Buckle up! We are about to lock into another hour of extreme beat craft as Welsh artist Dysfunction steps up to our 1 More Mix series with their signature blend of turbo-charged, unbounded energy.
From crossbreed to neuro, hardcore to minimal and many shades and styles in between, Dysfunction – real name Cai Langstaff – has built an intense escapade that leaves no stone unturned and no corner unexplored.
Sonically and energetically representing everything 1 More Thing stands for; Dysfunction’s mix comes from a place of rich musical heritage which flexes from classic composition to gabber. It also follows a burgeoning line of releases which have so far ranged from labels such as Drum Pusher, No Reality Music and Murky Digital to bootlegs of acts as a disparate as Sergio Medes and Abba.
In fact their latest edit – a swinging shakedown of Ini Kamoze’s Here Comes The Hot Stepper – dropped earlier this month. Next month comes with Dysfunction’s most wide-armed multi-genre mission so far…. Some of which is in this very mix right here.
Enjoy and get acquainted with this exciting non-binary new generation talent. We called them up at their current Oxfordshire based to find out more…
I believe you work in labs for a living… Do you have a scientific brain?
Sometimes I feel I do. But a lot of chemical synthesis relies on creative logic, too. Compared to a lot of other sciences. there’s more potential for creativity in my line of work, which fits well with my brain.
Interesting! Tell us your origin story!
How far back do you want to go? Music has been there for as long as I can remember. It’s the first and longest standing specialist interest I’ve developed.
Take us right back to the start!
Okay when I was eight, my dad had this drum machine software installed on the family computer. I’d play around and make beats which, in hindsight, were awful. But it’s something I could spend hours and hours on and enjoy it. From there I went down a classical route – I learnt to play the clarinet in primary school and continued with that all the way until I was in university.
You must be super high level at that, then?
It was one of those things I enjoyed experimenting and improvising things on. I didn’t follow the academic side of music and following a piece of music all the way through. From there, around the age of 14-16 I started composing a lot of things like folk or klezma music but from around sixth form I started getting more and more into electronic music and started to focus on writing drum & bass. It wasn’t until lockdown I felt like something clicked with my output and I started to be really happy with it.
That’s a special moment for any producer. When you can start playing your tunes out!
Yeah definitely. I’d attempted to play my tracks before but they wouldn’t have much impact or there would be quite a drop in the dynamic. But, from around 2020/21 onwards, that wasn’t so much of the case.
Wicked. You have a really interesting music palette then if you’ve spent time composing and understanding classical music styles. But then I know you also love hard dance and the more extreme side of things as you’ve done a mix in the past called Gabberwystwryth! Amazing name by the way…
Haha thanks. It was a promo mix for an event that was set for May 2020 which obviously didn’t happen. But yeah I got into the harder, faster styles of electronic music around sixth form too. Not long after I got into drum & bass. Especially crossbreed, gabber, hardcore and 200BPM music. What I love about drum & bass though is that it’s adaptable for other genres of music to be mixed into it if that makes sense? Around April 2018 I played my first ever set. I played a set of Balkan and klezmer mixed with ragga jungle and jump-up.
WOW
It went down surprisingly well. And given it was my second time ever mixing on CDJs it could have gone down much worse. Luckily someone let me practice before the gig!
Amazing. I think you’re right about drum & bass being adaptable to other styles. It’s how the genre came to be really isn’t it? It was a melting pot for all influences.
Yeah a lot of rock and metal influences really appealed to me. Some of the earlier bands I got into had an electronic edge. Like Kasabian’s earlier stuff had a lot of drum machines and synthesizers. Then getting into drum & bass I heard Qemists, Pendulum and Zardonic, that sense adaptability and flexibility was a huge appeal to me.
Yeah the rock influence and energy is huge. Where’s the line between Cai and Dysfunction?
Because music has been such a big part of who I am, I don’t think there is a line between me as an artist and me as a person. Even when I’m just existing in a work or just life capacity there’s a chance I’ll be listening to things I’ve done making notes or thinking about an idea or something. At the same time I might be performing or mixing or making music and I might suddenly have a very mundane thought or idea about something completely unrelated to the creativity. There is no line between the two headspaces.
Definitely understand that! You’re based in Oxfordshire now but you’re originally from West Wales. Welsh music plays a big role in 1 More Thing’s inspirations … Tell us your take on it.
I honestly think it’s got one of the healthiest communities of talented musicians you could ask for. West Wales in particular has a legendary reputation. An event called Black House, which was run by Kirk who now runs Dubtendo, was massive and had so many ridiculously big names like Noisia, Foreign Beggars and a massive long list of other incredibly huge names. More recently we’ve had events called Resonate who operate in a similar capacity and had guests like Mandidextrous and Amplify. So those are the massive events and there’s a great amount of grass roots and DIY events. Especially the Angel Inn in Aber which is essentially the back room of a pub.
