Oddly enough, this is exclusive to my blog. I feel privileged.
I held a Q & A with Aaron Spectre // Drumcorps a while ago, on why he has quite ragga-jungle to focus on Drumcorps, what he misses about the scene, and his new life over in Massachusetts. Read up more on Aaron here
So I suppose the first question has to be, How is USA treating you on your return?
Rough. Inspiring. Which is to say... the music is rippin!!
Was there anything in particular which you disliked in the ragga-jungle scene? And was this partly the reason why you have stopped?
I love jungle, and I didn't stop because of anything in the scene. If anything it's overwhelming enthusiasm gave me the strength to push onward. I got my wish, I played some of the best shows ever, these include:
-Rotting Ukranian bomb shelters with flickering fluorescent lights, hundreds of dready kids jamming as one, walls dripping with sweat and raw energy!
-Bristol Toxic Dancehall / Black Swan crew!
-Bang Face (no explanations necessary!)
-Old Soviet airplane hangars where the stage is a big flatbed diesel army transport truck
-And of course proper festivals with all the goodies.
The most fun was bringing this music to emerging countries where you're the first outsider who has ever played this music - and the people are ready and stoked. Those very first shows in places like Taiwan, Lebanon, those early days in Poland, Israel, Mexico. Feelings of newness and possibility. Iowa City, kids in the freezing cold middle American plains, dead of winter, raging out inside a worn out dive bar, conjuring ghosts of Nirvana and all who had played there before, but doing it in our own weird way.
Jungle brought me around the world, and I met some amazing people along the way. I am extremely grateful for those days, it was a time I will always look on fondly. But it's good to pass the torch. I don't want to shake my fist vicariously from behind the decks anymore. I don't want to sample people's fire anymore. There's more to do. To take things further, and to do it with any authenticity and integrity, there's only one choice. I need to return to my roots.
Is there any particular way you start building a track in the studio (ie. a riff, drum line, etc.)?
Sometimes a tune starts from sound design, a texture inspires a melody inspires a drum break and it takes off from there. But recently I've been writing on just guitar, away from the computer, or in the shower even, out for a walk. Daydreaming that turns into tunes. Sometimes by the time I get to the instruments, the tune is half finished and it's just a matter of getting down the specifics. Each tune develops in its own way. I don't have a set formula. Just play.
Do you occasionally miss playing your old ragga-jungle sets?
Absolutely.
Any shit-hot new acts we should be checking out?
Rameses III - some of the best ambient I've heard in a while. They have a new album called *I Could Not Love You More* on Type Records which is absolutely beautiful. The new Aarktica album is great, it's the most honest one yet, it has a true sense of self. The new Converge and Doomriders albums are excellent, personal bests for each band. Aside from that I've been listening to old American roots music lately. James Brown, John Lee Hooker...
And of course, what can we expect from you in the future?
Right now I'm hard at work on the new Drumcorps album. Ready when it's ready...
