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Full speed ahead for Futurebound

UK DJ/producer brings over 20 years of experience and musical knowledge to the decks and the dance floor
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Who: DJ Futurebound

When: Wednesday, Aug. 25, 10 p.m.

Where: Tommy Africa's

Cost: $5 before 11 p.m.

 

The renowned UK producer/DJ, Futurebound (also known as Brendan Collins), was born in Liverpool, England and raised on a steady diet of diverse dance music. In the late '80s, he tapped into that passion for music and began paving his way in the industry: DJing, hosting parties, and finally going on to launch his own label, Viper Recordings, in 2003. Pique managed to nail down this globetrotting DJ/producer for an e-mail interview before he makes his way to Whistler for a show at Tommy Africa's.

 

Pique: You've been tapped into the the breakbeat scene since 1989. What was it that initially drew you into that world?

B.C.: I got drawn in by the likes of Sasha, Grooverider, etc... and when I saw the crowd reactions to them I thought to myself, "Ya I want a piece of that." Me and some mates eventually started putting on our own nights and ended up losing thousands of pounds doing so! Then eventually I got into production with a few other guys and the rest is history, as they say.

 

Pique: In 21 years, the industry has evolved pretty radically; what are some of the best and worst changes that you've seen?

B.C.: Well, there are loads of different sounds and styles, which is great. Drum 'n' bass really is a worldwide thing. I've played all over the world, UK, Europe, North America, Russia, Australia. Every week there are thousands of people in cities all over the world going out to gigs, so it's great to see how big it's grown since the early '90s. Not to sound like a broken record, but the illegal downloading and decrease in vinyl sales has hurt artists and labels in terms of making money off releases. The other thing, which I'm not sure if your average person is aware of, is the percentage cut that digital shops take for each sale. So not only are you not selling as many copies as years ago, the digital shops also take a larger cut of the sale than traditional vinyl distributors do.

 

Pique: You went on to start your own label, Viper Recordings. Why did you decide to take that step?

B.C.: I was on J Majik's label Infrared and doing some A&R and things for them. I had been thinking of starting a label for a while, and then I did this tune "Blind Cobbler's Thumb," which was big at the time and loads of people were phoning it up for me so I thought, "Yeah, this is the right time to do it."

 

Pique: Recently, you seem to be working collaboratively with a lot of artists - in 2008, it was teaming up with the Brookes Brothers to produce Dawn Treader while more recently, you've been working a lot with Matrix. What do these collaborative projects offer you, over and above solo projects?

B.C.: Ya, I have worked with a lot of different people over the years. More recently, I did a tune with ShockOne on our Acts of Mad Men album, and a tune with Camo & Krooked on our latest Headroom EP. I've also just done a thing with Metrik a few weeks ago which we are both very excited about. So ya, it really is just a great way to get some different vibes going in the studio and try new things and keep it fresh.

 

Pique: With Acts of Mad Men you worked with the entire Viper crew, really: ShockOne, DC Breaks, Brookes Brothers, Sigma, Camo & Krooked vs Body n Soul. You also released it in four parts. What was the vision behind that project?

B.C.: We wanted to do a big album project that would showcase the label, our artists and the sound we're going for. This really was a prelude to what we had planned this year. As a label it was a natural progression for us to grow from traditional 12" singles to more album-based projects. Almost all of our releases this year are either albums or EPs. Acts of Mad Men was the first step in us stepping up our game and releasing more project-based things.

 

Pique: Are you pleased with how that project turned out?

B.C.: Ya we couldn't have been happier with the reaction to the Mad Men album. Zane Lowe of Radio1 named it his Album Of The Week which was an absolutely huge honour. As far as I know, we were the first drum 'n' bass album to ever get that. To put it in perspective, the week after we were Album of the Week it was Nirvana - Live At Reading. So when you're going up against the likes of Nirvana and some of the biggest artists in the world, it's amazing to be able to breakthrough! We also got Album Of The Month in Mixmag and a few other publications.

 

Pique: How do you decide which artists you want to work with?

B.C.: If they make a good tune, I sign it! We've brought a lot of upcoming producers through and given them some big exposure. If you look at the Brookes Brothers, Sigma, ShockOne, Metrik, Furlonge, DC Breaks, Camo & Krooked, Delta Heavy, etc. you'll see some of their first releases were with Viper.

 

Pique: I understand that you guys are currently working on yet another studio album, which you hope to release towards the end of 2010. Can you tell me a bit about that project?

B.C.: Ya we're just starting on some things for it. Last year we (Matrix & Futurebound) got flooded with remixes for people like Moby, Snap, Ian Carey, and others so that put us behind. I have obviously been very busy with Viper and touring and I've also recently moved into a new house and got a new studio setup, so it hasn't moved as fast as we might have liked, but when it's ready it will all be worth it!

 

Pique: You're clearly doing a lot of studio work these days, and you're coming our way for a show next week - what's the secret to keeping your live set fresh?

B.C.: Well, as a label owner I get all the best dubs first! Haha. I do three and four deck mixes using both vinyl and CDs, which lets me do lots of wicked double drops and teases and I've always got some fresh new things nobody's heard ready to drop!