Monthly Archives: June 2007

dB Magazine, Interview, Music, Writing

The Nextmen

Leave a comment

When I last talked to Dom Betmead of the Nextmen, he told me he wasn’t really sure what inspired him to make music, apart from just listening to other music. Now they have their third album out it’s clear that what they listen to and what they play in their sets does have a big influence on them, as ‘This Was Supposed To Be The Future’ features an eclectic mix of songs that straddle genres from hiphop to reggae to soul.

“The title was just something that came into my head,” Betmead explains. “How when we were younger there was all this talk of the future, and how we’d have flying cars and jet packs and a meal in a pill and all that kind of stuff, and it just sounded like a nice concept for a record. Me and Brad (Ellis, the other half of the Nextmen) used to talk about it a lot, and about what the 1950s perception of the future might be different to now. So we gave the title to the artists and we worked together to get different interpretations of it.”

It has been a long time coming, with some songs such as Blood Fire written quite a few years ago and road tested on their numerous tours. “After the second album, ‘Get Over It’, we had some problems in terms of distribution – it wasn’t very well set up,” he says. “Once we had settled in though, we just concentrated on DJing a lot, touring around and getting mix tapes done. And although there was quite a lot of creativity going on there were a few things were weren’t sure of, mainly to do with labels, and it wasn’t until we did the ‘Blunted In The Backroom’ compilation for Antidote that we felt we were in a comfortable position with a label to move forward with our third artist album.”

Something I noticed with the album is that, although some tunes sound like typical cut-ups the Nextmen are famous for, there’s also some very good songwriting on the album, making the album feel coherent and whole. “I’m really happy you spotted that!” exclaims Betmead. “We were songwriting quite a long time before this album, but I was never confident enough to put it forward, and all of a sudden that changed. I was working with singers like Brigette Amofah and Zarif (both whom feature on the album) and we were just writing stuff and not necessarily putting it in a place; some of it worked towards their individual artist stuff and some of it came our way for the Nextmen.”

Another two excellent songs feature Dallas from Fat Freddy’s Drop, and the Nextmen have been friends with the band for a number of years now. The tune the Drop was originally an acoustic record recorded with Dallas. “It was the first song he ever wrote”, Betmead explains, “and I came up with the guitar for it, and we re-developed that track to the one that’s on the album.” The other song, Did No Wrong, came together over a few pints and was done in a couple of days. “When you’re working with exceptional talent like that things do tend to happen quite quickly,” he smiles.

As the Nextmen are usually so sample based, yet on this album there seems to be much more composition, I had to find out if the album was done with a band, or just expertly engineered. “I think the idea of just using samples to make a record now days is just impossible to do,” agrees Betmead. “If you’re thinking of selling any serious amount, you’re bound to get in trouble unless you do it properly. I’m a guitarist by trade, and we recorded ourselves playing keys and guitar and treated those recordings as if they were samples. So we sampled ourselves, but in doing that it allowed us to go anywhere musically – we’re not limited by the notes or the keys the sample was originally in because we can play what we want”.

The union with Antidote not only led to the excellent Trojan catalogue mix ‘Blunted in the Backroom’ but also afforded the Nextmen a lot more control over their music. “Sanctuary, who owns Antidote, also own the entire back catalogue of Trojan, so we suddenly had access to all this amazing reggae music that was totally clearable whether we wanted to put it on a mix tape or sample it; it was something we could do properly and clear all the samples. To be honest it was just a dream to have all that stuff to work with,” he grins.

Julian Cram

This Was Supposed To Be The Future is out now through Antidote.

24Seven, Interview, Music, Writing

Andy C

Leave a comment

Drum and Bass is dead. So says the UK music press every few years. However, it’s a sentiment that gets a chuckle when I mention it to Andy C, one of the biggest drum and bass DJs in the world. Not only has he been voted the no 1 drum and bass DJ in the world for the last 6 years, he’s a regular in all the magazine ‘best DJ’ polls. “Those journos were ever coming out on the road with us,” he says, “and never saw what the DJs were seeing – the packed clubs and vibe of the crowd. And the facts that one label, well actually a few labels, are still going strong in 2007, show them up time and again.”

The label he is talking about is his own – Ram Records. Initially funded by a kindly uncle, the record label has risen to be one of the most successful labels in the dance music scene. “The biggest accomplishment is we’re about to celebrate 15 years. We started in 1992 and we’ve gone so far, done so many things and gone to many places, and it’s great that all the crew here and all the artists we’ve signed up are still going strong and still feeling a hunger for the scene.”

Drum and bass’s relevance and longevity comes down to the people involved. “Everyone within the scene is working hard, everyone is discovering new acts and doing their best when they DJ to the crowds. I’ve been out to lots of different music shows and I’ve never seen music touch people like drum and bass does,” he says. “It has never overtly relied on commercial success. It’s very hardcore, and the people who come out and feel the vibe are hooked in. There’s a massive internet following, regular clubs around the UK and it relies on its self really. I think that keeps it healthy.”

Andy’s accolades are well deserved. Every performance Andy C has done in Adelaide is talked about in glowing terms. In fact, read any of the reviews of Andy C and you’ll get the notion that Andy kills it every time, hence acquiring the nickname “the Executioner”. One review from Japan, a place not really known for its big drum and bass scene, likens Andy to Neo from the Matrix, in total command of the people on the dance floor.
I was wondering if the accolade’s he received have given him a big head at all. But Andy is quite humble about it. “The accolades are wonderful, but for me it’s more the drug of going out and playing records to people. Like right now I’m enjoying a couple of weekends off before I come to Australia but I’m just sitting around wondering what I’m gonna do! I’m already dying to get back on the decks really!” he chuckles. “If the accolades come then that’s all good, but fundamentally for me it’s all about being out there, being part of something that’s so loved around the world.”

Part of Andy’s appeal is his devotion to the dance floor and turntables. “For me it’s all about records, decks, vinyl and dubplates. It suits my style of DJing and it’s what I’m the most comfortable with. It’s all about the visual aspect, I love whacking the record down, slamming the needle onto it, seeing the grooves and knowing where to cue from.” The crowd feeds off his energy behind the decks, and even when he’s composing he’s trying to capture the vibe of the dance floor. “You look out to the crowd and get lifted by their energy and want to capture that connection with the people,” he says of making music.

Speaking of composing music, whilst Andy’s done more than enough tunes to release more than a few albums, he’s yet to do a fully fledged artist album. “Watch this space!” he laughs when I mention it. “I’ve got a few ideas down, some tracks done, but we’ll see how it goes. Fingers crossed for 2007!” He laughs again.