2025 is a critical year for dancefloor big dog Tantrum Desire. Not only does it mark 20 years since he first stepped into the scene, it also marks the start of a new slew of dancefloor projectiles.
Life took priority for a while, as the UK producer explains in this interview. But after a year of release silence, he’s back on our USBs with a vengeance. It kicked off with Override in February. Now Something Real, featuring the universal dulcet dynamite of Ayah Marar. It’s Tantrum Desire’s first vocal tune in five years and it goes like this…
There’s plenty more where that came from, too as he and I reconnect after our last interview back in 2014!
Last time we spoke was 11 years ago for UKF!
Wow that’s crazy. I remember the interview but was it really that long ago?
Yeah was I hassling you about your album! Feels like yesterday but also eons ago, right?
Everything has changed so much hasn’t it? That album feels like so long ago. It took up half my life. So much work went into it. So many things, testing how things would work. So many different versions and hours and hours. I hadn’t thought about that for a while. Mad to think it was 2015.
How do you feel about albums now? The shouting you have to do just to get any type of promo is so much isn’t it?
Too much. I think when you do an album you’ve got to take time out to work on it. You’ve got to take your head out of everything that’s going on in the rest of the scene. And that’s a big thing to do when so much of your profile relies on a consistent presence online. Promotion is its own job and it feels like you could be forgotten if you take too much time off.
Is that a fallacy though? You haven’t rushed singles out in the last few years. You seem to have a good balance
Oh I’d release a lot more but I had other things going on in my life! My baby girl was born at the start of 2024.
Congratulations!
Thanks. So yeah, new daughter in the world, a lot of commitments and responsibilities there as I’m sure you know. That was a major influence on my studio time. And then also moving into a new studio which took me a long time to get back into. And by the end of last year I’d got back into the flow of banging out tunes. So this year you are seeing a lot more of me in terms of releases. I got my own space again.
New chapter of Tantrum Desire! Must have been a nice feeling when you’d settled and knew you had the head space and physical space sorted
It’s nice to be able to have my own space once again. I’ve previously had my studio in a spare room in my house, but now the new studio is home away from home and I can divide my time a lot better now.
The psychology of that is very different when you’re in a different space, right?
Totally. I treat it more like a 9-5 during the week. I don’t get the interruptions like I did from the kids. As much as I love them, it would always ruin the flow. So yeah now I’m in my studio and I’m in a good place. I’ve got so much on the go because I’ve had that time.
Amazing. Your previous single Override was the start of a run of releases for this year, then…
Yeah definitely. I’ve been testing that track for quite a while at gigs and that. It’s great to see that get picked up. You never know what type of reaction a track will get but when things get picked up it’s like ‘okay I’ve done something right here!’ And now Something Real is about to drop and there’s more in the pipeline. Maybe even half an album.
You wanna be careful using the album word with me. I’ll start hassling you again!
Haha. Definitely not an album but maybe an EP. It’s just nice to be back in the flow of things.
Wicked. I was gonna mess around with the title and ask you for some unreal moments in your career but your life has been very much real lately hasn’t it? You’ve been through a transformation in terms of your family and how you work
Wicked. I was gonna mess around with the title and ask you for some unreal moments in your career but your life has been very much real lately hasn’t it? You’ve been through a transformation in terms of your family and how you work Yeah absolutely, real life has definitely been a priority for me, especially when it comes to the family. But at the same time its always been nicely balanced with the family and touring life. Dont get me wrong, it can be tough jetting off thousands of miles away from them every weekend, but it’s all managed quite well I’m happy to say.
Tell me about unreal things in your life
It’s unreal to say I’ve been in this game for 20 years. That’s only really dawned on me lately but it’s unreal to think I’ve been doing this through a few generations now. I still get bookings, people still play my music, the shows are still good. The things people say about my music and the influence and effect its had on them will always blow my mind. That’s completely unreal. People saying that a tune has helped them get through something or that it’s inspired them to make music themselves. Like touring is the time when you hear that type of stuff because you’re out there meeting people and it always blows me away. Like really really heartwarming stuff. That’s unreal mate.
No better compliment!
It keeps you going and keeps you on your toes to carry on doing what you’re doing. It’s so inspiring.
What else inspires you within drum & bass? Things can be a bit negative online in this genre sometimes but what inspires you?
I’m inspired by seeing so many new artists coming through all the time. I think that should be celebrated. There are always new people to check out and new ideas pushing things forward. I’m inspired by positivity full stop. I try and keep out anything negative – online comments and things like that. It can have a detrimental effect on your music can’t it?
100% Ayah Marar doesn’t have a detrimental effect! Have you worked together before?
No we haven’t but I’ve wanted to write a tune with her for years. We’ve been meaning to link up for a long long time but it almost never came out.
What?
Yeah I had a version of this ready to play at festivals last year but when I played it, it must have either been the soundsystem I played it on, or the mixdown that I’d done, but it sounded terrible. I almost shelved it. But I knew it wasn’t down to Ayah’s vocal so I got back to work on it and really went in on it so it sounds like it does now. I can’t wait to see it out there. I’m really happy with it. I haven’t done a vocal track in quite a few years you know.
I didn’t realise it had been that long.
The last one was with Marianna Ray and that was back in 2020. I’ve always loved doing vocal tracks but where I’ve been constantly travelling for shows, I’ve mostly been making club bangers for the sets, which does then get released eventually. But yeah I thought it’s about time I switched it up to remind people that I do enjoy writing songs with vocalists haha.
Nice. What’s up next?
I’m just in the flow. A lot of nice shows coming up which I’m building tracks for and a lot of projects coming together., You’ve caught me at a nice time. I’ve got my space set-up, I’m comfortable and feeling good about things. Plenty more to come.
Tantrum Desire – Something Real (Feat Ayah Marar) is out now on Technique Recordings
Support Tantrum Desire: Soundcloud > Facebook > Instagram
