Having had releases out on some of the dubstep scene’s most respected labels, including Punch Drunk, Skull Disco and Soul Jazz, Gatekeeper has already more than earned his stripes. After a bit of a quiet patch he's now got another trio of releases lined up, with the first two having just dropped this week. He also appeared on the Bristol Rise Up show on Radio 1 a few months ago and the audio for that is well worth checking out for an idea of what he’s been up to lately (download here). It seemed like a good time to catch up with him for a chat and as usual the transcript is below, edited to include as little of my ramblings as possible…

It’s been a little while since your last releases, what have you been up to since then?

I did a teacher training course, a post-graduate thing, which was full time. That slowed down what I was able to do musically quite a lot. I was making a lot of stuff but I wasn’t giving a lot of it out. I guess I wasn’t sure if I wanted any of it to be released, or if it was good enough. Now I’m able to look back with some perspective and I can pick out a few alright tunes which I think I can start passing out. That’s how the upcoming releases have come together really, with the exception of the Immerse one. The Rise Up show on Radio 1 was a massive boost for me as well.

That must have been quite an experience…

More than anything it was just really nice to be asked, I just couldn’t believe it, it seemed mad. I wanted to grab the opportunity with both hands and it was a really good inspiration to get writing. All the tunes on there were new and I wanted to make them all quite different. That forced me to push the boundaries a bit and try out some new things. I’m still kind of tuning in to where I was before I think.

So are you happy with the music that you’re writing now then?

I write for myself initially, I don’t generally finish something if I don’t like it. I start a lot of things that are just dead end roads really, but all the ones I finish I like. It’s a buzz making tunes, getting to the end of it. In terms of am I where I want to be, I think I’m still finding out where that is. Every time I make a tune, to me at least they sound quite different. I don’t really know if there is a thread between them or not. Some people will say that they can hear that I’ve got certain things that I do, but I try to make each track different. That’s where I want to be, that’s what keeps me moving forward, I’m trying to better myself each time. I want to improve, I don’t want to stop trying to get better; I don’t think complacency is the way forward. There’s some serious competition out there, there’s some amazing music coming out at the moment. That, more than anything reminds me that I’ve still got a lot of work to do.

So what are the upcoming releases that you have lined up?

The first one’s on M4. One track’s instrumental (‘Which Way’) and the other track is with Grilza - it’s one of the first ones we made which sounded like a finished tune and we’re both really pleased that it’s coming out. The second release is on Immerse for Kidkut and is made up of two older tracks: ‘Hades’ and a re-lick of ‘Tomb’ that I did just after it came out. Wedge is also starting up a label called If Symptoms Persist which I have a 12” release lined up on. One side is an experimental dance track that I don’t actually have a title for yet and the other side is my remix of ‘Vansan’ by Appleblim. Obviously now that Skull Disco has come to a natural end the only way to release something like that is on another label. Me, Wedge and Appleblim are all good friends so Appleblim was happy for it to come out like that and we spoke to Shackleton and he was cool with it too. It was the same for the Immerse release as well actually.

You live with Appleblim and Wedge, does this have a big influence on the music that you produce?

I think it has a big influence definitely. Naturally between us, on different levels, there is that element of friendly competition, it’s the same with most Bristol producers though really, we all know each other and there is that element to it. When you’re in the same house though and you can hear the bass coming from upstairs, you start thinking ‘What’s he doing there? I might have to up my game a bit!’ Also it’s cool to be able to tap on someone’s door and ask if they’ve got five minutes to listen to something to see what they think of it, so we help each other in that way as well. We listen to a lot of music together as well so we are always sharing our influences with each other. There are always other people from the scene coming round as well, so it’s a good place to be.

How did you first meet them?

We met at university, doing a music tech degree in Bath. Wedge was one of the first people I met, going up to the fresher’s ‘evening’ at the student union. I met Appleblim on the first day of actual lectures – he introduced me and Wedge to dubstep really. I was listening to a lot of drum & bass at the time and back where I was from in the south-east garage was popular at the end of the nineties. I'd kind of followed that from a distance and then got into d&b, so I didn’t really follow garage as it came into underground garage and that particular strain of dubstep. When Laurie first introduced me to dubstep I wasn’t too sure about it at first, but I could see some of the links with 2step and stuff.

