Artist Interview: DC BREAKS for Soul In Motion

– Interview by Sarah Alexys Y –

DC Breaks is the UK drum and bass duo of Dan Havers and Chris Page. Formed in 2005, they have released music with Frequency, Viper, and of course, Ram Records. In 2010, the duo was signed exclusively to Ram Records to join such artists as Andy C, Chase and Status, Wilkinson and more on the world’s top DnB record label.

Known for their ever expanding catalogue of Drum and Bass anthems, they are regularly featured by Annie Mac, MistaJam, and Pete Tong on their hugely influential radio shows. Next up for DC Breaks is the release of their first single ‘The More I Want’ from their debut album. We caught up to them during their travels to talk about what we can expect on December 5th when they hit Toronto

** While you’re reading, download their blazing 3 deck live set from the last Time in Toronto **
[DOWNLOAD HERE!!]

SARAH: Over the last few years, DC Breaks has produced music covering many different genres. What was the track that inspired you to produce drum and bass? Did you make anything before DnB?

DC BREAKS: Adam F Circles probably, although I was already listening to a lot of dnb records but I actually can’t remember most of their names! This is back in 1995 now! Logical Progression was also hugely influential, and showed me that I could make this music with a more musical approach.

SARAH: With a hectic DJ schedule, how do you balance touring and producing tunes when you guys are separated?

DC BREAKS: We’re always producing, when together or apart, and both take laptops with us in case there’s work to be done. We don’t actually produce that much together at the moment as we live in different cities, so often we fire projects to each other over the net.

SARAH: VENT is your alter ego for production covering the “Breakbeat” sounds. Can you describe how that alias came about and what’s currently happening on that front?

DC BREAKS: I met Sam from VENT some years ago and we had a common interest in making off the wall industrial sounding records with no fixed tempo or genre. It was an experiment in making bass, drinking wine, eating chinese and having a lot of fun! We had a lot of success with Nu Skool Breaks so focused on that for a bit, but never stopped making Glitch Hop, which we were pioneering in the UK, and its that which we focus 100% on now, with the occasional dubstep tune for good measure! We manage Colony Productions and release a couple of cuts a year on that and a couple of other prestigious midtempo labels in the US, but we’re pretty busy with other commitments these days.

SARAH: Recently you’ve collaborated with huge dubstep artists such as Bassnectar and SKisM, can we expect more music with dubstep influences from you guys?

DC BREAKS: Yeah we just did another Collab, this time with Document One – forthcoming very soon on Buygore Recs. We don’t want to go too much into Dubstep, and find that collabing with Dubstep producers is a more fun way to dip into that market. We play more and more alongside dubstep and general bass DJs these days, so its good to get more recognition in those areas.

SARAH: Rumor has it you like sushi, what would be a typical order for you? Did you get a chance to hit a Toronto sushi joint on your last visit?

DC BREAKS: Sushi rules. I could live on the stuff! Last time I hit Toronto I only had a Sunday to explore and as any sushi lover will know, sushi joints are closed on Sundays!! So that was a disappointment – gonna put that right this time!

SARAH: When is your debut album set to drop and what can we expect from it?

DC BREAKS: We’re gonna put it together next year, so hopefully more news on that to follow soon. It’s a hell of a commitment though! We’ll have to see where drum and bass is then but I can tell you we already have a couple of tracks set aside for it, and they’re pretty stunning.

SARAH: Toronto fans were stoked about Soul in Motion bringing you here for the last show at Chroma, any words for your Toronto fans? What did you think of the reception you received?

DC BREAKS: Yeah that was a wicked night, I had a great reception and was looked after amazingly, it was pure jokes all the way and I made some good friends, and had a particularly hilarious chinese meal up in Chinatown. Toronto ravers are awesome, but someone really needs to change the draconian drinking laws lol!!! We ended up back in my hotel room drinking from the minibar at 4am cos that’s all we could get!!