- PART 2 - FRANKEE - AUS/NZ TOUR -

Here is part 2 of the previous post.

As part of the DC Breaks, Frankee tour we were also lucky enough to have a little chat with the other RAM records genius on the tour, Frankee.

If you read the post below you can see all the right places to see him in Australia! 

Thanks for the chat mate!

---------------------------------------------- 

 

1. Your style is very diverse in a way that you don't really stick to one sound of Drum and Bass. You've written dark techy stuff but also smoother vocally stuff with rolling baselines. How do you approach each track from a production point of view?

Each track is a different track and in the same respect the process that I go through differs. It really depends on my mood that day/night. There are so many factors that will decide my inspiration for the session.

2. How did you get involved with RAM records?

About 4 years ago I was at a fabric Ram night and I was loaded with 3 demo c.d.s to try and give out. I managed to get them to Andy, Scott and Ray Which luckily enough got some attention. I have however been a massive ram fanboy since i can remember so Ram have been involved in my life for a very long time.

3. Are you excited to hit the shores of Aus/NZ? What are you looking forward to?

Excited is an understatement! I am well and truly buzzing! I’ve already done 2 shows (Wellington and Christchurch) and they have been unreal! If the following shows are anything like the previous then i am a happy man.

4. You've had a pretty awesome run of festival gigs recently, which gigs have been the highlights?

Honestly, Wellington and Christchurch have been a big highlight. Such a responsive bunch and they know there tunes!

5. We're pretty excited to hear you and DC Breaks under one roof, what can we expect from the show?

I can speak for D.C Breaks and myself and say we are excited to be out here. Expect Complete mayhem, loud and proud dnb and generally a heavy party.

6. Which one of your productions was the most fun to write and why?

Im having loads of fun writing my new material. I had a bit of writers block recently and I’m at the other side of it now so I’m really enjoying getting really musical at the moment. If i had to pick one already released track it would be gully simply because it only took me a matter of days to make. Those tracks are quite often the best.

7. Tell us about your production set up, what software and plug-ins are you using?

I use logic 9, Some Mackie 824’s and some plugins including Fab filter, T-racks, waves and various other stuff. I would really like to try some of the analogue emulation plugins like Slate and Uad. Guys if you’re reading…. :-)

8. Standard Frankee live show set up...

3-4 decks, a mixer, some loud and clear Monitors, cool lighting, some beer and depending on what mood I’m in some cheeky shots of vodka.

9. What do you love most about Drum and Bass?

Everything, Im truly and deeply in love with it.

10. And finally... What's next for Frankee?

Lots more exciting gigs, A remix which will be coming out in April and an imminent release on Ram which we are currently finalising.

- DC BREAKS - FRANKEE- AUS/NZ TOUR -

It is now very well known that DC Breaks and Frankee are on the continent and well into their Australia/NZ tour. 

They're in New Zealand as we speak and will be hitting Australian shores as of the 3rd of March!

I also managed to have a little chat with 

DC Breaks and they seem pretty keen to be back down to the southern hemisphere again!

enjoy!

----------------------------------

1. You two guys have been one of the more talked about acts in the Drum and Bass scene over the past few years because of the continuous massive tracks you've been writing one after another, how is this success story making you feel?

Well we write stuff that we like first and foremost so if other people are feeling it too then that's great! We spend a ridiculous amount of time working on our music so it's really satisfying when people love the tracks and want to play them or rave to them.

2. You’re on board with one of the most driving Drum and Bass labels in the world, RAM records. Tell us how you got this massive hook up and how has it felt since you jumped on the roller coaster of RAM?

Andy C first got in touch with us after he heard some of our tunes on a small label we were releasing on in Scotland. It was around the time that Dan and I had started collaborating on tracks together and Ram's interest really spurred us on to write more stuff as 'DC Breaks' (previously we were called Kryptik and Samurai). This was back in 2004 (I think!), since then we've managed to keep going and growing and developing our sound and reaching more and more people around the world, which is awesome because it's brought us all the way out here to represent!

3. Tell us about your live set up at a typical DC Breaks show... 

We play off 4 CDJs, which means we can play a lot of music, typically about 65 tunes in a 90 minute set. It makes our sets very energetic and allows us to cover a lot of ground within the genre as we like to play lots of different sub genres of DnB.

4. Your 5 favorite tracks to play live at the moment...

There's a ton of good DnB about at the moment. Noisia & The Upbeats' 'Dead Limit' is still smashing it for me. Also really liking Tantrum Desire 'Nationwide Rocker', June Miller and Teddy Killerz 'Wildlife', Bensley 'Tiptoe' and Andy C 'New Era'

5. What software and plug-ins are you using to write your music?

We use Logic, tons of different plug ins, some notable ones are, Serum, the Slate plug ins, Ozone and all the NI stuff!

6. If you had to spend the rest of your life in one aisle of a supermarket, which one would it be and why?

Well if there was a hardware aisle I'd go for that so I could build some kind of A-Team style tank and bust the hell out of there, haha!

7. What are you most excited about for your Aus/NZ tour?

Honestly the best thing about playing out here is the crowds you get, they're so responsive and up for raving. We've played Wellington and Christchurch so far on the tour and both nights were great, everyone here just fucking loves it!

8. Which musical artists do you look to the most for inspiration?

I find inspiration from all over the place, I love it when you find a random old sample that can spark an idea off for a whole track. I've started going back to old vinyl to find ideas, it was something I always used to do and was very common back in the day but not something that people really do anymore so much. Sometimes you can just find some absolute GOLD.

9. If tomorrow was your last day to live, what would you have for dinner?

Chateaubriand, a ridiculous Bordeaux, salted caramel truffles, cheese!

10. And finally... What's next for DC Breaks?

Our next single will be out in March, we're touring extensively here and on Europe and our debut album will be out on Ram / BMG later this year.