Gatekeeper was originally a duo made up of you and Appleblim. What’s the story behind that?

We were living together back when we were at uni and were at a loose end one afternoon so we decided to make a tune. We dug out some stuff to sample and just sat there for a couple of hours going through sounds and cutting them up. Laurie suggested we make it at 140bpm. I hadn’t really made “dubstep” before so I was like “yeah alright cool”. We started rolling something out and ended up doing it all in a day. We sequenced it out and then I mixed it down in the evening. So that was it, we had ‘Tomb’.

Wedge had just started his radio show on Dark.fm, so we wanted to get him to play it on his show. It was just a fun thing but we wanted it to be a bit mysterious. We had to come up with a name so that nobody would know it was us. We were in the pub one afternoon throwing some ideas around and ended up with Gatekeeper. It was originally going to be Gatekeepers, but we thought that sounded a bit too much like Park Wardens or something! We thought Gatekeeper was more mysterious as it sounded like one person even though there were two of us. The idea was that either of us could use the pseudonym – it could mean both of us, or just one or the other.

So Wedge played ‘Tomb’ on his show and amongst the group of listeners at the time, which probably wasn’t massive comparatively speaking, it created a minor stir. It then ended up coming out on Skull Disco and was quite well received, much to our surprise. By this point though Laurie was already building a good name for himself as Appleblim and nothing was happening with my old DJ name, so I said to Laurie that it seemed a shame to let the Gatekeeper name drop. We did try to run another track together but it never got finished for one reason and another, I think we were just following different musical paths. I asked if he minded if I continued using the name and he said to go for it, so then I became Gatekeeper.

Do you think your job teaching music affects your production?

I think it actually makes me write more. There’s nothing quite like having hardly any time on your hands for making you get things done. There’s a lot of paperwork that goes with the PGCE and the first year of teaching, so I’m getting home and having to do that in the evening. This means I’ve got to make time for the music. Not only have I got to make time though, but I’ve got to try and make sure that when I use it I make something good happen and not just faff around.

The wicked thing about teaching is that you’ve got a lot of young students who are energetic and wanting to learn. They’re full of ideas and they come in and work on Logic all day; they’re finding out things that I haven’t even seen yet you know? Then sometimes you get them making something that’s like, “woah, they’re actually getting pretty good, I'd better go home and brush up on my skills!” I feel like I have to stay ahead so that I have things to show them and that’s a really good inspiration to get home and make a tune. Even in a lesson when I’m making an example of how to make a drum beat or process a bassline etc, I’ll knock it up in the class in front of them without thinking about it, but then because I’ve done that I often end up with something that I think is actually alright, so when I get home I carry on with that initial idea.

You spoke earlier about how your tunes are all quite different; are there any particular elements that are always important to you?

I think rhythm is something that’s really important to me, the way I programme drums. It might be a different beat each time, but there’s definitely something that I’m looking for in the rhythm department, the way the sounds work with each other, not just harmonically but rhythmically, that’s something that interests me a lot. I think that is definitely something that I put into my tunes naturally because it’s one of the things that determines whether or not I like somebody else’s tune, it’s about that rhythm, about that groove. Some tunes you hear and the production is amazing, but if it hasn’t got that groove…

I’ve been playing musical instruments for a long time now. I learnt the old school route, playing in a couple of orchestras etc, so I think that side of things is always in the background. That theory and harmonic stuff is not something that I’m consciously thinking about when I’m making a tune, but I’m listening for it: ‘does that sound jar with that in a good way or is that clashing with that etc.’

You have been working with vocalists a lot recently in a way that not many other dubstep producers have been. How did this come about?

I’ve been working with Grilza for about three years now. We were just slowly building up a body of work and getting to a point where we were quite happy with what we were doing - pushing each other forward. Then I was introduced to Dread, he’s a wicked guy, loads of energy and enthusiasm for music. He came in one day when me and Grilza were working on ‘Ignite’. Me and Grilza both thought that it needed a hook and I think we both knew that it needed something other than just Grilza. Initially I thought about maybe using a reggae sample, but I don’t know enough about reggae to just go sampling any old thing, I’d want to know what it was I was sampling. Dread was round one day though and he listened to the beat and then wrote something for it so fast it was crazy. I’m going to be doing lots more with Grilza and Dread, both individually and also with them collaborating with each other.

