First finding his feet behind the drum kit of a punk band, Stupids, renowned drum & bass producer Tom Withers – probably better known as Klute – has always had somewhat of an individual outlook on his music. Along with the vibrancy and texture of his own d&b productions, his label, Commercial Suicide, is home to the work of people like Amit and SKC, producers who push boundaries within their chosen tempo(s). Never one to pull any punches his fascination for the intensity of thrash music and his keen ear for the weird and warped, has been encapsulated on his numerous releases to date, but with his new album, ‘Music For Prophet’ set to see a release at the end of this month and a slot lined up in Room Two this Friday we caught up with him to shoot the shit on his music and stuff…
He went the extra yard and compiled a Top 10 of his favourite punk albums too.
So, the new album’s nearly out. Care to give the low-down on it?
Well, it’s not quite out just yet, but almost. There’s a big chain of events involved with an album release, sometimes there are some weak links and things get delayed, nothing too serious this time, so we’re now going ahead with 26th July 2010. It’s a great album if I may say so myself, perhaps think of it as my ‘Exile on Main Street.’
This is now your sixth album to date; do you ever find yourself running out of ideas? How do you keep inspired?
To say that I never find making music difficult would be a lie and would indicate that I am a machine rather than a human musician. Ebbs and flows are part of nature so; yes sometimes inspiration feels like it’s gone for good. I think you'll find that it’s every creative’s worst nightmare. You just have to keep going to break through the brick wall, and then it comes flooding back.
A lot of people, including us, are very intrigued about the reforming of your punk band The Stupids. What anchored you in to getting back behind the drums?
For a few years now I’ve secretly fantasized about recording a hardcore/punk EP for fun. Coincidentally the original guitarist for the band got in contact and we started to play again. The chemistry was there and eventually we decided to record a new album and do some shows. It’s been great and we’re soooo much better than we ever were. Drumming and singing at the same time and talking to the crowd in between the songs is such a different experience to DJing, I love it. It makes we want to grab the mic during a DJ set and start abusing the crowd in between tunes. They’d love it!
So how has ‘The Kid’s Don’t Like It’ been doing?
It's been doing really well, I think people are blown away that we actually managed to reform and make a better album than ever.
Do the years of being immersed in drum & bass ever seep into your work with The Stupids?
Yes, I think so definitely. My drumming is much more "funky" if you can imagine that in the punk.
There’s a lot more movement in d&b than in punk rock, the crowds always dance whereas with rock they often just stand at the front and nod their heads. Back in the day it was the complete opposite. Stage diving; crowd surfing; the lot. How things have changed…
How do you find balancing tours with both The Stupids and yourself as Klute?
Well, last year it was tough, but great fun. This year so far I’ve had to set aside time to finish off the Klute album project and take it on the road. We'll be back for some more Stupids next year. I’m desperate to make another record.
Where are you going, tour-wise, with each name?
Klute will be going everywhere this year – in the last two months I’ve already been to Australia, New Zealand, Prague, Mexico, Budapest and Berlin. After that’s calmed down a little, The Stupids will finally get back out to Europe to tour extensively and also Japan.
And how does the atmosphere of a rock venue fare with that of a club?
As I said before, quite often rock crowds are a bit inert. That’s certainly not true all the time but I still find d&b crowds a lot more expressive and less self conscious. Who’d have thought!?
In a past interview you stated that it is a of part human nature to sub categorise; with genres being merged and submerged across the board, do you feel people, as a whole, have become more open to diversity in music throughout the years?
Yes I do think people have diversified in recent years, but I’m not entirely sure how much they are absorbing. From what I can see, people have lower attention spans in the advent of more choice and as a result they are exposed to more.
We've got an opportunity for a talented Web Designer/Developer, with a creative flare to work on varied and exciting projects within one of the UK’s premier nightclubs and record label. The candidate will have proven experience of creative design within a web based environment, great knowledge of managing and maintaining websites, understanding social networking sites and email campaigns utilising new and emerging technologies.
