Mixmas is coming to an end.
The USB tree is shedding annoying crap all over the floor.
All the bangers have been eaten or gone off.
The reality of imminent work is too close for any level of chill.
Those new year ‘sort your life’ out missions and ambitions are pulling you away from your decks.
Then Section comes along with the mix equivalent of a hard man uncle who rubs your head with his knuckles, grins at you, calls a c-bomb multiple times and tells you to behave yourself. Yeah it’s one of those ones.
Pure, undiluted, high grade underground, cutting edge drum & bass. It’s exactly the type of tackle he was celebrating when we spoke to him last year about his sample pack with jungle pioneer DJ Crystl.
Timeless, dynamic, future-thinking, sci-fi music: The type of foreboding frequencies and vibrations that were foretold by Reinforced and Metalheadz 30 years ago. This is thoroughbred drum & bass music, a good deal of which is unreleased as James packs dubs from his own label Locked Up and dubs from good friends at Rebel Music.
We have just one more mix from our Mixmas series left to go after this and Section was the perfect DJ to take us to this point. No fluff or fat, just pure lean futurism. A mix like this never goes old…
Last time you were on here it was about your sample pack. You said you were sitting on a load of new tunes… How many of them are in this mix?
Let me think… There’s around eight of my tunes in there and a good three or four have sounds from that pack. The rest is almost entirely Locked Up dubs and Rebel dubs. A few Myth things from this next CIA release. It’s a bit varied but a lot of representation of Locked Up and Rebel.
You’ve gone in, haven’t you?
That’s my aim. I play music I like. I went through a phase of second guessing what people might want to hear. Both as a producer and as a DJ but as the great Grooverider has said – people don’t know what they want to hear. Play something leftfield or it can all get very beige and very samey very quickly.
Yeah. Too many DJs just playing whatever the flavour of the moment is
I agree and I think it’s shame. People are definitely playing it safe and not taking risks. I find it very boring, I’ll be totally honest.
So many factors come into this. Economical ones, post covid ones…
It is totally economic and I’ve said this many times – I’m so glad I don’t rely on drum & bass for any kind of financial security. You’ll be forced to do things to make more sales and attract a more mainstream audience. And what’s sad is that there are influential DJs who everyone looks up to who could actually steer the genre and sound in a much more interesting direction and they don’t.
They’re pandering to the mainstream. And what’s sad is that it goes against one of the most consistent pieces of advice anyone can ever give… Be yourself.
Haha yeah it’s ironic isn’t it. It’s definitely an attack on art but the underground – whatever that is, because that word has been totally overused and misused so much – the grassroots scenes are still pushing Bonafide authentic music. Otherwise it’s not fun and this is something I do for fun so I’m not playing that mainstream game. I think there’s enough passion on that side to keep it going. As long as club culture stays alive but that’s a whole other discussion isn’t it?
We could be here all day. I am hopeful though – I speak to enough talented people every day and I know there are many like minds out there.
Yeah on my label alone there are many – across the world too. Other countries are looking really exciting for D&B too. Australia seems to have some very healthy pockets. America has a big market for it that seems growing.
Absolutely. And I do feel the clubbing thing is negatively reported here, too. This last weekend alone I can think of seven or eight big D&B events happening around the country. Three alone in London. Huge ones, too.
Yeah I’ve noticed the big day time raves which I do like a lot. That’s one of the best things to come out of covid. It’s good for businesses, it’s good for people’s lifestyle. I don’t live that far from London but my last train is 11pm which is hardly a late one. I’ve started driving everywhere which has been a game-changer for many reasons.
Same! Waking up without a hangover is a game-changer alone! Let’s chat DJing – give me your all-time best experience DJing and your all-time most embarrassing.
Oh easy! My best experience was in New York. I played two gigs there. I played two hours at Remedy with my best mate who used to be part of Section. I could play whatever I wanted and lots of our own stuff. My mate didn’t DJ but he came along, we had such a good time. And then in 2022 when my album came out I played in Porto as it launched and the whole family came with me. It was family holiday and I got to DJ twice. In the day on the beach, in the sea, playing with the kids. At night DJing. It was bliss to be honest.
Oh wow that does sound lush! How about the worst ever experience?
That would have been in Nottingham when I got way too fucked up to play. The club was awesome, it was really busy and the line-up was really sick – It was Hive’s first ever UK tour. I was supporting him, I was taking over from him and it was a car crash.
Ahhhh no!
Yeah one of those ones. I was very young at the time but I still feel awful about it now.
I’m cringeing hard but only because I can relate. The clearer headed you are, the better your set will be!
Totally. For most of the duration of the set I had the filter on. It was really really bad. But you live and learn and you only have to experience that once to never do it again. I’m a lot older now, I have a label and a responsibility to my artists and want to be accountable and approachable at any stage of the night now.
Definitely! What do you look for in a DJ?
What do I look for in a DJ? They should be experimental and clearly playing music they enjoy. If the DJ is obviously and genuinely into the music that really draws me in. It’s such a personal thing to DJ. I know some DJs do that cliché of Jesus with their arms out but for me it’s such an introverted experience and because of that you can really tell if the DJ is properly into it. Technically I’m not fussed about multiple records dropping at once or six, seven deck mixes, I don’t find them interesting. I want to hear it rolling out. Like Randall taught us. He’s my inspiration, as he was for so many of us, and how he created those moments in the mix and brought it all together was the benchmark.
Amen!
When it came to D&B he genuinely did show us all how to play the music.
Yes! The consistency and journey of it all
Yeah I’ve got goosebumps now thinking about certain transitions. Other DJs played a big role in that for me, too. DJ Hype, Swift, Bryan Gee. Those are the DJs I grew up to and that’s what I aspire to reflect in my mixes.
YES! So we’re into 2025. Are you a New Years Resolution guy?
I’m gonna sound a bit preachy here now but I don’t think you should wait for new year to make a resolution. I think change should happen all day every day. You should be constantly evolving, reassessing and working on yourself.
I hear that!
But if you were to pin me down.
I am definitely pinning you down
Well I’m always trying to be the best person at home. A better partner and a better father. A happy home is a stressless home and a stressless home means I have more chance of writing some music from time to time. Happy new year mate.