The Mix 040: Fold

You’re fresh off the plane from your first Asian tour, how did you find it?

I’ve done bits and bobs before but this was my first time leaving Europe officially and it was an amazing experience. Osaka was my highlight, the gig was killer and I really liked the city, it’s got a really interesting aesthetic and feel to it. The club I played at reminded me of Plastic People a little bit. Low ceiling, big soundsystem and no pretence. It’s a really intimate venue: I was right in there with the crowd and they were well up for it. There’s not much more you can ask for than that really.

It’s amazing to see how far this slice of the UK underground music spectrum has travelled.

People knew my tunes!

Were they singing ‘Billa’?

They were having a go yeah, but Vapour’s too fast for most, haha.

It never fails to blow my mind how far this thing has spread, and it just shows you how small the world is with the internet. To see people engage with it in every corner of the world is just mind-bending. I played very UK-focussed sets on the tour, I wasn’t fucking about, and so did IZCO, who played in Tokyo and Osaka with me. Watching people react to his music was so cool.

It was a really inspiring and humbling experience, and it makes you feel like all the work that you put in is worthwhile.

You’ve been in the music game for quite a while now, releasing your first Homepark record in 2010 and putting your first solo release out in 2011, however in the past 18 months or so you seem reinvigorated and there’s been a noticeable shift in your sound.

There’s probably been a shift in myself as well! I’ve embraced the fact that, rather than being a part-timer, music is a big part of who I am and always will be. Even though I’m part-time music, I still have a day job working in water treatment, I’m a lot more focussed and driven now.

Read this next: Don’t give up the day job?: A generation of DJs are working 9 to 5 without compromising their dreams

Prior to ‘Billa’, your tunes were a lot slower and groovier.

I love house music and I had a great time making house music, but when I put ‘Billa’ out it felt like it was one of the truest records, to me, that I’ve ever written. I grew up listening to Force FM, you know. Instead of making music for the sake of it, it feels a lot more meaningful now.

‘Billa’ was the first release on my label FLDIN2 and following on from that ‘Bottomless Brunch’ came very naturally. The next 10 tunes I’ve written all come from the same palette too. I’m on a roll where every new tune I make sounds like the best I’ve ever written, so I’m just trying to keep that going.

You’re part of a generation which grew up listening to garage in its inception on pirate radio. What’s your take on speed garage, the next generation’s tribute act?

Sometimes being part of the first wave is a blessing, sometimes it’s a curse. The same thing applies to being new to something: you’re not going to follow certain rules or ideas. I’ve got a deep understanding of the genre but sometimes that can set you back.

If the new sound moves dancefloors, it moves dancefloors. Crowds have a completely different understanding of what’s going on now. I would say that they’re, arguably, less informed, even though we live in the information age.

There’s no wrong or right here, if it moves a crowd it moves a crowd. I’m not saying I love it or dislike it, I just gravitate towards what works for me.

Read this next: The 15 best speed garage records released in ’97 and ’98

To the uninitiated, what is #dubplate season?

I started out in drum ‘n’ bass and then ventured into garage. Back in the day, there was an exclusivity culture: all the top DJs would be given the top tunes by the other top DJs. It was essentially a meritocracy where if you’re the best at what you do, you get accepted, but, if you’re not, no one gives a fuck. You really had to earn your stripes.

It’s ruthless and it’s competitive but I think there’s something in that way of operation that I miss. Now it’s not so much the case, if you chat loads of shit on the internet or take good photos you might get more attention. The focus has shifted away from the music, which is a shame, but, you know, things change.

Dubplate season is my way of replicating that culture. Technology has made things so accessible and attainable, so it’s nice to hold back a little. I’m making tunes that people want to play but I’m more exclusive with it. I only give my tunes out to people I really rate, like my mate Pete [Joy Orbison] and Ben [UFO]. If they play my tunes, I’m happy.

Beyond your solo project, 2-step has started to feature in Well Street Records releases. Buckley’s ‘Gloam’ EP and COIDO’s forthcoming four-tracker come to mind immediately.

Very observant! What we’re doing at Well Street is slowly shifting our sound. We’ve built a solid foundation with our values and ideals but that doesn’t mean we have to do the same thing over and over again. We don’t want to sit on one idea, we want to keep things moving. COIDO’s EP is a great example of this, it’s a blend of Well Street sound design and the new garage thing which is going on.

We’re making our releases a bit more club-ready now, a bit more direct. We want our tunes to work on the dancefloor as well as the headphones.