The candidate must be:
-Friendly, passionate, hard working
-Have a passion for music
-Able to identify problems with / maintain / modify / improve current methods of operating
-Have a huge amount of initiative, enthusiasm and a first class creative flair!
Skills required:
-Experienced web design/development skills
-Design skills as well as the ability to work faithfully with other people's designs.
-Advanced PHP, HTML, XTML and CSS (A MUST)
-Ability to prioritise and work to deadlines
-Proactive individual with the ability to work on their own as well as part of a team
-Good interpersonal skills, good time keeping and project development skills
-Project Planning/ Solution/ Testing
-Object oriented PHP5 and CodeIgniter or MVC framework with transferable skills such as CakePHP or Zend.
-Payments system APIs using PHP with SOAP.
-Strong CSS and HTML with a track record of delivering pixel perfect tableless layouts fromPSDs.
-Experience working with Ecommerce solutions.
-Good JavaScript and JQuery or transferrable skills such as Prototype or Moo.
-Basic Linux server skills, restarting services via SSH, creating Virtual Hosts, installing SLL certificates and working with IP Tables.
-Basic understanding of MySQL servers including writing SQL queries. GIT or similar source code management such as SVN or CVS.
Desirable:
-Flash.
-HTML emails.
-Word press.
-SEO awareness.
-Frontend optimisation techniques.
-Experience working with micro formats and APIs such as Google Maps, RSS.
-Expression Engine
Salary: Commensurate on experience and applicant, private healthcare and other benefits.
Start Dates: Immediate
Please send CV, URL examples of work, and a suitable covering letter explaining why you are the best candidate to: info (at) fabriclondon (dot) com
Always a pleasure to host a Mumdance mix on our blog, especially when in co-incides so timely with an upcoming appearance (you can catch the man himself in Room Three this Friday alongside Tayo, Egyptrixx and Smutlee)...
Collated as a pre cursor to his Forthcoming "Mum Decent EP on Mad Decent (Released August 23rd) as well as showcasing a host of other releases on Trouble & Bass, No Hats No Hoods & Big Dada, this is a definitive guide to whats next. In his own words this latest mixtape houses: "17 of my original productions in a 37 minute mix, all genres. Vocal features from Trim/Jammer/Badness/BBK/MC Sparks & Kie/Esser plus collabos with Drums of Death/Shortstuff & Brackles/Toy Selectah/AC Slater."
Although it’s hard to believe, Marco Carola’s fabric31 album, released at the tail end of 2006 ,was the first compilation he ever mixed. Lucky us!! Fast forward to today and after mix CDs on labels like Time Warp, his Party Animals double disc package alongside Nick Curly is the next Cocoon Recordings smash to hit the shelves. To juxtapose the release – and his imminent appearance in Room One on Saturday 31st July alongside Rhadoo and Heartthrob (Live) – we asked the Italian master to look back at his first mix CD whilst we offer up copies of his newest at the same time.
Think back to your debut compilation for Fabric (fabric31) what are your favourite tracks showcased on the mix?
I still like all the tracks – I don’t really have one favorite track. I see the mix as a whole.
How much planning went into the fabric31 mix compared to more recent mixes?
fabric was my first mix CD, so I was paying a little more attention then but it’s not much of a difference.
What were the ideas behind fabric31?
The idea was to show a mix that would represent me playing in the club, but at the same time trying to balance it with knowing people would be listening at home or in their cars.
What does fabric31 symbolize to you?
Really good DJ gratification.
Where and how did you record the mix?
In my studio in Napoli, I recorded it live.
How do you feel playing at fabric since then and how has your style evolved since then?
The first time I played at fabric was many years ago and my style was much harder. I would say I haven’t changed music but for sure the music I’m playing today is softer than what I was doing in the beginning. And I’m still trying to evolve everything so it’s hard to say at what point is the ‘now’.
