:: BB INTERVIEWS ::

:: 30HZ ::

30hz - Space Age Sounds by Si McEvoy American-born but Bristol-based, many of you will know James from his own Vertical Sound imprint which he originally set up as an outlet for his own breakbeat bangers, the label quickly diversified to include other producers such as Circuit Breaker, October, Baobinga & ID, Smithmonger – all of whom share a love for basslines filthy enough to make Paris Hilton blush. Known for his quick-mixing bass-heavy DJ style, 30Hz has become not only an up and coming breaks DJ to look out for, but he is fast becoming known in House realms too (particularly of the Tech-Funk nature) where he can be seen lighting up gigs across Australia, Europe, and America, and he recently performed a 30-minute showcase for the legendary Annie Nightingale. 30hz ‘Ginz’ is the newest addition to the Lot 49 family and releases his EP ‘Space Age’ on the label at the start of February. Si McEvoy caught up with him in a café in Strasbourg as he took a break from his hectic touring schedule... Describe what you do and why you do it: First things first I'm in an internet cafe in Strasbourg with a Friggin French keyboard with funny letter placement so apologies for the inevitable mistakes. Bqh! I divide my time up fairly evenly between being a bearded hermit in a room full of electric things (mostly music equipment though the occasional kitchen appliance makes an appearance), traveling about playing records & the odd cd, having worryingly in depth conversations with my cats and running a music company in Bristol UK with two other dudes: Rob aka Pinch and Fidz. Though I fundamentally do it because I have no other marketable skills, I also do it because I really enjoy tinnitus and insomnia. I've often thought it would be good to have either pseudo idealistic / spiritual answers to that question or, even better, to spout one-line hip-hopisms. I once asked Jeru the Damaga a similar question in a Bristol club and he had it down to an art: Ginz: "So Jeru, what you doing here" Jeru: "I came to rock the microphone" Ginz: "Right, you feeling the club?" Jeru: "Blowing up the Spot, you know" Ginz: "The rhododendrons are out awfully early this year" Jeru: "Just doing what I do every night" Your label Vertical Sound goes from strength to strength, what made you decide to set up your own label? I think at first it was because I sent a few demos around half heartedly and received responses like "choral breakstep meets jazz waltz will never work" and "stop stalking me". I think in the end I got impatient with trying to convince people my music was as good as my mum said it was so I hustled a bit to get the cash together to start the label and voila: 14 releases later and I still don't have a BMW. I guess I didn't listen to Biggie's "Ready to Die" carefully enough. Did you have much experience when you started? What did you find were the biggest challenges? I didn't have any experience at all and I think I went into the whole thing with a lot of naivety. I made a lot of mistakes, some quite embarrassing, and I was introduced very quickly to all the things that could go wrong. The first Vertical Sound record (a bootleg) sold out really quickly so we ordered a repress, but the distributor went bust the next week with all our money. The pressing plant then proceeded to rip us off by refusing to deliver the repress after we paid for it and warned us that if we said anything they would report us to the MCPS for our "creative use" of samples. The second release went equally skee-whiff as a courier lost most of the pressing before it even got to the distributor and by the time they were found six months later, we couldn't sell them. Your sound crosses over between house and breaks, how would you describe it in your own words? Techy, groovey bangers that never step up to the club without packing heat. They will drink your drink, smoke your smoke, and then leave the spot with your bitch. Or maybe I would just call it Ho-reaks. You're down as saying your music 'has basslines that would make Paris Hilton blush'. Do you think the cult of celebrity has got a bit out of hand? I don't have a TV or read any of Rupert Murdoch's publications, so I think I manage to avoid it. Someone else wrote the bio that that quote came from. If I had written it I probably would of said "Paula Abdul" instead as my pop culture references are a little out of date. In terms of studio production you have worked with a number of different artists, do you have a favourite in terms of style or approach? I love to work with Baobinga because he makes excellent rice pudding and shouts a lot. He also conveniently has a seriously good ear for drums, and I've learned shitloads from working with him… not to mention he puts up with me being a grumpy bastard in the studio. I found Meat Katie's approach particularly inspiring as it involves brutally culling unnecessary parts of the track giving each sound space to do its thing. I cried a few times, but knew it was for the best. Have you any collaboration's planned for the coming months? I'm going to continue to work on with Baobinga on our "The Body Snatchers" project. We've done a few remixes recently for people like Ferry Corsten and Krafty Kuts, and have a lot in the pipeline including an animated video for our next single for Vertical Sound, the feminist anthem " Big Ass, Miniskirt". I've also been writing cold heartless minimal techno under