Adam F and DJ Fresh feature – Published in ATM Magazine and Serie B Magazine, 2004

Order in Kaos

As the old saying goes ‘two heads are better than one’ and in the last year alone two of the most famous dnb producers have yet again proved that there is a lot of truth in that saying. Adam F and Fresh joined forces in 2003 to form Breakbeat Kaos and in the process create a label and camp that would literally take the scene by storm within a year. Having just returned from an extensive stay in the US, proving beneficial for both the label and its artists on more than one level, ATM had the chance to catch up with those two workhorses of dnb over the phone to find out exactly what they have been up to stateside and what we can expect in the coming year. Trust us things are only going to get bigger.

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written by Laurent

A-Trak feature – Published in ATM magazine, 2004

A longer version of the q&a this feature is based on is available online at spinscience.org.uk and ukhh.com.

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Being a ‘child prodigy’ is never easy, especially when you are constantly under the spotlight, but there is one Canadian kid that has showed that when it comes to DJing an early start doesn’t necesseraly mean you burn out by the age of 20. Starting at the tender age of 13, A-Trak had won his first DJ battle by 15 and in the same year had become the youngest ever World DMC winner. He followed this by winning every major world title by the age of 18, including ITF, Vestax and DMC Teams. Not content of being the most precarious and one of the most talented DJ by the turn of the century, A-Trak was also a member of two of the best and most influential DJ crews, namely the Invisibl Skratch Piklz and the Allies alongside such scratch luminaries as Craze, Q-Bert, D-Styles and Mix Master Mike. But like most world winners before him, A-Trak learnt that battling isn’t everything and that to survive as a ‘scratch artist’ you must move on and in a way ‘mature’ from the battles. And that is exactly what the Canadian wonder has been doing since his departure from battling in 2000.
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written by Laurent

Killa Kela feature – Published in Serie B magazine 2006

Beatboxing is often referred to as the fifth element in hip hop - the one that is most easily forgotten but which has always played an integral part of the culture. From the days of Biz Markie and the Juice Crew to groups like Foreign Beggars, Spit Kingdom and Saian Supa Crew via Rhazel and the Roots, beatboxing has always been with us in one form or another. And when you think of beatboxing and Europe, chances are the name Killa Kela will be the first that springs to mind, or mouth. Since bursting onto the scene in the late 90s, Kela has fast established himself as the continent’s most talented beatboxer, or multi-vocalist as he once remarked. Be it solo or with crews, the man has brought an entirely new dimension and perspective to an art too often ignored or relegated to the back. With a second album about to drop (officially), non stop live tours and bags of music forthcoming it was only right that we catch up and find out what 06 has in stores for him and the Spit Kingdom crew.

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written by Laurent

Mr Lif feature – Published in Serie B magazine 2006

A full length version of the q&a this interview is based on is available online at www.spinscience.org.uk and ukhh.com.

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Return of the Colossus

Having become a firm fan favourite in the 9 years since he first released a record, Mr. Lif has in many ways a lot to live up to with his new album, ‘Mo Mega’. Regularly praised by critics and fans since his official introduction to the rap world back in 2000, Lif is an MC known for many things: intricate rhyming skills, politically charged content, an ability to articulate and deliver thoughts that aren’t the normal staple of hip hop and a talent for supercharged live shows. While these skills have earned him a reputation as one of Boston’s finest hip hop exports, a 21st century Rakim for many, they’ve also brought a fair share of criticism.

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written by Laurent

Roni Size & Bryan Gee feature – Published as cover feature in ATM Magazine, 2005

This is the full length version of a q&a session I did with Roni Size and Bryan Gee, ahead of Roni’s ‘Return To V’ album release. A shorter, edited version of the q&a was published as the cover feature in ATM Magazine.

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Return of the prodigal son

There are defining moments in music that change the way you perceive it. In dnb these moments can be few and far between but they stay in your mind for years after. The first time Marky hit these windy shores, the Latin invasion that followed, the arrival of Ozzy trio Pendulum on the scene, the recent return of Photek to the frontline are just some of these moments. More recently one of dnb’s leading names has returned to his starting ground, joining forces again with one dnb’s leading ambassadors and labels. The names? Roni Size and Bryan Gee of course, and the album is none other than the prodigal Return To V, Roni’s fifth album outing. So what better way to celebrate this triumphant return than by cornering both Roni and Bryan and quizzing them on their origins and the soon to be most famous return in dnb history. It’s been ten years in the making…

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written by Laurent

Skream feature – Published in ATM Magazine, 2006

Welcome to the Future

Skream is what you’d call a bit of a musical wonder - soon after he started making music at 15, he became one of the producers responsible for establishing the grounds for the evolution of Dubstep. Then a few years later his anthemic ‘Midnight Request Line’ would prove to be crucial in fuelling the fires of a worldwide interest and spread of the sound. In just under 6 years he’s proven to be one of Dubstep’s most interesting and talented producers. Something he is about to further establish with the upcoming release of his first solo album.

It all started when he heard some friends making beats – having DJed from the age of 11, making tracks ‘was the next logical step’. Around the same time he’d started working at the Big Apple record shop in Croydon, a shop and label that were deeply influential in the birth and early developments of Dubstep. Through Big Apple, Skream met Hatcha, the pioneering DJ who at the time was spinning the darker 2step sounds emanating from the south London borough. ‘That stuff just took me, I was on that commercial sort of Garage, but the twist and difference in the sound was just mad.’ He then hooked up with Benga, another young and influential producer, by playing beats down the phone to each other, and started on a road that would lead him to become one of the most prolific producers of any genre – as testified by the 1000+ tracks sitting on his hard drives five years later. ‘I wasn’t interested in school one little bit, I was a little fucker, but music was something I could concentrate on and being involved in it was always something I wanted to do – it seemed like a good career choice if you could get in there’.

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written by Laurent

Kaikoo feature – Published in Serie B magazine, 2005

This feature is based on interviews conducted with DJ Baku and DJ Kentaro and accompanying feature and additional interviews conducted in the process of 2 years, all of which are available online in full at spinscience.org.uk.

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Kaikoo – A look at Japanese DJ culture and turntablism in the 21st century

Kaikoo is a Japanese word that roughly means ‘coming across somebody and the chance born from that encounter’. It’s very fitting to how this article was made possible and it’s also the title of a DVD documentary about DJs and producers on the Tokyo underground scene.
Japan has for a long time exerted a sort of exotic appeal to westerners as a land of differences, where things are not quite the same. Since the advent of hip hop culture over 20 years ago, Japan has taken its place amongst this worldwide scene – first by appropriating the music and culture and then by changing and evolving it so that it’s no longer about Japanese artists trying to imitate US or foreign counterparts but instead about Japanese artists expressing themselves through the culture and music.

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written by Laurent