London comes to New York in the form of DJ/producer East End Dubs this weekend on Friday, July 19th for MNMLKCHN & Hidden Roots' Warehouse party. Inspired by the London underground music scene and picked up by Matthias Tanzmann's agency Moon Harbour. Influenced by his past playing on drums as a kid, East End Dubs' work can be characterized as full of "drums and big basslines," words we all like to hear describing our techno music. Pulse Radio caught him amidst his North America tour in order to ask him a few pit stop questions about playing stateside, his own productions and how his label is going. Be sure to pick up tickets for Friday's event here on Pulse Radio!
Where are you off to right now? I'm in Brooklyn, NY going to Washington, D.C. tomorrow.
You just started your North American tour a week and a half ago. What have been some of the highlights so far? So far, I've been to Montreal and Chicago. Both places were very nice and I made a lot of new friends. Especially Chicago was very good. It was nice to perform where house music was born.
The show on Friday marks your New York debut. We know that London has quite the bustling electronic music culture. What have you heard about the New York scene and what are you most excited about? Is there anything you’re looking forward to experiencing during your stay? It's very nice to be here and discover the real scene in New York. I'm staying next to Dunham Place where Loco Dice recorded his album and I can clearly understand why lots of artists choose to stay here. There is something special about Brooklyn, it reminds me of East London. I've heard a lot about the warehouse parties and certainly looking forward to Friday night.
You said in an interview with Cable Nightclub that you were a DJ for a few years before you became a producer. What ultimately prompted you to move in that direction? The main reason why I started producing was to create Loops and Tools for my DJ sets, which I thought would help me during performances. I don't produce to sell any records or make money out of it. I still have over thirty to forty tracks that will never be released. I put a lot of effort into my sets and those private tools help me a lot for sure. I enjoy producing as much as DJing at the moment, even though it's not easy with such a busy tour schedule.
Your music manages to work in samples from several different genres. What has been your key in doing this effectively? I get inspired very quickly, that's why I prefer not to listen to any other electronic genres actually. But I do listen to a lot of Jazz and Blues, which gives me inspiration on a different level. My music is all about Bass and Drums and I use single hit drum samples to create each loop. This makes me feel the track actually belongs to me, rather then the person who created the sample or loop. I like to use weird elements and background noises on my tracks, that's why I always carry a recorder with me.
Are there any particular artists or releases coming up on your East End Dubs label that you would like to highlight? I'm not planning to release any other artists' music on my label at the moment, this may change in the future, but I can hardly find time to release my own stuff. I like to put all my effort into my own productions and tours this year. I'll carry on releasing the vinyl-only series this year. Second Tools EP is ready and should be out in stores next month. There are also some other exiting releases coming up end of the year. Our EP with Chris Lattner will be released on Alex Arnout's Dogmatik and I have a solo release coming up from one of my favourite record labels…. Stay tuned for more info.