The releases on Immerse and M4 should be in all good record shops now.

Another run of Skull Disco t-shirts was printed up a few weeks ago, so there's still a chance to grab one if you missed out the first time around. They're made from 100% earth friendly, climate neutral cotton, so they're good for the world as well as your wardrobe! The Bristol Sound t-shirts are also back in stock - they are available in either green or black.

The first few t-shirts from Property Of Bristol have also landed (shown above), with many more designs said to be in the pipeline. Property Of Bristol is a clothing label / club night which aims to showcase the talents of local artists and musicians. It's great to be stocking their t-shirts as they clearly share many of our motivations. Check out our store for other t-shirts that we currently have in stock.

Firstly, I must apologise for the lack of new content on the blog recently. A house move, combined with some seriously good weather has led to me neglecting it a bit of late. This temporary hiatus has now come to an end, though, and I’ve got a string of very interesting interviews lined up, starting with this relatively in depth conversation with the legendary LTJ Bukem.

The man really doesn’t need any introduction, so let’s get straight down to it…

Over the years you have been responsible for some of drum and bass’ most defining tracks. Do you feel that this puts pressure on you to keep up the high standard that people have come to expect from you?
 
There’s no pressure at all. I’m making music out of love and the enjoyment of making music. I can’t sit there and go ‘will this track be better than the last one’, I make stuff because I enjoy making it you now?

There are no tracks from yourself in the mix that you have just done for Fabric; are you still producing yourself?

Bloody hell, I wish! I’ve just been too busy with djing and running the label. If I was just an artist sitting in my studio writing tracks for a label to release then I'd be on my sixth album by now, but the fact that I run a label and A & R for that label means that something has to give somewhere along the line - there are only so many hours in the day and music production is that thing. I’m hopefully going to get ahead with the label in terms of the promotion, releases and what I’m doing so that the guys can then get on with that and I can actually spend some time writing music next year.

Will it still be drum and bass that you are writing?

I’m a lover of all music. I think an album would be predominantly drum and bass but I can’t help it if there has to be some soul bits or some jazzier bits or some downbeat breaky bits; I enjoy all forms of music so why not make them?

So are you continuing to release music from other genres as well?

Yeah, definitely. We’ve started the label up again now and obviously I’m concentrating on d’n’b, but of course, why not do another Earth album or something else – I’m definitely into doing all that kind of stuff.

How would you describe the sound that you are currently trying to push with Good Looking and how has it changed over the years?

Over the eighteen years that Good Looking has been going the sound has obviously changed but the feeling hasn’t. I still think exactly the same thoughts and get the same vibes from the music that I’m releasing now to when I was releasing Apollo back in 93. I’ve just got a feeling for all my music, be it house, hip hop, jazz, soul, reggae or whatever. I like a certain groove, I like a certain feeling from my music, so I think that will never change you know?

The amen break has always featured heavily in both your productions and dj sets, although you seem to be moving away from it slightly of late. Do you continue to see it as having creative potential or do you feel that it has now been over used?

If you look at the Fabric mix, you’ve got three or four tracks with the amen break on there. I just think it’s such a complete break beat, it does so much on the dance floor if used correctly. I think it will always be used in that way and so it should be. Breakbeats can reoccur over and over again, ultimately it’s the music that you put around it that sets off that tune to make it a great track. I love that breakbeat, it will always feature in what I do.

Do you think it is possible to define what makes it so special?

I think it just fills up so much space, just as a drum break - you can almost just put an amen on. Take a tune like ‘Drum Tools’ by Conrad and Furney that came out on Good Looking a year or so ago - that tune is just the amen break with a couple of bleeps in it, yet it fills up so much space in a club. When you play it, it just works and I think that’s why the amen break has been used so much, it fills up every frequency and space in a sound system.

The influence of jazz on your music is obvious. Which are the elements of jazz that particularly excite you?