To scoop a copy of ‘Party Animals – Marco Carloa and Nick Curly In The Mix’ simply email us the answer to the following question:
Lopazz is much more than your average one trick pony. Having made cuts for labels like Get Physical, Compost and London's legendary Output Recordings, he is also a renowned film and television composer as well as a self confessed ‘mountain type of guy’, gleefully exploring everywhere from the depths of Alaska to outer Tibet. His zealous enthusiasm stems from the beauty of our planet earth and the foreign sound-aesthetics, musicians and artists that surround it; and after speaking with him, it’s hard to not want to grab your hiking boots, fill your backpack and follow the musical protégée on his next global expedition.
As he makes his way to Soundwave Festival on Vancouver Island, we caught up with Lopazz to chat about life back on the club circuit, collaborating with DJ T on their next album, his live performance in Room One this weekend and why wild pigs in his garden have urged him to take time off away from the studio… He also built us an exclusive promo mix, so press play and read on:
First of all, can you tell us how the summer’s been treating you and some of its highlights so far…?
I am on my way to Canada. I will play at Soundwave Festival on Vancouver Island, meeting lovely people and friends. The shows have been great this year! I’ve been to Lebanon, the highlight of 2010 so far - the guys there are real friends, the Lebanese people are amazing! Besides touring I am preparing my next releases on STIR15 and Circle Music.
DJ T is producing his next album with you at your LOPAZZ/HD800 studios in Heidelberg. Can you tell us how you first met, your relationship on and off the decks and how the project is taking shape?
I am a nuclear member of Get Physical, lol – we’ve known each other for many years and we’ve played countless shows together. He’s one of the best DJ´s I know and besides that I respect the work he has done for the music-business in the past 20 years. We are almost finished with the instrumentals, and are waiting for the vocal-parts. We’ve produced with analog machines and instruments I’ve collected in the past. We’ve recorded real drums and guitars. DJ T even played percussion and all kinds of old organs that we captured with microphones.
We have heard that the album will include several collaborations planned with vocalists and musicians. Can you tell us more about the artists involved and how yourself and DJ T collaborated ideas on this?
DJ T is NOT one of those DJs sending me tracks telling me: "go on, produce me something like this...” He knows what he wants, he prepares his samples carefully and it’s a real 50/50 production. Of course I am the executive producer but he also plays the keyboards and works on melody- and beat-lines. I appreciate his studio-appearance and his knowledge about electronic-music.
You also have a new record out on Get Physical Music featuring 80’s sensation, Imagination out on July 14th. Can you describe the sound of this EP and where it fits in to the current state of dance music?
Beto Cohen invited me to work on the original Imagination 2" tapes recorded at his cousin’s Red Bus Studios in London. The sound is solid, warm, bright, deep and kicking. It has been produced on a fantastic SSL Analog Mixing Console - I just got a 16 channel version of it for my mastering-suite and it sounds amazing. We didn’t want to continue the attitude of the countless Imagination bootlegs - we wanted to create a real fusion sound, not just another disco-mashup. The DJ feedback we got paid back for the work we’ve invested. I think it’s a great piece of music.
Over the years you have become a renowned film and television composer, having written and performed more than 45 film and documentary scores over the years… We’ve even heard that you’ve jumped on planes, boats and camels to accompany the film crew and record the sounds you need…?
Yes, I’ve been lucky getting invited by great documentary-filmmakers (Along Mekong Productions) for the first films in 1999 with Casio Casino. Since that we’ve travelled and recorded and produced crazy and serious themes for interesting projects like UNESCO´s "World Heritage Program" or the French /German TV collab "Arte". Last year I’ve been to Ethiopia and South-Africa, the years before in Mongolia and Macao. I love field-recording and working with foreign sound-aesthetics, musicians and artists.
Can you tell us more about your passion for making music based on the visual art form and what this means to you compared to making beats for the likes of Get Physical, Cocoon or Kompakt…?
When we started releasing tracks on our own labels in 1994 we collaborated with visual-artists and graphic-designers, rented old factory halls and warehouses for temporary parties – I’ve been the youngest partner in a team of great DJ´s and producers like Dman and Planet Jazz. We’ve produced videos and tracks for MTV and underground sources, for hip-hoppers, technos, ambient-lovers and pop-moguls. I got the chance to work on one of the first digital video cut systems and I’ve always been pretty eclectic. When I was younger I wanted to test and try anything! Since 2003 I concentrate more on producing music, mixing and mastering music at my studios in Germany.
