1. Growing Up
SJ: My mother is a music teacher so I was always around musical instruments as a child. There were lots of random percussion bits as well as the traditional ones including the piano, violin and clarinet, which she sent me to lessons for unsuccessfully. It wasn’t until I acquired a £25 electric guitar with a headphone amp from Argos that I became hooked with music. I taught myself by playing along to Blur every night after school for years and started a band with my mates for fun.
BH: I listened to stuff like Guns N’ Roses growing up until I asked for a set of Technics 1210s for Christmas when I was 15 and never looked back. I started mixing and buying fairly commercial house and trance on vinyl before swiftly getting interested in progressive house and breaks, a scene which was exploding at the time. After sneaking into my first DnB night a year later I became instantly hooked by the energy of the music and the pace of the DJ sets and started avidly collecting DnB vinyl. 15 years later DJing is still my number one passion and the biggest part of my personal identity.
2. Inspirations
SJ: Damon Albarn is one of my biggest influences. The diversity and evolution of his music is inspiring and his songwriting is fantastic.
BH: To name a few – Quincy Jones, Prince, Giorgio Moroder, Richie Hawtin.
3. Your Crew
We’re good friends with Chase & Status, Sub Focus, Culture Shock, Wilkinson, Brookes Brothers. We are all London-based.
4. The Music You Make
We make a range of dance music, from drum and bass, dubstep and electro to house and garage. Our new Apollo EP comprises of two DnB tracks and another tune that can only be described as some kind of rave/trap/jungle hybrid. Our sets are always an eclectic mix of tempos and styles and we try and take people on a journey, hopefully introducing them to something new.
5. Music, Right Here, Right Now
Dance music is evolving at a ridiculous pace at the moment. It is an interesting time as I think you’ll see a lot of people really looking to find something new and experiment with new sounds, and possibly breaking away from moving in packs. It would be good to see people following individual paths rather than following formulas to such a huge degree.
Catch them at Chinese Laundry on Thursday April 17.
