2001 was the year when Dispatch had their first release which was Dispatch no.4 from the Hidden Agenda brothers Nos & Max Fresh with the tracks ‘New Day’ / ‘Quiet Day’.
From then, Dispatch has been releasing music from the likes of TC1, AI, Stress Level, Qproject, Zero T, Tactile, Survival, Chris.SU, Break, Atlantic Connection plus many more. Ant TC1 currently owns this record label and manages all the heavy releases, and at the moment they’re on their 55th release.
For more information about the label, visit their website.
And if heavy releases wasn’t enough, they’re also playing in room 3 at Fabric this Friday with Spinline, Octane&DLR, Survival, Silent Witness, Cern and the label boss himself, Ant TC1.
Drum+Basics’ LadyRaw caught up with the man behind it all since she is ‘personally looking forward to the night at Fabric as these guys always smash it.’ So here it is!
LadyRaw : This year (only being April) has seen some mega releases (no.55 already!) from Dispatch. Will this be carrying on throughout the year?
Yeah, the release schedule is huge and is already almost planned out until the end of the year, I have left some room for some new signings of course, as you never know whats round the corner but everything until August at least is firmly in the schedule.
LadyRaw : What drives you to make sure these releases are consistent?
It’s hard to say really, I’ve been getting asked this more recently than I have in the past, I just keep doing what I’m doing and thankfully people are into it, I feel like it’s all running well but no matter how well (or not so well!) I manage it all. The root of it is the great music from the artists and I do feel like the D&B I’m hearing and gladly signing is generally in a better place than it has been for a long time.
LadyRaw : Do you think Drum&Bass has had more recognition over the last year due to producers getting releases into the UK Top 40 and mainstream radio playlists?
I’m not sure really. I’m a bit oblivious to all the commercial stuff as the sound of it and the hands in the air party style riffs and snares that you hear in that kind of stuff just aren’t really my kind of drum & bass but each to their own. DJ Fresh for example has done really well but me speaking really selfishly I’d love him to work along the “planet dust” lines of old, clearly he has a goal and reasons behind deciding he wanted to go for something bigger with the music he makes so good on him I say, at least we got some classic productions from him before he switched his style eh!
LadyRaw : What and who inspires you to produce Drum&Bass?
Fresh ideas that pop into my head when I get the extremely rare opportunity to actually go into the studio! I’m looking forward to getting back in when I have the chance but I’m just busy with about another 4 or 5 things so sadly that studio time seems to have dropped to the back of the line. My role working for Outlook Festival and running Dispatch is really what I spend 90 to 95% of my waking day on at the moment.
LadyRaw : And finally, what advice can you give to upcoming producers/Djs or anybody else looking to be successful in the Drum and Bass industry?
I can only advise on my own experiences but for producers I’d say please just try to do something original – don’t model yourself on another produce; I get so many tunes that sound almost like a clone of a sound someone else has nailed really well and they are rarely as good as the original thing, my ears get pricked the most when I hear something that sounds really individual; it definitely makes it more interesting for me. For DJ’s I’d say make sure you’re good, confident and ready to play in a club before taking the next step, seek feedback on your mixes, build good links and more than anything overall patience is a huge key whether producing, running a label, dj’ing or anything in this music scene, your passion for the music should steer this too most of all and not any other factor.
To get hold of tickets to this big night on Friday, just click this link.
Line up and set times for Dispatch Room 3 are :
Spinline > 10-12:00 w/ MC JC
Octane & DLR > 12:00-1:00 w/ MC Gusto
Ant TC1 & Cern > 1:00-2:30 w/MC Fokus
Survival & Silent Witness > 2:30-4 w/MC JC / Gusto / Fokus
