London vs. Manchester
A Match Made In Heaven
‘At Least We Can Dance’ – great new tune out on (December 14th) on Doshiwa Records with mixes from Nu:Tone, Hint, Roska and Ike Synton. Radio 1’s Rob Da Bank and Fabio & Grooverider all over it. Tell us about the tune Sam (whilst Zed eats his chips and mushy peas up North)…
“This tune is all about finding your little space on the dance floor, closing your eyes and letting the music dictate you, the way clubbing should be. It has hints of nu-soul and classic house, with some 80s synth bits too. The main aim is to get people dancing around in their pants, and I think each mix achieves this in its own special way.”
Your launch ‘Viral EP’ smashed it up all over dance floors everywhere, how did you two first meet?
“It was me who first got in touch with Zed, I’d heard his name before, but it was when I heard him as a guest on Gilles Peterson’s Radio 1 show that I sat back and thought “that’s the best fucking thing I’ve ever heard!”. I’d been scoping for a producer to take my live funk / soul tunes and give them a hip electronic twist, so I emailed him and two weeks later we were working together in his studio, chopping it all up.”
What are the big ten tunes you’re into at the moment?
Dekata Project ‘At Least We Can Dance – Hint Remix’ (Doshiwa)
Zed Bias ‘Neighbourhood 09 – Zed Bias Club Mix’ (Biasphere)
Roska & Jamie George ‘Wonderful Day – Dekata Project Remix’ (Roska Kicks And Snares)
DI Captured Live’ (Grande Buffo Records)
Bugz In The Attic ‘Expression – Bugz Souled2soul Dub’ (BBE)
Atjazz feat. Sarah Jane Morris ‘Fantasy’ (Atjazz Record Company)
Calvertron & Will Bailey, ‘Hookin (Future Lovers)
Bowski, ‘Hooves (MMR)
Vick Lavender feat R.J.Green ‘Do For Love – Bopstar’s Mix’ (Sophisticado)
George Double / Crazy P Breast Meat’ (Seamless)
Sam, you used to work in the city (you and Dirty Vegas’s Paul Harris could have a good chat as he’s another city boy turned dance music king) – what made you chuck it in?
“Well that’s a long story, but the abridged version is that I was an ambitious straight-A kid who went into the city to live out my middle class destiny, and realised after a while that my entire existence was a lie. My universe imploded and the only thing that was left for me to do was to rebuild myself from scratch and do everything in my power to become a pro-musician. I sometimes miss the money, stability and work place camaraderie, but wouldn’t change anything now, I’ve broken out of the matrix I’m having too much fun to stop now.”
Sam, what were the sort of artists you were both listening to growing up – you have very eclectic tastes…
“Well I’m a trained Jazz musician and most of my youth was spent touring around with youth Jazz bands, and most of my collection is Jazz: John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Art Blakey – the usual suspects. As a teenager I was into Jamiroquai, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Shostakovich, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Level 42, A Tribe Called Quest, and then got massively into Drum n Bass and Techno whilst studying up in Leeds, clubbing at The Orbit and Cafe Mex. No idea why I ended up making House music – Zed’s fault!
What one artist in the world would you most like to collaborate with in the studio on a track ?
“Cheat answer, more than one! Would love to collaberate with wonky types such as Joy Orbison, Lone and Floating Points, there’s some amazing new music around at the moment.”
Favourite remix of the new tune?
“They are all great in their own way, but it probably has to be the Nu:Tone mix for me, as it takes me back to the baggy trousered drum and bass teenaged years.”
Best gig you’ve ever done?
“We’ve done some great acoustic soul gigs at the Bedford in Balham, and we played at the Vibe Bar for Dom Servini’s night recently, but best gig to date was probably our EP launch party at Favela Chic in London earlier this year. Massive turn out, peeps were dancing, say no more.”
Sam, best and worst thing about London?
“I simply can’t think of anywhere I’d rather live, otherwise I wouldn’t be here I suppose. The creative community is the best thing, there’s always someone doing some mad shit that keeps you on your toes, and collaborations are so easy. Bad stuff? There’s so much good stuff going on it can take a while to find the right places to play your work out, and there’s too many “scenes”.”
Who are your favourite DJs out there?
“This is actually my honest answer, not just a PR trick, Zed’s old school garage and dub step set at Benji B’s Deviation earlier this year was the best thing I’ve seen of late, people were bouncing off the walls.”
What is your ‘guilty pleasure’ tune?
Sam: Level 42 ‘Starchild’, trust me, drop it!
Sam, a great songwriter and producer, but also a quite handy playing the sax. what made you choose this instrument – and who do you think is the best Jazz musician of all time, I remember you playing in London with your old Pack of Six band…
“I was already playing piano and clarinet at a young age, and my teacher suggested the saxophone. I remember watching the older kids at my music centre playing it and thinking “what the hell is that?”. A year later I’d done my Grade 8, it’s been a dangerous addiction ever since. It would be between John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter, maybe Shorter just does it from a writing perspective, ‘Adam’s Apple’, “Juju” and ‘Speak No Evil’ are just incredible albums.”
And finally, what’s next from the Dekata Project studio?
“Well we have an album just about done now, so after the vinyl release of ‘At Least We Can Dance’, you can expect at least another single / EP release, and then the full album. We’re currently chucking a few tracks around labels to potentially get them signed, but if not we’re happy continuing with our own Doshiwa Records. We’d also love to release some live band stuff, there’s such a talented bunch of pro musicians on the shows it would be great to record and release the full live sound at some point. I’m working on a new live electronic aspect, using the new Novation Launchpad and Ableton live, amongst other things, so expect some output from this soon my blog. Finally, I’ve been doing “muso bits” for Nu:Tone, Roska and various other people who want live horns / keys / vox / etc. Busy Busy, but if you want to see work ethic, spend some time with Zed up north.
