Thursday, May 10, 2012

Time For: Dismantle


Hailing from the south coast this producer/DJ has been working his way up through the scene for a while. Helped along by plays on national radio his 2011 hit 'Computation' garnered fans in the shape of Digital Soundboy later signing with the label and in the studio developing his sound for the future debut album. We chat to Dismantle about his journey to this stage, new single 'Detonate' and his Brighton based collective Gangoon Dubz.

What have you been up to today? 
I'm just jamming with Breakage having a laugh, we've been both meaning to get into the studio today. I'm signed to Digital Soundboy now, so got a few different tracks coming out through different singles. 'Detonate' which is out on Black Gold recordings, I've got 'Destroy' which is coming out on Wheel & Deal with 'Computation' VIP mix, then i've got my debut Digital Soundboy EP which is coming out in May sometime. It's good, it's healthy man to have a few releases out and be working with different people before signing to Digital Soundboy.

Tell us a little bit about your musical background.
I'm 19, (20 in July), I started music when I was 13, I bought a cheap pair of turntables - like how most people start - for Christmas and started mixing a bit of D&B. I didn't actually know what I was doing but had love for D&B. The first vinyl I actually bought was a Digital Soundboy one which is kind of funny (laughs). I got into producing a year after that when I got into Reason, the software I make music on at the moment and I use Logic 9 now to mix down and stuff. When I was 14 that's when I started listening to dubstep properly so I was making D&B and dubsteppy stuff until about a year ago and I got well into house for like the last two years. Now I started making 130 stuff, I was playing in nights around Brighton when I was like 16/17 so I wanted to play them out so I sped them up to 140 and that had a sort of dubsteppy vibe to it. That's how I'm making the stuff I am now really. I don't really know what it's called.

Where did the name Dismantle come from? 
My name…it came from a grime track from a set and it had loads of grime MC's on it. I can't remember what it was but it said Dismantle on it and I said dya know what I'm gonna call myself that. It just sort of caught on after that it was on flyers and stuff and then when my music started getting heard obviously.

What are you like in the studio then? 
Today we ate quite early so it's a bit of a lazy one. I get distracted by Twitter usually, but yeah building beats I go in with the drum beat which is predominantly kick drums with a 4x4 beat and then sometimes just go straight in with a riff because it's quite stripped back. As the track goes along I work around that way and then add and take stuff out. Then go onto introduction make usually the drop next and then different special effects and the drop which I'm probably known for now. That's how I start building my beats nothing too technical or special.

Are you quick on the buttons then? 
Usually sequencing can take four hours to a few days if I get bored I leave it and go to a next one and come back to it a few months later. So making it is so quick on Reason but then mixing it down in Logic takes the most time.

Lets say a year ago when 'Computation' first came about did you think it would be as big as it was?
What it was I wasn't even playing out at that time, so it was Kutz, he's the main guy who got it through. I made 'Computation' the day before and then he was playing on Kiss and I said I've got this new one you might like. He played it that night, the next day Hatcha hit me up like 'I need that tune man' so alright wicked only made it a few days ago but okay. When I made it I never ever thought it would have the support that it had, like Annie Mac, Diplo, Zane Lowe, I didn't even think it would get as far as Hatcha and that. Then I had some of the 130 boys like Zinc and Redlight so I did some 130 edits and they started playing it. I was playing at a night in Brighton and N-Type came down and was like do you want to sign it to Wheel & Deal with 'Word Dance' another track I'd sent to Kutz earlier as well and it sort of happen from there really. Toddla T asked off Hatcha and Diplo asked of Toddla and it just kicked off!

How do you feel about 'Detonate' coming out now, do you feel a bit worried?
I think yeah I'm much more comfortable now I'm signed to Digital Soundboy. I run my own label Gangoon Dubz as well but I feel much more settled down now because there was a point whereIi felt like I needed to make a track like 'Computation' but really I just think it's the natural progression. I just think that if I keep making things that I like and other people are willing to play out, then it's all good. Because I'm signed now as well there won't be a whole string of releases that I'll be doing, I'll just be working on a few EP's and then onto my album.

Any ideas for the album yet?
It's one of those things that you've got to really think about in a year or two, it's definitely going to be coming but I've got to get myself in the mind frame to do one and I think I need to settle down here first and have a few more releases and a big plan of action of what I'm gonna do.

Finally tell us about Gangoon Dubz?
We're all good friends, me and Hizzleguy when I was making beats and we've deejayed together since I started. He's helped me quite a bit and he said that a few of his mates started this thing called Gangoon Dubz do you want to come over and show them some bits. Then we'd only recently started thinking about putting out loads of records, our own tunes, other peoples as well we've got some strong releases lined up. It's Brighton based, a few people like Stinkhabell did a few things, so this year is going to be good for the whole scene. It's nice to know you're going to be running your own stuff and everyone there puts so much effort into it so I think it's going to go really well. We've scrapped ideas and gone onto a new thing about five times because the production we want to be that good.

Grab Detonate if you know what's good for you and follow Dismantle on Twitter.

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