Rockwell Australia Tour 2016

Ask anyone in the drum n bass scene to name their Top 3 labels and chances are that Shogun Audio will feature heavily. Since 1999, the label run by scene legend, DJ and producer, Friction, have delivered bomb after bomb, and to celebrate their 100^th release the label has announced a series of events featuring some of the labels’ biggest hitters. Australia and New Zealand are the next stop on in the travel itinerary with special guests and Shogun Audio artists Rockwell, Joe Ford and Technimatic, in what is set to be one of the most explosive  drum n bass lineups to head Down Under. Ahead of their arrival we caught up with Shogun Audio star Rockwell for a quick chat…

The last time you were in Australia was a few years ago now. What did you enjoy about being here last time and what are you looking forward to doing this time around?

People are really open about musical styles which I love. I was here as the special guest on the Viper tour and although it isn’t the most obvious musical home for me, it worked due to the fantastic people who came out to see us. You lot definitely know how to party so that makes our job easier that’s for sure!

So the reason for your return is for the massive Shogun-100 tour and celebrations. What do you have in store for the party when you head over to Australia?

Celebrating the label – playing music from the archives up to brand new dubs that no one else has heard. Looking forward to also playing a lot of music from my debut album Obsolete Medium.

You’re heading over with label mates, Technimatic and Joe Ford – name your favourite track by each of them.

You know what, I’m going to be honest, I don’t play a lot of their music, and likewise, I don’t think they play mine – and that’s a good thing. We’re not a label where everyone is making the same kind of music or are all producer clones of other people. If you come to a Shogun night you’re not going to hear the same kind of records all night. Variety is the spice of life, and something that is very lacking in some parts of drum and bass.

Your musical journey is an interesting one, beginning with listening to Nirvana to Green Day then NOFX and Pennywise. Do you still listen to a lot of punk? Or do you think Punk is dead?

I still listen to it most days, especially in the morning when I’m out getting some exercise. Its mostly the older stuff from the 1980’s that I love seeking out nowadays. It always surprises me how well documented that scene was. I read something in a newspaper recently how ‘punk’ as an ideal is almost an archival way of thinking, which is kind of true. I think when something exciting like that comes through certain people instantly try to monetize and exploit it and it consequently it loses what made it special in the first place. How many times has that happened over the years!

You’ve been praised quite a bit for changing the formula in drum n bass, and you yourself have said in previous interviews that you try and make it more ‘danceable’. How have you tried to make it more danceable? Do you see a lot of bad dancers when you play drum n bass?

There is one certain style of dancing called ‘dnb step’ that you see sometimes in eastern Europe which, being polite, isn’t to my tastes – but then again I’m no Fred Astaire myself to be honest! I think even from one of my earliest releases – a track called “Full Circle’, I thought I should maybe think about putting my drums in a more traditional arrangement so a Dj could maybe mix them a little easier. Making things ‘danceable’ isn’t one of my main motivations when making a track but I think it’s good to have it in the back of your mind, somewhere.

What was it like being signing that album with Shogun Audio then going on to become one of the most reversed artists on their roster?

It was a honor to sign. Then a lot of hard work getting the album to a place where it sounded like a cohesive whole but I’m really proud of it.

You released ‘Obsolete Medium’ last year on Shogun and spoke about how the title is poking fun at things like vinyl and even making an album, which you consider obsolete. What do you think is next to become an obsolete medium?

I think this streaming and Spotify model of music consumption will render all musicians obsolete. Apart from the guy who wrote Gangnam Style, he’ll be ok. All we will be left with will be the musical equivalent of cat memes. And Taylor Swift. But us musicians, she’s got our back right? (I think somewhere in time humans will probably become obsolete but I think that’s just me watching too many dystopian futurist movies.)

What are your plans for 2016? Do you plan on releasing another album?

Hell no, not an album, but there will be music at some point. Once I’ve decided which way I want to take things …

Check out Rockwell’s GuestMix for Mista Jam