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| Exclusive
interview with Mike Truman, by Nick Bower
- August 2002 |
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Nick:
You're just about to release your new
double A side (Visible Noise / Know Your Enemy) and its been a while since
your last single release. How do you feel the breaks scene has progressed
in this period and how do you think the Hybrid of 2002 fit in to the developing
genre?
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Mike:
I think it's been a good time for breaks in general. You tend to get peaks
and troughs of good records over the months and at the moment, things are
looking rosy. Rennie Pilgrim, Blim and Uberzone have all been producing
some amazing new tracks, not to mention Rasta on Cup Of Chi who has really
been making some fantastic records recently. There's a lot of ingenious
material coming out which helps make the scene even more healthy. As far
as where we fit into this, we'd prefer to be constant contributors but not
necessarily defined as being from the 'breaks scene'. I suppose it's definitely
home but we often go and play with the progressive kids from time to time.
Our new friends at the dirty, experimental, symphonic house camp have been
equally inviting... |
| Nick: What is your opinion of dance acts
in the UK Top 40 chart. |
| Mike: Depends on the act. Basement Jaxx reaching the top ten is wholly commendable
and they deserve the success because they're very talented. Kosheen too
have the right balance of coffee table chic via their dance production but
underpin their sound with classic song writing stylings. All these acts
including Faithless more than deserve to be this successful and dominate
the accessible end of dance. The acts that should really stop doing it for
the money are the dreadfully written trance/pop acts that peddle their bland,
dreary wares on Radio One's daytime and drive time shows. The kind of trash
that numbs the brain and have absolutely nothing to say. Go away. |
| Nick: You've played clubs in many countries
- both live and DJ'ing. What would you say was the most enjoyable event
you've played at and what was the best clubbing crowd you've played to? |
| Mike:
Difficult to say. Some of our best nights have been in tiny clubs in
very small cities that are much more off the beaten track than your average
club. Some of the most impressive audiences have been the most lacklustre,
some big crowds just don't convey the same feeling from a smaller, more
intimate audience. Ultra festival in Miami was one of the most excitable
crowds when we played there a couple of years ago. Fabric in London and
Circus in LA are definitely two favourites for us, alongside Boulder in
Colorado (see what I mean?). Aside from that, Melbourne and Singapore have
very fond memories for us for live gigs. We hope to have more
of those next year. |
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| Nick: Hybrid have done many remixes for
acts from different genres. Do you have to turn down requests for remixes
you'd like to do due to other commitments / being too busy? |
| Mike: Yep.
Unfortunately we had to say no to Fluke a while ago because of album commitments
which was harrowing. Also we had an offer to remix The Cure around the same
time which was just as hard. We very rarely get offered projects we don't
like, generally A+R teams have got a vague idea that we're not going to
be interested in bubble gum pop acts. |
| Nick: Who are your favourite DJ's at the
moment? |
| Mike:
Hmm, Lee Burridge is still a firm favourite along with Sander
and Darren Emerson. Chris has been having a number of Sasha epiphanies recently
so he again is another favourite. Freq Nasty and Tayo still surprise every
time we hear them and are both top of their game. Steve Gerrard and James
Zabelia both warrant their recent accolades, both excellent. |
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Nick: You've produced quite a few non-Hybrid
tracks in the past (notably a solo release under the name of your studios
- 'Electrotek'). Have you or Chris
Healings got any plans to do any more non-Hybrid projects like 'Electrotek'
in the foreseeable future - and if you had the chance what would you like
to do? |
| Mike: The second album is the main priority at the moment so not just yet.
There are plans in the new year for a couple of side projects, and Electrotek
will undoubtedly get another outing once the album has been released. I
think we're going to do a lot of co-writing next year with assorted friends
but I'm sure it'll involve the Hybrid name somewhere. |
| Nick: Many people are saying that club
culture is dying what with many UK 'superclubs' now falling on hard times.
What are your feelings on this? |
| Mike: I think it's just the natural evolution of our music scene. You can't
expect the general public to be enamoured with clubbing for ever, things
have to expand and contract to stay healthy and it's probably about time
that there was a re-jig of current thoughts towards the dance music industry.
There are more records being put out these days and the quality control
has fallen dramatically in the last year or so. I don't think it's dying,
just due for a shake up. The dance scene has been taken for granted for
a while and needs some
nurturing. |
| Nick: You will be releasing a new album
in early 2003. You've said in other recent interviews that this will have
a different (darker) sound to your debut album 'Wide Angle'. Do you ever
get scared of alienating existing fans of that album by experimenting with
new sounds on this one? |
| Mike: Definitely not. True fans of the tracks we do know us more by our remixes
over the last few years since the release of Wide Angle. We've been getting
more diverse for a while and anyone expecting a re-hashed of that album
will be slightly disappointed. It's obvious that we'll continue the theme
of big enveloping tracks that are solely designed to get lost in, that's
the whole point of making music, to take you off somewhere. All the best
records have that ability to get you focussed on what they're saying and
not aimlessly wash over you. We're just experimenting with more darker and
angular material than last time. We ideally want to try to eclipse the last
LP sonically, not easy but that's the plan! If we didn't experiment, we'd
be seen as cashing in on past glories, not forging ahead on more refreshing
tangents. Hopefully the new LP will be diverse enough to keep most of the
people who have so loyally supported us very entertained. |
| Nick: Hybrid are DJ'ing quite extensively
throughout the US at the moment...more than in Europe. In your personal
opinion, what factors keep Hybrid coming back to America rather than doing
the European circuit which is a lot closer to home? |
| Mike: Purely that we've got a much bigger presence in the US than in Europe
and we decided to nurture the territories that we'd already released the
records in. We're still pretty much unknown in Europe aside from the Netherlands,
Spain and the UK as we haven't had the opportunity to tour there properly.
But, we're looking forward to doing so next year. As for the UK, it's notoriously
fickle an at the moment we've only really got time for a few gigs here and
there, notably Fabric on a regular basis and the Distinctive / Y4K parties
which we of course love to play at. |
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| Nick: How do you get your inspiration to
write a track...if an idea comes to you in the dead of night do you have
to work on it there and then? |
| Mike: Normally whilst listening to other music far removed from dance music.
Sometimes it's an idea you hear while driving so I've got a dictaphone on
my phone for those moments, full of incomprehensible ramblings at 4am! Yes,
most ideas come at night, or after a few glasses of wine on a flight somewhere... |
| Thanks go to Mike Truman for the Interview. |
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