I think it’s the freedom of expression if that makes sense? Those guys just seemed to be so free to express themselves in what they did and they weren’t actually worrying about how things should sound, they just did what they did and thought, ‘this sounds great, this is from the heart and this is what I want to produce’. That same ethos is what I’ve based my whole career on. I think all those guys just did stuff that made them feel good about who they are and their expression in music. That will never die for me.

You speak about these great artists from the past; if you could collaborate with any musician you liked then who would it be and why?

Oh, there are too many people. An obvious one would be Lonnie Liston Smith but there’s so many. James Brown – imagine being in the studio with that guy and vibing off what he did. Mandrill and Kool & The Gang have been big influences, The Mighty Ryeders, even going back as far as guys like Rare Earth. There’s a whole wealth of people; I could sit there all year writing a track everyday with someone else and still not have completed all of my list.

It would be a good year though…

It would be a fantastic year - one to remember for sure!

You’ve been part of the music industry for a long time now and must have learnt many things. What would you do differently if you were starting out again?

That’s a deep question you know… As strange as it may sound, for a whole number of reasons in my life, at various stages, I don’t think I’ve had enough belief in who I am and what I’m capable of doing, which sounds really weird because of what has actually happened in the past. So one thing I would change is having more belief about what I’m doing and who I am as an individual. It’s only really changed over the last four or five years and maybe you have to go through that path of fifteen / twenty years to arrive at somewhere where you can be chuffed with who you are and what you’ve done.

Do you think the self belief that you have now is based upon your past achievements?

I think it’s based on a lot of things, definitely achievements of the past, for instance what we’ve achieved with Good Looking. There was a time when people criticised Good Looking for things that we did, said or felt. Now I think ‘bloody hell, that’s sort of laughable now’. We did something with Good Looking, myself and my business partner Tony, which maybe no one will ever do again in life, musically speaking. Picking unknown artists and turning people from nothing into somebody.

So half of it is based on what I’ve done and half of it is based on my background. I’m an adopted kid from birth, a kid who didn’t know his mother and didn’t know his real family. That kind of brings its own sort of self belief that I now understand fully as a forty two year old guy. In the last few years I’ve met my real mum and it’s been a magical journey of self realisation and self finding. Some things you can’t change but you have to go through. Now I know though, I wish I had more conviction in what I was doing back in the day.

What else would I change… when someone offered me £10 million for the label I should have taken it!

Seriously?!

Well I was offered money at a certain stage but we were all fully involved in the label and thought, ‘no we can’t take the money, that would be a sell out’. But looking back I think why not take the money, maybe I could have done something even bigger and taken the music even further you know? So there are a few things like that but ultimately your path is your path and I think you should be happy with who you are and what you did.

You mixed the Fabric CD live rather than use a computer. Is this physical element of djing important to you?

It is… If it was so easy that I didn’t have to do anything with my brain apart from pick tunes and then let them mix themselves, I think I would get bored. I like to be constantly busy behind the turntables, concentrating on a mix, trying to get something in time, trying to make my set better each time I go out. I’m at home sometimes and I’ll get two tunes and I’ll mix them and think, ‘I can’t wait to attempt that mix when I play out at the weekend’. That whole ethos keeps me doing what I’m doing. The actual sound of playing dubplates as well, it’s amazing.

You took a break from Good Looking a few years ago, was it always your intention to return to it?

I did hear a lot of people saying, ‘oh are you giving up?’ People thought I'd actually given up djing and everything. When you’ve been doing something for 15 / 16 years and dedicating your entire life to it, at some point you have to realise that you need to live a life as well. To a certain extent you can’t live to work, you have to work to live.

At some point you have to realise that there are things like family, relationships and love which are ultimately the most important things in life. LTJ Bukem is what I do but it’s not who I am. At some stage in life you realise these things and have to adapt to it and get some kind of balance so that both sides of things become enjoyable at all times. I think I’ve arrived at that point now; I enjoy all my hard work but at the same time I enjoy the breaks and spending time with the people I love. For a good fifteen years it was just about Good Looking, LTJ Bukem and working and people got left by the wayside, which is not a good thing.

So it was kind of that as well as a shift in artist mentality, the way that artists want to go and do their own labels and their own thing, heavily inspired I must say by Good Looking and what I’ve achieved since 1991. So it was the right time for a break - me and my business partner both felt that the label needed some breathing space for a while.

