Vinyl Junkie Interview

How did you meet up with Darkus?

He actually contacted me, through Dave Devastate because he wanted to buy a few copies of Junkie Vinyl 006. When he come to collect them we got chatting about old skool and stuff… he ended up leaving my house with a cd with about 60 clips of tunes I was looking for… Over the next few months he pretty much IDed the lot… not only that but he got me most of the records too. The fuse was lit...

What other labels have you had tunes on other than WWax?

Earth, Alpha Projects, Junkie Vinyl, GBT, CLSM, Nile, B.U.D, Burn Out, Katalyst Trax, Horny Dog, Akid Traxx, Seductive, Poetry In Motion, Colony, Hypocrite & Bassrock... Styles across the board.

How did you feel about John Peel playing your stuff?

I was gobsmacked… He played that Mariah Carey thing (Cant Forget - JVR002) about 6 times; he even played it in his 50 top tunes of the year and said that it was actually his wife’s favorite tune of the year. That was a wicked buzz but at the same time I was shittin' myself about the sample, it was taken from that tune… “I can’t live if living is without you” which had been in the charts a few months before and I nicked a massive chunk of it… Yeah yeah I know… Cheesy as hell. But I originally done that tune was for an Alpha Magic label called “Whodunnit” and when they knocked it back I thought fuck it, I aint gonna waste it. It turned out to be the biggest seller on Junkie Vinyl

What prompted you to start making new oldskool / breakbeat hardcore / hardcore breaks (whatever)? Was it a business decision, purely for the love of it, or something else?

Me and Darkus decided that it would be good to make an old skool tune and put it out. To be honest we had heard some of the new bits that were knocking about at the time and thought we could do something just as good, if not better… So we made “All Night” It was definitely not a business decision. We did it for the love of it and just for a laugh really… I never dreamed that 2 years later so many people would be doing it.

Favorite tune then??

I couldn’t name just one… here is a few of my all time favorites, off the top of my head: Rhythm Is Rhythm – Strings Of Life, Njoi – Jah Heaven, Prodigy – Android, Sub Love – One By One, 4 Mega – Drop This, Hyper On Experience – Lords Of The Null Lines, Orca – Yes My Brothers, Acen – Trip to The Moon PT3

Favorite tune now (New Stuff)?

Phuture Assassins – Ganja Madness… I still play it all the time.

Most Wanted Record??

Either… Menace Makes 3 – Feel The Friction or Hardcore Rhythm Team – See The Light (Frut007)

What’s the best night/Set you played that sticks in the mind as being a special night?

Again, too many to mention just 1… there’s a few… The first would be Chipping Sodbury festival… Which was the same thing as Castle Moreton… a year earlier (1991). Vibes Alive 92, Tribal Gathering 93, Double Dipped “The Secret Garden” at Bagley’s, first time I played the main room at Kinetic… In more recent years first time I played Illusion, back to back with Pilgrim. Energy 24 at Glastonbury Festival, Ashton Court Festival Bristol and Raindances 15th birthday. All of those stand out in my mind as being wicked.

What feedback have you had from top original oldskool Dj's from back in the day (Seduction/Slipmatt Ect Ect Ect) on the new material from were not dead album?

Seduction actually rang me up and congratulated me on a brilliant album… He also said “fair play to you for sticking to your guns and you never know, if you keep pushing it then it might blow up!!!” Slipmatt said “I really like the stuff you guys are putting out”… Ellis Dee said “Its wicked, can’t I get a copy on vinyl” Donavon Smith and Sy both said that they thought it was wicked and could they get it on vinyl!!! hahaha

How much of a "VinylJunkie" Are you really? (Amount of records you own?)

About 3500 I think altogether… but I am very selective and have only kept the best tunes, a few years back I had a big clear out and got rid of all the shit… If I kept it all I would have double that. In the happy hardcore days I was on nearly every mailing list. I’ve been sent a lot of shit over the years!!! I’ve also got about 2000 mixed tunes which is all the old stock off the site… so I guess they belong to me too!!!

What do you think of the forum producers? I see you like Toby's work!

I like some of the Forum productions but not all of them… The 2 that stand out above the rest for me are Teknotic and DJ Nee. To be honest the majority of them are all really new to producing and it shows, but they are having a go so fair play to them. And if they all stick at it they are all going to improve so in a few years time… Lookout, there’s going to be lots of awesome tunes coming out.

What is your fave track from the album?

I really like the Orca track on a personal level… But the one that really does the business on the dancefloor is Austin – Can You Feel It..

Has the CD gone into any commercial shops like HMV etc?

Its being distributed by ST Holdings who are a big company so I think it should be yeah, to be honest I haven’t looked!

Would you ever do another album or will you just wait and see how the first album sells / is received before deciding!

There will be a Volume 2 without a doubt… and as many more is I can squeeze out… Start as you mean to go on I say. But I’m not rushing into it this time… So it will be quite a while before I even start compiling the next one… But if any of you forum boys wanna have a crack at doing a track then you are more than welcome to send me your demo. I will listen to all tracks and I will reply to all.

What are your views on CD decks?

Not really into them myself… I’m the Vinyl Junkie, I’d look like a right twat playing CD’s hahaha. No seriously, I’ve borrowed one off my mate just to get comfortable with using them. Most venues have them now and they are handy to drop new tunes… But I will always be predominantly a vinyl man, you won’t ever catch me playing more than 2 or 3 cd’s in a set!!! I’d rather cut those one-off vinyl dub plates that Dub Studios do… (Plug Plug). I do think cdj's are a good idea though… Especially when I’m putting out music on CD, at least the tunes on the album can still get played out!!!

