A very special guest mix and interview from one of my personal favorite current Drum and Bass producers, The Clamps, this week makes this one of the biggest we have had yet. The resident mix by Bad Syntax as always comes even heavier than usual and makes for one hell of an epic podcast. Download, share, and leave a comment in the comment section below if you love this music!
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The Clamps – Exclusive Interview
First off, I need to know and I am sure others do too… Did your name come from Futurama? Tell us a bit about where your name came from!
No, it’s a private joke that just close friends know about. But I do love to say that I have 2 mechanical clamps instead of hands.
Now that we have that out of the way, please introduce yourself and tell us a bit of the history behind The Clamps.
My name is Julien and I live in Toulouse, France. I have been producing as The Clamps for 5 years, and I have had several other musical projects. It’s not a “one kind of music” project, but it is mainly Drum and Bass & Industrial Hardcore. I love the energy emerging from these 2 styles. But I clearly love most kind of music, so The Clamps can be describe like a musical project with good energy inside. 🙂
What was your first experience with Drum and Bass like?
I’ve had good friends who started to play Drum and Bass in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
It was cool, but I prefered more 4 to the floor stuff like Techno / Hardtechno. Then in 2005 I remember another good friend coming in to our skate spot and told me to listen to something… it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was The Tide from Noisia. It gave me a new vision of music (only a few other producers in electric music and electronic music gave me these kind of feelings)
What is the thing you are most thankful for to date in your music career?
To be honest, I think it’s to do what I love and share it with people. To work closely with good friends in the music scene, meeting great people and staying young with the crowd’s energy. It’s not just one special moment, it’s all the moments combined.
If you could collab with any artist, of any genre / style, who would it be and why?
I really would love to do something with The Outside Agency in Hardcore Industrial. These guys are bosses in production and atmosphere. I feel their music in my blood.
And in dnb, I am waiting for collab with Signs. We’re good friends and we live in the same city, but for the moment we havent made any time to collaborate, and I am not sure when we will, but I know when we’ll do it will be good. We just need to make sure not to rush it.
Describe your favorite bassline of all time, preferably by just describing the sound.
I do with a French friends’s expression (from Agroritmic Twins): “Le son de la crypte” ( Translated: The sound of the crypt ). For example, Kenei – The High Priestess.
Tell us about the strangest / most embarrassing experience you’ve had before, during or after a show.
I’m very anxious, so I think the most embarrassing thing was I had to cancel 2 gigs in the same weekend. My anxiety gave me feel so terrible that I could not make my flights. I was very ashamed 🙁 so now I try to relax my mind before a gig to be less stressed.
Where do you see / hope to see the sound of Drum and Bass evolving too in the next few years.
I hope DNB will stay independant like it has been for so many years. It’s the independance that keeps drum and bass alive and fresh during the years. I don’t mean underground (which is a term that can tell all and also nothing) but I mean independant, without Major Label investment, in a scene driven only by lovers of this music.
Do you have any forthcoming material youd like to talk about?
I have some new tracks and remixes forthcoming. A collab with Nickbee, Splash Heads, Bl4ck Owlz, Tr Tactics. Some solo projects on Kosenprod, Trendkill, Heresy, Karnage, C2D, Blackout, Addictive Behaviour, Future Sickness, etc…I can’t tell much more that that, your best is to follow the labels to see what happens.
What is one tip you would like to give to aspiring Drum and Bass artists?
This isn’t specially for Drum and Bass artists, but never give up. Do your things with heart, work hard, having fun, reassess yourself constantly, and have good friends and family around you. Enjoy making and listening to music.
Well we appreciate you taking the time to do this amazing mix, and give us some insight into what is one of my favorite projects in the Drum and Bass world right now, THE CLAMPS! I encourage all of our readers to grab this weeks podcast, and of course, make sure to rate and review on iTunes!