You mention artists increasingly wanting to set up their own labels and do things independently. Do you think that this can end up leading to a lack of quality control?

You can get a bit lost in that world, you can get a bit confused. Often I’ll get someone playing before me who’s playing all their own tunes that haven’t been tried, haven’t been tested and haven’t had that seal of approval from the scene, or the big players in the scene who will ultimately promote that track for you. But at the same time I think it’s good for people to do that, to realise what’s involved. It’s not just about putting out a track without the right promotion etc, I think it’s excellent for people to learn about the business that they’re in. That should make for a better industry.

You said earlier that you don’t have time to write music anymore because of having to run the label. Looking back do you regret the decision to do it all yourself?

No, because running a label was a big part of LTJ Bukem’s progression - they go hand in hand. Good Looking is just as big, if not bigger than LTJ Bukem.

Having just done the Fabric CD do you have any plans to do any more Progression Sessions CDs at all?

Absolutely. We’ve got this Exit mix which we’ve been trying to get out for the last year or so – a DVD which we’ve been editing and stuff – hopefully that will be coming out in October. First it was called Logical Progression, then it was called Progression Sessions and now it’s called Bukem In Session. I like to change the angle and names of what we do, to help keep a different spin on it. I’m also going to start a new mix series called Mellow Yellow. I’m going to re-open Looking Good and really go deep into the soulful elements of drum and bass and create a mix series around those releases which will be Mellow Yellow.

We’re releasing two 12”s on Good Looking at the moment and some EPs are going to start happening on Looking Good. We’re also doing a re-run of all the old stuff, starting with ‘Demon’s Theme’ and ‘Music’ and all the old PFM stuff – that’s going to be called Good Looking Moments. We’ve also got some offshoot sub labels - Spacefunk, Soulful and Lovebeams, there’s going to be albums on those from Furney and Paul SG, so there’s a lot happening at the moment.

So are these sub labels all focussing on different elements of the music that you’re into?

Yeah, I mean everyone knows what kind of music I love, I just need more platforms to release the abundance of music that I’m receiving on. So as I’ve done in the past I’m just creating some sub labels to spread out the music. I can’t just put everything out on Good Looking. There are so many great artists at the moment; it’s a fantastic time for music.

Video for the next Punch Drunk release, 'Good Energy'. Music and video both produced by RSD.

I thought it was about time that I started archiving some of this blog properly, as the inbuilt system is pretty much useless. I've just collated all the interviews to date and all the mixes which have been featured on the site will follow shortly.

The archive can be reached by clicking on the image above, or via the drop down menu under 'Blog' at the top. I'm going to leave out the smaller posts (events etc) and just keep them as part of the main rolling blog. Any new interviews / mixes will still go up onto the main blog page first, so there is no need to adjust your bookmarks. I've got some very interesting interviews in the pipeline as well, so keep your eyes peeled for those.

Just a quick heads up for you. Joker has kindly put one of his tracks up for free download. It can be downloaded from here:

Joker 'Solid State' (Free Download)

He has also mentioned that he may well have an album on the way...

We've just got our hands on these cheeky new t-shirts from Dirty Laundry, a clothing label set up by local Bristol artist Mick Hockney (aka the Jazz Doctor). The design seems very topical at the moment and is sure to raise a few wry smiles when being worn out and about.

Mick has plenty more t-shirt designs in the pipeline, all of which poke fun at politicians, religion and the establishment in general - so watch this space for more Dirty Laundry being aired in public soon!

The design above has been selling very well at his latest exhibition, so we were only able to get our hands on the few remaining medium and larges. You won't find these t-shirts anywhere else online, so grab one quickly while they're still around! Link in images above...

Following on from the interview with DJ Stryda (Dubkasm) a few posts below, here is a video that was taken at the 'Transform-I' LP launch party at Teachings In Dub last weekend. The night was a massive success all round with Dubkasm putting on an incredible live show, which featured live vocals from Dub Judah, Afrikan Simba, Ras B and Ras Addis; live sax from Digistep and also Dub Judah on melodica. The Iration Steppas rig was sounding great and more than did the music justice.

The second leg of the link up sees Dubkasm joining forces with Iration again tomorrow night at the mighty Sub Dub in Leeds. If it's anything like last weekend then it's set to be an amazing night. As before, hopefully see you there...

