1.) How did you first discover Drum and Bass and when did you decide to become a DJ and producer?

I was into underground rave music when I was in my early teens, although was much too young to go to any of the events and experience it for myself. Immediately as soon as jungle came about I was into it and followed it into Drum n Bass, so really the music I listened to evolved into D&B.

I first decided to become a DJ when I was about 14. I lived in a pub and used to help the DJ sort out his records and put them away, and watch the decks while he wasn’t there. Eventually I brought all of the DJ’s equipment due to him being ill and not really being able to carry on and started to do it on my own. I was into rave music but with it being a pub was mostly playing commercial tracks, although sometimes during late night lock ins I would put on some Hardcore and Jungle as I had started buying records. While this was going on I brought my first set of proper decks for mixing, they were two direct drive turntables but were both different makes, I can remember paying about £40 for them. From there I used to spend all of my spare cash on vinyl and was learning to mix in my bedroom as well as continuing my work in pubs which started to expand to bookings in other places.

I first tried my hand at production around 2000 with computers at work when the boss was out, even though the tracks were not very good I enjoyed the feeling I got when I had completed them, and the feedback I got off my friends, so decided to get my own PC and start experimenting at home.

2.) How did the development of your Mayhem Crew come about?

Mayhem Crew really made itself. I used to run an internet chat room which was called Mayhem and then made a small internet radio station for the people who visited and called it Mayhem Radio. Not long after that I bumped into one of my childhood friends, now known as DJ Random-Swych, who had just started learning to mix and was quite interested in what I was doing, More people started to get interested and the crew really just took the name from previous projects. So Mayhem Crew wasn’t really something that was planned, it just happened. Now we work on quite a lot of stuff together and also have branched out into other genres. Last year we also started writing and producing hip hop and came 3rd in a local competition, so now we have expanded quite a lot from when we just started as DJ’s and hope to expand even more in the future.


3.) Describe the DnB scene in your hometown of Burton on Trent, in Staffordshire, England.

The local D&B scene in Burton is not very big, there are not many clubs left although in the past there used to be quite a few events and DJ’s play down here. We have held quite a few events of our own in the area, under the names Urban Burton and Mayhem but at the moment are looking for a new venue as the last venue we had closed down towards the end of last year. The D&B scene in the surrounding cities however is quite big, in Derby which is just over 10 miles away there are about 2 Global Energy events a year which have a Random Concept arena. Interface and Deckadance are also 2 monthly events in Derby which are quite popular. We are also not too far from Birmingham which has various super clubs such as Air which regularly hold big events.


4.) Have you ever been to The End club in London and are you sorry to see it go based on what it meant to the DnB community worldwide?

I’ve never actually been to The End, London is quite a long way to travel from where I am to go raving. I went once to Slammin Vinyl Tranzmission at Alexandra Palace and it took hours to get there and hours to get back, but was worth the effort. I have listened to mixes from events such as Ram Records and Shogun Audio and they sound good, but think that going forward the impact will not be too big, things change, the future beckons and on the grand scale of things it wont have too much of an effect long term. The new legislation the government are trying to bring in to limit the noise level in clubs is going to hit the scene much harder if it goes ahead.

5.) What DJ's/Producers have you drawn the most inspiration from and how has that transcended into you production?

Back when I first got into mixing people like Mickey Finn, Aphrodite and DJ SS were my main inspirations. I used to listen to rave tapes and listening to the DJs mixing and rinsing always used to give me some sort of natural high and made me want to achieve that level of skill. I couldn’t really put a finger on who inspires my production, as it wouldn’t be just limited to Drum & Bass, a lot of other music also inspires me. I listen to and mix all sub genres of Drum & Bass and like all of them, so really I just make what I am feeling when I get down to it. I will sometimes sit and think that I want to make a track that sounds like a particular group or producer, but like to keep a good variety of styles in my production so am never fixed to one type. Every time I start a new track I always start with a blank canvas and just let it go from there.

6.) What type of production equipment/tools/software do you use?

My PC is the main piece of equipment that I use for most of the arranging and synthesizers, I use various software and sometimes will just experiment with different things to see what I can get out of them. VST synths are definitely a big part of my production and with the range available today it’s possible to never run out of new sounds and ideas, plus with the multitude of different FX available you can really make the sound your own. For recording vocals I have a condenser mic with an Art Tube pre-amp which I find gives really good quality, plus a Soundblaster Extigy external sound card which is great for recording. I also swear by my trusty old Casio CTK-611 which you can make simple synth presets on, and also use that as a midi keyboard for playing riffs on computer based synths.

7.) If given the opportunity, who would be some artists that you would "jump" at the chance to collaborate with?

The list for this would be huge as I like most producers and sub genres of D&B, so just to put a finger on a few of them in different styles would be Technical Itch, High Contrast, DJ Hazard, Makoto, Drumsound & Bassline Smith, Roni Size and DJ Zinc.

8.) What did you do before DJing and producing songs?

I was quite young before I started DJing so there wasn’t much before that, but have always been into computers and that started when I was very young with a Spectrum. I got an Atari ST a few years after that and did actually experiment with the Quartet software when I was about 11, but was far too young really to understand it.

9.) Is there a story or meaning behind the name "Klippa"?

The name came about in the 90’s as I was looking for something original and unique. I kept choosing DJ names before that but then would find out another artist or DJ would have either the same or similar name. The name was inspired by the crowd flashing their lighters at D&B events (Lighter crew). In England a popular type of lighter is the Clipper lighter so I created the name inspired by that.

10.) What are some personal goals you have set for yourself to accomplish in the year 2009?

I want to start working to set up a record label of my own, starting with MP3 releases and then eventually work my way into also selling vinyl. I would also like to get releases on some other labels at some point but find that with my varying styles of production I would probably not be suited to just one type of label. Also this year I am hoping to complete my first album with Mayhem Crew, the concept for that at the moment is to be a multi genre urban album which we already have a few tracks for, but we will just see how that goes. Also I would like to further my DJ career, play in some bigger clubs and get our own events set up again. I think that all in all 2009 is going to be a big year for us so I am just going to continue working hard to make things happen. To me achieving things is worth more than anything, so as long as I keep achieving new things then I am happy even if I don’t do everything I set out to do.

Also I would like to take the opportunity to big up all of the Drum & Bass crew worldwide, the DJ’s, the MC’s, the producers, the promoters the labels and the ravers. Big up EDJ crew for running a great D&B community site, also would like to big up my crew DJ Random-Swych (B2B partner and co-producer), Terry Cipriani (co-producer and vocalist), Lisa D (promoter and event organiser), Dan Dark (DJ & MC), DJ Braddock, DJ Midway (remixing and collaboration) & DJ CJ (my partner in the group Corrosive Alchemy).