Podcast Information
Subscribe on iTunes: http://bit.ly/bestdnb
Bad Syntax Tracklist
- Pish Posh – Frogman (4mulate RMX) [Abducted LTD]
- Disphonia – Energy [Red Light]
- MachineCode – Metropolis [Eatbrain]
- Pythius & DJ Hidden – Corrosive [Blackout]
- Command Strange – The Gang [V Recordings]
- Phace & Signs – Pamplemousse [Neodigital]
- Zaiaku – Shrine [Abducted LTD]
- Pythius & Khronos – Warlock [Blackout]
- Signs – The Pursuit [Kosenprod]
- Impak – Handsaw [Neorufunkgrid]
- Current Value – Approximation [Neodigital]
- Disphonia ft Kryptomedic – Back to the Oldschool [Red Light]
- Space Journey – Imperial [Abducted LTD]
- Pythius & Black Sun Empire – Heresy [Blackout]
- Misanthrop & Stoner – Venere [Neodigital]
- Signs – Groove Production [Kosenprod]
- Khronos – Escape [Overtech]
- Impak ft Take8 – Antigravity [Neurofunkgrid]
- Pish Posh – The Moon (Blacklab RMX) [Abducted LTD]
- MachineCode – Battlestar [Eatbrain]
- Cruk – Breaking Point [Overtech]
- Maztek ft June Miller – Blaffer [Eatbrain]
- Pythius & State of Mind – Dirty Money [Blackout]
- Malux – Rubix [Inspected]
- Dose – Break the Habit [Abducted LTD]
- Pythius & Neonlight – tarkin [Blackout]
- Oder – 4000 Miles [Formation]
- BTK – Be Yourself (Klute RMX) [Dutty Audio]
- Posij – Killer [Inspected]
- Velos – Dirge [Abducted LTD]
- MachineCode & Coppa – Imagine [Eatbrain]
- Command Strange – Can’t Stop [V Recordings]
- Stoner – Bring the Noise [Neodigital]
- dLo – free Fall [Santoku]
- Dose – Let Me Go [Abducted LTD]
The Clamps Tracklist
1. ID -ID
2. Sustance – The Machine (Original Mix) [Trendkill]
3. Segment & Concept Vision – Deadfall (Original Mix) [Major League DnB Dub]
4. Signs – Groove Propulsion (Original Mix) [Kosenprod Dub]
5. 4mulate – Suffer (Original Mix) [Abducted LTD Dub]
6. ID – ID
7. Nothing Personal – Noob Saibot (Original Mix) [Metafiziq]
8. Impak – Knock Knock (Original Mix) [Abducted LTD Dub]
9. Maztek – Stompin’ (Mob Tactics Remix) [Eatbrain Dub]
10. Malux – Powercube (Original Mix) [Trendkill]
11. ID – ID
12. ID – ID
13. ID – ID
14. Damage Inc – Psycho Circus (The Clamps Remix) [Future Sickness Records Dub]
15. ID – ID
16. Maztek & June Miller – Blaffer (Original Mix) [Eatbrain Dub]
17. Kiril – Oh! (Original Mix) [The Dreamers Dub]
18. Khronos – Dark Wanderer (Original Mix) [Titan]
19. ID – ID
20. Dub Elements & Mc Coppa – Real Dogs (Original Mix) [Viper]
21. The Clamps & Dilemn – Frenzy (Original Mix) [Titan]
22. Glass Cobra – Champion (Original Mix) [Titan]
23. Segment & Concept Vision – Grail Sword (Original Mix) [Major League DnB Dub]
24. Pish Posh – The Moon (Blacklab Remix) [Abducted LTD Dub]
25. ID – ID
26. Nickbee – The Time (Original Mix) [Invisible Dub]
27. Logam – Hypnotic (Quadrant & Iris Remix) [Santoku]
28. Bobby – ID
29. Dose – Break The Habit (Original Mix) [Abducted LTD]
30. ID – ID
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https://theclamps.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/WayOfCrab
http://theclamps.spreadshirt.fr/
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