The list of music that Revill has released on his labels reads like a roll call of bass music’s hottest talent over the last five years. Dress 2 Sweat, his vinyl label which focused on Baltimore club music, released early cuts from Piddy Py, Bok Bok and L-Vis 1990 (who now own Night Slugs together), whilst Wireblock – the label he began with Calum and Neil Morton (Spencer and Nelson respectively) – released recordings by Rustie and Hudson Mohawk, amongst others.
At the end of 2009, Dress 2 Sweat and Wireblock combined with Stuffrecords and Numbers. was born (from their club night of the same name). They started off with the massive Deadboy hit If U Want Me and their success was assured.
Revill has just come back from Italy and has two shows to play in England the night we chat. He has one day off before his Australian tour but it’s not something he minds too much. “I get restless at home,” he confesses. “Sometimes I have days when I feel like I really need a break from it all, and then I have like two free days at home, and I just want to be out DJing. I’m kind of an addict!”
It’s not such a bad addiction when you consider where it takes him. “The most exotic gig I’ve done is probably Holy Ship which I just got back from a few weeks ago. It’s a cruise that sets sail in Miami and takes you all the way to the Bahamas and back, stopping off at a private Island on the way. It was absolute madness. A few of my craziest tour stories probably happened on that boat, but for sure they are all too crazy to print, to be honest,” he says with a laugh.
None of the talk about his labels is to take away from Revill’s skill as a DJ. If anything, Numbers. is an extension of his wide tastes and a recognition of his great ear for talent. His own star has been rising over the last few years as Jackmaster. A Jackmaster set is eclectic and moves through everything, embracing guilty pleasures and forgotten classics in the same breath as unreleased dance floor bombs. “I don’t tend to think about genres per se,” Revill reveals. “I tend to classify music in terms of energy levels instead.”
Things really moved up a notch when Fabric released Revill’s mix in 2011. Their Fabric.live series is highly respected internationally. “It was a big step up for me as a DJ and a major one to tick off the list. I’m still really proud of that mix and without it there’s no way I’d be living this life and touring amazing countries like Australia.” It wasn’t long after the release that Revill had to make the decision to quit his day job. “I had to consciously make the decision a year or so ago. I was juggling a full time job and the DJing for a good few years and it got to the stage where I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. DJing is effectively a night shift job, so i was doing night shift two or three days a week, then a full time day job for the rest of the week. It was exhausting. It was a big relief to be able to just concentrate on the DJing side of things but I do miss working at Rubadub every day.”
Having worked in a record store, does Revill feel that the art of ‘crate digging’ is being lost? “Aside from the clubs, I guess most music discovery happens on YouTube now,” he says. “Sometimes I get lost on that site for hours just sifting through the ‘related’ tab at the side. If I do that for three hours and find just one gem then I’m satisfied. I guess that’s a kind of 21st century method of crate digging, right?” So who has he found lately? “I really like this guy from London called SOPHIE, who has some stuff coming out on Numbers as well actually.”
“DJ wise, i really wish there was someone young that came to mind and I could champion. Maybe I’ll find him or her in Australia!”
BY SIMON HAMPSON
