Cable

When someone tells you the story of how dubstep came to be, Hatcha inevitably will be a part of the tale. His roots lay firmly beneath the late 90's UK garage tree and he was one of the first DJs to pick up on the darker sounding 2step cuts surfacing around the millennium. As a buyer at the highly regarded Big Apple record store, Hatcha was in the perfect position to champion this sound as well airing the material on his various South London pirate radio shows.

Back in 2001 an upfront club event (aptly named Forward>>) emerged with Hatcha as resident and it was here that this new dubby 2step sound took the form we're familiar with today. To stay ahead of the game, Hatcha was renowned for turning up to play with dub plates cut from one-off tracks, sourced from the various up n' coming producers that frequented the record store; Benga, Skream, Mala, Digital Mystikz, Coki and Loefah. His access to this arsenal of producers essentially gave him the power to mould the scene every single time he performed. Between the Forward>> crew, the aforementioned producers and the Big Apple regulars the term dubstep (after 'dubby' sounding step music) was being circulated and in 2003 it appeared in a press release and then on a US magazine cover. Hatcha was then asked to mix the scene’s first compilation that cemented the use of the name: Dubstep Allstars vol 1. Dubstep was born.

So we're lucky, then, that Hatcha's set from Licked Beatz 2nd Birthday was captured and we have it here for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

House jock Soul Minority has delivered a sultry selection of deep beats for your aural pleasure ahead of his forthcoming set at Talk Is Cheap. The man's also a whizz in the studio having released acclaimed cuts on Kolour Recordings, Tsuba, Dirt Crew and Raw Cutz among others and frankly it shows. The set is programmed to perfection and really captures his trademark deep house flow. We also pinned him down for an interview where we talked Vietnamese food, Ipod selections and favorite DJs.

Let’s start by finding a little bit about how you first got into producing Where and when did you discover your love for house music and where did it all begin?

I started producing house back in the late nineties. I was living in London at the time and I was going out a lot, to a lot of parties. I’ve been really influenced by listening to DJs like Derrick Carter, Cajmere or Derrick May, those guys had a big influence on my decision to make house music.



What is the one piece of kit that you couldn’t be without in your studio?

When I started making music, I was using hardware equipment only, a sampler, a few keyboards, and a computer running Cubase with no audio and no VST. It was very limited if you compare to what you can do with software now, but it was a great set up. I’m still using some of those machines from time to time, I kept most of them. But if I have to choose only one piece of kit, it would be my Yamaha NS10 speakers. I know it’s not a really funky choice, they sound pretty bad, they have very little bass, but I’m so used to them, they are very neutral, if something sounds right on them it will sound right everywhere...



How methodical are you in the studio or do you let your creative side do the talking and things develop naturally?

I don't have any rules. I always like to start with fresh ideas; I try different things until something works. I also really like little accidents, unexpected things!

What personal (Soul Minority) piece of music or remix has stood out for you and why?

Six Nine, I did this track in just a few hours. Every element fell into place so smoothly, that was amazing. The entire EP is good, with remixes from Atjazz, Rick Wade and Bleep District.

What releases and remixes do you have planned for 2012?

2012 is a big year for me, I’ll release my debut album in June, on Detroit’s Kolour Recordings label. I spent more than a year working on it and I'm really proud of the result. I think it really reflects my musical taste. The vibe is house, disco and soul and blues, there's lots of guitars, the tempo is pretty slow, and it works well in clubs or at home or in your car. I think people will really be surprised by the result. Apart from that, I’ve just finished some remixes recently for various labels, they should be out soon...

Are you looking forward to coming and playing in London?

Yeah, I’m really excited to play in London, I really love the audience in London ! If it wasn’t for the shitty weather, I would definitely still live there!



What three songs are played most on your ipod?

My own album has been on heavy rotation on my ipod, because I wanted to try it in different situations, different cities. Apart from that, 'Symmetry - Themes From an Imaginary Film', I'm listening to this album a lot when I'm cycling and Terry Callier - Dancing Girl.

What do you most like to do when away from the studio or gigging?

Cycling, I like to have exercise and fresh air when i'm not in my dark and smokey studio

Who are you most feeling within the scene at the moment, who should we look out for in 2012?

I really like what Nicholas is doing at the moment, I love his old school sound. His debut album "Still Playing house" is awesome.



Finally what can expect from from your performance at Talk Is Cheap on Saturday?

House, Deep House and more House !

Quickfire Qs....

Favourite food?

Anything Vietnamese.

Favourite film?

2001 A Space Odyssey

Favourite track of all time?

