Introduce Yourself: Kevin Focus (+ Exclusive Mix)

Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, and formally one half of the highly acclaimed American duo Basic Operations, Kevin Focus is a name echoing around drum & bass circles of late. With his Bingo Beats' smash ‘5 Weeks’ (a collab with Lomax) lighting up the charts, as well as recent collaborations with artists such as Random Movement, Mixmaster Doc, Noah D and Chris Su (Tactile), he's been working with dnb heavyweights as far and wide as Innerground, Creative Source and Good Looking. Recently, he's also been found exploring different genres and sounds, with a string of high-profile house and dubstep remixes for the likes of Fischerspooner, Tommie Sunshine, Christian Falero and Portuguese house sensation Cytric. An artist to keep your eyes and ears on, no doubt.

After playing a deeply diverse set at January's Bukem In Session in Room Two, we caught up with Kevin when he was at home attempting to calm down his two rare and rather wild Savannah cats...but before you dive in, Kevin's put together an incredible promo mix to provide as your soundtrack. Get Focused.

Download: Kevin Focus - Exclusive fabric Blog Mix



Tracklist:

1. Sabre feat. Alix Perez - Have it Your Way
2. Mixmaster Doc - Cancelation Dub
3. Enei & Implex - Control
4. Sabre - A Wandering Journal - (Rockwell Remix)
5. June Miller & Syntax - Sleep
6. Osh & Enei - Echo
7. Sabre - Follow Polaris
8. Fischerspooner - The Best Revenge - (Noah D & Kevin Focus Remix)
9. Pessimist - Proceed - (Sinistarr Remix)
10. Dakosa - Nobody Else
11. Lenzman feat. Jo-s - Fade Away
12. Edward Oberon - Noir
13. Random Movement & Mixmaster Doc - The Self-Aware Convection Oven
14. Random Movement, Mixmaster Doc & Kevin Focus - My Sentiments
15. Fabulous - The Words of Love - (Makoto Remix)(Kevin Focus ReEdit)
16. Justin Martin & Claude VonStroke - Beat That Bird (Riva Starr Remix)
17. Kevin Focus & Kuru - Lock Connect
18. Mixmaster Doc feat. Jo-s - Mantra Tune
19. Meridians - Toe 2 Toe - (Sinistarr & Agzilla)
20. Redeyes & Sinistarr - Solar 9

Give us a little bit of background on you as an artist...
I started with Drum & Bass around 1996 with local friends going to events and it spawned into playing the local and regional rave circles. In about 2001 I got together with my friend Nathan (Atlantic Connection) and we formed Basic Operations. After a long string of releases on about 26 different imprints and a lot of touring we decided to go our separate ways to work on solo endeavors. With that, I started to shy away from doing any PR and to better my music and knowledge of the industry. My first release after Basic Operations was with Random Movement 'Methods of Thought.' It was on DJ Zinc's Bingo Beats label and we did a close follow up 'Shattered Dreams' on DJ Marky's Innerground Recordings. I also worked with Lomax on a single for Bingo Beats '5 Weeks,' which was very well received in the charts, followed by a few tunes with Noah D, Mason, Dstar, & Stunna. In late 2008 I became severely ill and wasn’t able to travel for the next eight months. During that time I opened my mind to new things and broke out of what you would call my Drum & Bass bubble to a vast world of new music. I started DJing and making music in a number of multi-genres that I’ve been really feeling the last year or so, and being able to share the stage with artists as diverse as Tiesto and Armin Van Buuren to Craze and Rusko. I’ve recently begun releasing and remixing house for Nervous Records, a label I’ve known and respected since the early 90s.  I have also been fortunate enough to remix tracks for Fischerspooner, Tommie Sunshine and a few others. It’s cool to take the time and do this interview with fabric because you guys span so many genres so I feel like I can talk about what I play or make, as its not confined to just one thing.

How did you find your first set at fabric?
I explained to (LTJ) Bukem that bringing me to fabric was a big honor. I’ve played a lot of different venues in the UK on my past tours overseas, and they weren’t as enchanting as I hoped. I’ve heard stories for years of events at fabric and I wanted to experience a certain aspect of drum & bass that we don’t have here in the states, which I’ve been unable to experience until I played fabric. It had a great energy about it, you get totally lost in the club, but still feel a good sense of security when you're there. The staff and the sound were incredible. It was also great to get a chance play on the stage – definitely a highlight moment.

Give us an idea of your typical set…
I try to play for the club goer. That gets me really excited. There’s so much great music out there, I just play something, see how the crowd reacts and then get a feel for what that particular crowd wants. I do try and play a span of styles. I never plan my sets and I can honestly say the longer the set, the better.

Your release ‘5 Weeks’ with Lomax was voted second in the Beatport Best Drum & Bass Track of 2009 category. How did it feel to get that kind of acclaim?
It was a really good feeling. It solidified my mindset that I could focus less on the PR aspect of what I’m doing and more on the music. It feels really good that people have appreciated it and that’s been a big deal, even without much media hype.

What are your upcoming plans?
I have a release on LTJ Bukem’s Good Looking imprint with Chris Su called 'The Mountain,' a tune with Random Movement for his LP on Innerground called "My Sentiments" and an EP with Mixmaster Doc for a new imprint stateside called Peer Pressure. Also being released is a dubstep remix of Fischerspooner’s "The Best Revenge" with Noah D and a string of house remixes for Nervous Records, Substance and Brooklyn Fire. To top it off Nathan (Atlantic Connection) and I will be reuniting after three years of being apart to do some projects as Basic Operations this year, including remixing some of our old tunes and possibly some select dates or tour. Always keeping busy and learning as much as I can.