Manni Dee: Official | Soundcloud
Some people will tell you, "The Internet is over saturated with music." They'll also say "Most of the music online is crap." They might even go into a rant about the good 'ol days or ask you if you've ever been to a record store before. My response is, "Yes I've been to a record store. A mom & pop record store in fact. Actually, we have a great local mom & pop record store here in Long Beach called Fingerprints. You should go check it out and say, 'Hey Rand! Nice store you got here.'" [He's the owner.] What was my point again for this introduction?...[thinking. coffee is kicking in]
Oh! As many of the older guard of music enthusiasts will credit their local record store for their initiation and education on the vast limitless volumes of music ever known to human kind. I on the other hand have Napster+Illegal Sharing Networks+Internet to thank for exposing me to music. Que in our friend Manni Dee from across the Atlantic who's been busy crafting and performing his wonky futuristic beat bass music. He contacted us through Soundcloud and sent us some tracks. We liked it so we played it. We liked it so much we wanted to help him out and do more for him so here we are with the interview below. He's a cool dude. I'm going to buy him a pint when we hang...
Nativity: Usually I start off my interviews by saying "thank you" for doing the interview, but this time around I'm going to have to apologize to you Manni Dee. Truthfully and honestly, my bad Sir. This interview was a long time coming. But as you know life happens and thankfully you've been cool enough to be chill about everything. So my apologies and of course...Thank you for doing the interview with us! Please introduce yourself and what it is you do/create/manipulate/etc.? Feel free to use this time to talk about how you and Dank Radio got acquainted.
Manni Dee: No worries man. Appreciate the support from you guys! Well basically, I'm Manni Dee, currently based in Brighton, U.K. I Grew up in a small town near the middle of England called Wolverhampton. There's so many different terms for the music I make. Wonky, Left-field, future beats etc. Sometimes I just like to refer to it as Electronic Bass music. I explore a lot of different genres in my compositions. Everything from Musique Concrete to Post - Dubstep.
Right now I'm blessed enough to have a few releases out. Vermin Street just released Antidote, I've got an ep out on Saturate Records soon which I’m really excited about. I think it's all about staying positive and really working on your craft. I feel privileged to have had support from people such as Kutmah, Dibiase, Starkey and the Lucky Me camp.
The Dank Radio link up came about through Soundcloud. I reached out to them after listening to their shows. Really liked what they were doing so I sent them some tunes, and here we are today!
ManniDee - Antidote/Universal Symphony Split Release on Vermin Street by Manni Dee
Nativity: Again sorry for not responding right away to those initial Soundcloud messages/e-mails. Like I always tell people who submit their music to us, "Please keep on bugging us. If you truly believe in your music and you want to be heard. Let us know." It was funny how I first heard your track. We were at the Radio Station broadcasting Dank Radio and I turn to G1ockz or my brother [E]ccentric and I go, "Whoa. Who did this beat?!" They went, "It's the dude who kept hitting us up on Soundcloud." I think we played Antidote and Gravitate. Both are awesome tracks. Before you go into detail with the recent release of Antidote on Vermin Street let's talk about what started it all for you. What was the album and/or track that hit you so good you knew you wanted to make music and perform? Or was it a certain performer you saw and you thought "I want to do that! I need to do that!"?
Manni Dee: Aahh man. Great question. Throughout my life there's always been a huge musical influence. When I think about it, there have always been stages where I've been obsessed with a particular artist. My earliest musical memory was trying to imitate Michael Jackson's moves. Me and my sister were big fans. As I grew older and started high school, I really got in to hip hop. I'm talking the classic acts like Biggie, early Nas, Big L, Jay Z's first album Reasonable Doubt was and still is great. Who inspired me most at this time was Tupac. I could relate to certain songs, I also thought he was a great storyteller. He paints vivid pictures with his words. His last album he did whilst he was still alive under the name Makaveli is still my favourite Tupac album. I’ve gotta say I see him as more of a revolutionary though rather than a rapper.
When I went to College to study Music Practice, I socialized with a lot of diverse groups. I was exposed to music outside of my standard confinements. I got in to Indie/60s Mod rock n roll type stuff, and a lot of American Grungy type bands like The Pixies. I really got in to British bands too like The Jam, The Kinks and in particular The Smiths. Still my favorite band/artist to this day. Morrissey's words really reach out to me. It's the kind of music that you know will always be there and you can always relate to. His lyrics are so poetic and Johnny Marr is an amazing guitarist.
Nativity: I see. So that's the start of it all. I knew you were into hip hop but I would of never guessed Tupac. While we're still on the subject of your personal music choices, what was the first album you ever purchased? Equally important, what's your 5 all time favorite albums?
Manni Dee: I think it was something by the Lightning Seeds. A British Indie band from the 90s I think? The first CD I purchased was Enter the Wu-Tang 36 Chambers. Classic!
