Hey Pod Imiya and thank you for answering my questions for drum+basics. Let’s start with the important one: where did you get your name from?

Pod has been a nickname for a while, but it wasn’t unusual enough to come up in searches online which made it difficult for people to find my mixcloud etc, so I added ‘Imiya’. It’s just a girls name which I thought sounded nice. Very boring answer!

How did you get in to dnb/jungle?

Me and my friends at school used to listen to jump up when we were teenagers. When I moved to Manchester, I didn’t know many people who were into DnB (there was big tech house craze.) I started going to raves on my own, at first just in Manchester and then in other cities, mainly London. I’d get a late megabus down and then the first one back in the morning. Initially it was techy DnB nights, like Cyberfunk with Xtrah and Visionobi. When I first started going alone I would stay sober, pick a spot on the dancefloor and stay there dancing all night.

I got into jungle more fully after a wicked night at Dolphin warehouse in Manchester, where Fanu, Storm and Stretch played. I didn’t really know about the underground jungle scene at the time, I loved oldskool stuff but didn’t realise there were so many people still making it and putting on nights. After meeting Stretch I found out about AKO beatz, and ended up going to an AKO night in Brum. It was a different vibe to the nights I was used to. The music was mental, I’d never heard anything like it really. The crowd was older and people talked to each other more. Everyone seemed to have a deep level of respect for each other and the music, and a passion for it to carry on through the generations. There was no aggro or guys trying it on. It felt like how I imagined raves would feel like. I didn’t really know anyone but felt completely welcome and met loads of great people. After that I found out about Rupture, Skeleton and others, and got to know people (including my 4 DnB parents) who I always look forward to seeing! Mostly at raves I still spend the whole time on the dance floor though, and catch up with people at afters. I still love techy DnB nights! But I think they’re better to go to with mates than alone.

How did you become a dnb/jungle DJ? Do you remember your first gig?

I DJ’d a bit in school but gave up playing in front of people coz I’d get too nervous. My friend Frank got me back into it, about 4 years ago I think. He asked me to play my first gig, which was a small Hit & Run event, where I played b2b with DJ Servo. I felt sick before it, but then it was a proper buzz, I loved it. For ages I practised on mates CDJs while I saved up to get some. I still get so nervous that I can’t see properly before playing out. But the nerves go away a couple of tunes into a set.

Any tips for beginners?

I am a beginner! So I’m looking for tips rather than giving them out haha!

The one thing I feel like I’d have to say is to value the fact that our music is underground. Whenever a type of dance music gets too big, it gets infected with all the capitalist shite that goes with the pop music industry. The music gets watered down and cleaned up, raves turn into concerts, producers and DJs turn into celebrities, people forget about the history and ignore the culture. In small scenes the music can be as mad or intense as you like. There’s great community and DIY spirit. That’s what makes it so good! You can’t really use the music as a career move or for personal gain. The people I have most respect for are the ones who’ve been working and raving hard since the 90s, not motivated by making loads of money or being famous, just putting in the time because they love the music and care about the scene.

Tell us about your first rave experience.

I went to a hospital records takeover, I think when I was maybe 15. I remember hearing DnB in my head for weeks after, and thinking it was the best thing ever. Hospital records was a big part of getting into DnB for me as a young teenager, I think they are for a lot of people my age. They have the power to get young people into DnB who have never even heard it before, which is why they should be leading the way with inclusivity. To be honest, it’s only in the last few years that I’ve even begun to realise how badly they’ve been failing at doing that, thanks to groups like eq50 and people sharing their perspectives.

You live in Manchester – how is the music scene and rave scene there? I still haven’t been there for a rave!

Yeah I’ve lived here for about 6 years now. I think it’s the best city in the world, no question. The music scene is great, we’ve got Hit & Run, Levelz and the Mouse Outfit, and the legendary shop Eastern Bloc. Formless is my favourite night. Walking into Formless feels like coming home. It seems like everyone knows each other and the music is always next level. You should come to the next one, you can stay round my flat!

Do you produce music as well?

Yes, but I’m not very good yet, I’m still learning. It’s more just something fun to do than serious.

You’ve also done a mix for us – wicked! What can you tell us about that?

Well, I have to be honest, I was redlining at points so there is clipping! I get too gassed when mixing at home, which I don’t think the neighbours are too happy about. It’s a mix of jungle and DnB, a lot of dark tunes and some more uplifting ones. I was going to record a mix on vinyl, but I’m not good enough yet.

Favourite DJs and producers?

Oh shit, there’s so many! For DnB producers, maybe Elements of Noize, Arcon 2, The Advocate and Rufige kru. I love all the alien techstep from 97, that’s definitely my favourite year for DnB. For newer stuff, I like Andy Skopes and Response and Pliskin, coz they can make a tune rough but still emotional or euphoric. They make come up tunes! Also, I bought martianMan’s digital discography recently, which was a bargain, he’s a machine.

