Doc Scott is a name that holds a huge amount of respect in the drum and bass scene; he’s considered by many as one of the forefathers of the genre and has always been a big force in the underground arena especially. The past few years has seen the return of his 31 records imprint from it’s 3 year hiatus, much to the delight of the drum and bass scene, but thats not all. Scotty’s been helping push drum and bass in new directions for years, not just through his label, but also via his ever forward thinking future beats radio show, and now, after resounding cries from the dnb community, he brings us a new club night aptly named: ‘Future’. With the event quickly approaching, we caught up with the man himself to see what he had to say about his new venture.
Hello, hope you’ve had a nice relaxing christmas period 🙂
Thanks for joining us again here at in-reach to chat about you’re new club night: ‘Future’. One of the most important policies of the night seems to be giving the dj’s longer sets, allowing them to delve deeper and play individual tracks for longer if need be. Would you say this shapes the night into something reminiscent of the old blue note sessions thats more for the seasoned drum and bass listener who’s looking to hear new music, rather than someone who’s just after a good old rave up?
The longer sets will be a big part of the nights personality, but its not going to be a chin stroking environment, I hate those nights. The Blue Note was a serious night in terms of music but we tore the roof off down there every Sunday, you can have both. Its a myth to think that if your serious about your beats you can’t have a ‘rave up’.
One of the best nights Ive experienced this year was the Exit night at Sun and Bass, the music was incredible, futuristic but the place was a riot as well!
Thats definitely good news for us! I don’t think we’re too well suited to the whole chin stroking thing here at in-reach anyway ;). Is there a club night from the past or present that you feel is the kind of event you’d like Future to be? Or are you aiming to create something thats different from the drum and bass nights we’ve seen before?
Well, I was there at the start of club Speed, Metalheadz at the Blue Note and the ‘A Bunch of Cuts’ nights, they are all nights I loved to play at and go to, they were exciting and you knew you were going to hear some amazing music, thats what we are aiming for. If we can create something remotely like those nights it will be a good night.
The line up for the night has got us really excited over at HQ, with legends like commix and marcus intalex, alongside kid drama (who I see as something of a musical chameleon) and 31 records’ very own Vromm. What sort of qualities did you have in mind when selecting these artists?
They are all people who have strong personalities when it comes to their music and they are passionate about what they do, I know I will hear amazing music from all of them alongside a bunch of tracks I haven’t heard before, that to me is always exciting. They are all individuals and, to me, thats the best quality of all.
Im assuming from the line up for the night that the music policy of future is essentially underground drum and bass, do you hope to make this a strict policy as the night moves forward? Or could we potentially see sets from other genres?
I would love to have guests from different genres in the future, if this night is successful and we get asked to do another, which is what I consider to be a success, then why not have other genres involved, good music is good music and one of my aims is to try and get away from genres. My dream would be to have non DNB people doing guest slots, I guess Kid Drama represents that to a degree this time but it would be amazing if we could have Mala as a guest or Derrick May for example.
If Future is successful, which it seems to me is a near certainty, will we be seeing Doc Scott at every event? And will we see regular appearances from the 31 records crew?
Hopefully it can become a regular night, time will tell, I hope it does. I don’t know if I would be on every event, its not something I’ve thought about to be honest but we would try to incorporate 31 artists on any future ‘Future’ nights.
Excellent! So the night has been put into motion after a big response from a social media post you put up about a lack of regular quality club nights at the moment, is this something that you’ve been thinking over for a while/have you been intending to put on a night for a long time?
I’ve thought about putting on a night before and been asked many times over the years but I made a promise to myself years ago that I didn’t want to promote a night, I’ve seen too many stressed promoters over my 25+ years as a DJ. But the response to the original Facebook post was so overwhelming I felt I had to do something, I would have regretted it if I didn’t. Lightbox London approached my agent with a proposition and it was too good to turn down, the time felt right and I’m nervously happy.
On the topic of social media, I know a lot of artists and label bosses etc. feel its best to be strictly professional on social media and to not express personal views too openly. However you seem to be fairly open on these platforms and Future is a good example of a positive outcome of this. Do you feel that this open attitude is something that keeps you in touch with the drum and bass scene and the fans that drive it?
HA! Im sure my agent/manager would like me to be less vocal, I don’t know, I don’t think about it and I certainly don’t plan it, it gets me into trouble sometimes and I’m sure there are some people that would like me to be quiet but I don’t really care. I say what I feel, I call it as I see it, its my point of view and at times I say it publicly. You’re right that this night would not be happening if I hadn’t said what I said publicly and I meet people all the time that say thank you for saying out loud what a lot of people think.
Aside from Future, is there anything else we should be looking out for in the coming months from you and 31 Records?
In 2016 we have the first artist album on 31 by Hidden Turn, its done, its amazing and were very excited to release it, we also have a bunch of music from a variety of artists, new and old, well known and newcomers for 2016. By all accounts this is set to be a huge night and hopefully the first of many, with tickets flying out! So clear your diaries for 8th January and if you haven’t already, cop yourself a ticket here.
