Audio: Boxia Delivers a Techno Onslaught

Boxia has had a fast entry into techno. He put out his first EP in 2015, and soon after he signed his track Revolution Adam Beyer’s massive Drumcode label. He’s found a similar level of success when it comes to playing out too. Last year, he landed some of the biggest shows available on the circuit playing an impressive range of gigs that included Junction 2 and Drumcode’s large-scale London parties at Tobacco Dock. There are plenty of reasons for Boxia’s route to success. Aside from talent and hard work, he’s actually been involved in music for an exceptionally long time: he bought his first records when he was only 11, and spent many nights visiting us in Farringdon in our earlier years. Then there’s also his relationship with Alan Fitzpatrick, who’s been something of a mentor to him for the last year or so. With recent releases on Fitzpatrick’s We Are The Brave label and an appearance coming up at the label’s showcase in Room Two on 1st April, Boxia dropped us a mix and introduced himself to tell us more about his background. Can you introduce yourself for anyone who isn’t already familiar? I have been recording under the name Boxia for about two and a half years. I've recently released on Drumcode, No Ideas Original and most recently on Alan Fitzpatrick's We Are The Brave label. Where did you first start DJing? Was there a club you regularly played at? I started pretty young. I have been collecting records and messing about on turntables since I was 11, and so by the time I was 18 I was absolutely desperate to spend as much time as possible in as many clubs as possible. I was a regular at a fair few clubs in Birmingham, The Sanctuary being one where I held a residency. More recently I was fortunate enough to be invited to play some great shows in London last year including Tobacco Dock, Junction 2 and The Hydra. You play quite a specific style of techno. How would you describe your sound? My EP on We Are The Brave falls quite a bit to the left of any style of techno out there at the moment, which is what I believe attracted Alan to the tracks. However I was a bit nervous people wouldn't get it but I was pleased to see the release received some amazing support. Who would you describe as some of your key influences? My influences are a mix of early and recent UK, Belgium, Detroit, Dutch, Swedish and German sounds sort of hoovered up and spat out in my own way. There are way too many artists to mention who have influenced me. Rene Pawlowitz would be one, his range within so many guises is extraordinary, his music is so simple and effective. I've followed Laurent Garnier's output from as far back as I can remember, for him to be up there and still very much current is such a huge achievement. LTJ Bukem’s productions are some of my favourites ever. If you look back on his catalogue of music it stands out head and shoulders above anything else of the time, it’s all so melodic and it was so forward thinking at the time. I also take a lot of inspiration from record labels such as Delsin and Rekids.

"The ethos of We Are The Brave really encourages me to push the boundaries creatively in my DJ sets or productions."

With such a broad range of influences is it a never ending task finding music to play? I dig and dig through the crates looking for stuff that has maybe not had the recognition it should have, maybe think about how it might work if I play it with another track or loop something over the top. I also have quite a big collection of records I look back on which helps, it’s surprising what you can update a little to play today. I also stay close to a small bunch of new talented producers who I rate highly who share their new stuff with me... I'm on a lot of promo pools which brings a wealth of music into my inbox, sometimes a little too much to be able to listen to. Your recent release marked your official induction on We Are the Brave. How did you meet Alan Fitzpatrick? I sent him a whole bunch of my early productions which I guess struck a chord with him as his tracks and sets do with me. We were chatting online a bit, then met loads since then at gigs all over the place. Sharing a lot of the same influences helps as we obviously have loads to talk about. Alan’s attitude to making, releasing and playing music is very forward thinking. The ethos of We Are The Brave really encourages me to push the boundaries creatively in my DJ sets or productions, so it’s great to have such an opportunity to work with him and his team. I feel so at home there and we have a whole bunch of releases and shows coming over this year with them so look out for those. You remixed one of the tracks on Alan’s fabric CD – can you tell us more about how this came about? OK... confession time! I actually unofficially remixed 1992 for my own sets as I liked it so much. Once I'd completed one of the early versions I sent it to Alan in a moment of madness. When I didn't hear back I suddenly thought how much of a bad idea it was to remix someone else tracks without asking, but it turned out OK. On my annual pilgrimage to Drumcode's Halloween party I walked into The Carpark when Alan was playing my remix and the ravers were having it right off. It was quite a moment! After the show he said he'd send me the parts to finish it, which I did and it ended up as an exclusive for the fabric 87 CD. Mixmag described the remix as relentless. I’ll take that! Finally, this will be your Farringdon debut. Have you visited the club before and what does it mean to come back and play? I can’t wait, I've visited the club loads since its inception – DTPM with Angel on a Sunday, Playaz on a Friday, tripped out Craig Richards sets on a Saturday and more recently I came to Alan's fabric 87 launch which was an amazing experience. Playing at fabric will be a dream come true, as I’ve been doing my homework there for such a long time. All the hard work must be paying off :-)