For DJs – DJ Future always stands out in my mind. He closed a night at a festival I went to, and it was mad. Yorobi’s sets are always great, and I always listen to Tim reaper and Devnulls blog to the oldskool.

I think I get more hyped for my mates DJ sets these days than big names on a line up. All the Diggin in the crates crew are amazing DJs, everyone’s got their own style. And of course my mate Chris (Anomalies) who makes it look easy!

How are you coping in this lockdown?

I live with my boyfriend (who loves electronic music as much as I do), so we’ve had each other. I’m happy being in my flat most of the time to be honest. Music takes up all my spare time and outside of raves I don’t really have a social life anyway, which I don’t mind to be honest! I do miss working in the lab though.

The lab? This sounds interesting…

Im part of a team which research experimental nuclear physics in Manchester and CERN, which is partly finding out about atoms by firing lasers at them. we are also trying to build a detector for measuring tiny amounts of radioactive stuff in the environment, which would be useful for finding leaks in things containing radioactive material, and tracing people who might be trying to separate plutonium for the wrong reasons. It’s really hard and I basically never feel like I know what I’m doing, but it can be fun, and I prefer working in the lab to the computer.

What’s next for Pod Imiya?

It’s hard to know at the moment, with no raves or festivals happening. I wanna get better at mixing vinyl, coz there’s so much great music which isn’t available digitally, and it’s the best way to support the artists you rate.

Any famous last words?

Big up yaself! Thanks a lot for asking for a mix and interview. And big up my other half of course. Also big up Chris (one of my best mates and founder of Anomalies), and the mad Manc Mother Earth, Tasha (the one and only StalkaDJ), and the Diggin in the Crates and Confield crews. Big thanks to Rich Reason, and to everyone who has booked me, shared my mixes, or even just told me they rate my sets!

Thank you for taking time for the interview and making for us an exclusive mix. Your new EP “Off The Chain” is released today on Conjunction Recordings which you manage. The EP is available exclusively on Beatport for 2 weeks then all other stores on 13th July. Your first EP “Coming Home” is also re-released today and it’s available on JunoDownload.

Conjunction Recordings is a new music label launched in the summer of 2019. How was the first year of the label? What kind of challenges do you face managing it?

The first year was brilliant for us. I had always thought about setting up a label after having worked for other D&B labels and a record shop business in the past. The title track for the first release (Coming Home) was inspired by and sampled from the record-breaking Red Bull Stratos Space Dive. I had a very talented friend, Simon Vella, who produced an animated video for the title track and sent this off to Red Bull. We were all really pleased when Red Bull came back and loved the whole idea, they kindly then offered to share it with their audience on social media which was great exposure for us. The plan from the outset was quality rather than quantity so we had aimed at putting out 4-5 releases a year, however the recent lockdown situation coupled with a kidney donation to my brother in the U.S meant that things had to be pushed back a bit. The landscape for record labels has changed so much in recent years with streaming etc so you really have to maximise certain things now in order to be noticed in quite a saturated market. 

Wow, that’s an amazing start of the label! Hope both of you are well. That’s true, streaming has made some changes in the scene. Why did you start and what is your vision with Conjunction Recordings?

Having worked behind the scenes at labels in the past, it had always been my ambition to do something myself one day. A few years ago, I invested in my own studio which in turn resulted in more output so it seemed a good idea to create a platform to release my own music. I didn’t want to tie the label to a specific genre so the music policy is varied as I also like to produce more down tempo tracks at 140 BPM, it’s always good to have variety on a label and keeps things more interesting and unpredictable. Our focus will always be quality rather than quantity, we are looking to have around 4-6 releases a year with some of these being 4 track E.P.’s so there should be a healthy supply!

It’s great that you’d like to have more variety on the label and keep it interesting like that. Who inspired you producing “Off The Chain” EP?

Good Question! I would have to say the title track “Off The Chain” was definitely inspired by the late Spirit (R.I.P.). I was always a massive fan and strongly believe that the kind of sound and style he championed needs to live on. Hip hop has always been a big influence for me so that’s where the vocal hook came from.  We had aimed to release the E.P. much earlier this year but due to lockdown situation we had to hold back. In a strange way the title track is now quite relevant now that the restrictions are being eased!

Great work on the release and all tracks have a unique sounding and a great, catchy melody. Everyone can find their favourite. Speaking of which, which is your favourite track from the EP?

