DNAUDIO 41
WORDS | John Murray Hill
PHOTOGRAPHY | Cleveland Aaron and Olivia Estebanez
times with the state of the scene. We all feel that this
album should have come out ages ago. There’s stuff on BREAK!
there that isn’t made two weeks ago; and there’s stuff Described as the ‘The Terminator’ by label founder Squire, the much-respected Break
that’s really new as well. We just want to get it out and gives Kmag a bullet-quick rundown of the ‘Hard Times’ LP that he helped to create. “The
make that statement. It’s a cathartic thing because we album had been brewing for a while,” Break begins, “and has tracks we’d made over the
can say goodbye to one chapter, and then move onto last three years which we’ve always liked, but had never came out. Those were a key
the next as DNAudio.” part of it all, what with people requesting them for ages, and the fact that we still liked
them. It came down to getting everything to match on one CD – fi nding the balance
Squire mentioned in an email to Kmag that Hard between old and new. A couple had to be slightly EQed again, because they were a bit
Times represented the closing of a chapter. Does this harsh. Once we came to the mastering phase, we decided to go with a bassier sound
mean that the difficult induction period to DNAudio’s than usual, to take some of the tops off on everything, so that when you put the CD in
success is over and the good times are about to a player it is warm and nice-sounding. You can expect a mixed bag creatively – quite
roll? “Definitely man,” Silent Witness says, relieved a few different styles combining into a nice shape. ‘Hard Times’ is dark and deep, with
and audibly content. “It’s a case of ‘out with the old that mixture of techno and soul – the DNAudio sound.”
and in with the new’. The hard times are over now
because this album is coming out. People are afraid SURVIVAL!
of doing what they want in drum & bass because The veteran of the DNAudio camp speaks! “I’m the oldest member of the group,”
everything’s so incestuous, where people look at begins the aptly named Survival. “We all learn a lot from each other in the DNAudio
what the other is doing. I’ve chosen to take a step camp. I released my fi rst tune in 1994. I’ve been in the game for a long time, since all
back and go ‘look – this isn’t a multimillion pound the hardcore stuff. I’m not really interested in politics surrounding different styles of
industry. This is underground music’. That’s always music because I’ve been there and I accept that things change. But there’s always more
what it has been, so I’m just going to do what I want to learn, and that’s why it’s great to be part of DNAudio with all the other producers
and use DNAudio as a soapbox for good stuff. One of in there. It is a big thing for me being involved in the ‘Hard Times’ album – it’s my
the labels I respect most in the scene is Commercial biggest achievement in drum & bass. The other guys are doing what they love and it’s
Suicide because the name itself is wonderful. Klute a pleasure to be part of it all. Break is the golden boy of the minute – he’s incredible.
puts out whatever he wants and he does really well. Some might say that the hard times are over now that we’ve released the album, but,
Even people like John B going around with the make talking from experience, dance music is never easy. It’s just a great achievement. We all
up – I just think it’s great that there are people brave enjoy what we do, and hopefully that will come across in the music.”
enough out there to do what they want.”
K40-41_DNAudio.indd 41 24/4/08 10:34:05
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