Words by Charlie Vice
What’s been going on with CIA recently?
We’re just about trying to keep every angle of the music going right now. We’ve got the Lenzman remix of Soul Patrol coming out on it, and we’ve just signed up a Gridlok tune as well. It’s difficult to say because we’ve got so many labels. The Deep Cut part of CIA is really big at the moment. We’ve just signed a tune from Nymfo, and the Calibre 12” is out now as well.
Does the label include your own production aswell?
The next thing on CIA after the Soul Patrol remix is a thing by me called ‘In Too Deep.’ Total Science at the moment are working for an album, hoping to get it out this time next year. We’ve recently done a 12” for Hospital and another for Shogun called ‘Skins.’ We’ve got so much stuff waiting to come out but it’s just a case of holding it back for the right time. Regarding collaborations, this week we’ve been working with SPY on an old jungle tip, but again it’s not finished so it’ll be a while before you guys get to hear that.
Which producers are you really into at the moment?
For me, producer wise, it changes all the time. At the moment I’m really into Lynx. I like to hear music that I can’t make. Most tunes I hear I think “I like that tune, but I could make it.” With someone like Lynx, I couldn’t make the tunes that he makes; it’s just the way that he does it, I see him as being on a different level. For me, he’s probably the best artist out there at the moment. But on a pure drum and bass level, obviously SPY is caning it. But I could make the tunes SPY makes, if you know what I mean.
So do you only make Drum n Bass or have you forayed into other styles?
I make everything really. Part of my job is to make music for television. The thing is, nowadays you can’t make a living out of Drum and Bass you know? I mean I’ve got two mortgages to pay! There has to be another outlet for income. Drum and Bass is what I love though, sometime I wish that I didn’t because I could make more money doing something else, but it’s what I always come back to. I think Drum and Bass is one of those genres that completely defines who I am.
What’s your set up in the studio at the moment?
At the moment I’m using Logic 8 Ableton Live 8 and Pro-Tools. It’s a nice tight little set up with a whole host of plugs.
You’ve been involved in the scene for quite some time. Has there ever been a time when you’ve thought “I don’t actually like the direction it’s going at the moment”?
Never ever, it’s always changing and I’ve seen it from its start to where it is now. I remember though when I heard a track called ‘Killer Bees.’ When I heard that tune I almost gave up! Honestly that tune was shit. But then like a week later Steve Digital sent me four new tunes that were so sick and completely flipped my mood. That happens a lot in drum and bass, but still, I’m never going to give it up.
Is there anything else you want to achieve?
I just want to make tunes. I’ve been doing it for over 15 years now; some years people think I’m cool and then the next they think I’m shit. So I just make the music that I want to, that’s all I’m ever going to do.
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