Kidz Rage !

Alex Incyde (Sub FM / Hotflush Recordings) – USA

Our first artist interview for my blog with Alex Incyde, who graciously also did an exclusive mix for us!!

Download it here.

Where are you from, and what are you doing in London ?

I’m from a small suburb outside Boston, MA. I’m here in London doing a
6-month work experience program with Hotflush Recordings through my
university in Boston.

How did you get involved with the Dubstep scene ?

I first got involved in the scene through the dubstep forum. I was
coming over for the DMZ 2nd Birthday Bash last March and linked up
with a few people from the forum, including Boomnoise, and the
Streamizm guys from Brighton who asked me to come down and do one of
their live videocasts. So I had met a few people before moving here,
but I mostly got involved just by going to the events and introducing
myself. It’s a pretty friendly scene so I got to know everyone fairly
quickly.

After being in London for a few months, seeing the scene here for
yourself, what conclusions can you make about it ? Anything you didnt
expect, or did expect ?

I can say that London is a very unique place that has this
extraordinary ability for cultivating an amazing musical culture. It’s
unlike anywhere else I’ve seen — people are very passionate about
their music. Not only do they just love a good party with good tunes,
but most importantly I’ve been so surprised by the amount of
commitment some people have to it — I mean the people like Georgina
Cook and Letty Fox who have been putting on dubstep nights since
before most people knew about dubstep, and all the label owners,
promoters, DJs and producers who put tireless hours of their free time
in just to make the scene what it is.

Before coming here I had no idea what the dubstep scene was like, so I
was expecting that all of the DJs and producers were like celebrities
in the London underground scene, but I soon found out that it’s not
really about who’s more important or who’s done what. All the DJs and
MCs you see playing at FWD, DMZ and everywhere else when they’re not
on stage are out on the dancefloor or socializing along with everyone
else.

What do you like / dislike about London ?

Aside from the music, what I like about London is it’s so diverse.
There are so many different accents, nationalities, and cultures all
living in one place. It always keeps things interesting for me. The
only thing I don’t like is the exchange rate. Ha.

What is your history as being a dj ?

Ever since being exposed to electronic music in my mid-teens I was
always fascinated by the DJ’s ability to single-handedly make a whole
crowd of people dance and have fun. I finally picked up some decks and
a mixer in late 2004 and started buying records. I quickly went from
progressive house to tech-house to breaks to drum & bass to minimal
techno. In the summer of 2006 I was playing at a house party in Boston
and heard someone spinning dubstep. From there I was hooked on the
sound.

Who inspires you musically and why ?

Richard D. James. His productions as Aphex Twin (and the other
aliases) have always inspired me because of the sheer array of sounds
that he uses to create such a unique sounding music, all from the mind
of one man. Listening to his music it always takes me somewhere else,
into this sonic world that he’s managed to create. That’s something I
hope to be able to do someday.

Top 3 Dj’s:

1.) Scientist

2.) Appleblim

3.) Heny G

Top 3 producers:

1.) Headhunter

2.) Distance

3.) Scuba

Top 3 Labels:

1.) DMZ

2.) Hotflush

3.) Hyperdub

Top 3 Tunes (any genere):

1.) Aphex Twin – Windowlicker

2.) Massive Attack – Group Four

3.) Richie Hawtin – The Tunnel

What about the “Dubstep” sound drew you closer to it more than any of
the other genres you used to spin ?

First, the bass weight. Second, the tempo. Both of these things
initially drew me to it because it values the “bass, pace, and space”
as it’s called. But most importantly, in dubstep what attracts me to
it is the massive amount of musical styles and influences that affect
each producer’s individual sound. It’s this diversity that initially
drew me to it, however lately I’m finding that these “unique” sounds
are becoming harder and harder to find, with more and more mediocre
tunes coming out that seem like they’re trying to imitate another
producer or just sounds uninspired.

If you had to describe the sound, culture and scene of the “Dubstep
Revolution”, how would you do that to someone that had never heard of
it ?

I would say that dubstep is a London-centric underground electronic
genre that developed from UK garage and dub culture but can
incorporate influences from virtually any other genre of music. It
typically plays around 140 beats per minute and uses lots of bass and
sub-bass. It also values heavy soundsystems with plenty of subs, and
has a very positive, friendly fan base.

Any other headz, crews or shouts you would like to give ?

Shouts out to the Streamizm crew, Antisocial crew, Paul Rose,
Boomnoise, Jennifer, Scientist, Mr Boxed, Georgie, Letty, Contakt,
Roko, and Skipple.

Download the mix here.

Tracklisting:

01. Sines – Test Five (Remix) [unreleased]
02. Headhunter – Quanta [forthcoming Tempa]
03. Subeena – Circular [forthcoming Immigrant]
04. Silkie – Brighter [forthcoming Deep Medi]
05. Jazzsteppa – jakin [forthcoming Hotflush]
06. Silkie – I Said [unreleased]
07. Heny G – Back In The Day [forthcoming Gangsta Boogie]
08. Parson – Ghost Liner (Distance Remix) [forthcoming Dubline]
09. Headhunter – Drop The Waste [forthcoming Tempa]
10. Cotti & Cluekid – The Legacy [-30]
11. Distance – Battle Sequence [Chestplate white]
12. Headhunter – Sushi Brain [forthcoming Tempa]
13. Jakes – 2 Steps Back [H.E.N.C.H. white]
14. Headhunter – Locus Lotus [forthcoming Tempa]
15. Ikonika – Please [unreleased]
16. Subeena – D.I.G. [unreleased]
17. Headhunter – Spyro [forthcoming Tempa]
18. Scuba – Out There [Hotflush white]
19. Elemental vs Lohan – Strange Brew [forthcoming Runtime]
20. Parson – Texas Crawl [unreleased]
21. Moldy – Now It’s Dark [unreleased]
22. Metalboxproducts – So Far Off Time [unreleased]
23. Boxcutter – Endothermic [Hotflush white]
24. Silkie – Jazz Dubstep [unreleased]
25. Scuba – Beta [Abucs white]

Bookings/contact: alex@hotflushrecordings.com
Web: www.myspace.com/incyde
Radio: www.subfm.com every Wednesday night 12-2am UK time