Top 5 favorite albums?!? Wow. Okay. I think I know;
1) The Smiths - Meat Is Murder - 1985
2) Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish - 1993
3) Radiohead - In Rainbows - 2007
4) The Velvet Underground & Nico - 1967
5) Makaveli - The Don Killuminati, The 7 day theory - 1996
Nativity: As we might have briefly discussed through Facebook chit chats in the past, a handful of us in Dank Radio either produce and/or DJ as well. We see the photos of you rocking a Traktor set up with 1200s. But there aren't any photos of you in your creative space. Would you please enlighten us on what DAWs you work with? Are you solely VST based or do you have some hardware in your studio as well? I know G1ockz wanted to see if you would be down to take a quick snapshot of your workspace. It might help explain everything for our visually inclined readers [doesn't have to be a fancy photo. camera phone will do.]
Manni Dee: It's a pretty basic set up. I use Logic 9 with a Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini soundcard all on my Macbook. I use Ableton for live stuff. Yeah I use a lot of VSTs. My housemate has a Juno 106 that I use from time to time, but apart from that it's all in the box. Just a midi controller and an MPD. Oh, and a lot of old cassettes for analogue saturation and manipulation.
Nativity: How long have you been making music? Do you play any other instruments and were you ever in a band of sorts before becoming a producer/dj?
Manni Dee: I've been making beats since I was about 14. I used to encourage school friends, who had no interest in rapping, to come round to my house and rap on some instrumentals. I just wanted some artists to produce for! I started off using this little program on a crappy PC called Hip Hop Ejay. It was basically a bunch of loops you could put together and the program would adjust the key and tempo according to the first loop you selected.
As time went on obviously my sound advanced, certain people really encouraged me to pursue my passion for music. When I was 19 I moved to Brighton to study Creative Music Production at University. I learned so much in those three years. I was in a band about a year ago now called Dirty Drugs. Kind of a fusion between Indie Rock and Hip Hop. It was really cool whilst it lasted. I used to produce and sing in the band. There was another vocalist/guitarist and a rapper to. I think we're still on bandcamp if you wanna check us out.
Nativity: Is your process for creating original tracks different from a remix? I really enjoy your take on the Destiny's Child Say My Name.
Manni Dee: When I'm approached by a label to do a remix, I like to manipulate the original stems and make the track my own. I like to keep elements of the original and put my own stamp on it. I'm not keen on remixes that sound too similar to the original. With things like the Destinys Child and the Biggie remixes, it is quite similar to the creative process of composing original tracks. I like to think about how I would have preferred the track to sound, and most of the time, the remixes turn out to be completely different from the original. Don't get me wrong, those old Biggie beats are sick, I just like to add futuristic twist. What if that song was made now? What if it was exposed to a different audience? etc
Destinys Child - Say My Name (Manni Dee Remix) by Manni Dee
Nativity: On the topic of original tracks, congratulations are in order for your recent release of Antidote on Vermin Street. How did this release come about? Did they approach you for this track and are you going to continue working with them for future releases?
Manni Dee: Soundcloud! The same way we linked up. I love that soundcloud is like this international database for musicians and music lovers. We can all interact. I sent the track to them and they were really feeling it. The release has been in the works for a few months, it just came out on the 17th May, with some big remixes from my boy Alby D, Halp and Pixelord. It's been great working with the label & I’d love to do it again. They said something like it's their most diverse release so far. Artist from the U.K., label from the U.S., remixers from U.K. Russia and Netherlands! Available now on iTunes, Juno, djtunes and Additech!
My next release is an ep on Saturate Records, a label in Hamburg. My track Fried was featured on their compilation, Saturated. I think the label’s really gonna blow this year.
Nativity: You've been busy as of late with shows around town. Most notably you recently performed with TEEBS (Brainfeeder) and Jeremiah Jae (Brainfeeder). How did that show come about and how did it feel to play alongside someone who's music you enjoy?
Manni Dee: I play with some guys down here regularly at a night called Throw Some Shapes. They've been getting big acts for a while now, big up to Jon Castle and Dave Richtor! I gave Dave a CD a few months ago and he invited me to play alongside Zed Bias and Benji B. Since then I've played alongside Paul White, Om Unit, Lando Kal of Lazer Sword, and as you mentioned, Teebs and Jeremiah Jae. The show was off the hoooook! It was cool to chill with those guys, they're really down to earth. I had to big them both up for their releases too. It was a privilege to play alongside them.
Nativity: May 26th you're performing with TOKiMONSTA (Brainfeeder). We saw her perform twice at Coachella this year. One set was at the Sahara tent which was basically the dance music tent. She opened one of the days and played an amazing set full of more mainstream crowd pleasers. The next day she played at the Oasis Dome presented by Pure Filth and was a little bit more free and did what we called was her usual Low End Theory beat/bass/groove focused set. Not to psyche you out or anything but it was amazing each time. Have you picked up her latest EP Creature Dreams? How does it feel to be playing with the Queen of the LA Beat scene?
