DJ K
INTERVIEW TAKEN FROM EXTRADJ.COM NOVEMBER 2011
(READ IN RUSSIAN)
ExtraDJ.com week begins with the wonderful news to all my readers! Approaching the second edition of our podcast, Extraordinary and his character will be one of the best DJs and producers in jungle music and dramnbeys - Andrew Matsubara, a well-known public under the name Dj K! During his career, Andrew has published many best-selling jungle that shook and continues to shake dance floors all over the world. Andrew also known as the founder of the label of the same name and Killa Records podcast. Music is his sense of life, and as he himself said in the interview below, this is what he does best.
As part of the podcast Extraordinary, ExtraDJ.com talked to Andrew about his career and work, learn why their setah he plays the most diverse in style and music figured out how to Dj K refers to the modern musical trends. In addition, our guest in the figures reported on the current situation in the vinyl market, and also shared his impressions from his travels in Eastern Europe. And, of course, revealed some details about the content of the upcoming podcast.
Also recall that on Friday November 18 Dj K once again perform in Kiev at the party BSF Massive Festival, which will be held at Home Concept Night Club.
The second issue of Extraordinary Podcast will appear on your players this week, while we offer you to read an interesting interview with quite remarkable artist and a man Dj K!
Hi, Andrew! Nice to meet you, even if via email! What had you been doing before starting to answer those questions?
Nice to meet you too Roman, and the introduction to extradj. I have been working, I never stop. I am usually up early working on web stuff, new projects, promotion, going to the gym, taking classes, or just reading and checking out what the new trends or distractions on the internet are :)
OK, via email is pretty close, but you are going to come to Ukraine in 2 weeks on BSF Massive Festival, where all your ukrainian fans including me could met you in real. And I know, you have been in Ukraine before, remember those parties?
How can I forget - the Massive in Kiev is one of the biggest and most appreciative community of junglists I have ever encountered. You all make me feel like a star everytime I travel there and it is always the highlight of my year to arrive in Ukraine.
Lets talk now about you and your music. You produce and play mainly jungle music, can you tell about some essentials of it’s history? Why you choose exactly jungle for yourself and how did you start your career?
Alright, throughout my school years I was always interested in music that was based in electronic sampling. By 1987 there was already quite a few musicians creating entire bands based on electronics - and once I dug a bit deeper I found that the ones I liked even better were the more underground, rougher, futuristic sounds. By the year Kurt Kobain died, I was already searching for music that was being played at raves - music with pounding beats and spacey-sounds that brought you into an entirely different world. It started with Techno, then breakbeats and eventually by 1995 it was Jungle. I can clearly recall the fury of chopped up beats I would hear at these parties thinking it was the most out of this world sounds I could ever imagine. If there was ever a music I could follow for the rest of my life, it was this. I had learned to make electronic music in Tracker software around this same time, however I was more inspired back then to produce breakbeat music - industrial-sounding big beat tunes similar to that being made by Fatboy Slim and Prodigy. I had been dj-ing for my school and making mixtapes all throughout the 90's, but it took me until 99 before I finally got a set of turntables a mixer and really collecting vinyl. As I started spinning records I chose a mix of jump-up, jungle and hardcore (gabber). The house or techno scene seemed too slow, too boring for my emotions. Since my circle of friends in the late 90's were either ravers or promoters, I got the chance to spin here and there at opening spots, but at the end of the decade I played one of the biggest parties in my city which really became the turning point after which the message boards lit up with local party kids asking when I would be playing next. The following years my booking schedule was completely packed and I started an afterhours residency which pretty much cemented me as a local favorite. It was in these next two years that I developed my signature sound of danceable dnb mixed with ragga jungle. It was also this time that I started trying my hand at producing dnb and jungle. It didn't really make sense for me to continue producing 140 bpm breaks that I couldn't fit into my dj sets. With the software to make good dnb in its infancy, I took instead to creating sample-heavy jungle just how I had done with my industrial breakbeat productions. The result quickly became apparent that this was something I was good at and I haven't looked back since. I still produce the occasional tech-, electro-step or hybrid genre track, but my main inspiration remains jungle.
And now you’re experimenting with dub-, drumstep and many other styles in your sets. In description to one of Killa Podcasts you wrote “So why CAN’T jungle, drum & bass, dubwize, jump-up, drumstep, gangsta hip-hop, tech step and liquid all exist in peace and harmony in one mix?” Comment this please!