What’s your favourite film soundtrack of all time?
Blade Runner!
Joining the exceptional talents of DJ Hype’s Playaz and LTJ Bukem’s Session for the last Friday in July is the production collective, True Tiger. Formed by Scandalous Unltd and made up of producers, Sukh Knight, Blue Bear, Stenchman, Paul Fynn, Duncan Powell and Purple the team have mainstream production credits forthcoming for artists like Wiley and Tinie Tempah, a debut dubstep artist album slated for release later this year along with the return of their ‘Eye Of The Tiger’ grime compilation. Inviting BBC 1xtra’s master selector Mistajam to join the resident crew they’re also bringing MCs P Money and Chunky to our top spot on the 30th and to celebrate they put together an exclusive promo mix.
Abe Duque’s (pronounced Do-key) career started in the early days of New York house as a resident at the legendary Limelight club for his co-run Abuse Industries night. Having been both a US marine and a pioneer of underground music in his time his earliest releases as Kirlian date back to 1992 and the sheer length of his discography and remix history shows the depth of his versatile production character; much like this ‘Fear & Loathing’ style tour diary irks him out as intelligent and likeable fellow...
Performing in WANG’s takeover of Room 2 alongside Blake Baxter he’s kindly provided us, exclusively, with the first part in a summer trilogy of mixes he’s dubbed: ‘Music For Poolside Dance Parties’ which you can download and bump loud over at our soundcloud profile.
Duque is also perched on the release of a 2 CD retrospective collection called ‘Live And On Acid,’ which was today described by music portal Resident Advisor:
“The first disc is a recording of one of Duque's recent sets, with a dozen of his own productions and remixes woven into 70 minutes of steely techno. On the second, he takes a more retrospective approach, mixing up some of the classics that have stayed in his bag throughout his long and illustrious career, including cuts by Mr. Fingers, Logic, Detroit Grand Pubahs and more. The compilation features three previously unreleased tracks by Duque: "Bigbomb," "Bumble Bee" and "V2."”
Catch Bilal LIVE in Room One tomorrow night at another Deviation special. Support comes from Fatima - perfoming her debut live show with a full band - with DJ back up from BBC 1xtra's Ronnie Herel and Benji B. Tickets and info available here.
Back in April we profiled the San Francisco based Dirtybird family, speaking to artists like the enigmatic Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, Worthy and Christian Martin (amongst others - read the full feature here) about some of their favourite moments and memories of the label's tenure. With Claude taking to our Room One alongside BBC Radio's techno queen, Heidi and Matt Tolfrey this weekend (following a headline slot at last month's Sonar festival) , the crew have given us 5 copies of their 3 CD compilation to give out to you, our most esteemed of readers.
To scoop a copy that includes tracks from the label's past, present and future, just email us the answer to the question below by Monday 19th July.
Q: Which Dirtybird released artist also had a track on our recent 'Elevator Music Vol. 1' compilation at the beginning of the year?
Since the project’s inception in 2008, David Psutka, AKA Egyptrixx, has been piquing the interest of an exponentially increasing amount of heads. A handful of remixes and EPs, including his awesome ‘The Only Way Up’ EP for the Night Slugs stable, have seen him continue to permeate the bass scene with his own brand of ‘celestial club music’. Pulling together elements of house, techno, dubstep and electronica into his tough yet nuanced sound, Psutka juxtaposes robust rhythms with expansive synths and emotive melodies, and his music never fails to take root itself in both your head and your feet. With his debut LP waiting in the wings as well as a new live set, his trajectory is most definitely pointing skywards.
In honour of the fact that Egyptrixx will be bringing his live set to Room Three this weekend alongside Tayo, Mumdance and Smutlee, we figured it was time to pin him down for a chat. He also put together a tidy little minimix full of exclusive material to keep you going until he touches down on Friday.
