So first thing first; your name, Indidjinous. What’s the story behind that?
There are two meanings behind it. “Didj” is short for didjeridu, the instrument I use in much of my music. So I changed the spelling of “indigenous” to “Indidjinous” to emphasise the didjeridu reference. I also chose the name because it evokes the tribal vibes that characterise my sound.
You have been playing the didjeridu since 1998, what drew you to this ancient instrument?
The didjeridu appealed to me because I hated learning the piano as a small child, which just felt like a chore. I’m sure it instilled an important musical sensibility in me, but at the time classical music lessons, anything that involved reading music, was not enjoyable. When I saw a didjeridu played up close in a world music store in California, it seemed so wild and limitless compared to a ‘normal’ instrument. I gave it a try and discovered I’m more of a wind instrument kind of person.
You grew up in San Francisco but have lived in other places in the US and now you are in the UK. Can you tell us about that journey and how you ended up here?
I moved from the SF Bay Area to Santa Cruz, California for college in 1998. That’s also when I first started playing didjeridu and got obsessed with drum & bass. At that time the dn’b scene in Santa Cruz was smaller than the dominant San Francisco scene, but it was uniquely vibrant and I feel lucky to have been part of it. Our small but authentic scene incubated heavy hitters like Boreta from the Glitch Mob, Matty G from Dub Police, EPROM from Warp Records, Red Army from Samurai Music and Nick Argon of Argon Records.
I moved to Washington D.C. for graduate school in 2007 and later New York City, getting involved in both cities’ dn’b scenes along the way. I eventually moved home to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2012 and for the first time really embraced the dn’b scene there. My plan was to remain there forever but in 2015 I met a woman from London and my life turned upside down! I very unexpectedly got married and moved to London in 2016. I miss home but have no plans to return to California anytime soon.
You mentioned how dnb came in to your life, but there can be quite a long way to start producing it as well, and now you’re also a DJ. What happened?
I was exposed to dn’b in the mid 90’s through mix tapes and the occasional rave, but I didn’t really get hooked until the techstep sound matured around 1998-99. At that time I was becoming good friends with some house and breakbeat DJs and they took me to the 20,000+ people underground massives happening in California at that time. After wandering into the dn’b rooms a few times I got hooked. Dieselboy’s name was on the best line ups and after I picked up one of his mixes, it was all over. I became quickly addicted, listening to his mixes and playing my didjeridu along with them. Soon I started to perform over other DJs. It wasn’t until I graduated university in 2002 that I actually started making drum & bass, and of course I’d sample my didjeridu a lot and I still do. DJing came last. I had made so many tracks but didn’t have a way to perform them, so I had no choice but to learn!
Any releases we can look forward to?
Confirmed releases for 2019 so far:
1. My second collab LP with Centaspike on Tech Itch Recordings, called Continental Convergence.
2. A collab on Paragon’s Iris LP on Tech Itch Recordings.
3. A collab with DJ E on the RESIST:ED FOUR compilation on Tech Itch Recordings.
4. Two tracks, each with a different Russian producer, coming out on the American label AGN7 Audio.
As a producer you’ve collaborated with a few other artists. Do you prefer to produce alone or with someone else?
I love both collaborating and working solo. Over the last six months I’ve been included in a series of experimental production sessions with the techstep label Biotic. Every week I meet with Facs, Scythe, Synchronise and several others with the goal of creating an entire tune in one night! I’ve accumulated a lot of unfinished projects during these sessions that I’m really excited about, so my challenge now is to finish the best of those and get them released. This brand new mix is a taste of those rough projects, including collabs with Facs & Scythe
Do you have your own studio? What is/are your best tool/s?
Since moving to a tiny flat in London I’ve had to downgrade my studio. At first it felt like a major drawback, but it forced me to invest in some really good headphones and I think my mix downs have actually gotten better for it. It’s just frustrating sometimes because I don’t have loud monitors or serious bass to sit back and listen to. So I have methods for compensating like testing my tracks through different stereos and bass-heavy headphones. My best tools are my microphone, guitar FX pedal and didjeridu as that gives my tracks originality and an analogue element. I use didjeridu in about half my tracks. It’s like an organic synth.