The re-occuring theme of my podcasts are themes. Actually, I am joking - although I love to create themed mixes (and I do this often), the Podcast concept is Variety - a mixed bag of fun tunes. The only criteria I have is that it moves me. Either makes me want to straight up bounce to the beat, groove to the rhythms or start punching the air and fucking shit up, with the occasional laidback smoothie to catch my breath and reflect. When switching it up so much like this, there is never a dull moment. There are many mixes I have listened to where I already know what to expect next. The beat remains virtually the same and the energy level never really fluctuates or attains a higher point. One of the greatest things about jungle/dnb, and the reason I chose to spin and produce this music was the endless possibilities for combining genres into a hybrid tune - with hip hop, reggae, techno, downtempo. In my mixes I celebrate my interest in the music by showcasing it from all angles, and hope that it also catches the interest of others.
And now i want to ask you about some news and rumors. Recently none other than Justin Bieber said, that he wants to make dubstep track in his upcoming album, OMG! I think, it means, that dubstep is now became kinda pop music, and it’s sad, as for me, and what about you?
Any type of music that enters the mainstream is something of interest to me - I am intrigued with how it appeals to the general consumer market. From my perspective, dubstep is a very natural rhythm that any listener can relate to. Some of the grooviest classic rock hits and moshpit heavy metal breakdowns are using this same kind of drum pattern. With electro clearly becoming the norm on the radio the last few years, dubstep seems to me as only a fusion of this classic drum motion, technologically exaggerated on an electro-ish tip. The main difference to me is a focus on the bass as opposed to the melody. If Bieber wants to go bass-heavy, why not? Let's see what he's got. I also though Britney Spears was going to make an all-out dubstep tune with Rusko, but that ended up being a pretty weak crossover I would never even have guessed was "dubstep". Can't wait to see who does it next.
Tell about your label Killa Records. How it started and what’s going on now?
I'll take it from the start: around 2001 there was a wave of new ragga jungle and amen-heavy producers especially coming out of North America, that I was closely involved with. I hooked into N2O and Big Cat Records and made good connections across the board, but we all had our own particular take on the sounds produced in this new movement. Because of these differences, I wanted to create a label that focused specifically on my vision: using the strength of jungle amens in a somewhat techy dnb-style but still keeping it jungle - without dipping too deep into the rougher beat choppage and ragga vocals. Starting my own label felt intimidating at first, but now after establishing it, I recognize that in the end was the best way to secure what I wanted to do and really gain confidence in the direction I wanted to go, without executive producers putting their hands into what their visions were, which only stifled the raw emotions that we were trying to publish. I kick-started this in 2003 and have been using the Killa branding for most of what I have done since then.
Our ukrainian mate Stepkillah has been released on your label with his track “Man”. Do you remember that release and do you know him (Stepkillah) personally? How did you met?
I came to Kiev for the first time in Spring of 2008, where I was greeted by Stepkillah. He had been trying to contact me for several years, but never having travelled previously across the Atlantic, let alone Ukraine, it felt like another world to me - one that I could hardly believe existed. As I arrived that year on my first European tour, I realized instantly that both Stepkillah and I were extremely passionate about the exact type of jungle sound, production, selection and mixing. The music he is playing had built up a very large following of party people who also love jungle music. His track "Man" is one of those rare hits that are a big tune everytime it is dropped - it encompasses so much of what I experience when watching him play a set and it was a shame that not more people across the world could get this track for themselves. His release was the first time I added an artist outside of myself into the Killa Digital catalogue and it set the stage for future ragga jungle releases. Respect to Stepkillah everytime: I have been following his new Hip Hop projects and can also see the passion behind the microphone and beats he started with in jungle and would encourage him to keep the artistic flame burning. I would also like to make a Tarak remix one day! I embrace all music when it is made with passion - whatever the style. The worst thing that I see is when an artist has so much potential but gets caught up in a fad, politics or become jaded and lose the fire. It almost happened to me at one point and it's a hard place to understand where to go from there.
You are probably have a huge collection of vinyls! And you still release 12” on your label in digital nowadays, why so? How many plates of each release do you make and how they sales?