That’s a tough one but I would have to say the remix from DJ E. When I showed him the original idea his eyes lit up and I could see he had some ideas buzzing round his head.  I was amazed at how quick he went to work on it and when he sent me back the remix I was blown away. He’d managed to capture the original vibe of the track yet somehow put his own unique twist on it. The classic breaks he also used went really well with the whole hip hop idea and the reese was just devastating.

I read on Conjunction Recordings website that in the recent years you have dedicated more of your time to production. What made you want to start producing in the first place rather than just being a listener?

I’ve always juggled dj-ing with some production over the years, I started out as a radio DJ and production just progressed from that.  Production started to take over more from when I was involved in the “Able Danger” project where we had some releases on big labels. I found it increasingly harder trying to hold down my weekly radio show on top, then unfortunately I was diagnosed with an inner ear condition that left me with some damaged hearing and chronic tinnitus in one ear, so I soon realised I had to limit the exposure and use my ears more wisely.

That’s a real challenge but you deal with it really well, hats off! Do you master your own tracks?

No, I would love to one day but as I mentioned just now, my hearing is slightly compromised so I rely on Fanu who has really helped me in this area. I think it’s also always good to have a second pair of ears on your music as your ears can play tricks with you, mine certainly do at times!

That’s a really good advice. What is your studio set up?

So, my studio consists of a PC and large Nektar midi keyboard. I also have my technics turntables connected for sampling, however a lot of the time I use computer-based instruments and synths such as Massive and Serum, with Ableton Live. I spent quite a bit of time getting the acoustics correct in my studio and have treated certain parts of the room so I get a good clear sound when working. I also have 2 Rokit 5 monitors which are really good to work with.

What advice would you give people who have just started making music?

I would say to persevere and don’t try to run before you can walk. When I first started out, I would get so carried away with an idea and not spend enough time on the actual sound quality, so I would listen back weeks down the line and feel really disappointed when I compared my stuff to released music. I would also highly recommend checking out tutorials online, there are some amazing video tutorials available these days, I find it quite refreshing now how producers are keen to share their ideas and skills rather than keep them secret. Education and Bass have really been a game changer in this respect and I have learnt so much from them.

Thank you for the great advices. What’s coming next for Catalyst .AD?

In terms of the label, after this release, I am aiming to put out a couple of liquid tracks which I have had in the pipeline then we will be putting out an E.P. from DJ E which we are really looking forward to. I will also be including a collab track with him on this. I can tell you now though the title track is a monster! I also have some remixes lined up from some new and fresh popular talent coming through, and also some tracks with my wife (K.I.M.) who also works with the label. Besides this I also have a fair amount of other tracks lined up which I am pushing out to some other labels. Hopefully once the restrictions ease, I will also be back out playing live again with some guest radio shows lined up as well as some events.

We are looking forward to listen to these planned releases on Conjunction Recordings. Keep up the great work! 😊

Until that dear readers, have a listen to this wicked mix exclusively made for us at Drum+Basics where you can hear two tracks “In The Shadows” and “Off The Chain”  from the newest 4 tracks EP “Off The Chain”. ❤️

Hey Louise FK aka Lubi J and thank you for answering my questions for drum+basics. I’ve been doing a little research on you and what I found is that you’re a wicked DJ, you’re part of the platform Ladies Of Rage Cardiff, you work on the radio and also an all around brilliant person! 

Tell us about Radio Cardiff.

The station itself is a community station, it’s been around for over 10 years now and I’ve been doing a weekly dnb/jungle show on there since it started. I tend to have local guests down most weeks, either doing a mix or sharing production, talking about events and having a chat. I’ve been fortunate to have Dr Meaker and Digital down too, talking about events they were doing in Cardiff.

Radio was always my first love – most of my friends will vouch for the fact that I have no problem talking at great length so its the perfect platform! I started when I was 17 on hospital radio and then studied radio at uni so it’s been great to keep doing it and to be able to use it to support the local scene.

How did you get involved in the DnB/jungle scene?

I fell in love with dnb/jungle when I was about 16/17 and then started djing at uni in 2000. I got a few gigs at uni through the DJ society and played in a couple of local bars. Then when I came back to Cardiff in 2002 I got my first residency at a night called Submerge. I was mainly playing liquid back then although I’ve always enjoyed the darker side of dnb and jungle, which is more what I play now. I’ll always have time for liquid though.

I then went through a phase in the late 00’s where I fell in love with funk, soul and disco and started playing that out for a few years, but I quickly fell back into playing DnB again and have stayed in the jungle ever since.

You’re also heavily involved with Ladies Of Rage Cardiff – sounds really interesting! 

So Ladies of Rage (LOR) is a network for women and non-binary that aims to support more diversity in underrepresented music genres. Like the EQ50 network and other groups that have been set up recently, a few like-minded people came together sharing a view that we wanted to help change the scenes, specifically in in Cardiff and the surrounding areas, give womxn a platform to meet, learn new skills, jam in a safe space and perform live. We’ve only been around for about 18 months and in that short time we’ve grown to over 350 members in our Facebook group.

