Head to Head: Daniel Avery & Matt Walsh Talk Trash Techno

Daniel Avery and Matt Walsh share an outlook. They both play in a certain way, selecting techno that’s as influenced by the baggy Madchester era as much as it is by anything from Detroit. They even started their own Dalston club night, Movement, to give a home to their certain brand of dance music and if the output of Matt’s Clouded Vision label and Dan’s recent rise in profile is anything to go by, it’s proving to be an incredibly popular mixture of prog; all slow chugging drums and acidic highs. As you can hear below in the radio mix Dan made to promote his FABRICLIVE 66 album recently, or in the Rinse FM show the two recently did together, the duo are independently drawing for similar styles that seem to stem from a love of Trevor Jackson’s Ouput label and Erol Alkan’s universally heralded club night, Trash. Ahead of FABRICLIVE this Friday where the two are set to DJ all night in Room Three, we asked them to set each other three interview questions and give us a little unique insight into their relationship and the reasons behind why they play how they do and why they eat chocolate like they do… Matt Walsh: We both come from a guitar music background. I could name so many tracks from my youth from early baggy and britpop bands, but it was my home county of Essex and The Prodigy that really turned me towards dance music for the first time. I remember a guy in year 9 that joined our school and he was drawing smiley faces and wearing baggy clothes all the time. He gave me a copy of Experience on tape and it blew my mind... What was the first electronic record that took your fancy and how did you come across it? Daniel Avery: The Prodigy did it for me too. That was the first gig I ever went to, with my Dad when I was eleven. Around the same time I remember taping things like ‘Block Rockin' Beats’ and ‘Born Slippy’ from the radio. To be honest, though, it was still a good few years before club music properly entered into my life. The whole electroclash thing was what really did it for me in my late teens. Daniel Avery: There seems to be some kind of 'scene' developing around the style of music we make/play but I have no idea what name to give it. It's techno made by Trash kids. Droney acid that's as inspired by Spacemen 3 as by Carl Craig. You've been touring a lot recently, have you seen a similar thing on your travels? Matt Walsh: Very much so. There are some brilliant small clubs in Tel Aviv, Vilnius, Madrid and France that I have played this year and I have been told by locals that a new scene has arrived. I don't think my style has changed much over the years, but music does seem to have gone full circle from the indie/dance and electroclash of 10 years ago and developed into something slower and darker, still with obvious influences of guitars and techno. It’s an exciting time for sure.... MW: I haven't been to America since this EDM business came about. How did you find it there, is there still an underground scene and more importantly, how slow can you go? DA: I was very pleasantly surprised. With so much cake being thrown about, it's easy to forget that a strong electronic underground still exists. I played exactly how I always do (ie, pretty slow) and it worked. The whole EDM thing bears about as much relevance to what the rest of us do as a Limp Bizkit concert from 1999 did. It's music for spring breakers and jocks. The crowds are identical: DA: What was the first record you signed to Clouded Vision that made you think: "wow, I actually have an interesting record label on my hands here"? Did it hit you when you played it out in a club? MW: Yes, the first one was ‘Truckin’ by Darabi. It was an 115bpm peak time record for me. Seeing it in charts all over RA was really exciting and it certainly gave me the label-bug. From then on the demos kept coming in and I have been really lucky to keep getting better ones all the time. My most recent sets have had a lot of new signings in them and being asked "what the hell is this?" is a great feeling. DA: We share a lot of musical influences when it comes to dance music and I know we're both big fans of Trevor Jackson and his Output label. I say this because I recently found those two Colder albums and remembered how much they still mean to me. What's your personal favourite from that label? MW: Output was the first record label that I really did trust everything that came out. Before that I was all about particular artists. The compilation Channel 2 defined the most exciting era for me becoming a DJ and getting my first bookings. I still play DK7's ‘The Difference’ and the brilliant ‘Slipstream’ all the time. MW: We both have a sweet tooth. We bought each other a chocolate bar last week before the Rinse show without telling the other one. Who's getting the chocolate in on Friday and whats your current favorite? DA: I'll sort us out. The everlasting favourite is the classic Mars Bar. The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Catch Daniel Avery and Matt Walsh hosting the entire night in Room Three this Friday.