the name (emptyset) with this dude in Bristol, Microman, who is a curator at respected bourgeois art gallery and is in general an intellectual snob (and sociopath) and as such makes for an excellent techno partner. Our first record is out on a label called Future Days very soon. In general, though, I am going to concentrate on finishing up loads of my own stuff I have started over the last year with it in mind to start thinking about working towards an album. You're an American living in England, do you feel this has become a little tougher over the past couple of years? Not really as I have developed a pretty good fake English accent (think Dick Van Dyke & Prince Phillip's love child), though I had to take the American flag off of my Harley as to not attract unwanted attention. I have dual citizenship nowadays so I tend to pick and choose my nationality where and when convenient, for example whichever line is shorter at Heathrow passport control. I can't remember being openly discriminated against for being American… most of the opressors are too distracted persecuting me for being of the red haired persuasion (rise up gingers, rise up) to even notice my Americaness. I think that for mpst people, the fact I moved away from America probably suggests I'm not currently a member of the NRA or voting republican. Do you feel like this is home now or is your heart still in the US? This cafe in Strasbourg? No because they probably wouldn't not let me sleep here. It's definitely something I think about. It has got to the point where when I am in America people think I'm English and in England people hear me as American. I have had to show people in the US my driver's license before they would believe I grew up there. As it stands I am not in any particular rush to move back to the states; I never really looked back after I left… and you can't get a decent cup of tea or battered Mars Bar to save your life. I get a lot of opportunity to visit my folks and friends back in the US so I definitely don't feel disconnected. I feel like, at least for the moment, Bristol is home; it's chilled, full of crew and has a gorge... nuff said. So your new single, Space Age is a real bass driven stomper on Lot 49. Tell us about how the track came about and how it got picked up by Lot 49 . The track came about by running an old analogue synth as loud as it would go through a tube preamp as loud as it would go, and then putting some drums under it. The vocal sample came from a history of rocketry video I picked up with my bro Kraymon at the book barn in Bristol. (That's where we hang when we are steady thuggin in the West Country) and yes I don't have a TV but I have a VCR. Lot49-wise, Meat Katie and I had run into each other at a few events in England and Spain over a short period of time and got to talking. (It turned out we had a common love of lawn bowling) I started sending him new bits and pieces I had been working on which he was into, and when Space Age came up we started looking at doing a single. We to'd and fro'd about what would go on in for ages and decided we would round off the package by doing a collaboration. You are playing for Lot 49 quite a bit over the coming months including dates in Leeds and Miami, is this a relationship we could see developing further? I should think so; I've been working on a bunch of new material for the label and more or less have the next single done and an exclusive track for Meat Katie's forthcoming Lot49 compilation ready. The Lot49 crew is a pleasure to work with, and I'm really feeling what they are doing and their vision of where they are going What's the best thing about releasing on someone else's label? What's the worst? The best thing is coming against someone else's feedback and ideas. The worst thing is coming against someone else's feedback and ideas. In terms of other labels and DJs, who do respect right now in dance music, who are you really into? A fairly potpourri mix really: Some artists / Dj's / producers / labels : Pinch, Skream, Edit, Vex'd, Swizz Beats, Luciano, Tipper, John Dalhback, Baobinga & ID, Three 6 Mafia, Murcof, Burial, Kompact, TVT, Traum, Ed Banger, DMZ, Leaf, Planet MU etc… But most importantly BBC Radio 1's own Tim Westwood. He is the biggest Dawg in the game. Exacly. And any up-and-coming talent you have your eye on? My homeboy October for one. He's been working on out there minimal techno and house which people like Kruder have been eyeing up of late. Some of the sickest music I've heard for along time, really and truly. Also, Eskmo who is living in San Fran at the moment has some ridiculously good downtempo stuff under the name Welder on the way not to mention a few "hella" good techy breaks jams. On the Dubstep / electronica flex Sydney's Moving Ninja are coming though with some ree-dic-u-lous riddems for our Dubstep imprint, Tectonic. Finally, what are you looking forward to most in 2007? Earning frequent flyer miles: I'm tired of being an economy class flying Ginz, time to drink champers and be rubbed by stewardess while I chow on Fois Gras. Failing that, writing bigger badder music. :: January 2007 :: James ‘30Hz’ Ginzberg's ‘Space Age’ EP, the first offering of the year from Lot 49 comes packed with remixes form Alex Metric, a team up with Meat Katie, and a joint producion with October. This is proof alone that 30Hz is a force to be reckoned with.

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