We caught up with the Kolectiv lads (Friends and Fam) to speak a little on some of the exciting things that have been happening in camp! Dispatch business full steam ahead! Here’s what happened đ
So first things first, what brought you guys together to make music as a collective?Â
Sam: Keza and I did radio and beats together years ago, as Improv, though we never really sent out anything. Kez & I had followed our own solo paths over the years, inc. Hospital, Critical etc. Later in 2011 I met Si through friends & we started jamming, Kez joined a session one day and it just took off from that point.
âThe Rootsâ EP will be dropping shortly. Itâs signed to Dispatch Ltd, a great accomplishment! How did the signing come about?Â
We sent Kez in his best wig & mini skirt to shop it on the street corner :)! And Ant TC1 picked him up. In all seriousness though, we are so pleased about it this release as whole group. Dexta, Mauoq and all of us put so much work in to this. âItâs something we are proud of and the story has a good ending.
Was there a concept behind this EP for Dispatch?
Yes we wanted to make 4 tracks that fit together while still retaining the diverse mix of styles within our crew. There was no other concept as in making a set of tracks purely for Dispatch but there was a definite vision to create a group EP.Â
Dispatch Ltd is a platform that launches artists, and represents slightly more niche music. It seems a number of sub-labels and vinyl only sub-labels have been cropping up over recent years, how do you feel these outlets contribute to the genre?
Without them it is harder to introduce new artists & styles – they keeps thing fresh & are so essential to the scenes ecosystem. There are many talented new artists popping up all the time and they all need somewhere to start; to be able to showcase their sound.
The release is available to buy as a 10â â what do you feel is the role of the format in the genre at present? And can you tell us a little bit about the importance of vinyl to you?Â
Itâs highly important in terms of opportunity & maintaining a format which is still loved. So few vinyl are made & to be on a prestigious label like Dispatch and on vinyl makes it very special. All three of us have vinyl collections and have been collecting for many years. Everyone will tell you itâs the sound of a vinyl but it is also the physical aspect and in a lot of cases the artwork.Â
How do things generally come together in the studio; is one person predominantly on drums/bass/mixdowns?
S – The variables on this can change from session to session. It depends where the idea originated as we all start tunes on our own which we bring to the session. Of course that doesn’t mean we don’t start tracks together. We do that most of the time.Â
K – The usual formula for us would be all three of us creating. Sam loves to sample dig. He spends his free time sampling and resampling so we have fresh material to inspire us. Simon is our designated engineer but it also very integral to the creative process. I tend to play on my phone…
S – In all seriousness Keza tends to end up composing, playing keys, pads, and replaying samples we have chopped up. And of course it wouldn’t be a Kolectiv session without one of Kez’s famous bass patches.
Can you give us a quick rundown of your studio? DAW, Monitors etc.
HR824s by Mackie, Midi Keyboard (with Weighted Keys as with an actual piano), Mac’s & Logic 9, Reason for new 3rd party instruments, Korg bass mod, Decks,CDJ’s ⊠not much.
If you were to pick an effect plug-in, apart from the usual dynamic stuff (eq etc) what would you choose?
Camel Phat
Any embarrassing sounds youâve put into tunes in the past? Any sirens or samples that now embarrass you immensely and wish never happened?
None that spring to mind thankfully… We are lucky that all three have us have to be happy with the track for it to be released. In essence there are three barriers of quality control.
Whoâs your production/ engineering âidolâ, who do you look to for inspiration in your own productions?
Hard to say one… so we are cheating and saying a few:
Optical / Dillinja / Break / Photek / Digital / Boymerang / Jonny L
Do you guys ever delve into the non dnb spectrum with your productions?
Yeah we all do all HipHop/Soul/Funk/Dub…Kez does house đ âŠall the time really – but we don’t do much with them; itâs just good musical practice, often we discuss doing a project like that – I am sure we will get to that one day.
Do any of you work on solo material or is it strictly Kolectiv business at the moment?
Kolectiv obviously takes up a lot of our time but we all have solo endeavours. It just seems like the time for Kolectiv right now as we have a lot of material forthcoming.Â
All 3 of you have a history with pirate radio â pirate radio has been accredited with having been the lifeblood of underground dance music in the early years, how do you feel its role in the genre has changed (if at all)? And do you see its present role altering at all in the future?Â
We are quite sure we have no idea what you are talking about ;)! – re: altering it. Yes itâs still key in the underground having enough of a platform. It has moved on too with the fact most, if not all, the pirate stations are now available online. This is a big help, though the problem now for some of the older ones is that there is more competition and therefore more choice for listeners, which isn’t a bad thing overall.
What should we be expecting from Kolectiv in the coming months?
First off itâs ‘The Roots EP’ with Dexta & Mauoq on Dispatch LTD (Vinyl & Download Pre Order Now) which is out on Monday (April 28th)
April 28th also sees the release of both the Nurtured Beatz LP including our collabs with Incognito & Staunch on ‘Circle Of Sound’ & ‘Cryptonym’Â
Soon after we feature on Hyroglifics’, Dispatch release, DISLTD017.
Then looking to the summer and beyond we have a track forthcoming on a Dexta & Mauoq EP for Nurtured Beatz, An EP for Flexout in the Summer, Dissonance EP, Vandal, Plasma, Proximity & of course Diffrent Music.
Big ups lads, we’ll make sure we link soon!
Dispatch Store: Click Here.
I-Tunes (digital):Â bit.ly/1qAHmen
Surus (vinyl & digital):Â bit.ly/QuUXH0