FRIEDMYLITTLEBRAIN

Survival is part of a shockingly good lineup on the 6th October (see flyer at end), so decided to catch up.

DB: Hello sir, what is new?

S: Hello! I’ve just finished a new LP with silent witness for Dispatch. It’s due for release at the end of the year and as a warm up to this Ant (Dispatch) has signed a 12 from myself and Break which is out on October the 8th… getting a lot of love for this one! Here’s a link to it if you haven’t checked it out already

DB: Some may just compile tracks to create an album, and some music fans may just cherry pick tunes. Do you believe in the validity of the album format, same as it ever was?

S: Yes definitely! When me and Dan (Silent Witness) were writing this LP we were very conscious of how it sounded as a whole. Just because the format has changed I don’t think that has to change the way we write an LP. The new Octane and DLR LP is a really good example of that. When putting the LP together with Ant we made sure it all flows together nicely and it sort of keeps you guessing what’s coming next. We also wanted the digital release to fit on to a CD so you could burn it and listen to it as a conventional LP.

DB: I think that’s first time I’ve heard that last point made, so simple. So in general what’s your approach to producing music? Is it just you solo or do you have people in the wings that you work with who bring in extra ideas, vocals etc?

S: Obviously I’ve just written an LP with Silent Witness so I’ve been in the studio with him for the last year or so. We’ve done a few colabs on this record with people like Klute, Cern, Ruby Wood (Submotion Orchestra) and Lowqui.

DB: What sort of things influenced you on the D&B path as you developed as an artist?

S: I love all sorts really. I grew up listening to hardcore from about 1990 that’s what made me wont to write music. I love old soul and funk… I’ve been caning an old Bill Withers LP I found recently. I think my blueprint for the music in my tunes for years have been Sade, especially my LP on Exit. I really wanted to try and recreate some of those vibes but in D&B.

DB: So how do you approach playing live?

S: It depends what the night is like and what tunes I’ve got in the bag. I like to play a bit of everything if I can.

DB: … and it follows, what sort of things are killing you right now in the box?

S: Been really feeling some of the new Zero T and Need For Mirrors stuff.

DB: So back to those releases, when can we expect them?

S: Me and Break ‘Stano’ is out on the 8th of October and my new LP with Silent Witness should be out by the end of the year

DB: My album session question: any album session, any tune, any artist in history: which one would you have loved to have been present at?

S: It would have to be Isaac Hayes’s version of Walk On By, one of my fave peaces of music ever!

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