ 
12. Percept - Altered State (dub) UK 
13. Bukez Finezt - Hungry Bowser (Forthcoming Bassliebe Records) Germany 
14. Disonata - Shadow Catchers (dub) UK 
15. Optimus Gryme - Dreamstate (dub) NZ 
16. Ghost Note - Dynamic (dub) NZ 
17. Perverse - Glacier (dub) NZ