Stockholm Syndrome: Dismantle

The dance community has each other’s backs. How does it feel to be part of that?

Within the scene all the Drum & Bass guys all know the Dubstep guys and you get to meet all these people or if not then you tweet them. I hate this ego where people think because you’re a DJ you can’t interact with other people. Everyone is human and if you’re more reserved, you’re more reserved but if you meet someone, you don’t have to necessarily play their music or listen to their music but you find out that they’re a normal person and you come back with a friend. Festivals and big music events are good for that because you meet all these people and you never know who could be a link to someone or who you can meet through them. That’s why I think socialising and networking with people, and not just interacting over the internet, is so important when you’re doing music because you could be missing out on so many opportunities.

Where you’re at now is obviously really cool, but what is your ultimate aim?

I’m not too sure you know. If you’re top of the charts or just starting out, you can become complacent and think you can sit back. You have to always be on the ball because you got to keep things moving, you need to keep motivated. DJ Hazard is one of my favourite drum and base DJs and as far as I know, he’s never released an album, he’s kept a very strong release and E.P schedule and it’s always very well timed and that has kept him going and kept a following, without him trying to breakthrough into something commercial.

What’s your worst habit?

Not cutting my nails enough.  They’re not really long; I just always forget to do it. That’s not even a habit, that’s just me being fucking lazy. Worst habit? Picking my  nose.

What did the teachers at your school say about you, do you think they knew you’d end up where you are now?

I’m not too sure. I was really clever; I got 3 A’s and 5 B’s in my GCSEs. I didn’t do music at school but I really wish I did.

Where you well behaved in class?

No not really. Because I was clever, they’d just punish me more than other kids when I was naughty. I didn’t know why back then but I do now, it sort of makes sense because they didn’t want me to completely fuck up. I hung around with people who didn’t do that well. I used to smoke loads of weed, I don’t anymore cause I can’t stand the smell, but I used to get a really bad temper and end up swearing at the teacher and being excluded for a week.

What was the biggest thing you learnt at school?

Probably when I left school and I just actually respected other people and getting along with people who are willing to get along, social skills I guess was the main thing I came out with. 

With the UK scene flying it seems to be having a ripple effect. The Americans love us and it all stems from our scene being on fire.

Yeah like to describe my music as UK bass. Obviously it’s bass music but the UK has a very distinctive sound, like Grime and Funky House. They’ve got influences from all over the world but it’s very UK. If you go to a night in London, you have people straight for the music whereas if you play somewhere else around the world, it might not have the same effect, as people aren’t listening to Rinse FM and pirate radio.

Do you think it is harder for an artist to break in the US?

If you don’t have the right backing, some people never make it. There’s loads of music out there that hasn’t been touched or heard. If you don’t have the right people or the support, especially if you come from a town where there’s not a lot of clubs. So say someone is from a small town and they don’t ever go out, the nearest club is 50 miles away in another town, they might be making the best music in their bedroom but it just never gets out there because they’ve got a job, they would never breakthrough. I think it’s so important to have pirate radio and stuff to get it heard. On the flip side, there’s also a lot of shit out there, that’s why when people can just put stuff on their YouTube channel or UKF, it’s just getting heard.

How important has UKF been for the scene?

Luke smashed it and they’re now doing UKF Music where it was UKF Dubstep and Drum & Bass. A lot of people have realised that there is a lot more music out there which is so important for artists who don’t fall under certain genres. 

Do you think genre matters?

No. It’s all about trends. People who go to house raves who hear the slightest bit of Dubstep get a bit snobby about it and it shouldn’t be like that. I don’t think genre matters; people just like to put things under an umbrella because it makes them feel more safe when they say it.

Do you think it’s the people or the media who do that though?

Both, the media come up with the term rave back in the 90’s and then the people started using it. It’s such a sick word. 

The ‘Before Monday Comes’ journey epitomises the weekend adventure; when you forget about the daily grind and focus on the party. Airing in instalments on Boxfresh.com and Noisey from June, the ‘Before Monday Comes’ series will be launched by Dismantle hot-stepping across five of the worlds hottest party capitals.