UBB Interview – UNITED BY BASS

A Quick Chat With DJ Craze

Ridda — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 18:25:56 +0000

San Diego is in for one HELL of a night on August 23rd at Spin as we celebrate 9 YEARS of SD Union! To commemorate the milestone, we are bringing out the G.O.A.T., the one and only DJ Craze for an exclusive all drum & bass set. United By Bass Editor Emily sat down with the legendary DJ ahead of his first-ever all drum and bass performance in San Diego to discuss how the three-time DMC champion of the world prepares for a dnb set, how to succeed as a DJ, and what drum & bass artists get him excited.

When people talk about your career, they tend to think of your DMC championships and, most recently, Slow Roast Records. But you have had a long-standing love for drum & bass. How did you first get into DnB?

Yeah, I’ve been into Drum & Bass since the late 90s. I first got into it when I played a gig in Munich back in 97′, that’s the first time I heard DnB in a club and I’ve been hooked ever since. The DJs playing that night were Hype & Shy FX so you can see why I got into it.

How do you approach your drum & bass sets compared to the other styles you’re known for?

I approach my DnB sets like I do all my sets. I prep things I know will work and I try to sneak in a lot of things that I like, things that separate from all the other dnb DJs. For example, I’ll definitely sneak in some of my hip hop roots whether it be an acapella or a dope lil intermission. I’ll add some flavaful scratching (not too much) And I’ll do a lot of trick mixing.

Time to name drop! What current DnB artists have your attention and why do they excite you?

Signal, Current Value, Urbandawn, Audio, TC. There are just too many great producers in DnB. The quality coming out right now is amazing!

…I miss Dillinja though

You’re playing at the SD Union 9 Year Anniversary party on Friday, August 2d3r. What can attendees expect from your set, especially if they’ve never seen a Craze dnb performance?

I’m bringing the heat to SD Union’s 9th anniversary. My DnB sets are pretty fire if I do say so myself. Expect a lot of energy and dope mixing!

I want to thank DJ Craze for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions.

We guarantee you are not going to want to miss out on this incredible night and we want to see all of you on the dancefloor. Catch DJ Craze alongside hometown heroes Garva, Rebellion, DJ Ronnie, and Burncam with mic support from MC Ridda and Subliminal this Friday, August 23rd at Spin Nightclub.

Secure your spot in Spin Nightclub today to save cash at the door this Friday!

Emily Widuch

Editor @ UBB

A Quick Chat With Submorphics

Ridda — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 22:46:04 +0000

A Quick Chat With Submorphics (Interview)

The one and only Submorphics is back in the states for a short run of shows this month and we were lucky enough to catch up with him ahead of his performance at SD Union on July 27th.
Now that he is based in Amsterdam, NL we wanted to see how living abroad has been treating him, where his inspiration for his music comes from and what he misses about the States.

It’s been a little over a year since you made the move across the pond to the Netherlands. What are some of the things you miss the most about the U.S. DNB scene?

I miss my friends + family in Detroit, Chicago, and SF/LA, tacos, pizza, burgers, and sunshine! But I’m loving being based in the NL right now– I always wanted to try living in Europe and in D&B I think you really need to be based across the pond to do this thing at a higher level. My North Quarter family and new agent Tom @ ESP have been amazing and it’s an exciting time for me as I make plans for 2020!

Your sound is very unique, using a lot of vintage samples that span several decades. How do you go about selecting the perfect throwback tracks to put your signature twist on?

I tend to go for obscure 60s-early 70s soul samples on indie labels or privately pressed; stuff in a minor key and with a melancholic or bittersweet tone to them. If a melody speaks to me and I have ideas for how to add my own musical layers I go from there…and figure out if it works in 172 bpm!

You’ve collaborated with some pretty impressive names in drum & bass, Lenzman, Jenna G., and T.R.A.C to name a few. If you could collab with anyone, who would it be?

I love working with folks outside the D&B realm. These people I’d die happy if I ever worked with: Moses Sumney, Anderson.Paak, Herbie Hancock, Madlib, The Internet, Q-Tip, Rakim, Moodymann… I’ll stop there cause I could go on + on…

San Diego LOVES us some Submorphics. What do you look forward to the most when planning a trip here to S.D.?

I’ll only be in town for about 5 hours but I obviously need me an SD burrito! That place that Calculon takes me to with the Mexican wrestlers on the wall!

I want to thank Submorphics for taking time to sit down and answer my questions. He is truly a motivated man with a bright future ahead of him and we can’t wait to see what comes next.

If you’re in the SoCal area, you can Catch Submorphics this Saturday, July 27th at SD Union as he returns to San Diego alongside MC T.R.A.C., Bachelors Of Science and a slew of San Diego’s best. Make sure to Follow Submorphics on all of his socials so you can keep up with everything this busy man is up to!

Emily Widuch

Editor @ UBB

A Quick Chat With Sirus Hood (Interview)

Ridda — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 17:19:54 +0000

A Quick Chat With Sirus Hood (Interview)

Paris, France based producer Sirus Hood has steadily gained international momentum since he first came bursting onto the scene. With releases on Dirtybird, CUFF, and the support of some of the biggest House acts such as Amine Edge & DANCE (CUFF), Claude VonStroke and Justin Martin (Dirtybird), Sirus Hoods music emits an infectious energy of enjoyment on the dance floor.
I spoke with Sirus Hood ahead of his San Diego performance this Friday to talk about his recent release, who he would like to collab with and more. Check out the interview and make sure to grab your pre-sale tickets today!

You’re kicking off your U.S. summer tour here in San Diego! For those who haven’t seen a Sirus Hood show yet, what can we expect?

“It’s not gonna be a show. Actually, it’s gonna be the opposite, it’s highly recommended to go in the middle of the dancefloor, close your eyes and enjoy the journey. You can expect unexpected sounds, discover new music, and this is where I put all my efforts, creating, editing and finding this unknown music that will blow your mind.”

You had a busy month in May! Any moments, in particular, stand out for you?

“In May my 2 best moments were in 2 opposite places in the world. The first a very little venue in Gold Coast, Australia called Elsewhere. The second a huge festival in Curitiba, Brazil called ZOOminimal. The first was a few hundred people and the second more than 10k people and both gave me goosebumps because of the crowd being totally into the vibe. When most of the people are just into it, dance hard, they even forget to take a video with their cell phone, they are not a spectator of the show, they are part of it.”

Congratulations on your latest EP, Out of Order on Sola. Did you have any particular inspiration for those tracks?

“Thank you, I wanted to make different tracks than what we can find on Beatport. I always try to sound unique, try new techniques in the studio, new grooves. While I was doing this track, I had a little break, opened an Instagram story from Kevin Knapp saying about a lake: it’s Out Of Order… I sampled it and sent the final track to him. He loved it. I received a lot of support from artists like Jamie Jones and then from the crowds. The B side Brotha is more a personal track, it’s actually my fav track of the EP. It reminds me of the rhymes of my childhood.”

f you could collab with any artist, living or not, who would it be?

“For the living artist, I would say Daft Punk. Not living: Michael Jackson.”

I want to thank Sirus Hood for taking the time to answer our questions. Catch him this Friday, June 21st at UBB Presents as he touches down alongside local DJ’s Evlo, Oren and Stedicam. Make sure to Follow Sirus Hood on all of his socials so you can keep up with everything this busy man is up to!

Emily Widuch

Author, Editor @ UBB