Message to all multi-genre DJs. Shouts to all switch-up lovers. We have a treat for you!
Our latest free download: Ride by O/MEGA, a track that flips from 140-174 midway and comes complete with an iconic vocal sample. It goes like this:
The ultimate boost-up tune, this is essential for all DJs who glide between the tempos. It pays off with a big vibey dancefloor energy. The reactions this one gets are priceless! Now it’s yours!
Turns out O/MEGA isn’t a stranger to a transition tune. As half of Premonition he’s already blessed the world with a D&B tune that flips into dubstep (Together With Sound), now the Phase Records manager is back to balance things out. We found out more…
Howdy. What have I interrupted? What’s your day job?
I train people with NVQs in construction work. I used to work on site but noticed that everyone ends up with a bad back so I got involved in the training side. It takes me around the country, you’ll often find me going up and down the M1 or the M5.
Ah nice. You get to explore a lot of our green and pleasant land then?
Massively. Between work and Phase I’ve seen every major city and town in the UK and a lot of un-major cities!
Ha! Do you like driving? I love a drive.
I do a like a drive. If I’m doing a 3-4 hour drive both ways then I can get through a hell of a lot of D&B. It helps me find a lot nuggets tht others miss. I do a lot of R&D on the road!
Let’s chat about Ride! Have you played it out yet?
I have played it once and I’m playing in Manchester next week so I’ll be playing it again then, too. I’m really happy with it. Props to you for the idea on changing the tempo. I like it as a set opener because it builds up from the slower tempo. Or a mid-set breather if you’re coming out of 140. It works in a few places.
It was a comment someone had put on your Soundcloud demo saying ‘wasn’t expecting that’. I saw the comment before I pressed play and my head had already interpreted it as a tempo switch. Then I mentioned that to you and you’d pointed out a track you’d just done which did that. Boom.
Yeah as Premonition, me and Louie had made a track Together With Sound which did that so it was a nice connection and it made sense to do another track like that. That came about in an interesting way. We had the first half the tune pretty much as you hear it now and we were trying to get the second drop together but none of our ideas were working. We remembered this halftimey kind of thing we made when we first started which we were really into an went back to see if there was any potential with that. And at the same I also went back to this thing I’d done as O/MEGA which Louie liked the sound of. We dragged that sound in and it worked so we took it from there. People really liked that switch so we knew it was something we could do in the future with other tracks. I think because we’d made Together With Sound not long before you asked about this one it didn’t seem that daunting.
Ah phew. Are you multi-genre at heart anyway?
I do like the idea of not staying straight 174 for the whole set and having those moments where you can take things down to a different tempo a bit. I really enjoyed the 4×4 phase that D&B went through where you could bang in a bit of something different. It breaks things up and gives the ears a bit of a refresher. And when you bring the D&B back in, it really hits the spot. I feel like acts like Fred Again has been a big influence on this. Skrillex, too. There’s a lot of big DJs out there playing all of the genres and I think it’s influenced a lot of people.
Yeah definitely. You’re also the label manager at Phase Records, right? How does that influence you? Or how does being a producer influence your role at Phase?
So Premonition was a bit like a dirty dancefloor act. It’s got a very defined sound and we know what we want it to be. For myself, I’m much more versatile and I cover every subgenre you can list from dancefloor to halftime. So I think that influences me in an A&R capacity. I’m not just into one specific sound of drum & bass and I think that helps a lot. I don’t just shut down a demo if it’s a sound I’m not as into personally. And on the flip of that, I think it’s helpful that I don’t just down in the studio and make one style of D&B, I’m forever influenced by other sounds and styles we work with on the label. Gabs comes from her perspective with a sound we’re calling scatimal which is a very scatty strain of minimal D&B and I’m coming from my side of the music, it gives us a good outlook on things.
Yeah 100% – it surprises me when people in one subgenre doesn’t know someone from another subgenre and it’s like what!?!?
Haha yeah! You can be chatting away to someone thinking they know their stuff then you mention someone who you think is pretty big across the scene and they’ be like ‘who?’ It’s like ‘really?’ Then it turns out they only listen to minimal or neuro or something. I feel like you’re missing out if you do that. D&B is under represented as it is – don’t write off an entire subgenre. I don’t understand that.
Amen! Do you listen to lots of other styles when you’re driving?
Oh yeah all the time. There’s nothing worse than being stuck in traffic an having some really frenetic D&B playing. But yeah I listen to loads of different things. I find a lot of things in other bass music styles like dubstep and 140 can translate really well into D&B anyway. Listen to Simula for instance. His sound design is so interesting, I’d be shocked if he didn’t listen to other things for inspiration. If you’re only listening to what’s out right now in D&B then you won’t get any fresh inspiration. So yeah I listen to dubstep, I listen to a lot classic house music and I like stumbling across tracks I can bootleg… I try and keep as open minded as possible!
Totally. Is Louie the same?
Yeah his solo name is Intention and he loves a lot more of the liquid side of things and straight, melodic dancefloor. He keeps me on my toes cos he loves the really hard stuff and the softer stuff. We’d have some music on and suddenly an Etherwood tune would come on and it would be like ‘where the hell did that come from? We’ve just been listening to some proper face melters!’ But I like that and it brings different elements an techniques into what we do.
Yeah totally. I love that aspect of production, too. It’s very social. What are you more naturally – a social producer or one who likes a bit of solitude?
It depends on the vibe. If I’ve got a really strong idea for something then I’m better off on my own and working on it without worrying I’m hogging the controls. But then when I’m working with Louie on a tune and he’ll come through with a really mad idea that I’d never think of on my own and that’s really inspiring. So both studio scenarios have their benefits. When I’m on my own I feel more comfortable to try different things and make mistakes. I know that sounds silly but if you’re in a room with a bunch of your mates you feel a lot more self-conscious. Anything slightly wrong they’ll be on you.
Haha yeah I know that. So what comes after Ride?
I’ve got 4/5 different collabs going on with different people. Me and Louie are putting some finishing touches on a Premonition EP for Phase later this year and I’ve got something coming on Subdue a little later in the year too. There’s something coming out on All 172 Things much later this year. Plus some bits which are currently sitting with labels so who knows when they’ll come out. Maybe 2026?
Haha. So wrapping up… the omega symbol equates to 800 numerically. So if I could give you 800 anythings what would it be?
Should I be sensible or rude?
Both!
800 number ones in a row. And 800 million dollars?