Love that place!
Yeah it’s this really old traditional Welsh pub then in the back room you have those massive speakers. That’s a great hub for smaller events. And just generally there’s A LOT of great talent in West Wales. Since lockdown so many people have come through as producers as well so it’s not so DJ-centric which is really important. You’ve got the Aber Underground crew, you’ve Union Sounds in Carmarthen who have a bunch of sick producers and in Haverfordwest you’ve got crews like Rambunctious crew and Back To Bassix.
Yes! Do you feel West Wales is overlooked?
Traditionally it has been, yes. But I’m really inspired by the collaborations happening between different areas and collectives. Like Union Sound being present at Resonate. I’m seeing more and more cross collaborations around south wales and it’s so inspiring. I wish I could still be based there now – there aren’t many chemistry job opportunities in West Wales. If there were I’d almost definitely be there. It’s one of my favourite places and has a strong place in my heart.
Your mix has a strong place in my heart. Is that a fair reflection of you live?
I’m glad you like it! I guess it depends on the set. In terms of the range I play – at least within drum & bass – it’s a good reflection. But in terms of how I play live then maybe I’d go a bit narrower and would probably stick to a more focused sound depending on when or where the gig is. I do like to take myself out of my comfort zone and push myself or really think hard about what it is I’m playing and what people expect of me.
YES. That’s the different between someone playing music and an actual DJ. Tapping back to your musical references – you’re able to read a situation and stand up to it?
Thanks, I’ve definitely got better at that. There have been some open decks sessions where I’ve been kicked off for playing neuro at 8pm so I’m getting better at being able to recognize the situation and respecting that!
Haha brilliant. I wanted to ask you about the influence of you being non-binary on your music and your selection. Chaos Princess made some really interesting points in regards to her musical selection being a reflection of flux in her life and the intensity of her ADHD.
That’s interesting. Like Chaos Princess I also have very prevalent ADHD. In terms of production ADHD helps me get my ideas down and come up with new stuff. But it can end up with me getting stuck in a rabbit hole and listening to a loop for hours. When I’m on meds I’m better at the technical aspects – fine-tuning technical aspects and things like the mixdown. So that is all definitely present in my work and I can hear that in it.
In terms of being non-binary I’m not sure that’s as personally reflected in my music as it’s more of an inward reflection rather than an outward expression. I’m still understanding myself now and realise I’ve felt a certain way before I even knew. So as a particular aspect of my personality, it’s had an influence like everything else. But what that influence is? I couldn’t tell you precisely.
Of course. That makes total sense! So what’s up next?
By the time people read this, my bootleg of Ini Kamoze’s Here Comes The Hot Stepper will be out and I have an EP out on Drum Pusher on May 17 which is a mixture of minimal, liquid, 140 and jump-up.
SICK!
Two of the tracks are in the mix. Enjoy…
Download Dysfunction’s remix of Ini Kamoze – Here Comes The Hot Stepper
Support Dysfunction: Soundcloud > Facebook > Instagram
TRACKLIST
Pendulum – Blood Sugar (2005 Version)
Pythius – Burn Em Down Prolix
DC Breaks – Beat Down
Mandidextrous – The Alarm
Jakazid – Dance Track
TC – Tap Ho (Dysfunction Bootleg – 2023 Remaster)
The Prodigy – Breathe (Camo and Krooked and Mefjus Remix)
Gydra – Problem
Forbidden Society – Heavy Metal Tank
Katharsys – Slippery Slope (Donny Remix)
DJ Fresh – Heavyweight (AMC Remix)
Dysfunction – Getting Cyberbullied on XBox Live
Upgrade – Popular
Turno – The Invaderz
Ini Kamoze – Here Comes The Hotstepper (Dysfunction Bootleg)
Dysfunction – RUNRDM [DUB]
TNT – 2 Degrees (Dominator Remix)
Touch and Go – Would You (Dysfunction Bootleg)
Dimension – Whip Slap
Noisia & The Upbeats – Dead Limit
Drumsound and Bassline Smith – The Truth
Dub Elements – Invasion
Dysfunction – Ruckus
Phace and Misanthrop – Sex Sells
Enei – Wolfpack
My Nu Leng – Portal
Gridlok & Prolix – Revenge
Forbidden Society & Aneta Galisova – Hard (Sinister Souls VIP)
Strange Arrival – Plastic Death
Detest – Every Second VIP
Hellfish – Face Remover
Nuke – Petrify (Dysfunction Remix)
Enei – Sinking VIP
Emperor – These Days
Kasra & Catching Cairo – Guilty
Dysfunction – Storm In a Teacup
Waeys – Mapper
Dysfunction – Frostbite
Bredren – Fallen Leaves
