DC Breaks Australia And New Zealand Tour Interview

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DC Breaks Australia Tour

Since DC Breaks signed with Andy C’s Ram Records, they’ve gone on to become one of the top producers in the world. Some of the names that they’ve given a drum n bass work over to include Paloma Faith, Lady Gaga, Lana del Rey and Tinie Tempah and they’ve even scored a production credit on Example’s Playing in the Shadows’ album. Their original productions though is where it all started, and this is backed up by support from some of the world’s leading tastemakers, especially main hitters on BBC1 like Zane Lowe, Mistajam and Annie Mac. Their credentials speak for themselves, and they will finally get back to Australia and New Zealand for a huge tour with up and coming and fellow Ram Records star, Frankee, in support. We caught up with the exciting duo ahead of their highly anticipated tour…

You got together while at University in Edinburgh and were making drum n bass separately, do you remember if there was an exact there a point when you realised you would work well as a duo?
It all came about because I lived with a guy called Tim who was the drummer in a band called ‘Moph’ with Dan. I was making a few beats and I think Tim had mentioned this to Dan. So we were kind of aware of each other but didn’t actually start writing together until a bit later. I had a couple of releases on a small Scottish label (back in like 2003 I think!) and because they were looking for more tunes I suggested they hit up Dan. Off the back of that he got a few releases on the same label and it was at that point that we thought, maybe it would be fun to write a tune together. That led to a few 12’s and before long we’d managed to get the attention of a certain Mr. C who signed us up to Ram’s sister label back then ‘Frequency’. The rest is history…
DC Breaks has been in operation from over 10 years now which is an achievement in itself! How do you continually find new inspiration and drive to create new music?
Inspiration can come from lots of places. One of the things we’ve always loved about DnB is that its quite an ‘umbrella’ genre in that it can take influence from all over the place and make it work – Rock, Funk, House, Hip Hop, Trance, Pop, you name it! So there’s a lot of freedom to do whatever you want musically in the genre. Sometimes I’ll hear a little riff somewhere and think that could be cool in a DnB tune or sometimes it’s a bass patch you are working on that starts off a tune. In recent years working with vocalists has been great for getting the creative juices going.
What are some of the positives and negatives of working in a duo?
We’ve been working in this way for so long that I think we’ve learned how to do it for us and what works. Basically you can’t be too precious about stuff and accept that things will change when you send a project over. You have to compromise, but at the end of the day if you end up with a tune you are both happy with, the chances are its going to be decent! Often this process leads to getting two tunes out of one!

Your Halo EP from 2010 really propelled you into the global stage, do you remember the feeling when you locked in your first tour outside of the UK?
Chris: I don’t think this was the first one ever but I was in St Polten Austria recently and reminded of the time I was there years and years ago on one of my first overseas tours with Sigma and Camo & Krooked. Sigma were just starting to make waves and Camo & Krooked at that point were still relatively new to the scene – it was exciting times and amazing to see how everyone’s progressed since then. What was crazy to me back then was playing our tunes for the first time in some of these countries and everyone knowing them and going nuts!
You’re returning to Australia on the back of your massive new single, “Breathe,” how does working with a vocalist change the way you operate in the studio?
When we’re working with vocalists we tend to start from the lyrics and build the track from there. The lyrics set the vibe, key and forms the basis for the track. We used to try adding vocals to tracks we’d already written but they never seemed to really gel that well. Working this way round seems to work much better and you get a much more cohesive track at the end.
You haven’t toured Australia or New Zealand since 2014, what do you plan on doing during your down time while you’re here?
New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been so if there’s time to get into the wilderness for a bit that would be awesome. I’ve got some downtime in Auckland so I might try and do a trip up to the Coromandel Peninsula. I also really enjoyed Melbourne last time I was over as well (great food, great coffee!) and if there’s a wave I might go for a cheeky surf in Manley, Sydney which is a very cool place. Frankee’s coming on the tour too so might try and see if we can write a beat with him.
How do your Australian and New Zealand fans compare to others around the world?
I’ve always had an awesome time touring over here, I think people are just genuinely stoked that we’ve come half way round the world to play so they get really hyped up and the shows are always very energetic and super fun. The vibe everywhere was great last time, particularly Metro City in Perth which was off the hook!
If you had one of your tracks to promote to first time listeners, what would it be and why?
Chris: I think my choice would be ‘Gambino’. Last time I was over here people were coming up to me and saying ‘mate, Gaminbo is my JAM!’ I think it’s one of, if not our best dance floor tunes and it always goes down a treat in the club.
Dan: I still have a big soft spot for Halo, it was the title track to our Halo EP and really helped us kick on and get noticed internationally back in the day. It still sounds good too which is a bonus, haha!

Can you imagine what your life would’ve been like without drum n bass?
Chris: Honestly, no! Over the years I’ve made some pretty big decisions based on putting the music first. If I hadn’t got into it when I did I probably would of ended up being a lawyer or something else equally mundane. I’ve met so many great people and traveled the world doing what I love, I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Dan: I’d probably still be in a band or making Nu Skool breaks!

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