2016 / ISSUE 88
DRUM & BASS
43
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while and that was 1995 . So that was the first tune , and we went on to have two more number 1 ’ s .
What were they ? The second one of ‘ Murderation ’, which at the time 1xtra was born and they playlisted it .
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Since then there ’ s been serious people remixing your music , tell me about it ? Okay , I think the person you ’ re thinking of straight off the bat is Calibre . I ’ m gonna put my foot in it again , arguably the best drum & bass producer ever . |
Well it was hard to actually choose ! I wanna make a video for it and I was sitting there trying to figure out which one I am gonna do the video for . I think I ’ m gonna stick with the original done by Rowpieces . It ’ s a liquid d & b track . But there ’ s also a hard d & b mix |
they think the sound is up to scratch . So Bryan Gee is very good at that . There ’ s a certain expertise that come with being good at particular labels . But some labels will put out whatever they think will sell and not think about the quality . So at the moment I have my own label , Forward Ever Recordings . |
Since then you ’ ve consistently put out big tunes . That is what people say , but the funny thing about it is . All this time , up until about 2010 I wasn ’ t really pushing myself as an artist . It all really started for me in 2010 .
What happened there then ? I decided that I had neglected my music all my life . I knew that I wanted to do it but I always thought it ’ s not a safe bet . I went to university and got a post grad degree in youth & community work . My life is kinda like in three . I ’ ve got my youth work , my family and my music . I gave a lot of time to my youth work because for me it was a worthwhile job . The music thing was just something I would just dance around . So up until 2010 most people did not know who I was . When I met Bryan Gee in 2010 he had no idea who I was - but he knew my voice . That ’ s when I started actually trying to push myself as an artist and when I did the album with V . It ’ s interesting , it ’ s the same with a lot of people I ’ m sure - because I heard the tunes for a long time and it was only through speaking with you very recently that I connected David Boomah with the tunes . There ’ s a lot to be said about going out there and pushing yourself . Definitely , I mean everyone ’ s in a different situation . I know that jungle , drum & bass is very much led by producers , DJs and MCs . I ’ m none of those things so my situation is different from other people and I ’ ve gotta push myself .
You did a whole album with V and this took you places , big things came from that . Yeah , the album with V called One World Many Cultures . I really enjoyed making it , it took a while to get there . It was a multigenred album . The moment I did say , right I ’ m gonna believe in myself as an artist and I ’ m gonna put it out there and do an international tour - see what happens , it actually happened . It showed me I do have something to offer because I ’ ve offered something and I ’ ve got a response .
That ’ s the way ! Is there a great moment you remember from that tour ? There are many great moments and I don ’ t want to be disloyal to anyone , but it was overwhelming when I went to Brazil . It ’ s always overwhelming when you go to a country that don ’ t speak English and they are singing your songs back to you . It ’ s a beautiful thing because when you ’ re trying to speak with them away from them singing the songs , they can ’ t talk to you and I can ’ t talk to them . But they can sing your song , so there is this connection through music .
“ I decided that I had neglected my music all my life . I knew that I wanted to do it but I always thought it ' s not a safe bet .”
He ’ s the only drum & bass person that hasn ’ t been remixed . To have him remix two of my songs is an honour and he did an excellent job as always . Someone else that I ’ d like to mention that ’ s remixed a track that I found particularly amazing , a guy called Rowpieces . He ’ s from Germany , he ’ s not very well known but I think he ’ s exceptionally talented . This is a shout out to him personally from me - I want you to keep making music because you ’ re too talented not to and the music scene will lose someone special if you stop . Nice , I mean that brings us right up to know as we have a hot new single that ’ s dropped . Wish Upon A Star and there ’ s so many mixes of it , all so different - each one is a big tune in its own right .
Which one is the tune ? from a new outfit , Battery . Then we have the Hypertone remix , a very smooth r & b vibe from a producer in Croydon . Then we have a house remix from my friends in Switzerland , The Lost Soundsystem . Finally a garage mix from N Type .
Is there a particular label that you haven ’ t been on that you ’ d like to ? The thing is with labels , like V , me doing an album on V was a great thing and people were like woah man you ’ ve been on V that ’ s a foundation label . But just because that label has a certain name doesn ’ t mean I ’ m gonna get what I need from the label .
What about sound wise though ? Forget business - just musically . Well the sound is coming from the producers and the labels will say whether
What does Forward Ever mean ? It means going forward , all the time . Fine you can look back , it ’ s good to reflect , but you should always be moving forward .
So you ’ ve got your youth work . Today you were working with young offenders , what were you doing with them ? Basically I ’ ve been working on a program with the youth offending team . So it ’ s really trying to look at their behaviour , the way they think and the decisions they ’ re making . It ’ s about mentoring , supporting and getting them to reflect on what they ’ ve done and getting them to move forward .
What is the support that you ’ ve found most of these kids need ? Every young person and situation is different , but they need someone that is gonna listen to them . Working with young offenders can be a risky scenario because they are very volatile . Luckily touch wood , a young person ’ s never struck me or swung for me , but I think the only reason they haven ’ t done that is I try to establish a relationship with them from day one and I try to establish the fact that I really care what happens to them . Because of that they find it hard to get angry with me and they ’ re more inclined to listen to me .
So you ’ re definitely playing a big part in these peoples lives . Yeah I mean it sounds simple but sometimes that ’ s all it needs . I ’ ve worked in some cases where I ’ ve seen some really violent behaviour with young people . But if you took a minute to understand where they are coming from you would understand the behaviour . I ’ ve worked with a young person that has robbed , stolen , assaulted , and committed violent crimes upon a number of people and everyone was quick to demonise that child . When I got to know the child and where they are coming from I found that the child was never given any lunch money , never given any breakfast , never went home to any dinner . Was being physically abused by his parents on a day to day basis - then you start to understanding why the behaviour is the way it is . Excellent advice for the people out there . If you wanna do something , listen to the kids - take the time to get to know them , find out the problem .
Nice one Boomah , go out and get Wish Upon A Star , Respect !
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