Clubs

Filthy old juggernaut that it is, drum ’n’ bass maintains its velocity, ploughing through what is easily one of its most vibrant and volatile years to date. Drum ’n’ bass pioneer Fabio’s Swerve night is firing every week, and its legendary Christmas bash is nigh, while his label, Creative Source, has just released the drum ’n’ bass track of the year, ‘Disco Dodo’ by Lynx. Time to take stock. But first things first.

Time Out: ‘Disco Dodo’. WTF?
‘When I first played it Goldie simply stepped up, stopped it and said in a quiet voice, ‘I really like that tune’ [laughs]. The place just went beserk. You hear ‘Disco Dodo’ on a good sound system and I defy anyone to stand still. Every DJ, from Nicky Blackmarket, Futurebound to D Bridge, Mampi… everyone across the entire spectrum of drum ’n’ bass has gone crazy for it which really is unusual. Big up to [producer] Lynx, he’s a real talent.’
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There’s a new sound emerging, sort of mean-ass and digital. Is this tune typical?
‘It’s not a normal drum ’n’ bass tune but yeah, it’s what I’m talking about. Some drum ’n’ bass clubs you go to there’s hardly any bass; it’s very trancey. For me, there’s this very galvanised, metallic sound coming out and you can hear the old B-lines back in there. Take producers like Lomax – moody as fuck, very black-sounding. At Swerve we’re really pushing that; dirty but with bags of soul.’

It’s on your own label, Creative Source. Isn’t this a difficult time to run a label?
‘Sales haven’t been great. Tunes that would once sell in the thousands now sell in the hundreds. But the music’s so good right now! Hopefully sales will creep back because of that.’

Swerve is all about the regulars and the music. So how deep does this go with you?
‘When I was 13, 14, at school I’d go out to daytime clubs, to discos. I used to love dancing and as soon it was over I’d be waiting to go next week. What clubbing’s all about for me – no matter which musical style – is that it’s all about bustin’ new tunes and that’s what we do. Even if I’m abroad playing to something like 7,000 people in Brazil, I’ll still think: What’s happening at Swerve? To my regulars it’s church.’

How important is a residency?
‘I’ve always had residencies, from Rage [at Heaven] to [seminal mid-’90s drum ’n’ bass night] Speed, Metalheadz at Blue Note to a night called Tempo. It’s very important. I need to have a place to do my thing and no one can tell me shit, to test tunes, to have a family unit around me. If I didn’t have that I’d feel like a rent-a-DJ, just going out there to make money. You gotta love what you’re doing or it ain’t gonna work.’

You have certain house roots: do you go to non-drum ’n’ bass spots occasionally?
‘Yeah, I’ll go to an R&B club, check out some house, check out anything that’s going. When it comes to house I really do have a genuine love for the music I grew up on, Frankie Knuckles, Marshall Jefferson… ‘Grandad house’ they call it now!’

So what house has caught you this year, on the subject?
‘Electro house is okay. There are elements of early rave in there. It reminds me of playing Rage as we didn’t just want to play techno or house so we joined it with some twisted breakbeats and electro, techno and we came up with what was called ‘jungle techno’. And we got slaughtered by the purists!’

How important is it to play a longer set?
‘I don’t get a chance to do it half as much as I should do. At Marky & Friends at The End earlier this year it was just me and him, all night and I think people find that refreshing. Also, look at [US DJ Danny] Tenaglia and his following: people feel like they know him because of his sets. You get closer to a DJ. I felt that with Oakenfold; watching a three-hour set, you were living inside this shit, man.’

And with Grooverider? Apart from your Radio 1 show do you DJ as a partnership?
‘We do the back-to-back thing but sometimes it just means 20 minutes each separately which is pointless. We would like to interact, make a show of it, use four decks. We did that at Glastonbury and it was incredible.’

Why are there no new Fabios, Grooveriders, Goldies etc?
‘I’ll tell you why. When we started out you did not have to be a record producer and now you do, standard. Producers like Alix Perez, Commix and AI are all great DJs too, but with many of the ‘producer DJs’ today … it’s sometimes hard to tell one from another as they may just want to make the big tunes and are not trained in the art of DJing. If you look back at Jumpin’ Jack Frost, Bryan G, LTJ Bukem and Goldie they’re all really individual characters and have their trademark style.’

That’s right, style. Synonymous with Swerve. Your ass: get it down there.

Fabio DJs at Swerve on Dec 12. The Swerve Christmas Party is on Dec 19 at The End. ‘Disco Dodo’ by Lynx is out now on Creative Source.