We have an active group of around 60+ members that meet and participate in events. We’ve put on 3 big showcase events, one just recently for International Womxn’s day on 7 March with 40 artists performing live. We also have some festival sets line up this year and we recently started a monthly show on Life FM every second Sunday, which came around through a meeting with Mel Lioness at a Hospital Women in DnB event last year.

More than that though, the network has been pretty amazing just in terms of making connections and empowering each other. I’ve made friends for life through LOR and it’s been so good to see people go from writing poetry and lyrics at home, keeping it to themselves for years to then be on stage confidently sharing those words. And being able to help someone start DJing after years of wanting to and then seeing them record mixes and start promoting themselves is awesome.

We’ve definitely seen a bit of a shift in more diverse line-ups but there’s a long way to go yet, as is the case all over.

Our Facebook page has full details for anyone interested in finding out more or getting involved.

I know you’re based in Cardiff, are you from there too? 

Yes, pretty much lived here all my life apart from going away for uni. Cardiff is pretty small for a capital city, but it has a lot going on.

How’s the dnb scene in Cardiff? 

The scene has been bubbling along nicely for years now. We’ve got a number of big and small promoters pushing nights out regularly that cater for most tastes. Lots of heavy dnb and liquid being catered for with well established and emerging artists headlining – though not many women! Quite a few local dj nights run too which gives local artists a platform to play. The more underground jungle side of the scene is a bit less catered for. There’s definitely heads that appreciate it but it’s the one side of the scene that Cardiff hasn’t quite cracked compared to Bristol, Manchester and London. I’d love to see more artists from this side of the scene in Cardiff and obviously more female headliners in the future too but there are less venues available now. We have a few solid venues like The Vaults, Clwb Ifor Bach and Kongs, which play host to many of these nights, plus the student union which Bedlam hosts big events at a few times a year, but we’ve had a number of great venues close in recent years, which is really sad. The dnb scene has definitely felt it, but we keep on keeping on.

You arranged a big night in Cardiff in November last year where you invited Function:al with Digital at the vaults, how did that come about?

I first linked up with Digital when he was booked to play a couple of years ago and I was supporting. Had a great night and got on really well and following on from that the Function family collaborated on 2 events with a promoter here and I supported both times along with Ransom – one of Cardiff’s finest – and we just kept in touch and decided to do something that supported the diversity goals of Ladies of Rage.

The Function:al event was Cardiff’s first 50/50 dnb line-up. We had Randall, Storm, Digital and Djinn headlining with Blackeye and our local MC, Missy G, hosting. Then myself and some epic local djs supporting the main room, again 50/50 split with a Ladies of Rage takeover in the second room.

It was a great night, we had loads of positive feedback and it was a much needed diversity milestone.

Dream line up?

A tough question! If certain artists were still around it would probably be; Seba, Equinox, Digital, Spirit, Kemistry and Storm. Marcus Intalex, Calibre, Coco Bryce, Mantra and Djinn could easily be on there too tho…

Favourite DJ/producer?

Seba is pretty much my favourite producer, everything he makes is magic, whether dark or uplifting. I’m really loving Coco Bryce’s production at the moment too and Djinn’s production is incredible – amazing drums and I’m hoping to hear some new stuff from her soon.

Favourite DJs; I saw Equinox playing b2b with Bkey for the first time recently and his set and general stage presence blew my mind. I really enjoy watching DJs that are quite animated and enjoying themselves, it’s infectious.
Storm will always be one of my favourite DJs too – her selection is second to none.

What’s next on your agenda?

I’m very excited and grateful to be playing at Boomtown this year b2b with one of my favourites, Ransom and the epic Comma Dee on the mic duties. I’ve never played at Boomtown before so feeling really hyped for this.

Also playing at Big Love with the Concrete Junglists crew supporting Bukem and will do a set as part of Ladies of Rage. Big love is a great festival in Hay-on-Wye, it’s quite small but really intimate with loads of different music.

I’ve also just started to dip my toe into production. I never really thought it was for me until recently and Digital has been a big influence for me and I’ve had some great advice. It’s still very early days, but so far I’m (mostly) enjoying the long, learning and creative process!

You also done a mix for us. What can we expect from that?

I’m a big fan of the journey-style mix. This one has a lot of dark jungle and dnb flavours with a few twists and turns along the way

Any famous last words?

Just big ups to everyone doing positive things for the scene right now, supporting and pushing new artists and bringing fresh sounds to the dance!

You can follow Lubi J on Facebook & Instagram