Jay Dubz has a long history of providing smooth beats to listeners for many years.

DJing at numerous of events in the West Midlands also back in the day holding down regular slots on pirate radio stations and being one of the key figures in the founding of Midlands Rush.

Jay Dubz has now found his spot as a resident DJ for Perception Events in Shrewsbury which provides 100% intelligent beats.

So Jay Dubz how many years have you actually been in the drum and bass scene?

I’ve been playing drum and bass for 10 years now (I used to play hardcore before that) so DJing for nearer 15 years.

How did it all begin?

I first touched a pair of decks in 1993 when I was still properly young. I was on holiday in Ibiza back at the old Don Toni club hotel’s ‘mini club’ in Playa D’en Bossa (which is now the Hard Rock Cafe hotel). That’s where the interest all came from I think, although no mixing back then, more like cheesey discos! My folks bought me a nailed second hand pair of decks to have a mess around on and then I soon started doing my school discos and summer fetes, moving onto better equipment, smoke machines, flashy lights, the whole shebang! It wasn’t until 2000 where I started to take an interest in mixing. Using my rather clunky Citronic Remix Teknodek console, I figured out logically how to mix, the whole 4 beats 4 bars thing and correct pitching of tunes.

I played on various internet radio stations, including one I’d set up called Quadbase back in 2001. I was 15 when I got a break on Dimension FM, the station that had provided the soundtrack to my youth. This provided a great platform to me to get my DJing heard, doing what I loved doing best which was playing music to the masses.

I went to college and a couple of my mates there were drum and bass heads, so would often get lifts in their cars with tape packs blaring out, and I really started to get into it. I’d also started listening to a pirate in Wolverhampton by the name of District FM. I started buying more drum and bass records until I eventually made the permanent switch over to drum and bass in 2005.

I carried on the pirate vibe when I was involved with the set up and holding down of a regular slot on Midlands Rush in 2006.

Perception events are well known for its intelligent beats and providing a non MC event..
Do you think the music on night does all the talking & why is there no MC on mic duties?

It’s something we get asked a lot and I think we chose this path as it was different to not have a host (and refreshing). That’s of no disrespect to MC’s really, there are lots of quality MC’s out there who compliment DJ sets beautifully – Conrad, DRS to name a few and some of our local MC’s. There is something nice about having just the music at our nights though. The vibe is always there, the crowd interact with the DJ without having to come through an MC. The music does truly do the talking without the need of someone to hype the crowd! That’s what makes Perception special, in my eyes anyway!

You work alongside 2 other Djs at Perception.
Have they provided any inspiration for you?

Baz (Bazland) has a passion for underground music. Even though his primary interest is in Techno, his roots are in Drum and Bass. He’s the main promoter/organiser for Perception and other events, tirelessly lugging a system in and out the Vaults in order to give people a good night (and drink premium Russian lager by the crate). After I managed to blag a night off the (then) new owner of the Vaults (there was initially a strict no drum and bass policy), we conceived Perception in May 2011 and the rest is history. We never thank him too much though in fear of his head getting even bigger than it already is! ;)

Jamie (Conspire) is an absolute legend when it comes to Drum and Bass. The first time I heard him play was when we both played in the back room for Traffic (an underground house night in Shrewsbury) in the Buttermarket Cellars in 2008. His selection blew me away that night and still to this day he pulls tunes out which are unique to him – you don’t hear anyone else touch his sound. He does what he does and does it well, not giving a shit about fads and bandwagons that come and go – his passion for what he does is second to none. I’m also still trying to get written into his will so when I finally do manage to run him over in my car, he’ll leave me his vinyl collection! ;)

Perception events have been known to deliver a sort of liquid vibe due to past line-ups.
Do you think it’s all Liquid?

Not really, some of the music I play isn’t particularly ‘liquid-esque’, I just play what I think is good, and I think that motto is echoed at Perception. We’ve also had the likes of Stu Pennygiles, Marcus Intalex, SpectraSoul, Phil Tangent etc smash out a set that I wouldn’t class as strictly liquid drum and bass.

Of course Perception has a ‘sound’, but I don’t think that ‘sound’ is just liquid. I think the DJ should be free to play whatever drum and bass music they like. So long as it’s good drum and bass music, who cares?

Following on from the last question.
Would you ever consider pulling a dark heavy classic out of the bag and playing it at Perception or do you strictly have to play on a liquid tip?

I like to dance around all the styles under the intelligent umbrella. I’ve dropped a 95-98 tech-step set before at Perception and it went off! We’re planning another classics night again soon of which I shall probably dust some more dark classics off! We’ve had jungle, early house, a ‘golden era’ set. Like I say, if it’s good, who cares?

When & where has been the best musical experience for yourself?

I’ve got a few, but the main one that sticks out for me was when we’d secured Lenzman as our first international DJ. Me and Baz drove to the airport to go grab him and it didn’t particularly sink in at that point. That was until he played his set at Perception. It was one of those moments where you sort of look around and pinch yourself to ensure it’s really happening. The Vaults was absolutely ram jammed with people loving it, we’d got a superstar DJ down to play in my local in the sleepy old town of Shrewsbury, and people were loving it! That was a good feeling, and I was part of it! Obviously we had the mighty Calibre down in December too, a man who we’d been trying to track down to play for us for nearly four years. After a bit of pecking at various events by myself and Jamie, Baz’s promoter skillage and a bit of help from a local promoter, we managed to secure him. Again, another pinch yourself moment for me.

DJ wise has to be last year playing at the Custard Factory, warming up for Marky who I have so much respect for. My set went really well, the room was packed with people who love the music. Marky was such a nice chap too!

What do you personally want to achieve in D&B?

I would like to get a permanent radio show on the go again, I absolutely love presenting a show and pushing music that I like. Now that I do have a bit more time to commit it may well happen! I would also like to get a bit further playing around with production. The problem with me is that I get a bit frustrated and lose interest for 6 months!

There’s a forthcoming Perception night with 2 legends as the headliners..
Tell us a bit more?

Marcus is no stranger to Perception. Every time he’s been down he’s absolutely tore the place a new one. This will be his fourth time to Shrewsbury so we’re pretty much looking forward to it. It’s also a pleasure to welcome dBridge to Perception. A true veteran, yet I’ve never seen this man play out. It’s gonna be a good one that’s for sure

Any further plans for 2015?

More parties (obviously), more DJing (hopefully), more Baltika consumption (definitely). Onwards and upwards!

Many Thanks Jay Dubz.

Here’s an exclusive guestmix. 

https://soundcloud.com/drumandbasics/drumbasics-exclusive-guestmix-jay-dubz