Manni Dee: Haha. Yeah I saw her play in London alongside Starkey, Lazer Sword and Daedelus. She stole the show man. Her last track was some crazy Jimi Hendrix, Dr. Dre mash up. Loved it. Creature Dreams [Purchase @ Juno] is sick. Really forward thinking. It inspires me to make new stuff. To play alongside anyone from Brainfeeder is amazing. The whole roster is incredible. Can't wait for the show!
5/26 Throw Some Shapes presents: Manni Dee w/ TOKiMONSTA - Tickets
Nativity: How's your local music scene? The music heads in the States are well aware of the variety of great music present in the UK. Everything ranging from Grime/D&B/House/Dubstep/Beats/Rock/Indie/etc./etc. can be found at some sort of club establishment [to our understanding. feel free to correct me if I'm wrong]. What is it like to live in an age of such unlimited internet resources combined with a weakened music industry and yet still have so much creativity oozing out of every musical nook and cranny of the country? Do you collaborate with friends or are you alone in this pursuit of music? Are there any producers/artists we need to check out?
Manni Dee: The scene here is constantly buzzing. So much going on musically all the time. It can be overwhelming at times though. It seems like everyone makes music or is in a band. It's scary how many hours you can spend listening to new music without hearing anything that particularly stands out or sounds original.
There's a lot of cool clubs/bars in Brighton. Places like Jam, Fortune of War, Green Door Store etc. These places are on the ball when it comes to new musical movements. Of course, like any City we have the shit-holes dedicated to the masses that enjoy standardized formulaic pop music. You know the ones. The places that started playing dubstep two months ago. I collaborate from time to time with my close mate Alby D (featured on the Antidote release) He's got an ep out on Black Acre which is going to be huge. We have a side project called Manual Collision. We have a few tracks finished, there's more to come. I'm always open for collaborating with artists. It’s interesting to delve in to someone else’s creative process.
Check out Ramadanman. It took me a while to get in to his stuff. It's not as melodic as the stuff I usually like, but the way he builds percussion and incorporates various rhythmic ideas is great. I love hearing a song and being like, "What is that sound" or "How the fuck did he do that?!" Obviously Slugabed is still killing it, Krampfhaft, who’s also on Saturate Records, is really coming out with some unique stuff too.
Nativity: How long have you been DJing? Did you originally start with vinyl? Where do you see your performances in the future? Still using vinyl? cdjs? controllers?
Manni Dee: I started out when I was about 14. I used to go on pirate radio back in Wolverhampton. Yeah I originally started with vinyl. I used to go record shopping every weekend. I spent so much money! Sometimes, I used to not eat all week at school so I could save the dinner money that my Mom gave me and use it to buy records on the weekend. It's so easy now with programs like Traktor and Serato. I'm all about playing songs that will get people moving. I always want my sets to be full of energy. I haven't really thought about the future of my DJ sets. I guess I"ll continue with Traktor until something else catches my eye. I think as an artist I like to focus more on my live set.
Nativity: Favorite Dilla track and why?
Manni Dee: "Love it here". It gives me that intangible euphoric feeling. Studying music & philosophy provoked me to question what it is that attracts us to particular sounds and songs. To be honest sometimes I think it's better not to dissect a track in too much depth. It distracts from the mystic of the piece.
Nativity: Producer(s) you'd love to work with?
Manni Dee: William Basinski or Tim Hecker
Nativity: Thanks again for doing the Interview with us! Is there anything else you'd like to add. Any messages to your fans and friends? What's the best way to contact you if someone has music they'd like to submit or if they might want to collab with you in the future?
Manni Dee: Just wanna say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported my work. I'll be sure to keep you all posted with new projects. To keep up to date with events and news, you can follow me on Facebook here. To get in touch with me about collabs, remixing, bookings etc you can reach me on manni.dee01@gmail.com or soundcloud.com/mannidee
Download the exclusive mix by Manni Dee here
Tracklist:
Soho - Hot music
Shlohmo - Antigravity (Low Limit Remix)
Mono/Ploy - Needs Deodorant
Prodigy - Diesel Power
Flying Lotus - Parisian Goldfish
Notorious B.I.G. - Gimme the Loot (Manni Dee Remix)
J Dilla - Love It Here
Dibiase - They Don't Move
Crooklyn Dodgers - The Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers
Blur - Trailerpark
Tokimonsta - Bright Shadows
Sepalcure - Down
Alby D - Rohemian Bhapsody
Manni Dee - Antidtoe
Objekt - The Goose That Got Away
Ramadanman - Revenue (Untold Remix)
Destinys Child - Say My Name (Manni Dee Remix)
Flying Lotus - Caravan of Delight
Rockwell - Rekohu Sunrise feat. Untold
Manni Dee - Flowlight (Alphabets Heaven Remix)
Krampfhaft - Perfect Gain Structure
Flying Lotus - Kill Your Co-workers
Tour Dates:
05/26 Throw Some Shapes w/ TOKiMONSTA in Brighton, UK | Tickets
Nativity
No comments:
Post a Comment