Rebels without a pause
“We just do what we feel like, whenever we’re in the studio or on the stage, fuck it.” Since they started making music together in 2006 these guys have been flying with their hearts and fists first and their minds second; rock, electronica, beat manipulation, rave classic covers and creating new tracks on the fly in their performances. South Central are back with a monster…
Welcome to the DMC World boys. A new EP out this week ‘Pitfalls & Corridors’, can you talk us through the release out on South Central Music…
“Pitfalls & Corridors is a 5 track EP that we wrote for the dance floor. The first two tracks we produced were ‘S.T.R.O.N.G.E.R’ and ‘SWORD’, we mixed the sound we were doing before with what is exciting us now. We just went in the studio and did what we felt like, it was mad. We decided to give this EP for free, because the new stuff is fukin crazier!”
Where is home right now?
“The studio! We even have a bed in here.”
Your sound is evolving every time we hear you – how would you describe your music at the moment?
“We are still doing our electro / rock based music, but we have been inspired by heavy bass productions, this EP is a mixture of electro/dubstep sounds, the sound is still very South Central.”
What do each of you bring to the studio, what are your skills…
Keith – “I’m more of a technical guy. I build a lot of gadgets and compressors to add to our sound in the studio.”
Rob – “I’m more of a music and lyrics guy, I’ve got melodies and ideas coming out of my ass…sometimes I find it hard to sleep, I want to finish all of them!”
You have been described in the press as a band that sit right in between the Ed Banger crew and Skrillex. What are your thoughts on that?
“We just go in the studio and do what we want, but people always love to pigeon hole, I’ve heard or read people saying it’s a mixture between Justice, Daft Punk and Skrillex.They could be right though. I guess all music always sounds like something? All we care about is going ape shit with our fans.”
What are the big 10 tunes you are spinning right now?
1- Internet Friend – Knife Party
2- Shave it – ZEDD
3- Nero – Crush On You ( Killsonik Remix)
4- Carnival-Mojo
5- She Likes To Party-Kill The Noise
6- Megaloud – Far Too Loud
7-The Champ-Wolfgang Gartner
8- Unison-Porter Robinson
9- Cotts Face- Feed Me
10- Execute – Excsion
What do you think has been your finest release to date?
“‘Sword’ is def one of our favourites! Everywhere we drop it all hell breaks loose.”
You once admitted that your guilty pleasure was “playing the piano in complete darkness.” We think that’s kinda cool at DMC, what though is your guilty pleasure record?
Rob – “Funny you say that, I just finished a recording of a complete piano version of ‘Dance Of The Skeletons’ for the Japanese release and I composed it in the studio late at night with just the studio equipment on, so that’s kinda close. My guilty pleasure record is ‘Tubular Bells’ though!”
Keith – “Anything by Justin Bieber!”
We saw you smash La Place de la Bastille in front of about 20,000 in Paris – was that the biggest crowd you have ever played to?
“That was it ! We want more of that! It’s like a drug!”
What is the worst job you have ever had?
Rob: “I have always been in music.”
Keith: “For 20 minutes or so, I was on a cutting press cutting flyers up! Then I came to my senses and walked out and continued doing my music!”
What has been your favourite gig in the UK you’ve rocked?
“Rock Ness was pretty awesome! We started with a few hundred people and it ended with a full tent !”
Rob, do you think you are the only person on the planet who gets sexually aroused watching the teen horror film Gremlins?
“Dan, where the fuck did you hear that from! I sneakily love the Gremlins though! They never have a headache.”
You just a crush on Phoebe Cates dude, that’s all.So, you have supported the likes of The Prodigy and Pendulum on tour. What is the main difference between these two mighty bands on the road?
“The two bands are so different from each other! The Prodigy’s performance is fuckin’ amazing ! Pendulum’s technical ability is loony! They are tight as fuck.”
Who are your DJ heroes out there?
“Boys Noize and Steve Angello are pretty good, no matter what people fukin say on the internet! The geeza knows what he’s doin’ on those CDJs!”
What is each other’s most annoying habits?
Keith: “Rob asks loads of questions.”
Rob: “Keith is always wrong.”
What musician dead or alive would you like to collaborate with in the studio?
“Liam Gallagher and Zack De La Rocha.”
What was your summer anthem?
“’Bass Cannon’ by Flux Pavillion and the instrumental of ‘Antidote’ by Swedish House Mafia and Knife Party.”
So we come back to yours after the club, what 10 ‘Back To Mine’ tunes do you play us to carry on the groove?
Kraftwerk ‘Tour De France’
Air ‘La Fenne D’Argent
Chemical Brothers ‘Star Guitar’
Roiksopp ‘Eple’
Daft Punk ‘Fresh’
Smoke City – ‘Underwater Love’
Pretty Lights – ‘I Can See It In Your Face’
RJD2 – ‘Iced Lightening’
Aphex Twin – ‘Flim’
Groove Armada – ‘At The River’
What are you looking forward to the most in 2012?
“We are looking forward to more releases, touring, playing in the USA and destroying more keyboards on stage!”
