DJ DYMOND INTERVIEW with Vertex FM – 2006

In every jungle there is a diamond in the rough waiting be found and unleashed to the world. DJ Dymound is roughing up the drum & bass scene. He grew up in Tottenham,North London.

DJ Dymound tells more to Vertex FM

Where did you grow up?

Moved around a lot, but mostly grew up in Tottenham,North London.

Outside of Drum & Bass, what music do you listen to?

Hip Hop, Soul, R&B, Breakbeat, Jazz, loads really. I have very broad tastes, working in a record shops for a large part of my life I’ve been lucky enough to be exposed to all sorts of music & the chance to listen to stuff  I wouldn’t normally go out & buy.

What are you listening to at the moment?

On rotation in my player is the new Amit LP, the new Pharrell LP, some D Block & a new tune I’ve just been working on called ‘Ghost Train’.

Who influenced you musically growing up?

My family, mainly my dad as he used to collect a lot of old vinyl such as Marvin Gaye, Dennis Brown, Studio One stuff, Dawn Penn millions & millions of Reggae Sound tapes, & loads more I don’t have the space to write!

How long have you been a DJ?

I’ve been collecting vinyl since around 1988, I started learning how to DJ around 1993. I couldn’t afford a pair of decks till around 2000 so I had to hassle mates to use theirs!

How did you get into D&B?

For me it was a logical progression, I started listening to Old School House > Acid > Hardcore > Jungle & now Drum & Bass. The music touched me in a way no music has ever done & I suppose in some ways I’m still chasing that moment I 1st heard it. I also have an obsession with bass so the genre of music was an obvious choice! My family were into bass heavy music like Dub, Reggae, Rare Groove & Soul.

I used to try & mix cassette tapes on 2 players, trying to get them in time by pressing pause! Then more of the same on my dad’s & friends turntables with no pitch adjustments! I started playing at local parties and doing mixtapes, handing them out to anybody who liked D&B. At the age of 16 I used to work for Ibiza Records which helped to introduced me to the scene & the people in it, I then became vinyl buyer @ HMV which opened my eyes to the business side of things.

Working in record shops you get to meet a lot of people, distributors, label owners, artists & lovers of the music which also helps.

Some of your favourite tunes of the year?

So far in 2006 I’d have to say Concord Dawn’s ‘Say Your Words’ for the raw emotion & contrasting sounds, Blu Mar Ten’s ‘Shadow Boxing Remix’ for the crowd reaction whenever it’s played, Benny Page’s ‘Turn Down The Lights’ for the good vibes & Amit’s ‘Swastika’ for the brutality of it!

Vinyl Vs CD. What are your thoughts on DJs who use CDs rather than vinyl?

DJs who solely play out using CDs sadden me. At the end of the day you should be versatile enough as a DJ to mix the 2 formats & you should be promoting the formats you’re trying to sell to the D&B buying public otherwise who are you making tunes for?

The ‘top’ DJs have a lot of people watching them & a lot of people who want to be like them so they should be setting a good example in my opinion. If a bedroom DJ sees a ‘big’ DJ spinning solely CDs they will want to follow&The same goes for the ‘Dubplate Culture’ of the scene, if more big DJs started spinning older tracks mixed with the new one’s the bedroom DJ’s would follow.

What do you think about the Internet/Internet radio and the affect is has had on Drum & Bass?

Good & Bad thing, but that’s life.It’s opened more & more people’s ears to the sound worldwide which is a good thing. On the other hand, file sharing has dramatically changed the whole music industry & nobody is sure of what will happen or how music will be sold in the futureInternet radio is one of the nets pluses allowing you to broadcast to the world from your bedroom or decent studio (Without fear of being raided) & more importantly legally.

What do you think the future holds for pirate radio stations?

I’ve been playing on pirate radio for more than 5 years & it’s a big risk to take to play the music I love. Pirates have been one of the founding aspects of D&B music, without them we wouldn’t have the scene we have today or have been able to get the music across to people.Remember the Legal stations follow the pirates in terms of fashion music as they have their finger on the pulse & ear to the ground.

Sadly the FM dial will be switched off soon as more & more people switch to the digital medium, so in a few years pirates will be extinct.

What are your views on the whole liquid Vs the darker side of the scene?

To me I’ve never separated the styles of D&B.I started raving at a time where every style would be played under one roof under one banner so when all the sub genres came along, I pretty much laughed it off. Most of the sub genres around these days were made up by people I know or know of.

Words & phrases catch on I suppose & the media play a big part in imposing these sub genres into your consciousness, a few years down the line & it feels natural to say them for most.

What are your plans for the rest of 2006?

Well i’ve been honing my skills in the studio & working with Blu Mar Ten who have helped me out a lot & given me a new found impetus, so expect some tunes from me & a few collaborations this year.

I also write for One Week To Live Magazine & I’m the Drum & Bass editor of SOS (Sound Of The Streets) Magazine, so I guess I’ll continue with that & hopefully write for a few others.

I’m in the process of redesigning my website (www.djdymond.co.uk) which is both exciting & stressful in equal doses!, I’ve got plans to promote a regular night, hopefully I’ll get a few more bookings & I’d like to play abroad more too. Just to stay healthy really & to continue playing the music I love…

Dymond.

www.djdymond.co.uk

www.myspace.com/dymonddj

www.myspace.com/djdymond