Priscillia Paris - My window

Track you would most like to remix?

Anything by Nina Simone, I love her voice.

Favourite club?

360 in Dubai

Favourite city?

Chicago



Favourite live artist?

The Dirtbombs



Favourite DJ?

Laurent Garnier

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Talk Is Cheap with Phil Weeks, Soul Minority & more - Friday 6th April

DJs: Phil Weeks (Robsoul Recordings - Raw Instrumental Album Tour), Soul Minority, Matt Jam Lamont (Tuff Jam), Sam Divine - Miss Divine , Jedd Barry, Chris Solo, Loud Minority DJs: Melvo Baptiste & Russ Jay.

Follow link for info & tickets

We've got the recordings for you! Elijah & Skilliam's legendary closing set was captured for your aural pleasure. We also have an amazing clip showing JME being mobbed, while dressed only in a stripy onesie, as he performed 96 F*ckeries from the centre of Cable's dance floor.

Elijah & Skilliam leaving Cable in tatters with their closing set.


JME performing '96 Fuckries' from the Cable dance floor.


We also have some wicked snaps from the night here.

Drum & Bass legend Bryan Gee has mixed up a top notch helping of liquid for the Cable faithful ahead of his set at Swerve on Saturday night. We also pinned him down for a quickfire interview. He talks Tesco, Beyonce and football....

1. When I grew up I always wanted to be a...
A footballer of course, but when i grew out of that it was always to be involved in music.


2. You wouldn't expect it, but sometimes I listen to...
80's pop. Wham, Blondie, The Police - That kinda stuff gets me lively!


3. My signature dance move is...
I Should say WAS... my body just goes with the beat now.


4. My favourite YouTube video at the moment is...
Any video with Beyonce in it.


5. My next gig is...
Swerve at Cable of course.


6. After I finish my set you will find me...
On the floor getting my 'swerve' on.


7. My perfect hangover breakfast is...
Fresh orange juice and pineapple juice mix, papaya, omelete and toast.


8. If I get a weekend off I like to...
Go hang out locally as I get to meet people I normally wouldn't. Just like to keep it simple then maybe go down Camden on a Sunday afternoon and rock it through the night, always a cool vibe and the markets well fun.

9. I love..
Drum and Bass and the family that I've adopted, I love traveling and meeting peeps around the world all sharing the same love of Drum and Bass. We've created something very special and beautiful.


10. I fear...
Superclubs swallowing the small clubs - kinda like Tesco Metro killing the local newsagent!

Catch Bryan Gee this Saturday at Swerve.

This weekend sees the showcase of Elijah & Skilliam’s prolific Butterz label alongside fellow imprint Hardrive take over the arches of London Bridge at Cable. It's time, then, to have a chat with main man Swindle, perhaps one of the most innovative artists to emerge from the imprint that is transforming the Grime scene as we know it.

You don't work with MCs very often so how did Ignition come about? Has the response to this motivated you to look at doing more collaborations with MCs?

Ignition came about through me asking my twitter followers who they think i should work with! at least 70% said Footsie and they were right! I will be working with more MC's but only as and when the music is right for it.



You have been 'self-releasing' your music for a long time now, with releases like the 140 Mixtape and Who Said Funk, but never really pushed your own label. Could you see yourself doing that in the future?

Yes, I'd love to get to a point where I can start taking on new artists and producers but for now 'Swindle Productions' is a place for me to release my own vocal singles, I'm still working with other labels such as Butterz and more.

How difficult is it for you to balance working on Grime, Dubstep and House at the same time, especially working with Butterz closely who only release Grime tracks?

I really don't see it like that! I just make a lot of music it only becomes a part of a genre by who decides to play or listen to it!



What brought about the collaboration with Silkie - Unlimited and you joining Anti Social?

A collab with Silkie is something people had suggested to us for a while before it came about! Long overdue I guess. Quest, Silkie and Antisocial - although our sounds differ, they stand for the same thing in electronic music that mine do! So it makes perfect sense I guess.



The competitiveness between the artists on the 24th is huge. Who's going to pull out the best set on the night? Do you make tunes especially for the night? What do you think you bring to the night individually?

The night's gonna be wicked I'm really looking forward to it! I will be making new beats for it, and my set will have the Swindle stamp people come to see me for!

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Catch the Butterz & Hardrive crews in action at the forthcoming label party at Cable. Follow the link below for full event info & tickets;
We Fear Silence present Butterz & Hardrive at Cable – Saturday 24th March.

There's also a wicked documentary here which focuses on the progression of Butterz as an independent record label.
This Is Butterz - Documentary