At the moment my collection of vinyls are limited to promos given to me by other labels and my own releases. I have shelves full of vinyls, but these are mostly mutiple copies of my last releases. Around 2005, for live shows I switched from vinyl to CD's. In the last year I have finally invested in Serato. Since I am mostly playing unreleased music both from myself and other producers, it is the most versatile way to do shows. About 10 years ago I would cut individual dubplates, but the freedom of digital control vinyls now allows me the same feeling to use the turntables and play what I want almost instantaneously as I receive or finish writing a track. Aside from the tricky chaos of wiring the little box and connecting it to a laptop before playing, in use it has been the best development in dj-ing I can think of. Music releases I am publishing both in vinyl and digital, but separately. The vinyl was my first and foremost plan, however the number of units sold since starting in 2003 has decreased drastically. At the beginning I would start with a run of 1500 which would quickly sell out. As I pressed Killa003 in 2009 it was still feasible to move 500 units, and now in 2011 I have pressed 300 copies and this will be lucky to sell. I made the last release as a special edition on coloured vinyl, and it is more of a personal interest rather than any chance to recover pressing costs. My sentiments are echoed with other labels I speak with, as the vinyl market rapidly dwindles and fades. The Killa digital label was the way to reach everyone (like me), who have made the switch away from vinyl. With the limited overhead and profit, it was also a way that I could release more tunes containing full samples that I am feeling, and also made it a bit easier to include other artists that I feel fit under the Killa moniker.
You spent the last few years travelling and playing in Eastern Europe, in countries like Siberia, Russia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Ukraine of course :), and other, can you tell about this experience?
Of course.. after living most of my life in North America I have found a new home in the East. There is a certain sense of community, friendship, value and respect that I don't feel I ever truly experienced previously in Canada as I do now out here. As well, quite simply put: my music fits here. Music styles seem to have a general regional pattern, and Jungle is alive and kicking in Eastern Europe. This is why I continue to find myself out here - this is where others are following the same sounds as I am. Also the parties are completely different. The promoters who throw the parties work extremely hard to organize a world-class event with proper advertising, posters, good quality soundsystems, decorations, security and backstage preparations. I am not saying this doesn't happen in North America, but many of the jungle events have moved to smaller pub-type settings where familiar friends come to meet. Coming from a country and culture so far away also intensifies the experience for me as everything is much more exotic - the people, the language, the landscape, the food. It is inspirational when I keep hearing stories along the lines of "I used to listen to your track so-and-so when I was a teenager and it changed my life," or "your mix so-and-so was my first jungle mix I heard and got me into jungle ever since". My life-long dream had always been if it was possible to change one person's life with my music. Back then I had never dreamed it was possible, and now I hear it over and over, thousands of miles from where that dream started, it keeps me motivated that what I am doing is the best thing I can do with my life.
While watching your youtube channel i found, that you’re making small video reports from your gigs in other countries, I think this is really great thing! Should we expect a video from upcoming BSF gig in Kiev?
Yes - the last year in Kiev was one of my favorite video footage I have ever taken, and I look forward to making another great one this year. Keep checking my channel: youtube.com/thirtyoneseconds
Tell us about this year in your career and plans for future, please!
As this year is drawing to a close, I plan to wind-down the last shows then spend two weeks snowboarding the Alps in December. I absolutely love skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing.. the feeling of individualism and freedom comes unparalleled in other sports. Next year I will start up with touring again, make a trip back to Canada and see what 2012 brings. I am really excited to see what future developments happen in music. I would like to see vocals reach a higher-quality and take centerstage, as well as drum & bass return to a more driving, forward-moving feeling, as opposed to strictly a wobble, dubwise or darkside approach. I will continue with the Killa Podcasts, so expect lots more free mixes. I have been busy with remixing as of recently, and have been on a pretty constant production roll of making new tunes, so I can imagine some new releases upcoming, both digital and vinyl. "I Feel Like Jumping" is still on test and set to come out anytime now. Lastly, I have noticed a mutation between hardcore, dubstep and dnb which I still can't predict where it is going to land, but I think 2012 will hold some surprises for our genre!
Have something to say to your ukrainian fans?
I can't wait to arrive! I am honoured from all those who have shown me their appreciation, from the guys who have printed their own Killa shirts, the dedicated followers who take the time to talk to me when signing their bags, flyers, phones and ipods.. the screaming girls in the front row and even those who ask me to marry them. Your support is what keeps driving me forward to create and spread the word: Jungle is Massive!
Thanks for your time, Andrew! See ya on BSF Massive Festival! Best regards!
Chief Editor of extradj.com, Roman Joe.