You’re not only a DJ and producer, you’re also heavily involved with Tech Itch Recordings events. Can you tell us how this came up and the story behind that?
Living in the US, you become accustomed to interacting with UK producers purely through the Internet. When I found myself living in London, I knew I had to meet the artists I work with face to face. That desire, and also my impression that the London scene in 2016 lacked a techstep night, was the inspiration for a Tech Itch Recordings label night. The timing seemed right also because the label was expanding to include several new artists in London. We’ve happily settled at Rolling Stock on Kingsland Road where we have a regular event about every two months. Residents include myself, Paragon, DJ E, Structure, Voyage, Terror Cell, Layer 3, Xanadu and Blackeye MC.
What’s your main focus right now?
My act consists of DJing while playing didjeridu through a microphone. If I don’t practice regularly I lose my edge, so to stay sharp I’m beginning a regular broadcast series soon that will air every two weeks. I find accountability is the best way to instil willpower. A regularly scheduled broadcast will force me to practice! Here’s a taste of my act:
Aside from the weekly Biotic production sessions and DJ/didjeridu-ing practice, I’m always working with Tech Itch and the residents to plan out events in the UK and internationally.
When are you playing out next?
I’m excited for my debut show in Timisoara, Romania on 12 January. It will be the first Tech Itch Recordings event hosted outside the UK. We’ve also got another Tech Itch night lined up in Bristol on 8 March at the Black Swan which will be savage!
Tech Itch in Romania – that’s amazing! How did that happen? Any plans to bring Tech Itch to other cities too?
Romania has a thriving dnb scene at the moment and they got in touch with Tech Itch Recordings to see if we could send out some artists. We’d been looking to expand our event overseas and this seemed like a perfect opportunity. So we are working with the very reputable Nomad Audio crew at the moment to co-host our first international event on 12 January and hopefully this will be a regular occurrence for the label, not just in Romania but other countries as well. Crews interested in co-hosting a Tech Itch event in their area please drop me a line: mikeindidjinous@gmail.com
When is the next Tech itch night – and WHY is it on Thursdays in London?!
Aside from the Romania show mentioned above, the next Tech Itch event in London is on Thursday 31 January. We chose Thursdays because (at the time) there were no other Thursday night events so it made scheduling easier and put us on a unique night. Weeknights also have less overhead, which allows us to keep it free. Another reason is that our club features mainstream music on Fridays and Saturdays so we wouldn’t fit their weekend vibe. I wouldn’t rule it out in the future though. Our shows outside London are always on the weekend!
That is very exciting! What can you tell us about the line up?
We’re excited too! This is a release party for Paragon’s Iris LP. This collab-heavy album is heavily focused on grimey, industrial rollers and includes DJ E, Cypher, Voyage, Zigril, Code 906, Furious and myself. In addition to Paragon, we’ve got Source Direct making his second appearance at Rolling Stock, as well as Cypher, Y2, Operator, Structure and Blackeye MC. This event is free with RSVP. For more information, head to the Facebook Event Page
How do you choose DJs for an event?
The aim is to go beyond a typical club event and generate a genuine artist community, so we book techstep producers (or DJs that show an authentic passion for the Tech Itch Recordings vibe). All performers are afterwards encouraged to submit demos for the ongoing RESIST:ED compilation series (RESIST:ED FOUR just released this month) which helps to inspire collaboration and synergy among performers. We want our event to help catalyse the growing techstep renaissance.
When you’re not being very busy within the dnb scene you are also involved with politics, tell us a bit about that! What is your ‘normal’ job?
I am the campaigns manager at Open Rights Group, a non-profit organisation working to protect “digital rights”. Basically it’s like a human rights organisation focused strictly on how people are treated online. So that means we fight digital censorship, the government’s mass surveillance programme, and we also fight for laws to protect your personal data from tech giants like Facebook. It’s exciting work and similar to what I used to do in Washington D.C.
Any famous last words or shout outs?
BIG THANKS to all the residents who have stuck with our vision for the event! Thanks also to everyone who’s made it out, we promise to take things to the next level this year!
Thank you!
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