So for those that don’t know, can you briefly introduce yourself?
David Psutka aka Egyptrixx from Toronto, Canada.
What kind of background do you come from musically and how did it progress to the music you are making and playing now?
I studied piano at the Royal Conservatory and from there played in bands, did some songwriting and then eventually got into making electronic music/music with computers.
When you did you pick up production and what impelled you to do so?
A few of the bands I was playing in dissolved for various (mostly personal) reasons and as a result, I started making music on my own. At the time I was also listening to a lot of old house and techno records that a friend had left at my house.
Your productions exist in the meeting point between a number of different genres. How would you describe the music that you make?
Celestial club music.
Do you think that there is anything inherent to all the music that you make that ties it all together?
It feels strange to actually spell it out, but there are sounds, melodies and percussion arrangements that I’m drawn too, and sample packs and synthesizer programs that I’ve created for this project. I also have a small collection of old, broken analogue synthesizers that I use on most Egyptrixx songs.
What is the scene like out in Toronto and in Canada in general?
There is no shortage of cool projects in Toronto (see zari & iii & Trust) but the music community can seem counter-progressive and lacking in 'apparatus.' Toronto is relatively devoid of media, labels, venues, promoters etc considering the number and calibre of its artists and these are all necessary elements to support and provide growth to a "scene." That being said, the sensation that 'no one gives a shit' can encourage artists to take chances and be adventurous which might be why Toronto has such an amorphous sound. This can be a good thing.
London's Spindoctor has hosted half a decade of parties in and around the captial, building a solid reputation for creating a definite party atmosphere at his Doctor's Orders events. Crafting it solely with the finest hip hop sounds around has made it a wholly unique event, even leading to the night being christened 'the kings of the capital's hip hop scene' by Time Out. Marking this club night milestone with a live performance from Stones Throw's veteran emcee Guilty Simpson, whose fresh of the back of his entirely Madlib produced 'OJ Simpson' album, is a touch but add to that a 'golden age' set from UK radio's biggest proponent of boom bap and rap, Tim Westwood, and a smattering of sets from the DO faithful and you've got a bloc party waiting to bubble in our Farringdon basement.
Ahead of the event Spindoctor has put together a mix, conveying that vibe that infects every fibre of a Doctor's Orders jam.
Celebrating the launch of their 'Syn Emergence' album, being released on August 2nd on Balkan Vinyl on super limited edition double heavyweight 12" vinyl or double 12" picture disc, the Posthuman duo, of Rich Bevan and Josh Doherty - who have previously released music on labels like Seed, Myuzyk and the boutique Uncharted Audio - will perform a live set on Saturday 31st July in the WANG hosted Room Two.
In anticipation you can also preview the album on soundcloud via this handy widget:
James Davidson and Greg Hepworth make music as Ulterior Motive and in a short time, over just a handful of releases, the Bournemouth based duo gained recognition from some of drum & bass’ most prominent figures; signing tunes to both Goldie’s seminal Metalheadz imprint and one of our favourite labels, Critical Recordings. Whilst collaborating with artists like FABRICLIVE 52 artist, Zero T and the current crop of upcoming producers: Rockwell, Sabre, FD et al, the Ulterior Motive duo are taking their skeletal templates and fleshing them out with all the right trinkets; teaming insistent drums with sinew heavy bass lines that croak and rumble in varying accents and trickles and flickering percussion.
Ahead of Ulterior’s Motive’s performance this Friday in Room Two we caught up with them to help introduce their sound.
So for those that don’t know, can you briefly introduce yourself?
We’re Ulterior Motive from Bournemouth, UK. We’ve been writing music together since 2003 and had our first proper release last year on Subtitles. Since then we’ve had music signed to Metalheadz, Critical and C.I.A as well as more on Subtitles.
What kind of background do you come from musically and how did it progress to the music you are making and playing now?
We’ve both had some music training in the way of studying music back at school then music technology at college as well as playing the guitar in bands back in the day. Between us we were listening to a wide range of music from old hip hop and soul to indie to early 90s rave and hardcore. The early 90’s rave eventually turned into a love of drum & bass in ‘96/7 when we bought turntables and started to buy tunes. Our taste in drum & bass evolved from there.