We've got a couple of tickets to give away for the massive Dissident night on the 2nd of May. The Dissident crew have been going from strength to strength over the last couple of years, continually filling any venue which they've managed to get their grubby little hands on. May's line up is one of their biggest to date and is being held amongst the half pipes at Motion Skate Park. With rooms one and two both looking unmissable, the night is sure to go off in a big way and the bank holiday weekend should provide an extra day's recovery for those intending to make a proper night of it!

To be in with a chance of winning the tickets, just put your name and email address into the contact form here, with the subject 'Dissident'. The winner will be chosen at random next Wednesday.

If you can't wait until the night for your fix of top quality drum and bass, then the mix below, from Dissident residents and promoters Incite and Breach, should hit the spot nicely.

Incite & Breach March Studio Mix

Download Here (Mega Upload Link)

Tracklist:

Data - Splice
Loxy & Isotone - Shodan
Sabre - God Fearing
Loxy & Isotone - Ancients
Survival - Waves (Remix)
Alix Perez - I'm Free
Breach - Harbinger
Ed Rush & Optical - Wormhole
Chris SU - The Peak
Dom & Gridlok - Catscan
Break - Reachout
Prolix - The Savage
Mindscape & Hydro - Skid Row
Gridlok - Deadpan
Subwave - Special Skills
Sabre & Alix Perez - Everglade
Incite & Breach - Protocol
Instra:mental - Comanche
Data - Muted
Escher - Slice
Subwave - Dreamcatcher

Many of you may not yet be aware, but this Saturday (18th April) is the second international Record Store Day, which celebrates the role that independent record stores play within musical communities. Stores from all over the world will be holding special events to mark the day, so head down to your local record store and show your support.

In an increasingly virtual and disposable world, record shops continue to provide a physical home for musical scenes and ideas. They are a place in which people can discover, discuss and share their love of music and often serve as a breeding ground for exciting new sounds, with many fruitful collaborations having arisen from the chance meeting of like minded individuals in a record shop. This social aspect is one of the main reasons behind the day's celebrations and as such it should provide a great opportunity to meet people as passionate about music as you are.

Those of you living in Bristol can come and join us at Rooted Records, where we will be enjoying a day of beer, food and most importantly music. An assortment of local herberts will be gracing the decks and some extra sonic sparkle is being provided by local sound, Downbeat Melody. The vintage system, owned by local selector Steve Rice, includes the bass bin shown below, which was once a part of King Tubby's Hometown Hi-Fi  (it should be noted that the photo below was taken when the box was first discovered in a back yard in Kingston and that it has since been lovingly restored).

Hopefully see you there for some good vibrations!

Fabric have kindly offered up an unreleased Caspa track for free download ahead of the launch party for his debut album, 'Everybody's Talking, Nobody's Listening', next Friday. The track, 'Lion's Roar', can be downloaded using the link below. The track is bound to please all the Caspa fans out there and at the same time will probably do little to change the minds of his critics. Check it out for yourself and see what you think - it's definitely a banger!

Caspa - Lions Roar:

Download Here (Right Click 'Save As')

For those with an interest in Bristol's Dubstep scene, the above video, 'Living Inside The Speaker', should provide captivating viewing. The film documents the scene in the city back in 2006 and was filmed by Mike 'Madboy' and his friend Mark. It has been available to purchase for a few years now but he has kindly just uploaded it for free download. It can either be viewed above or downloaded from here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8MXHZZG4

The film features DJ Pinch, Peverelist, Bubonic, Atik2, the Hench Crew, Kymatik, Kidkut, Blazey, Stealth, Dub Boy, Wedge, White Boi, Gutterbreaks, Elemental, Search & Destroy, Skream, Chef and plenty more of the Bristol Dubstep Massive. It also includes the video for Pinch's 'Qawwali'.

It is incredible how much the scene has developed since this film was made; it already seems such a long time ago. It's particularly nice to be able to watch the video with the gift of hindsight and the knowledge that the sense of excitement captured in the film has now blossomed into a burgeoning scene, the success of which was only being hinted at when the film was recorded. It's amazing what can happen in a few years.