Skream interview

[Shum]

Short and sweet.

http://kidcityblog.com/2010/10/04/a-ref ... dust-dubs/

[JimmaJamJamie]

Nice interview.

[rinseballs21]

from the looks of the interview, ILL PUT 1000$ MAGNETIC MAN PLAYS ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL NEXT YEAR.

[brasco]

They [US fans] like the bangers and the brostep. I play bangers and some different shit, and it doesn’t go down so well, but at least they hear it…

Glad he's still trying to educate

[cosmic_surgeon]

Nice interview. Bet there was a few wry smiles about that brostep comment.

What's that tune from the Outlook boat party video at the bottom?

[Wolverine]

nice read. seeing mag man in a few weeks, hyped for that!!!

Nice interview. Bet there was a few wry smiles about that brostep comment.

What's that tune from the Outlook boat party video at the bottom?

[Bloodstream]

Sup KCB folk. My name is Bela. Joined the crew earlier this week after a couple weeks back home in Chicago following what can only be described as a blissful trek through the fair land of the Mediterranean, drinking far too much sangria and standing far too close to the subwoofers. And spent nearly every euro I had on the aforementioned drinks and dancing. Listen, I was damn thirsty for some kick drum riddims. If London is the Fertile Crescent of shit I dig, Chicago is the Sahara.

While I could babble for hours about the endless nights in Barcelona and the Tuscan sky, I cannot emphasize any portion of my seven week trip more than my blind leap toward the Outlook Festival in Pula, Croatia. This was an event that I, as I surveyed the interwebs post-spliff on a lonely Chicago winter night, half-considered to be a cruel hoax. The Croatian seaside, plus an abandoned 18th century fort, plus the most ridiculously stacked lineup I had ever seen at a festival – at a pricetag less than half of some American festivals – did not become real until I stepped foot on the Puntizela campground along with 4000 other festivalgoers, my mind a blank canvas.

The rest of the four days cannot be accurately sculpted into words, out of fear that nothing I can say would do it justice. Rather than give a pretty little summary with a blogosphere bow placed neatly on top, I can only offer snippets of pure sunshine, crystal clear ocean, boat parties rocking back and forth, Mungo’s Hi-Fi’s soundsystem blessing and wrecking the ears of thousands, dust clouds and… most importantly, several artist interviews I had the good fortune of scoring over the course of the fest. Big ups to Johnny and the rest of the Outlook crew for giving me the chance to experience the event through all their perspectives.

I’ll continue to share glimpses into the Outlook vibe, but for now just watch this video, check out the festival website and snatch up your early bird tickets asap.

I’ll cut the banter and leave you with the first of several interviews to come: Mr. Oliver Jones, aka Skream, a gracious interviewee, absolute pioneer and member of the recently debuted Magnetic Man. I interviewed him on the third day of the festival, somewhere between hungover and perpetually buzzing, at a table surrounded by some of his best mates – Plastician, N-Type, Hatcha, Mala, Chef and Loefah among them – pretty much shitting myself intimidated and gripping my pencil & notepad. I tragically lost my digital audio recorder the second night — Roots Manuva & Roska interviews forever crushed underneath some brit’s trainer in the Fort Punta Christo dust – so all of my following interviews are bits and pieces woven together from my notebook scribbles.

This is what he had to say:


You recently tweeted “But what is dubstep, anyway?” What would you say it is?

I don’t know what it is. When people try to dictate what it is, that’s the problem. It’s always been the question. I was getting annoyed with some of the things people have been saying. People think they know best, but they don’t know anything really. They weren’t at FWD>> when there were ten people there.

I also read on your twitter that ‘Where You Should Be’ is your favorite tune you’ve ever made. Still true?

Yeah, that’s still true. It’s a grower… I liked it more and more as I listened to it longer.

I’ve read that you have around 8000 songs in various stages of production. How much of Outside the Box was old material, and how much was new, created specifically for the album?

The only older ones were ‘I Love the Way’ and ‘Wibbler,’ because I needed a banger on there. The rest I did in the space of six months. I had a burst of energy and that’s what made it all happen.

What influenced your transition from your older, darker tunes to some of the poppier, melodic stuff we see on Outside the Box?

Well, the music is made for me. I try to make music that I would listen to if other people put it out. It’s an album to listen to at home. I’ve been making dance tunes for so long.. I’m still a producer who’s associated with dubstep, but it’s more entertaining to experiment with different things. I couldn’t wait to make more tracks for it. It was almost like a “fuck you” album– the title says it all. “Outside the Box.” I’m sick of being put into a genre box. I could’ve done an album of bangers, but what’s the point? Outside the Box is my favorite project to date, and it takes a lot to keep me satisfied like this.