When you did you pick up production and what impelled you to do so?
Production started in ‘97/8 when a friend showed us the basics of Soundforge and Cakewalk 5 on an old pc. We were immediately addicted so rushed out and bought a Yamaha cs1x and a Waldorf Pulse; unfortunately it took a few years before we understood how to use them properly! It’s been a slow road of self teaching since then but we were constantly inspired by the likes of Optical, Matrix, Ed Rush, Konflict and how they made all those crazy sounds.
Do you think that there is anything inherent to all the music that you make that ties it all together?
I guess we always try to keep a bit of dirt and funk in everything that we write - at the end of the day we just make what we think is good at the time, although we’re never 100% happy with what we come up with.
What is the scene like in Bournemouth?
Bournemouth actually has a surprisingly good scene. The two main nights down here keeping it alive are ‘Drumfunk’ (run by Judda) and ‘Enter.’ They bring down big names from across the board every month without fail from Andy C and Friction to Breakage and Rockwell.
Who else in d&b is doing it for you right now?
We’re loving a lot of drum & bass at the moment, there’s a lot of good artists producing a lot of great music. Artists we’re playing the most of at the moment are Alix Perez, Rockwell, Jubei, Noisia, Spectrasoul, Zero T, Fracture & Neptune, Phace… and so many more. For newer artists we’re really feeling FD, Hybris, DLR & Octane, Script, Acid Labs….the list goes on!
What other projects have you got in the pipeline?
We have a couple of remixes to do and will eventually be doing an album for Subtitles but that’s a while away yet.
Catch Ulterior Motive in Room Two this Friday alongside titans of the scene: Andy C, DJ Hype, DJ Marky and DJ Die. For further UM learning check out their recent promo mix for the Medium clubnight:
Tim Westwood is easily one of the most recognisable people in UK music. With his oppressive frame home to his much lauded patter he’s got a tireless enthusiasm for his craft, which is nothing short of infectious. Having cut his teeth on pirate radio stations across the capital he begun his radio career proper in the 80s with shows on Kiss FM and LWR before making the jump to commercial radio, presenting on Capital FM before scooping the lucrative slot presenting BBC Radio 1’s Rap show in 1994. Since then he’s left an indelible mark on music in this country as a whole; and whether you recognise him from his spots on TV presenting shows like Pimp My Ride UK, have heard him and his stylistic drawl on the air of his new drivetime show on Radio 1’s sister digital station BBC 1Xtra, or just know of him through the lovably self effacing, overtly bombastic persona he presents every day, it’s pretty much guaranteed, you know who he is. If you do feel the need to bone up however, you could do a lot worse than reading this Guardian piece from 2004.
With his headline ‘Golden Age’ slot at the Doctor’s Orders 5th Birthday party looming over us later this month (he tops a bill on the 23rd July that features Stones Throw’s Guilty Simpson – who’s fresh of the back of the Madlib producer ‘OJ Simpson’ record – and the Extended Playaz: Harry Love, MK and Shortee Blitz) we caught up with big dawg himself, to shoot him some quick fire questions.
During your career you’ve presented shows on a multitude of different radio stations. Which period/station/show was the most fun for you and why?
It’s all been fun! Different eras of hip hop have meant different things - it’s been a blessed life.
You stand as one of BBC Radio’s longest serving presenters. What is it that drives you to keep doing the radio thing?
Hip hop radio runs through my veins, it’s what I’m built to do - I live for this.
With your televisual appearances on shows like Pimp My Ride UK, you’ve become somewhat of a celebrity with a cult following. Whats the weirdest thing a fan has done to get your attention?
When I was a victim of drive by shooting – that was a crazy fan gone wrong!
When was the last time you came to fabric? What was on? Did you have fun?
Every year I do a student party in January. This year was run by Union London – I love Fabric I think the DJ box and sound system is the best in the country.
