Got two treats for you today! One of them is the third
mix for my MXD MXS series and the other is an interview, both
from up and coming blogger, Yet Another Blogspot's Jamie Bellal!
He'll be talking to us about his blog, what else he's up to, and of
course, the mix he's done for us to listen to, so without further ado...
You're here primarily to promote your entry to my MXD MXS project.
Tell us about what you've brought to the (turn)table!
Well for my mix I decided to bring Tech House to the table. It's a genre
not really
looked at much by the young audience as its scene is quite
mature and I love
the beat of it and the vibes it broadcasts. Artists
that I have on there include
Robert Owens, Ron Costa, Joris Voorn and
also a remix by Eats Everything.
You've gotten yourself your first set at non other than the Ministry Of Sound!
How does that feel?
I've been making mixes in my bedroom for just over a year now and to get
my
first ever set in Ministry of Sound is definitely an honour. I'll be
playing at Fedde Le
Grand's London Takeover and I'm really ecstatic to
be given the opportunity to show
the world that I am capable of
performing to the world. I feel really happy. Even
though it has
attracted some attention from other DJs who'd kill to play at the club,
it hasn't sidetracked me at all.
Right now you seem to be getting quite versatile with the things that
you cover
and the skills you've taken up. What was your main focus when
you started your blog?
When I started YAB back in August 2010, its main focus was the Dubstep
and Drum
and Bass scene and for me to report on the events that took
place. It went well,
attracted some audience however I got recognised in
raves for the photography I did.
(To some I am a UTR photographer, but
I've never been contracted or employed by the
guys ever.) I did a
project in college, a written report in April 2011 (which still needs
some adding to!) where I wrote about the changes in Dubstep, how its
gone from
underground to being played in TV adverts for example. From
that I realised that
Dubstep wasn't worth writing about anymore, and I
lacked passion in it - there's no
essence of euphoria when I talk about
it now as the whole Sub Bass concept has slowly
disappeared.
As a journalist the amount of things that you cover seems to be growing.
What new
things do you think you'll add to what you already do and blog
about? Or do you
think you're going to start focusing on some things
more than others?
Well YAB has delved into Grime and Hip Hop and even though I've done one
video of
each, it's attracting so many views, so that's something I aim
to focus on in 2012.
House/Electro and Progressive House are other
genres I'm focusing on - it's something
close to me and I've grown up on
it and I find writing about it really great. I'd focus on
those more
than Dubstep right now, the scene is pulsing really well at a steady
pace.
From my observation, it's the most solid as Dubstep is changing so
quickly that it's hard
to keep track of and its losing its value and
the original integrity it had.
We are similar in the things we do and cover and our generation has the
chance
to multi task like never before due to current technology and
everything being
digitalized, which makes some skills a lot more easier
to take up. What would you
say sets yourself apart from the others, and
what do you think this will lead to in
the next decade or two?
I
love music. And I love to DJ. Every song that I mix into sends a chill
down my spine.
I think that's the thing that sets me apart from most
bloggers/journalists as I am REALLY
passionate about music.
I do agree digitalising things does make it easier to take up. Take DJing for example, I
use a Traktor Kontrol S4, which is a controller however I do get grilled by some who use
CDJs or Vinyl and they tell me it isn't DJing. The same thing happened when the CDJ was
introduced as an alternative to Vinyl! Technology is rapidly evolving, you can even DJ with
a handheld device these days, even an iPad could amaze a crowd. Anybody can be a DJ,
it doesn't matter what you use, it's how you use it that matters. Well in a decade I'd much
love to be settled down with my own magazine in my right hand and my wife and kids in
the other. I am a family guy, so family would go before music in my books. But if that
wasn't the case then I'd much love to tour the world, spreading the YAB brand. I've even
considered taking up producing but that hasn't come into effect just yet, we'll just have
to wait and see!
I'd say the main thing you talk about has to music without a doubt! What music scene
do you have an eye for now, and where do you see music in general going in the
future?
As mentioned before, I've had a keen eye on the house scene. For me that's the place to
be because it's a genre which is been around for a decade or so and has so many branches
of it which can be mixed together making it the most creative. If I were to predict where
music is going however I'd say that garage is making a comeback. Many Dubstep producers
have started to experiment and are creating modern Garage tracks. A great example is
Mosca's EP Done Me Wrong which I absolutely love. In a sense Dubstep is going back to
what it originally was, 2 step, but it's being given a modern twist because there are so
many creative minds out there adding their own inspiration and completely knocking
down the wall of the genre to a point where you can't just give it a label. In terms of
Dubstep, there's another path, the American path, where it's rapidly just turning into
EDM (Electronic Dance Music). I'm not keen on that at all and I think it's depressing that
something that was meant to be deep and subsonic is now reliant on high pitched
synths and NI Massive presets which are capable of destroying your speaker system.
Lastly as I ask everyone else I interview, is there anyone out there who you'd like to
give some of your limelight to?
There's two people who I'd love to share. One is a producer, Breakage. If there's one man
that's making breakbeat and Dubstep to the quality it should be, it's him. He defines sub
sonic frequencies and it's such a shame he isn't heard of much. Another person I've got to
big up has to be my DJ mentor and friend Alex Kella who I will be doing a B2B set with at
Ministry of Sound on the 25th February. I see big things coming for him in the new year,
and he's really got to grips with the progressive house scene and has that on smash,
however I am getting him into Tech House and he seems to like it!
Big shout to Jamie for being up for this! Make sure you listen to his
entry and even more so make sure you enjoy it! DL link is on the mix's page
JAMIE YABLDN FACEBOOK PAGE
MXD MXS FACEBOOK
MYSELF
cya C:
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