You’ve been touring around my home country almost the whole time I’ve been near yours. Have you noticed a different in the reception you get between the US and UK?

Definitely a different reception. They [US fans] like the bangers and the brostep. I play bangers and some different shit, and it doesn’t go down so well, but at least they hear it… but I do like the States. They go crazy. It’s hard not to play bangers because they go so nuts.

You recently played a gig in Chicago. How was that?

It wasn’t ideal because it was the same weekend of Lollapalooza. It wasn’t promoted that well… it was me and Rusko B2B, but not an official Lollapalooza afterparty, and it wasn’t advertised as the two of us like that. Most places would have been roadblocked for a show like that.

Following this tour, Magnetic Man has announced a tour with Deadmau5 this fall. Was that a decision that you made personally? What influenced it?

It was more of our agent’s decision. It’s 75,000 people coming out to see us in three days. But I do quite like Deadmau5. He makes good commercial dance music. It’s really hard to get a bigger tour than this one, really. They’re billing it as the biggest electronic night of the decade. And it’s exposure a couple months after the album comes out. We’re guaranteed thousands of people. We need to be looked at in the same market as Deadmau5, so to get that sort of billing is huge. I’m glad we’re doing Magnetic Man rather than a DJ set, and that’s saying a lot as I generally like DJ sets more.

Any plans of Magnetic Man coming to the US?

Yes. We are doing a festival next year. I’m not allowed to say which… but I’m not sure how well Magnetic Man would go down in the US. There’s only a few hard bits in the show, so I’m interested to see how it will go down.

So you’re here at Outlook for the first time. Was it simply a matter of being booked, or did you seek out this gig?

I’ve wanted to come here since it started, but I was never invited, or I was playing elsewhere. I know about 50% of the lineup so it felt almost like I missed out on the party. These are all my friends, and it’s the closest I can come to hanging out with everyone. You can feel the love bouncing around!

You’ve been making music for nine years now, and unquestionably have become one of the biggest names in dubstep. What’s the key to staying humble and original?

Staying close to your roots, keeping good people around you, and just enjoying it. If you take it too seriously, you end up on your ass. Know your history and never get too big for your boots. As for being original, I think there’s something wrong with me… I always need to stay busy and keep creating.

After so many years of making music, what have been the highlights, or proudest moments, of your career?

As Magnetic Man, at the moment, it was selling out Leeds & Reading. As Skream, it’s Outside the Box. That’s why I get so hostile about the album and defend it so much. When you’re just so happy about something you do that. Also, hearing the La Roux remix on Zane Lowe’s show. It was quite surreal. Oh, and getting a gold disk! It’s quite mad, isn’t it? 130,000 legal downloads. I only found out the other day. It was the most bought dance track for a year.

It’s maybe you’re biggest tune to date. Do you ever get sick of playing it?

I almost never play it live anymore. I hate playing it. It’s so obvious. But people love it, so it’s almost like a duty.

That remix became huge, and you’ve had several other successful remix tunes. What deems a track remixable to you, and what’s your process for remixing?

I remix it if I feel there’s more potential, or if I could do something more with with. With the La Roux remix, I didn’t even hear the original at the time. I was a bit depressed at the time and i just needed to do something. I was dreading it once I heard it. The a capella just ended up with one of my old instrumentals… it was a bit of a fluke, really.

What’s next for you?

I’ve got a meeting next week that decides what I’m going to do for the next year. I might do a Skream live show. I’m making bangers again. I’m doing some techno and house and garage shit. I gotta make everyone keep up, or keep up with everyone, I’m not sure which…

__________________________________________________________________________________________

This interview remains surreal to me. It’s a shame that I couldn’t get everything down, word for word, because the guy made some funny ass jokes about how the Chicago venue he played resembled a titty bar.

Anyway. Can’t leave this hanging without some hype for Olly. Magnetic Man is dropping their debut no less than a week from today. Whether or not you dig their direction, you can’t deny that they’re a supergroup changing the concept of what is popular, what is dance music…and what the fuck is dubstep?

Show some love for the album by pre-ordering it or doing so when it is released next week. For shits & giggles, here’s some footage I grabbed from the Sin City boat party at Outlook. A few hundred skankers, Hatcha, Skream, N-Type and Chef is a recipe for one wild four-hour boat ride.

[Numan]

yes sick

[belalala]

thanks for the love everyone, big ups !