What has been your biggest buzz since starting Warehouse Wax?

Doing the 2 album launch things at Raindance and Illusion was the dog’s nads

Got any bugle?

Sorry, DJ Rapid done it all in, greedy cunt!!!

What was it like playing @ Tribal Gathering?

Mind blowing… its not every day you get to play on a 100k rig. Even though I played first there was literally 1000’s of people in the tent by the time I finished… Yeah that was one hell of an experience. Playing at The Tribal Gathering in 97 was good too, not as good as 93 but still good. And I actually got to play twice in 97 because poor old Vinyl Groover had snapped his ignition key off in the petrol cap, in a garage 5 miles down the road, so I played his set and they gave me his wages too… hahahaha (Thanks Scott!!!)

What are your views on the upfront D&B or hardcore scenes, (i.e. the stuff that gets played at Raverbaby/Slammin Vinyl etc) Do you like or play any of it?

I really can’t stand new Hardcore… there’s nothing hardcore about it in my opinion. Drum and Bass I love in all its shapes and forms. Don’t get a chance to play it much but I do a few small things in Bristol now and then and I still buy some tunes… On the Harder tip I only buy the real big tunes… But I have been buying a lot of Liquid style lately. Hospital records are putting out some awesome stuff at the moment. As for the scenes… I think the hardcore scene and the d&b scene are both pretty healthy at the moment.

What artists do you want to work with that haven't done so with before?

Mainly Bizzy B and D’State… There will be some collaborations between us later this year. There’s loads of people who I would love to work with but it just isn’t gonna happen!! Cos they aint interested in writing this style no more… There is one other person who I am going to be doing something with soon who is a bit of legend. But I can’t say anything yet!!!!!

Out of all the tunes you have made which is your favourite one?

WAX 004 Check it Out.

Are there plans to release any of the album tunes on vinyl?

Yes, the next release on the label is going to be We’re Not Dead with a breaks remix and a new tune I have done called “Turntable”… I think Darkus may be putting out Dub Chemist on his new Hardcore Projects label. Forbidden Zone will probably get released on Warehouse Wax later in the year with a new VJ and Dope track and a remix. Possibly the same will happen with Pacemaker or it may come out on Hardcore Projects. We haven’t decided yet. As for the rest of the tracks… they may come out on 2 different EP’s but I am still discussing that with IMO records!!! Don’t get your hopes up just yet, I’ll keep u informed.

What advice do you have to other people out there who are producing hardcore breaks, both in terms of actually creating the music and giving it a proper release?

In terms of making tunes I would say, try and be as original as you can and explore some new avenues. Try and add something to it with a bit of freshness. I know a lot of you guys are purists and want to make music that sounds like it was done in 92 and I’m not knocking that at all. I just think it needs some elements of originality if it is to be established as a recognized form of music that will still be here in 10 years time. That’s my goal really, and why not! Drum and Bass has managed to do that. As for advice getting your tunes out… Just send it to people who you think might want to release it or put your money where your mouth is and do it yourself, that’s the bottom line really.

What equipment do you use to produce your tunes i.e. VSTs, hardware and which sequencer(s)?

Cubase SX 2, Reason 3, all the plug ins you can think of… I’ve also got an Akai XL 3000 and some outboard effects and stuff but don’t really use em much; it’s all done in the computer now. I have 2 Delta 10/10 soundcards which gives me 16 outputs. I’ve also got a 24 channel Allen & Heath desk. Most of my tunes I take to Austin’s to mix down cos he has a better desk and some really nice Outboard processors, like valve compressors and really nice EQ. Not to mention the fact that he is a really talented engineer.

The tunes on Warehouse Wax, 2-Fresh etc. sound more like true oldskool than anything else around at the moment. So do you see hardcore breaks as a complete reincarnation of the oldskool sound? Or is it a new style of breakbeat which takes influences from oldskool?

Its both!! To me it’s more of a reincarnation, but it is also a form of breakbeat music. So yeah, it’s a bit of both!!!!

Have you always been based in Bristol, when was the scene at its strongest there, and why? (Clubs etc), it seems to have had a nice little scene for a while now as far as new hardcore goes.

I’ve always been based in Bristol, the scene was strongest here in 91-93 really, and there were some amazing events and even more mind blowing free parties! Those were the days mate!! Then it kind of went quiet for a few years, and then came Bristol Exposure with there Hardcore / D&B crossover events which saw some really good parties. The scene nowadays is ok but nothing to what it was. For example Bristol Exposure used to sell 1000 copies of there tape packs. Nowadays you’re lucky if you sell 100.

How do you feel about happy hardcore? I know you were big into it, but are you "growing out of it" now?

I grew out of it a long time ago… I haven’t bought or been sent a happy hardcore record since 1999. For me that’s when the music went shit, it went really cheesy and some of the singers they used were pretty bloody appalling. I admit the hardcore of today isn’t as bad as it got in 1999, but still not my cuppa tea. I do occasionally play a happy set if asked, but I will always play 96-97 and a lot of it is my own stuff.

Thanks very much to Vinyljunkie for taking time out to answer the questions and to everyone who submitted a question to ask on the Forum.

We're Not Dead - The Album is available to buy from http://www.warehousewax.co.uk/

[ Previous ] [ Home ] [ Next ]