When did Rude Audio get together?
2011, in the wake of getting to grips with relevant music making technology when I was with Adam in Unusual & Electric
How did you come up with the name of the band?
There was some desperate flailing around with input from a couple of parties, we needed a name quickly and the only word that felt relevant, given our predilection for dub, was Rude. I think Adam from Unusual & Electric might have thrown in the Audio.
What inspired you to make this album?
The context was a stay in rural Suffolk, away from any of the usual metropolitan distractions and the desire was to marry dub heft with house or techno thrust and propulsive-ness. Plus, The Fearless Few
https://www.facebook.com/180minutes/
What is the process to naming the songs?
Ha, not sure that I would dignify the naming of our tunes with a word like “process”. Sometimes we have holding names for tunes when we’re making them which can be absurdly obscure and meaningless and it has been known for those names to carry on over to be public facing. On Rude Redux every tune originally was a pub name, prefaced by “To The”. Some of them survived being holding names and became tune titles. On the latest mini LP, Rude Mission was a holding name, because it evoked a sense of being driven by the music to get on one (a mission, that is). Titles like ‘User’ and ‘Repeat Offender’ are my attempts at evoking South London (trying not to reveal my love of Burial titles, too readily. I mean has there ever been a better song title than ‘Night Bus’?)
We know that Andrew Weatherall is a fan – how did that happen?
I believe Rosalia of FerraraPR may have had a hand at getting some of our earlier music efforts into his mitts. We sort of knew him from the mid 90s, long story which I won’t bore you with. But he didn’t know that I was involved with Rude Audio and he started playing tunes from the EPs a couple of years ago on NTS. He really like the last EP and played three of the four tracks on it on the radio or when he was DJing at discos but still didn’t know I was involved with it. I finally approached him when I had to DJ after him (which necessitated endless evenings of pondering what my first track would be in the wake of his set. I mean I sweated blood over what track would simultaneously feel effortless and in sync with what he was playing yet at the same time distinct and engaging enough for him to notice) – I told him that I’d been behind the stuff he’d been playing for a while and after expressing some surprise he did mumble something about how he might have thought differently about playing the tunes if he’d known I was the chancer behind them. Fortunately he’s been playing Streetlight Interference recently, so I don’t think he was too serious
Any other influential followers or fans?
What kind of shallow, empty husk of a human being would publicly take it upon themselves to cite famous names as fans? (possibly the sort that has famous names as fans). Don Letts, Weatherall, Field Of Dreams, those sorts play our tunes I believe. Historically people like Cold Cut, Laurent Garnier, Kris Needs and others have played stuff that I’ve made as Rude Audio or – alongside Adam Whitaker – Unusual & Electric
Tell us something we don’t know about you?
I caught one of the biggest bass ever in 2005, off the outer banks in Suffolk and won £3,000 for the best fish caught from a boat in British waters.
Who’s your favourite remixer/producer/artist?
Where do I start – I’m a fan of Weatherall, he is still churning out amazing remixes, his most recent David Holmes opus and his Silver Apples remix are right up there with his classics; in the last couple of years I’ve been listening a lot to Rich Lane, (what that man can do with a kick drum…), I love Acid Arab and other Turkish and Arab artists, like Kaan and Kasbah Rockers. I love dub, I think Jah Wobble is on a roll at the moment, his ‘A Very British Coup’ is the tune of the year for me. I like when modern producers go all analogue sounding, Pye Corner Audio always come up with something interesting. I’ve got time for the Night Noise label, I like the way they seem to pick out a path between techno and more Balearic influences. Have you heard Grace Acladna at all? Check out Otenazi, a mind melting chugger that somehow has elements of techno, chug and something more Arabic or Egyptian going on in it. I’ve been recently picking up old releases by Persian, that straddle the line between garage, drum and bass and Middle Eastern sounds. I will always buy a Burial release, unheard – he ploughs a narrow furrow, what with his love of vinyl crackles, the sound of rain and old garage samples but it continues to be a very rich and resonant sound. And Field Of Dreams with Al MacKenzie are churning out the tunes at the moment, in that interesting hinterland between house, techno and more Balearic territories. And I adore Bedford Falls Players, the most underrated producer and remixer of the moment. His White Room EP, including the Al MacKenzie remix, is a monster.
Who do you respect in the music industry and why?
See above – people who stick to their guns, remain committed to a vision of what they love without compromising their integrity for commercial reasons. I’ve just got back from Glastonbury where I saw Youth DJ on three separate occasions – he was amazing, I think he basically played his own dubplates which are typically a dub/techno hybrid – not sure you’d view it as particularly salient or commercial but he commits to that sound and sticks to it, regardless of the time of day or night he’s playing at, or the crowd he’s playing to
Where are you based, tell us something about the area?
We’re based in South East London – which seems to offer an interesting smorgasbord of pound shops, artisanal bakeries, craft breweries, hairdressers that will also crack mobile phones and young boys on bicycles with scarfs covering most of their faces. We can get good coffee or a bag of shit weed within stone throwing distance. My colleague has just informed me that a local spare car parts dealer also proffers weed, so there you go
What DJ gigs do you have coming up?
First Thursday of every month we can be found at Flaxon Ptootch, Kentish Town Road, NW5, from about 9:30pm to 2 or 3am. Best cocktails in North London, provided by the astonishing Knowhere Special team. In fact we occasionally DJ at Knowhere Special as well, most recently in May at an insane female only event that involved all sorts of shenanigans and ructions
Do you have any live shows planned?
Ah, this old chestnut. Owain, who is one of Rude Audio, does the live sound for all sorts of interesting people – he has been recently working on the Nick Mason Saucerful of Secrets tour and The Cure tour, so he knows his live sound. We have been threatening for about 8 months to go to a mate’s club in Oslo and do something live, which Owain could probably facilitate. But I’m sure the world can wait for the sight of us stumbling around on stage shouting at each other because the technology is not working
What do Rude Audio have in the pipeline?
We’ve got a bunch of half finished and nascent tunes that we are going to hone and refine in the next three months. One of the key Rude Audio people, Dave Brennan, is returning from his Australian sojourn so the combination of him, Owain and Mark working on some of these ideas represents an optimum for us, good stuff always emerges from us banging our heads together. We’ve also got a great remix in the pipeline, it’s been done for a guy who does music for films and TV, not sure what moniker it’s coming out under
Anything else to plug?
Repeat Offender, as supported by Mr Weatherall can be listened to via Sinchi Collective who premiered it for us.
https://soundcloud.com/sinchicollective/premiere-rude-audio-repeat-offender-zirkus-records-2
The entire mini LP can be purchased here – https://rudeaudio1.bandcamp.com/album/street-light-interference
The new album, Street Light Interference is out now through Zirkus Records.
