| |
HIVE
DOA: Let's get right into it: Welcome To Violence got a lot of praise for being a project that both stayed true to the Violence sound, but still dropped some interesting twists in the formula. Did you have a set theme or mindset going into the making of Welcome To Violence?
Hive: I'd say the mindset was to ignore the trends, make no compromises and focus on creating a proper album rather than a collection of tracks solely meant for the DJ. It's worth noting that Keaton moved from London to San Francisco to live in the studio for the 3 months we spent on the album; Gridlok lived next door and Echo lived upstairs from me a block away from the studio. The closeness definitely contributed to the vibe of the album.
DOA: Compared to your output prior to the Welcome To Violence LP, 2006 and 2007 were a little on the quiet side in terms of volume of released tunes from you. Was that a conscious effort on your part to stay out of the limelight?
Hive: There was no conscious decision. After Welcome To Violence was released, we all kinda started to question a lot of things. The sales were not as good as we'd hoped and simultaneously, we watched Pendulum's album go big. We were thinking about how much DnB has changed and where we fit in. Some of us kept going, some moved on to other things. I took a break and ended up getting married and lived in a cabin in the mountains of British Columbia for a year. I made the ''Neo'' Remix there and since moved back to Los Angeles to get the Salvation LP together.
DOA: Talk a bit behind the Salvation album; what was your motivation behind compiling this monster?
Hive: Violence hasn't released an album since Welcome To Violence in 2005, so it was time to put a bigger project together. 12'' singles aren’t as popular as they were five years ago and for me, having an album project is a much more exciting prospect.
DOA: This album features a lot more producers from outside of the Welcome To Violence crew, while keeping the ''Violence'' vibe alive. Was there any coaching of the producers, asking for a certain kind of tune, or did they just fit?
Hive: There wasn't much need for coaching because of the producers involved. These guys are professionals and know the Violence sound so it was made easy on me in that aspect.
DOA: We've got the mighty remix to ''Neo'', and your remix of ''The Plague'' just came out on Hardware. You have a knack for really breathing new life into your remixes, from the ''Hysteria'' remix to your hectic ''Haters'' flip. Are there any forthcoming remixes you’ve done that are set to come out soon? Any word on the ''Krush'' VIP?
 Hive: No, I've probably done enough remixes for right now. The ''Krush'' VIP is the same story as the ''Hysteria'' VIP I’ve had floating around. It was an early version of the released remix that turned up on my hard drive years later. I like it but in my opinion, it's not as good as the original so I don't see a point in releasing it. There's also an alternate version of my ''Neo'' remix that may show its face someday.
DOA: Another thing you're known for is these large collaboration tracks, like ''Standing Room Only'' or ''Unearthed''. How much input is coming from each producer on epic songs like this?
Hive: On ''Standing Room Only'', the input was farily equal. It's funny 'cause we made that in my tiny San Francisco apartment and it was literally standing room only, hence the name (Squire from DNAudio and my dog were there too). Break and Silent Witness did a lot of the engineering that first day but all of us were bringing sounds or playing in basslines. After they went back out on tour, me and Gridlok spent a couple weeks cleaning it up and working on the mix.
''Unearthed'' was a track from the Welcome To Violence sessions that we decided not to include on the album. Opening the vault three years later, we were pretty impressed and figured we should share it.
DOA: Which do you prefer when producing: working solo or collaboration?
Hive: I prefer collaboration only because it tends more fun to work with a friend rather than stare at a computer by yourself day in and day out. On the other hand, working solo opens you up to more experimentation which is a good thing.
DOA: Word is you're going on tour this Fall? What can heads expect from the Salvation Tour? Will you be touring outside of North America as well?
Hive: I'm on tour now and will be 'til the end of the year. Some dates I'm booked alongside Tech Itch and MC Armanni Reign, some are just me. Calyx, Armanni and myself just played Nocturnal Wonderland Festival in L.A. which was off the hook, over 2000 people goin off.
A European and possibly Australasian tour is being planned for November and December. Dates and info can be found at violencerecordings.com as they come.
DOA: What's set to drop on Violence after Salvation? Any word on an artist album on the label? Will you be dropping more of your productions, or are you signing tunes from other producers?
 Hive: Nothing is scheduled at the moment but I've always got my ears open for the next thing. Once I'm done supporting the Salvation LP, I'll be working on the new Hive solo LP.
DOA: Before you got your feet immersed within the DnB scene, you were churning out a lot of leftfield Hip-Hop sounds and albums. Do you still produce cuts like that?
Hive: At times, but I've been concentrating on DnB pretty full on over the past several years. Expect to hear different tempos on my next album though.
DOA: Can we get a current top 10 from you?
Hive:
01. Various - Salvation LP (Violence)
02. Chase & Status ''Is It Worth It'' (Ram)
03. Noisia ''Stigma'' (Vision)
04. Ed Rush & Optical ''Chubrub'' (Virus)
05. Audio ''Error'' (Offkey)
06. Klute ''Trust Me'' (Commercial Suicide)
07. D.Kay & Lee ''Extazzy'' (Metalheadz)
08. Culture Shock ''Kronix'' (Ram)
09. The Upbeats ''Masked Warrior'' (Ganja Tek)
10. Matty G ''West Coast Rocks (Glitch Mob Remix)'' (Dub)
DOA: Time to play a little ''let's get personal with Hive'':
a) What's the last book you read?
The Audacity Of Hope by Barack Obama.
b) Do you follow any sports?
Not at all.
c) What's the nicest compliment you've ever been given?
I don't know if it's the nicest, but one that means a lot to me is ''you got me into Drum & Bass.''
d) If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring 5 things, what would they be?
I've never understood this question because if I was gonna bring five things knowing I was gonna be stranded, wouldn't I bring survival items rather than some record or book? Give me a boat, radio, a gun and a couple bullets.
e) What's your acronym for DOA?
Doggin' On Artists.
DOA: Do you have any final thoughts or shout outs?
Hive: I'd like to thank all the artists involved in the making of the album, including Mesck and Khoma who did an incredible job with the artwork. Big up all the fans out there who still drop their hard earned money on our records and keep the whole thing alive.
*GRAB HIVE TRACKS FROM DOA DOWNLOADS
*GRAB VIOLENCE RELEASES FROM THE DOA STORE
Words: khal |
|
|
Dogs On Acid > Comments > HIVE
10-03-2008 04:47 PM
