Radio Slave Interview

Starting out as a DJ in his hometown of London, Matt Edwards aka Radio Slave went from resident DJ at Milk Bar, to Ministry Of Sound, to world domination. He now plays at every major club on the scene, from Space in Ibiza to Womb in Tokyo. Originally a double-act alongside Serge Santiago, Radio Slave began producing club remixes of Busta Rhymes, Kylie Minogue and Nancy Sinatra within the mainstream pop genre. Matt went solo with Radioslave in 2002 and has been releasing his own original material since 2006 on his label Rekids.

Congratulations on your Balance mix which is set to be released very soon! Was being part of the Balance family a goal that you always wanted to achieve in your career?
For sure and we’d been talking to Tom from Balance for a while and it was just prefect timing. James Masters (Rekids) and I had been looking at releasing some kind of commercially available mix to celebrate my 20 years of DJing. So doing it with Balance was the ideal choice to present a really broad and varied mix which represents me as a DJ.

How difficult was it for you to put a mix together for such an esteemed series and how long did it take to complete from inception to the final product?
The selection was easy although I had to do a lot of digging in my collection to find some of the records and I was really really lucky that Tom at Balance managed to license nearly 90% of the tracks I wanted. And although this took quite some time I had a great selection to work with and from there it was a case of finding the time to do the mixes in a studio. I was really sick earlier in the year after a minor operation and this put everything back so I finally mixed both cd’s at the end of march.

Dance music’s explosion into the commercial market has divided opinions, what are you views on this and how has it effected the underground scene?
Looking back there’s always been a huge commercial scene and it was probably even bigger in the 80’s and 90s as record labels could make huge amounts of money from remixes and dance versions of pop tracks. It’s just in 2013 everything to do with dance culture is event driven and the internet and social media drives careers rather than the music itself. So, I’m happy for kids to get into dance through EDM or whatever as these moments can open their minds to other types of music and it’s no different from friends of mine who got their first taste for techno through hearing Norman Cook. And from living in Berlin I don’t even know anything about EDM. The underground scene is so strong that it can survive without any of the commercial bullshit.

As an international DJ you get to play music in different corners of the globe. What is the strangest experience you have had on your travels?
Every weekend is an adventure and you never know what to expect. I would say the craziest moment recently was after playing at the Panorama Bar when I fell asleep. I woke up and missed my flight to Tokyo. It was the start of the tour I’m on at the moment and it was touch and go whether I would get to Japan.

Are you working on any collaborations or creative DJ set plans at the moment?
I’m currently working on a live show/album project with my good friend Thomas Gandey (caged baby). It’s a really experimental and very musical project where Tom plays the piano live and I create loops and use drum machines. We’ve done 4 shows so far in Berlin, Poland and France and we’re hoping to release an LP later this year. It’s an exciting project as we’re best friends and we really work well together and it’s also given me the opportunity to perform as a live band.

What are your plans for the European festival season? Is there anything you’re particularly looking forward to?
I don’t have my schedule in front of me but I guess it’ll be another year of getting sunburnt and muddy and I guess the best thing about the summer is Ibiza. Playing outside at Ushusia and enjoying the carnival atmosphere.

What beat or track do you wish you could have made and why? Any genre.
I would love to just have been in the same studio when Herbie Hancock made “Nobu”. I featured this track on the Balance mix and it sounds like techno but was made in 1973. I was 2 years old !

What is the biggest track you are playing right now?
Nina Kraviz – Best Friend – DVS1 remix – Rekids (out soon)

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