my own dubplates – and again – you talk about what’s new and what’s pure original – but that’s what reggae has always been built on – myriad versions of the same basic tune cut as a one off dub or limited press. And then Serato came out, so I was able to play my edits out of the computer using vinyl. That was the only thing that convinced me to go digital – because being a straight vinyl DJ, Serato kept all the elements of playing on vinyl, but with all the flexibility the computer brought to the equation. So I think the technology really did play a massive role in making DJ’s like me.
Because suddenly you don’t actually have to cut your dubplate – with all the time and expense that involves – they’re good to go the second the edit’s done. And that opens up incredible potential. Exactly. And nowadays, I’m making edits and rerubs in the hotel before the gig. Sometimes I’m making them 5 minutes before I go on. Suddenly I’m thinking shit – what a cool idea – let me loop this up, give it a good old chop in Ableton, and bang – I can play it as
a record there and then. On vinyl. And that gives me the freedom to be as creative as I can be. Because as a creative person, it can be intensely frustrating when you don’t have the tools or the know how to fully express your ideas. And now that my creative ideas and the means to express them have totally unified – it’s amazingly liberating.
On the mash up front – how important is a fat wink and a cheeky grin. The unexpected. The idea of laying something really fucking naff over something really underground and injecting a bit of humour and pushing the boundaries of what’s seen as acceptably ‘cool’ If I fuck a tune right up and mess with an acapella – and you don’t know those tunes, you’re not going to know what I’ve done. I could take 2 underground tunes, mash em up, re edit them – whatever you want to call it, if you don’t recognise at least one of the ingredients, you’ll think that’s how it’s meant to be. So if I want to show how ‘clever’ I’m being, the only way is to take a