Drum and Bass Interviews

Following on from his BBC 1Xtra Award Winning longplayer 'Now More Than Ever' last
year, Cambridge boy Logistics has just delighted his fans by releasing a 10-track
album of previously unreleased material on Hospital Records, 'Medical History'. We
threw some questions this way as he prepares for his set at the 3000 capacity
Moondance @ SeOne Complex, London this Saturday...

So tell us about your collection of unreleased material...is it a relief of sorts to see all these cuts finally reach the light of day?

Yeah of course, it’s nice to give people a chance to get hold of some of my older stuff. I still
have a lot of material that won’t see the light of day so it’s obviously a relief to put out this
batch of tracks. I’d always rather people heard my music than it sat on my hard drive.

On the other hand, was it quite nice to have secret weapons of sorts that only a handful of other people had?

In a way it’s nice to have exclusives and be in the position to give other DJs fresh material
but the intention for me when writing a tune is to let other people hear it.

Did you find that any of these unreleased bits found their way onto any filesharing
programmes? Have you seen the whole illegal download thang affect you at first hand?

To be honest, I’ve never been on a filesharing program so I wouldn’t even know. I’m aware
of the harm these programs cause to the producers, labels and scene in general but I don’t
really see a way around it. I think people are so familiar now with the idea of sharing MP3s
that even if access to them was reduced, those seeking them would still find a way around it.

How’s the DnB scene fairing in Cambridge? It always seemed to be one of the dance
music genres that was consistently popular in the city when I lived there...

It’s good at the moment. Alongside Nu:tone and Commix I help run a monthly called
Spoonfed at the Fez Club which we’ve doing for about 9 months now. The vibe is always
great in there and we’ve been lucky enough to have some of our favourite DJs and
producers play down there. We also have Warning which continues to be busy even after
ten years of running nights. They have also managed to stay in the same club for over ten
years which I think is testament to the scene here.

You are playing in the Essence of Chi room at Moondance this Saturday 16th June
at SeOne London.

What do EOC and Moondance mean to you?

The nights I’ve done for EOC before have always been really enjoyable, I know the people
involved in running EOC are all doing for the love of the music as well which means a lot to
me. As for Moondance, ask me after
the 16th!

What new productions and exclusive tracks have you got for us on Saturday then?

Lots of my own new material which I have been sitting on for a while. I’ll have an EP on
Hospital later in the year so I’ll be playing some of that. I’ve also done a remix of Matrix
and Futurebound’s ‘Family’ with Nu:tone and also Bungle’s ‘Too Late’ with Kasra so
expect to hear them. Also lots of new bits by the other Cambridge lot, plus some wicked
new things by a guy called Culture Shock who is killing it at the moment.

What’s your most prized bit of vinyl? Or are you not so much a vinyl junkie?

I have lots but my most treasured piece of vinyl is ‘It’s Alright’ (Roni Size Remix) by
Nu Yorican Soul…not because of the rarity just because it’s my most played record
in my collection. I also really treasure my old Mo’ Wax collection as it holds
such nostalgia for me.

What set up are you rocking in your studio at the moment? Any new bits of kit you’re getting excited about?

I’m using Reason 2.5 which is a very basic set up. I’ve also been using a Juno6 synth recently
as the warmth of it is incredible. I find that is all I need really. If I need to record vocals I do it
in Cubase but most of the time I work with samples anyway.

Are you feeling the whole dubstep thing that’s really come into the spotlight over the last 12 months?

Yeah most definitely. I’ve always liked bass heavy garage and I just see dubstep as an
extension of that really. I think it’s a really exciting time for dubstep though as everyone
is bringing such different flavours to the table, a bit like DnB used to be. There is still a
lot of experimentation which is a great thing to see.

And finally, what’s been your best gig this year thus far?

I’ve really enjoyed the Hospitality nights at Heaven and Audio in Brighton - there are always
wicked vibes in there. Star Warz in Belgium was also really heavy as was
Hit and Run in Manchester.