Straight Outta London! ‘Dis Dis’ continues the rise of these hot as hell producers
Interview : Dan Prince
Hey guys welcome to DMCWORLD, where on planet earth are you today?
“Locked down in the asylum (studio) Dan in North London working on our next single…”
You have the Buzz Chart crew jumping through hoops at the moment with your latest dancefloor adventure ‘Dis Dis’…talk us through the track…
“We wanted to a club banger, a DJ’s track…something straight up House but with a bit of our touch on it…so once we got the riff for the bassline we started chopping up vocals and ended up with Dis Dis…”
Who have been some of the vocalists that have really stood out for you over the years?
MARK – “I’ve always loved the Divas – Inaya Day, Michelle Weeks, Dawn Tallman are up there. Then there’s peeps like Sam Obernik, Telena and Gary Bardouille who have really unique voices…not to mention the Rappers & MC’s – Chickaboo, Tyree Cooper and Capitol A bring the power everytime…”
DAVE – All the above, plus I’ve had the pleasure of working with Shola Ama, Ultra Nate, D’Influence and Taka Khan.”
You have a rich history with Ibiza, what do you love about the white isle – why is it still so special after all these years?
MARK – “The People, The Vibe, The Parties, The Clubs, The Weather… Plus the fact you can hear the biggest DJs (on all scenes) more or less every week is great for inspiration too…”
DAVE – “The music, the sun, the girls………….ahhhhh……..did I mention the girls?”
What is your favourite fucked up in Ibiza story?
MARK – “Dave’s is definitely the one…brilliant!”
DAVE – “Walking on the beach just outside Mambo’s, I take a seat looking at the beautiful sunset when this couple sit down beside me. They look at me, start whispering to themselves, look at me again, the guy turns to me and says, “I can’t believe it, it’s really you”. I look behind me, then straight back at him ” er, yeah “. He says “you have made me and my girlfriend so happy, this is amazing” – she then joins in…”I hope you don’t mind if I take a picture with you?” I say “not at all” – they start to jump around with excitement. By this time I’m thinking WTF, I’ll just go with it. “Do you mind if we hug?” “Ok”. Their friends see and ask to be in the picture, they all gather round to see the results, come up to me, give me hugs, saying things like “it’s been an honour”, and walk on down the beach. Mark then comes up to me with a puzzled look…”what was all that about then…”
“I haven’t got a fucking clue mate, but it felt good!”
Now that lads we love! What is the song that always reminds you of Ibiza?
MARK – “Erick Morillo & Eddie Thoneick ft. Shawnee Taylor – Live Your Life.”
DAVE – “The Beloved – Sun Rising.”
We are loving your musical styles you tap into, everything from Drum & Bass to Hip Hop to House. Throw some names at us of early dance artists that first enticed you into our wicked world…
MARK – “I was a drum & bass head at first – DJ Hype, Grooverider and LTJ Bukem were huge for me…then I got into US house – Roger Sanchez, MAW, Roger Sanchez Mousse T, Farley & Heller & Jazz n Groove were faves…”
DAVE – “MAW, Romanthony, DJ Disciple, untold amounts of Strictly Rhythm, Herbie Hancock, Roy Ayers, early jungle, UK Garridge……..”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
1. The Str8jackets & Capitol A feat. Eva K – Time To Get Live (Etienne Ozborne Rmx)
2. Jay C & Jonathan Ulysses – Skills of An Expert (Falseface Rmx)
3. S. Chu feat Terri Walker – Closure
4. Dansson & Marlon Hoffstadt – Shake That (Shadow Child / Mark Knight Mixes)
5. Bontan – Move On Out
6. The Str8jackets – Dis Dis
7. Julio Bashmore ft. Jessie Ware – Peppermint (Hot For You)
8. Janelle Monae – Dance Apocalyptic (Chocolate Puma Rmx)
9. Prok & Fitch feat Max Linen – Man With Soul
10. Ninetoes – Finder (The Str8jackets vs Abel Ramos Private Edit)
True or false? You ordered in some straitjackets from America when the band kicked off?
“TRUE! And to make matters worse, customs flagged them as hazardous so we had to go and collect them from the airport and explain our intentions!!! We think they suspected us of kidnapping or something!”
If you could write yourself a letter today and have it delivered to yourself 3 years ago, what would you write?
MARK – “Start your own record label immediately!!!”
DAVE – “Get a day job!, problem is, I wouldn’t take my advice.”
Who are some of the producers from around the world you are giving high fives to right now?
MARK – “Wow there’s so many! For Str8jackets sets I cant get enough of Prok & Fitch, Chocolate Puma, Etienne Ozborne & Falseface to name a few…also really loving the cooler sounds of Disclosure, Bontan & Duke Dumont stuff…”
DAVE – “Hot Since 82, Eats Everything, S.Chu, M.K., Audiowhores, Julio Bashmore…”
What is the last song you heard?
MARK – “The Tensnake Remix of London Grammar ‘Hey Now’ (nice!)”
DAVE – “Julio Bashmore ft. Jessie Ware ‘Hot For You’.”
It may not be good for our image, but The Str8jackets love…
MARK – “My family, Jerk Chicken and my Macbook.”
DAVE – “Family, of course, Mega, the Str8jacket hound, walking by the river, picking daisies……”
And finally, what is coming next from you studio wise?
“We’re currently wrapping up the follow up to banger to Dis Dis…then our single with Capitol A ‘Time To Get Live’ is coming soon on Deluded with new mixes along with new projects with Sam Obernik and Dave’s Daughter Telena in the works…”
