Track previews to follow soon. Look out also for a new soulr website in the very near future. Tour dates, info on interviews and future releases. For now though, here is the first in a new series of mixes/shows i am doing, going through my vast record collection and picking out the highlights from around 25 years of music purchasing……..

A. Triband ft S.P.Y

B. Steady

Also heres a couple of my favourite television programs from the same period..

Why did you decide to make the new album solo?
I have been making music solo for at least six or seven years now and I don’t think there has ever been a time when I have enjoyed doing it as much as I am doing right now.

I have said previously that if I am not enjoying the studio I just don’t go in there. I don’t force it, I’d rather wait until I feel creative. So I think that’s the main reason why I have never previously felt up to doing an album until now.

Gotta also say that switching from Logic to Ableton Live has been a revelation for me and is probably the main reason why I am enjoying producing so much right now.

What’s the thought process behind the title 21?
This is the 21st year I’ve been in the business. I first started DJing in clubs in 1989 when I was 18. It’s quite a milestone so I figured it would make an apt title and talking point.

read more here

You’ve just played an hour or so in the CULT room at the Detonate Indoor Festival. How was that?

76 minutes and 30 seconds of pure bliss!

Lovely! So you’ve been a producer for over 15 years but you describe yourself predominantly as a DJ. What made you get into production back then?

Well to be honest it was difficult to get gigs. I always new that I could DJ, I always enjoyed it. At the time the scene in Manchester wasn’t great, and I was working in a record shop not making much money. So I knew that in order to progress myself I needed to make that step. Plus having a serious love for the music it seemed worth a try! L Double used to run a van service delivering records to the shops and he said “do you wanna come down to the studio?”, so we did!

You’ve had quite a quiet 2009 production wise, have you been working on something?

I’m working on an album. I don’t know why I decided to do it! I go through periods when I enjoy making music, and periods where it’s difficult. When it’s difficult I just tend to not bother with it, because I know at some point later I will get back in the mood. I’ll sit in the studio and write a couple of loops, if it’s not happening I’ll save them and turn the computer off, and if it is happening I’ll try and finish them. That’s the beauty of making music on a computer.

About six months ago I listened back to all the stuff I had that was half finished and there was a lot of stuff I actually quite liked. Sometimes you don’t even realise you’re making an alright tune, you’re just not in the right frame of mind! I’d been in the studio with Calibre and Zed Bias, and before you know it I’d amassed a load of music. I’ve been in the business for 21 years and I’ve not got an album to show for it, I’ve got to stop being lazy!

I’ve always been worried about what people will think; you’re putting something down and it will be there forever. It’s a stamp and I’m really conscious of that. When I was younger it meant so much to me, every single record you put out was so important. These days it’s not exactly the same because there’s so much music out there already. And the only way to counter it is to put out music yourself. We’ve sat on music for ages for no particular reason other than we don’t think its good enough and then you listen to some of the other shit that’s coming out!

For the rest of the interview please visit We Are The Cult…