Whats in store for the Doctor’s Orders 5th Birthday with your Golden Age set? What can punters expect?
Taking it back to the golden era – something I haven’t done in 15 years!
Tim also put together a checklist of some of his favourite golden era hip hop albums, to give you an inkling into what you can expect from his imminent performance, from which we selected some bonafide classics:
1. Tupac – All Eyez On Me
2. Notorious B.I.G - Ready To Die
3. Nas - Illmatic
4. Dr.Dre - The Chronic
5. Public Enemy - Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Richard Seeberan, probably better known to his East London cohorts when DJing out at the FUSE events at 93 Feet East on Brick Lane, under the Rich NxT moniker. Throwing down a mixture of textures, joining the dots between the deeper ends of techno and house music, he’s been an instrumental part in the afterhours explosion in our nation’s capital. With remixes and releases forthcoming on the Mighty Rumble imprint including his own ‘Bristle EP’ due out in September time, his new Month Of Sundays parties at the Papermill on Curtain Road and his upcoming slot this Sunday at Wet YourSelf we figured it was about time for people to get to know.
Rich was kind enough to put together this promo mix to do just that...
There are few voices that are as instantly distinct and powerful as the cult-worshipped master of soul Bilal Oliver. A voice and steez packed with as much flair as unpredictability, Bilal’s fine-tuned, off-the-wall intonations have soared and sauntered across beats of all different sizes and shapes. His impeccable ‘1st Born Second’ album, released on Interscope in 2001 (and recorded at the ripe age of 22), harks back to the ingenuity and stylistic grace of rare soul legends - comparisons to Curtis Mayfield and Prince ran rampant, and for good reason. A few years later in 2006, his hugely-anticipated-and-highly-pirated ‘Love For Sale’ lit up the internet to unparalleled degree but, as one of the biggest mysteries in neo-soul history, never quite lit up the charts. The masterpiece – which featured a wide, colourful range of Bilal’s own smooth jazz-inflected productions - was never released, despite the hype machine righteously making immense waves around it. Regardless, ‘Love For Sale’ still stands tall as a veritable classic, and any self-respecting music collector holds a prized copy close.
Outside of his solo work, the vibrant member of the otherworldly Soulquarians collective has also made his way on to beatific records across the board – from Talib Kweli to Common to Musiq to Robert Glasper to Beyonce. Most recently, he’s been locked in the studio with all manner of exciting producers working feverishly on his forthcoming LP for Plug Research, due out in September. Ahead of his live spot here next Wednesday for Benji B’s Deviation party we caught up with the man himself to talk direction and why its taken him so long to get back to the UK...
How does it feel to be returning to the UK for your first gig in 6 years? Why do you think it’s taken so long to get back over here?
It’s taken me so long to get back over there because I wanted to wait until I had some more material to share with you guys. I’m really excited about this new material and this is definitely an album that I always saw myself playing over there for you guys anyway.
Your next project, is forthcoming on Plug Research in September, can you tell us a little bit about it, who you’re working with on a production tip?
I worked with Nottz, 88Keys, Shafiq Husayn of Sa-Ra and Tone Whitefield… It’s not a lot of producers on the album, the album has a specific sound and everybody that worked on the album - we really wrote every song from the ground up. ‘Airtight’s Revenge’ (the album’s title) means love when I say it. My revenge means love. I still have more love to give. That’s the thing about this album, it happened by accident. I was doing this album for myself until my friend Steve heard the music and convinced me that the world should hear it.
How’s it sounding? What can we expect?
The music is doing what I’ve always done as far as mixing genres… It’s a little more guitar driven than usual but it’s a mix of a lot of different sounds and styles.
You’ve worked with a whole heap of collaborators in your time, who do you consider some of the best? And who would you still love to work with?
J Dilla is one of the best casts I’ve worked with … I love working with Questlove, Shafiq, Erykah … Pretty much everybody that I’ve worked with in the past, I’d love to work with again. I’d love to work with Flying Lotus, Danger Mouse, Madlib, The Gorillaz… Thom Yorke.
