Interview - Dirtyphonics
When a person thinks of drum’n'bass, they don’t necessarily make the connection between the genre and a bastion of cultural temptation such as France. To make the judgment that the genre is not alive and well in the back alleys and clubs of the nation, would, however, be a mistake, and one group is showing the world the French scene’s vibrancy.
Forming over five years ago, the five lads from Dirtyphonics, Playte, Capskod, Pho, Pitch In and MC Youthstar have captured the soul of d’n'b in a way that once again helps to invigorate the genre. Combining production techniques with an innovative and exhilarating live performance, and having been signed to the salubrious RAM record, their sound has managed to grab attention world round.
“We’ve always been about fresh new music, drum and bass being one of them,” remarks Playte. “The great thing about electronic music in general is that in addition to writing melodies and experimenting with grooves like in any traditional music, you also can control everything, create your own sounds … it’s an infinite playground on which you create your own rules.”
Playing by their own rules is nothing new to the Dirtyphonics, with the group comprising a number of artists and designers. This artistic streak throughout is an obvious permutation between all of their endeavors, music none withstanding.
“The creative process is quite the same in all art forms,” Playte explains. “We make music because we need to be creative, opposed to being creative because we make music. All art forms enrich each other and are inspirational to us. When we start a track, we like to start from a word, a concept, a movie sequence that will lead us in the creative process. We aren’t only inspired by art, however, even a mathematics formula can be a source of creativity.”
Known by their fans for their off the hook live and energetic performances, one would thing that the discrepancy between the two would be minor, however the subtle differences of environment that separate the two leads to a different dynamic for each side of the coin.
“Producing and playing the live are two very different things,” Playte explains. ”In the studio, we each work on all aspects but not all together at the same time. One of us can be working on graphics while two are producing and another is simultaneously coming up with new ideas… Then we switch.”
“On stage we each have a defined role that functions like a piece of a puzzle. Our live performances are different because there are four of us playing music with our MC laying out lyrics and hyping the crowd. It’s a hybrid show, half concert, half DJ set; a musical story in which we play all our melodies and basses live with MPCs and effects, filters etc…”
With such a range of creativity, the forecast for their continued success in 2009 looks bright, with a number of releases on the way.
“French Fuck” and “Bonus Level” are going to be re-pressed;” Playte cites of their previous singles. “The Secret” (featuring Tali) and “Quarks” are about to be released on “The Quarks E.P”, alongside Ram Trilogy and Shimon & Disaszt. We have a couple of other 12’s lined up on AudioPorn and we also recently remixed Shimon’s track, “The Shadow Knows”.
With so many new works in the pipeline it’s no coincidence that the boys of Dirtyphonics are enthusiastic as to the direction of the musical world that they find themselves immersed in, and happily pay homage to the variety of new sounds that are constantly appearing.
“It’s going in a lot of different directions and this is good!” Playte enthuses, excited as to the industry as a whole. “People seem to be listening to many different genres and are also becoming more open than before. By breaking boundaries set by “genres” you can mix so many diverse elements together and create your own musical cocktails.”
.. occassionally I get more material thats interesting than fits in an article, so heres your ….
Additional Errata:
How long have you been producing together, and how do you work together? Do any of you do solo work as well?
We have been making music together for five years now as Dirtyphonics. We also have side projects, either solo or with our respective bands, which is a good way of discovering new things and bringing them back together to Dirtyphonics.
What is it about your group that has been so successful and what do you think it is that really sets you apart from others?
There are four of us in Dirtyphonics, with very strong personalities, and we all come from different musical backgrounds. We dig everywhere and put loads of different influences in our music. What probably set us apart from others is that we don’t like sticking to the same sounds over and over. We challenge each other all the time and our music evolves and takes different forms. Anything can happen !
France isn’t traditionally seen as a bastion of drum and bass, how do you find the scene there and how did you find the relationship between the French scene and the rest of the world? Is it markedly different?
The scene is pretty healthy. On a global scale it’s getting very professional, which is a good thing, thanks to promoters like Jungle Juice or Black Label. There also are lots of smaller parties so everyone can find something to their taste.
Banging out tunes around the world brings a multi-faceted mood to the music- the people you play to are culturally different. It makes each show very special.
You recently did some work for Tali, can you tell me some more about that? If you could name your greatest musical achievement so far, what would it be and why?
Tali is a very good friend of ours. One day, on the way back from a visit to London we decided to make a track for her; when she came over to Paris a couple weeks later and heard the track, she loved it and started to write lyrics immediately. By the end of the day, the track was recorded. We were all riding on the same vibe in the studio that day, which it made everything really easy. Tali is very pro, amazingly talented and extremely easy going.
Playing live is a great musical achievement, being all together on stage, playing our tracks and seeing the crowd go mad ! It’s a great feeling, every time !
Can you give us a run-down on what you have been doing lately tour wise?
We just got back from Portugal and The Netherlands. It was awesome! Intense parties, great vibes. We’re going to visit a lot of different countries this year as we’re taking the live all over the globe so be prepared for a Dirty party near you !
What can punters expect from you when you guys play down here?
Playte is flying over for a DJ set at the end of February … Expect loads of brand new music, lots of energy and much fun !
For more infos check :
www.dirtyphonics.com
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