Lose Your Friends

Who were your first inspirations that originally got you into Breaks?
I suppose it was a progression from the Big beat style of the middle 90s. Once big beat got plain silly I got into listening to what I suppose became known as breaks. I suppose I was into it because it was exciting and very very different. Straight house was too formulaic - too straight - too basic. I loved the difference in it - and it made me feel passionate about music. it was a natural attraction.

Is it really about the music in the UK or its really about the drugs?
Well it goes hand in hand - as it does in most places. Iits a tricky thing. As a DJ-artist you have to accept people will abuse these things. When I or anyone else plays - there will be people in the room on the chemicals. I suppose it its sad - but inevitable given the nature of the music. In all honesty - I've never dabbled - for me, its always been about the music. But I suppose I can see it from the other viewpoint - people get out what they put in, as in all things it seems.

Do the Mafia’s control the parties?
Not that I'm aware of - and I promoted in London and Birmingham for 5 years.

Do you use the same vinyl manufacturer every time you go to press with a new release?
Yes - we use the same person and place - the name escapes me - I've no reason to change at the moment. if I can get a better deal - possibly
but this place is good and I have a professional relationship with them - and they make a really good cuppa too

Do you look like Ben Sherman?
I couldn't say - I have no idea what he looks like - are we talking about the clothing guy here? lol. I look like Jude Law. Rory just looks hairy.

How long did it take to learn and master all your equipment before you found the sound that you were looking for and you were comfortable enough to produce what you wanted?
Well I'm still learning and I hope the day never comes when I've mastered all of it, that’s most of the fun of producing - what will this sound like? What will this do to the sound?  80% of our sounds are accidents. The skill is being able to make the accidents happen. As for how long it took, we’ll I've been messing around on Cubase for 5 years and Rory for at least 10, possibly longer.
 
Any tips on making fatter bass lines?
Subs and a virus. I think it comes done to experimentation. We have never had a baseline I'm happy with, or should I say 100% happy with. I wish I knew the answer to that one - I guess I should go ask DJ Quest, Mutany or Transformer Man - I'm sure they have the secret written down somewhere.

Can you tell us about the Ravers in the UK...any funny stories to share?
For breaks - well most are a sound bunch. I've never had too many problems - although I've been hit with a bottle at one gig a few years back. But there are always a few oddballs out there. People are generally cool - I'm all smiles even if just one person says they liked my set - means the world to me. Which asks why do I play? Is it for myself or other people? In all honesty - I just love people dancing and enjoying what I'm playing - that’s why I do it. Pure and simple

Have you ever worked with an MPC to produce drum loops?
Nope, cant say that I have. I tend to do it all in Battery and then map it to to Cubase. I've not been doing this thing for very long - I'm still 90% DJ and 10% Producer so I'm happy to keep things as they are - for now anyway.

Do you use a lot of sample CDs for sounds?
Yes I do, but mostly for sound effects and vocals, stuff like that. All the drums are sampled from old Funk and Northern Soul records before being beefed up and messed about with. I'm happy doing them this way at the moment.

Do you synthesize allot of your own sounds?
Yes - it takes a while but its loads of fun messing around with things to try and get the sound that’s sitting in your head. That can be the most frustrating part, especially as I'm rather new to the production side of things. Rory's far far better at this than me - he can get those synths to do stuff I couldn't imagine!

Have you ever found your music on any mp3 servers such as Kaza? And if so, how does this make you feel and how does this affect you?
To be honest, so far I haven't found anything by me or any of the tracks that are due to come out on the label. The whole P2P network issue has been gone over at such length I really don’t feel I can add any more value to the discussion. That said, once the track has been released one can only be realistic and expect it to turn up on the file sharing networks. Of course, its an issue at the heart of the whole industry and its not something that's going to be cleared up any time soon. In some ways its up to us in the industry to evolve and incorporate this type of transfer medium if we are to stay afloat. Its all about positive change here, I'm just not sure what it is yet.

Are there any candy ravers left? And if so... would you touch their pants?
Not sure what you mean by this I'm afraid. I'm tempted to do a Google search on it but I'm sure I'll end up in some dodgy porn site that will cause me a world of pain as my wife will walk in on me for the nano second the site is on my browser screen! As for touching their pants - probably not. Are we taking undies or trousers here by the way? Too many "wrong" possibilities to consider!

How did you feel when you first DJed in Spain in front of a massive crowd? What was the experience like? So far, only during the hours of sleep. I have played in Spain but only in a small bar in Barcelona. I've not been to one of those massive parties down in the South. I'm ever hopeful though - hint hint.....
 
How did you lads hook up with BreaksFM?
BreaksFM was all about being in the right place at the right time - as is often the way really. I had been talking to Transformer Man who had decided to take some time away from the station so he could concentrate on spending more time in the studio. He suggested I contacted the BFM management about filling in for him, and the rest is history. I started off on a Monday night between 9 - 11 GMT which has now changed to a bi weekly slot on a Friday night every 1st and 3rd week of the month between 10 - 12 GMT. This is perfect for me as it still gives me the exposure of the station, and enables me to play out the tracks to a a World wide audience. It also gives me free weeks to play out or do other things. I'm really enjoying the show and I've had nothing but support from the listeners - all in all, its been brilliant.

Any future aspirations or Words of wisdom?
Well, now that you mention it. I'm hoping my label, Lose Your Friends, has a successful first few releases which leads on to bigger and better things. I'm also taking the label, and the people on it, on tour in April to Europe and hopefully to the Sates and Canada in Sept. 2005. So if anyone is interested in putting our show on, please get in touch! www.nomoreshadows.com On another tip, I'm working on a live breaks outfit at the moment. We have only had a few sessions but its already a whole lot of fun. There are 9 of us in all, most of them being session players with an interest in doing something different. We have a full horn section too which is quite unique to this sort of endeavor. As I've said, its early days but we hope to have some things ready in a few months. Needless to say we wont all be going on the tour - that’s for another time!
 
Shout outs:
Everyone at BreaksFm from the listeners, DJs and management - much respect to you all. I'd also like to say a big thanks to the guys at Acid Jazz Records, Vodafone (for all those "free" calls), my wife and to everyone who has taken the time to drop me a line in the past.

Links:
www.loseyourfriends.co.uk - info@loseyourfriends.co.uk www.nomoreshadows.com - nms@nomoreshadows.com