Likewise, their sound is their own, “for better or for worse,” he describes. “We approach every track differently but that keeps things interesting. Sometimes we will sit down wanting to write something with a particular feel or sound; other times we just mess about until something sounds good. Usually we try to find a couple of good samples. We still go hunting through old record bins! A lot of producers only use sample packs, which you can buy online, but the thing is everyone uses those, so everything sounds the same.”
“For us, it’s a bit like everyone using the same synth. At the moment everyone in almost every genre is using Massive by NI for bass. It’s that ‘talking sound’ and it bores the shit out of me. What kit do we use? Well there’s a lot: some choice pieces include our API 2500 bus comp, our Manley Pultec EQ, our Andromeda A6, a Sherman Filter Bank, an old Roland Space Echo Tape Delay, plus all the usual software like Cubase, Abelton and Kontakt. When we do State Of Mind Live, we roll out some crazy gear. We even built our own mixing desk!”
The lads are also still at it in the studio, pumping out the hits. “Yeah, we have been really busy. We have tunes coming out left right and center. In fact 2011 has been our most prolific year to date. According to rolldabeats, we’ve had 29 tunes released this year and there are a couple more to come! There is a new collaboration with Holland’s Nymfo coming up in a couple of weeks on Commercial Suicide, then a couple more 12s from our label to drop before Christmas. After that, we have releases locked with Viper, Subtitles, Black Sun Empire plus some other smaller labels. I have a feeling 2012 is going be even bigger!”
The other big mantra for the lads is not to put out music that has no emotional content. They reckon even a tune you hate is better than a tune you don’t care about and forget after two minutes. So the guys continue to focus on releasing stuff that has that little spark, not just something that might sound fat in a mix in a club on the right sound system. “Basically, we just love making music and couldn’t imagine doing anything else to be honest,” Pat says. “I also love the technical side of modern production. I have subscriptions to three different production magazines, read interviews online for fun and am a total gear nut. I practically live in the studio.”
And could he do anything else? “I wish!” he chimes. “I love making music, but it is a job. That comes with a degree of pressure. There is some stressful stuff like running of the company and paying bills. Even keeping up with the music industry is stressful in a way. There are all these new trends and movements and social networks, and deciding what to follow and what’s bullshit can be testing. Having said that, I wouldn’t do anything else. I love making and performing music and always will!”
Of course all of the whingeing is for naught when they’re on tour because after the studio, their second great love is of course travelling the world and spreading the drum and bass message – and they don’t mind pushing those boundaries a little. “What we play depends on the crowd. If the vibe is right I’ll play anything. Usually a couple of electro/breaks things and some glitch hop finds its way in. I rarely play any dubstep simply because it’s become rather cliché.”
And being cliché is about as far from their modus operandi as possible. Read their recent album, Nil By Ear. “That album was a bit of a concept album,” Pat says. “We wanted to make something where the focus wasn’t about it being the latest floor filling single plus some other random tracks. The idea was that it was more for listening to at home or in the car or whatever, from start to finish. That’s why the tunes link up and there are quite a lot of vocal tracks to keep the average person interested. It was received really well in general. We were nominated for a NZ music award (our second) but lost out unfortunately.”
Other than that, their label has been trucking along nicely and the boys are thinking about doing a compilation album next year – but it’s not confirmed. For now you’ll have to cope with plenty of fresh tunes, good djing and some antics. “It’s the usual,” Pat says. “I’m bringing our MC from NZ, Woody. He’s a great hype man. Every time I’ve played in Melbourne it’s literally been madness so don’t let me down this time!”
BY RK
