Jungdog Records signing being championed by MK, Dubfire, Groove Armada and many more
Interview : Dan Prince
Dan, Tom…welcome to DMCWORLD. Where in the world are you today?
Dan: “Today we are at the studio adding the finishing touches to a new mix tape.”
A massive couple of weeks for you with the new Junkdog Records release ‘Come Close’ featuring Mizbee…a track premiered on Lauren Laverne’s BBC show. Please talk us through the history and sound of this huge track….
Dan: “It’s great to see it out there now. Listening to it a few weeks on with fresh ears has been delightful.”
Tom: “I started the tune while I was in San Francisco last summer, influenced by the sunshine vibes. To be honest, we had sat on it for a while looking for the right vocal until we met Mizbee. The vocal sat perfectly but we felt the mix needed something else to add character. We found the lead by accident.”
Dan: “I can’t even remember what sound we were trying to make now, but I ended up building this arp that instantly sounded like it was always meant to be there. The writing process was very fluid for this track, the mixing process was another story…”
Your previous singles have been given a big thumbs up from the likes of Groove Armada, MK and Dubfire…who are the producers rocking your boat right now?
Dan: “Loving Tenwalls’ mixes. Much like everyone else, I guess. Maribou State are ahead of the game, Warsnare (watch this kid, he’s Stand Out!)…shouts to Daniel Avery & Erol Alkan and to the Inspected Crew. Asa, Culprate, KOAN Sound and Inspector Dubplate.”
Tom: “There are so many to choose from! For me, Doorly has been making some pretty sick tunes recently. And Justin Martin, his mixes are always huge.”
Talk us through the remixes, we know you are loving the Celsius work…
Dan: “Celius Smashed it! Hadn’t heard his work before this but the Boss was singing his praises, it was easy to see why after hearing the mix. The boy nailed it.”
Tom: “I love hearing other people’s take on our stuff. For this release we’ve been lucky enough to have remixes from Tom Bulwer, TLEGATO, Move Ya and of course Blissy herself. Her mix is great, that vocoder sounds so cool.”
‘Come Close’ gives a firm nod to Deep House – the new sounding deep house. Funny how people can have too much of a sound after a while huh?
Dan: “Shouts to Disclosure for inventing Deep House, true innovators, lol, jk!”
Tom: “Can somebody tell me exactly what Night Bus is?”
Your press company have made a big deal about the beard thing this year. You are now freshly shaven…what do you miss the most about your mutton chops?
Dan: “Masculinity…that and not being allowed in Brixton Village anymore.”
Tom: “Yeah we had to move to Wimbledon.”
What has been your track of the summer?
Dan: “Tom can answer this properly, my track of the summer was written by Alice In Chains and is about 20 years old.”
Tom: “Loads to choose from this summer. Spoilt for choice but for me ‘Piano Weapon’ is a slammer.”
Tell us about your studio set up…
Tom: “We have two studios; one for creative work, one for mix work. The mix studio has a load of analog gear and massive PMCs for monitoring, which helps getting a fat sound.”
Who excels in what department when it comes to your production, who is great at what?
Dan: “Tom starts most of the tracks, he’s the melody man.”
Tom: “Dan’s the knob fiddler, he make things sound massive. I’m a bit of a synth geek too.”
Your remix duties of late have been for some powerhouses…Sister Bliss, Sizzla and Young War. What is your approach when tackling a new rework, some producers strip back everything except the vocal, others like to have their own style stamped all over it. What’s yours?
Dan: “Taking the same approach to every remix seems a bit odd, depends what inspires us from the parts the most. There are no rules.”
Tom: “I guess we just get a vibe from some stems more than others and that determines where we go with it.”
What are the big 10 tunes in your box this weekend?
Tom: “In no particular order…”
Kyogo – Not Good Enough (Jean Tonique Remix)
Doorly & Shadow Child – Piano Weapon
Blackloops – Up On You
Made By Pete – Our Story (Pete’s Dub)
Warsnare – Collateral
The Dedication – I ain’t Gonna Tell You (DJ Kaos Mix)
Kry Wolf – Education
I Said No – Come Close (Sister Bliss Vocoder Dream Dub Mix)
I Said No – More Than You
I Said No – Shockwaves
Okay let’s rewind for a moment…how/when did you first meet and how did the whole production outfit idea come about?
Dan: “We went to the same school for a bit but never really hung out till much later, we met in a local boozer a few years after leaving school at the start of summer and instantly clicked. For the rest of the summer we mixed records and listened to nineties hip hop. We kept talking about starting a group called The Big Bad I Said No, but it didn’t materialize for like, 10 years!”
Tom: “About that long I guess! When we eventually wrote our first track together, I was actually in Johannesburg and Dan was in London, we were swapping parts over the internet. It was a slow painful experience because of that ZA connection! Luckily we persevered as that track eventually became the dub mix of our first Junkdog release. Our moniker came from a kids show Terry Wogan voiced that we both watched as kids. I think Dan is probably the only person that has ever seen it other than me, I guess that was a sign!”
What is the record that…
…reminds you of your childhood?
Dan: “Deftones – ‘My Own Summer’.”
Tom: “Rude Boy Rock – ‘Lionrock’.”
…always get you dancing?
Dan: “Lady Saw – ‘Sycamore Tree’.”
Tom: “Bad Company – ‘Hornet’.”
…reminds you of being broken hearted?
Dan: “Bent – ‘Private Road’.”
Tom: “The XX – ‘Crystallised’.”
…you wish you would have made?
Dan: “Nine Inch Nails – ‘Gave Up’.”
Tom: “Wow, erm.. so many that I’d probably never give the same answer but Peter Gabriel ‘Sledgehammer’.”
You have had a monumental 2014 with your own releases, remixes and collabs. Let’s skip 12 months forward…what do you want to have achieved this time next year?
Dan: “Would be worth our while finishing some of the tracks we’re sitting on, we’ve got over 20 productions in the bank at the moment. Finishing them would be a good start!”
A recent quote from a certain superstar DJ…“I believe true DJing is actually an art, but it’s a dying art, as everyone is pushing the sync button…it’s a real shame when you see a ‘DJ’ plug his laptop in and call this DJing. Music will always evolve but sometimes not in the best way.” What are your thoughts on that?
Dan: “I think as long as you’re being creative it doesn’t really matter what you use. Check any of my forum posts when I was in Porno Breaks about Vinyl vs CD. I’m tired of arguing. Just be f**king good at whatever it is you use to DJ.”
Tom: “I agree. I don’t really mind what people use to perform live as long as they are being creative. I guess I prefer seeing vinyl decks still as that’s what I grew up with but playing music creatively is more important.”
And finally…what is coming out next from you guys studio wise…?
Dan: “We actually just got the parts for another remix today, for a huge artist that’s been around for years who is working on a new solo project. Best not say any more until the mix is done and approved though!”
Tom: “Yeah I’m really excited for this one, it’s an honour. Other than that just finishing our own tracks.”
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