Just Be / Bushwacka talks to When We Dip ahead of his latest collaboration with iconic British imprint Crosstown Rebels, where he has lined up a delectable four tracker in collaboration once again with Jess Monroe. The EP is set for release via CR imprint Rebellion. We got the lowdown for you this week along with an exclusive cut from the record, while also touching on the struggles of Ibiza, Fabric and more. It’s all below!
WWD: Cheers for joining us Matthew! You’re back this month releasing with Crosstown Rebels, this time on their Rebellion imprint. Talks us through the new record!
Hi. Thanks for inviting me to talk with you. Its great to be back releasing with the label – its been a while! Dip Your Finger is a nod to Mr. Fingers with the sound of the bass – and getting vibes going with Jesse on the mic bringing the track to life. I have a huge connection to sounds from records that took me on a journey and this studio session I wanted to recreate some of my own memories into something new. The Good Old Days is actually a much more modern sounding production, but the vibe of the track makes me feel like I am back in the great underground parties thrown by Mr. C and his sister in the early nineties….. The EP is full of warmth.
WWD: You’re collaborating once more with Jesse Monroe. How did you guys work the release?
Jesse is so talented. I gave her the track, with a sampled vocal I found in an old accapella bank, asked her to do her own thing, along those vibes, and change it as she deemed fit, and she took the music in to the studio in London and recorded 5 different takes, sent them to me for me to check out. I never got past take one! It just worked. We are about to start working on an album finally, which we are so buzzing about.
WWD: You’ve been on the White Isle quite a bit this Summer. How have the tracks been going down?
The tracks have been going down great – vibes on the dance floor, and The Good Old Days is great to mix up with other tracks…. its a tool!
WWD: Have you found it hard to get in the studio with the weather so fine or is that something you prefer to keep to the winter months?
My studio actually got flooded a few months ago, when I was out of the country on a gig – my boiler burst, so it has been out of action until about a month ago. Luckily the water didn’t get to most of the equipment as its raised up – but I have only been getting back in in the last month. The beach is always so tempting too though!
WWD: You’ve also been working on some electronica projects recently. Can you tell us a bit about that?
I spent the best part of 6 months from the end of last year out of my comfort zone and writing more ambient electronica, and quite abstract stuff, more soundscape – and Im really getting into it – I have a long way to go before I would say I am producing the music I want to be in this area – its a totally different way of approaching writing, and a lot harder than it first seemed, but I love this area and will be developing it.
WWD: Does delving into different genres refresh creativity and provide new inspirations?
Exactly. And without meaning to sound too cynical, I have spent an awfully long time writing music within a certain tempo, time signature and beat – lets face it…. so this is totally refreshing and I am not comparing the pieces I am writing to the last music I wrote – its just me writing music to express a mood, or an emotion.
WWD: Seeing Space Ibiza about to close, there’s been lots of talk about what Ibiza needs to fill the gap. As a mainstay on the Island for some time what are your thoughts? Is it still as magicial as ever?
Ibiza could do with a reset. Its been overkill the last few years, and its still great, but there are loads of people here that have absolutely no idea what they are going to, or hearing….. I would say for me personally that it is not as magical as ever, but then again, in different ways it is more magical – because I am living a clean and sober life now, and deliberately touring a bit less, Im seeing more daytime, and getting more connected with nature, and that is really magic!
WWD: For those who’ll never get to witness Carl Cox – Music Is Revolution at Space, can you sum it all up in one sentence?
In one sentence… The best party you never got to go to, in the world, ever, ever, EVER,
WWD: Who’s been the most impressive young gun to come through the place this season?
Kellie Allen. She has been smashing it at Sankeys.
WWD: Of course, Fabric is going through its own struggles in London at the moment. Do closures of institutions like Fabric threaten to stifle the development of underground electronic music and the careers of artists?
People need to dance, people need to go out and let off steam, and it isn’t right that so many places have been and are being shut down….. I believe that when one door closes another door opens – and I believe that people will always find a way, and for true artists the only thing that matters is their passion for the music and the desire to perform…. New things will happen when old things cease – but its not a good period particularly in the Uk for clubs.
WWD: Before we say goodbye, what else is on the agenda for the coming months?
Highlights for me are – I am just about to launch my labels Plank and Oblong, digitally for the first time – and put the whole catalog up for the new get music lovers to get hold of the Breakbeat, Electro, and Tech House – Im going to play at Space Closing on 2nd Oct, and pay my respects to one of the best clubs in the world, and I am doing a rare Layo and Bushwacka! gig in Prague in October – they literally begged us to join up for the show so we are looking forward to that…. and writing the album with Jesse.