Hard Dance
Bass Junkie - An Interview With Scott Attrill aka Vinylgroover
Scott Attrill aka DJ Vinylgroover
needs no introduction to a lot of TID customers. Since the launch of the site
way back in 2004 his productions and labels Traffic and now Riot! Recordings
have topped the sales charts both within the hard dance genre and overall. 2008
sees an exciting new chapter in a career that spans the last 15 years – he has
joined forces with BK to literally run Riot! and help push the tougher end of
the house spectrum back into the mainstream clubbing consciousness. What better
way to start this process than to follow up BK’s own Under The Influence artist
album from 2007 with his own awesome collection of original tracks in the form
of the Bass Junkie artist album!?
We’re glad that Scott has managed to find a little time in his very busy
schedule to talk to us about the album and his plans for Riot!
First off, the album is yet another hard dance masterpiece from the label
and an excellent follow up to BK’s Under The Influence project last year. How
come quality artist albums within the genre seem to be so rare when there are
so many influences going into the music played at the events?
There has been a lack of albums coming
from the Hard Dance scene in general I think as the scene has been undergoing
some big changes. BK’s album was great and Lisa Lashes did one last year, Ali
Wilson also. But I think most of us have been trying to establish a fresh new
sound and direction, I have been concentrating on pushing different tacks for a
while as I think the Hard Dance scene became a bit stale a couple of years ago,
most producers where making the same kind of sounds and people just lost
interest. This is definitely changing now with new artists and DJ’s coming
through so its exciting times, more albums and club nights are appearing and
there’s just a buzz in general on tougher dance music at the moment, I think
this will turn out to be an important year, I know a few other DJ’s also
working on albums so I hope we will be seeing more from all the producers and
DJ’s in the near future.
Talking of influences, the album definitely takes inspiration from all
corners; electro, trance, psy, hardstyle and even rock with some of the lyrics
and ideas. You clearly love all styles of music so what distinguishes good from
bad as far as you’re concerned?
I think when I go into the studio there
are no limits, I love to do different things, this is what makes me want to be
in the studio in the first place. This album represents where I am as a DJ and
producer at this moment in my career and it also reflects that barriers are
falling rapidly in Dance music. I find it boring to listen just to one type of
sound the whole way through an album; I wanted mine to have the twists and
turns, the excitement, the unexpected. I love music that has attitude, that’s
why the album has some grunge/punk vocal vibes and filthy tech beats. I take
inspiration from a lot of music, if I hear a breaks track for example and love
a certain part of it I will try to apply the idea to a harder track I’m working
on, if it sounds great, just go with it.
Back in the day you carved a career for yourself as one of the pioneers of
UK Hardcore. Performing at the biggest raves on the planet and writing anthems
left, right and centre, you were at the pinnacle of the scene. What led you to
take the ambitious leap at the turn of the century into another style of dance
music and how has the transition been?
I just lost interest in what I was doing
at that time and became disillusioned with it all. When I got into the rave
scene I was playing tracks from the likes of ‘The Prodigy’, ‘SL2’, Altern 8
etc. The music over time changed a lot and I thought on a personal level I
didn’t have much more to offer, I was hearing some of the early Tony de Vit
tracks & stuff from the likes of ‘Tidy Trax’ and it gave me a new lease of
life. I felt the same as when I first got into rave, the music had energy and
excitement, I was hearing all the old school sounds in there I used to love,
and it was being mixed with uplifting trance melodies – I was hooked . it was
then a big decision to decide to leave the hardcore scene, but an easy one in
the sense that I wanted to be involved with this sound, wanted to take on the
challenge. I had seen ‘Carl Cox’, who is one of my biggest influences, do this
before me and it was amazing to see what he achieved. I felt I had something to offer, it has taken
time and a lot of effort but I love what I am doing, the music, the scene, and
wouldn’t change anything.
How have you used your experience at the top of the hardcore scene to
essentially create a new career for yourself as a leader of the new school of
hard dance producers and DJ’s?
My experience as a Hardcore DJ was
great, and of course it will always have a bearing on what I do. You can see
from my productions I like trying new and different things and I think this
comes from my rave days, where records had all kinds of stuff thrown in and
going on. Things don’t generally happen overnight, if you really want something
you have to work hard for it, I just keep my head down and concentrate on what
I want to do. I always think it’s important to do what ‘you think is right’
than follow the crowd, you can then create your own vibe and sound. It’s
fantastic also that ‘Hard Dance’ seems to be getting more recognition and
coverage again, there is some great music out there at the moment, artists like
‘Kamui’, A*S*Y*S, Vandal are all smashing it!
Bass Junkie showcases your arrival at the top of the hard dance scene but
it’s been a long process. How have you managed to maintain your enthusiasm and
focus? Were there ever times you thought you might have made the wrong choice
in your career?
I have never thought I made a wrong
choice, I have continued to work on what I believe in. There have been many
times I didn’t have gig’s on and stuff but I still kept focused on the sound I
wanted to work on. The process has been long but great also, to be recognized
by the like of Jules, Ferry Corsten, Paul Oakenfold and guys that have done so
much for the scene is amazing, it makes it all worth it.
At the end of last year you merged your Traffic label with BK & Ed
Real’s Riot! Recordings to create a new and very exciting force within hard
dance. What are the plans for 2008?
We have some big plans for the year and
we are working on some huge projects at the moment. It was difficult running
Traffic as a one man band with the DJ’ing and production that I do also so this
was a great move and one that will see big benefits for both labels and
everyone involved. We have some of the best artists around on the labels with
some of the best music. BK has been working on a new album project for this
summer that is showcasing the nu breed of talent emerging which has some hot
tracks and collaboration projects so I’m really looking forward to that, we are
working on a commercial release also that could break the charts, this has some
strong remixes from the Riot! And Traffic camp so you will be hearing more
about that soon. There are also some absolutely massive plans that I can't comment
on at the moment but watch this space.
You and BK command probably the broadest range of DJ and media support of
any artists at the tougher end of the scene. How do you manage it?
I have never thought too much about it
to be honest. Its amazing to have great reactions from everyone and unbelievable
to find such positive reviews and coverage on all the records I do. I put all I
can into my music and DJ’ing so to be recognised for doing what I love is all I
can ask for, every time I’m in a club the response from clubbers is
fantastic so I’d like to thank everyone
for supporting me.
Can you briefly talk us through the highlights from Bass Junkie and what the
process was for creating the ideas on the key tracks?
The album works well together
and I enjoyed working on all of the tacks for different reasons, a few that
stick out for me are ‘Feel Alive’; this track has been working really well for
me and it has a grunge/rock full male vocal with deep tech loops and an
uplifting trance breakdown, the reactions from crowds & DJ’s alike has been
good. The idea for the vocal on this kind of came from the ‘Live for the
Weekend’ track I did a few years back, I wanted to take it a step further with
a new singer and put more of a euphoric twist on it, I actually wrote the vocal
for this at 4am when I couldn’t sleep and just couldn’t get the melody for it
out of my head. The album title track ‘Bass Junkie’ has also received massive
reactions, this has a twisted electronic vibe with some bright old school stabs
and hits that give a good feel to it. The bass line is crazy and I wanted
something that would twist and bend so a saw bass was the best choice, the idea
behind this was to fuse the old with the new, I wanted the new twisted funked
up bass sound to be set off by old rave noises, its one of my favourites. There
are also some collaborations on the album that have worked well, ‘Dirtbox’ with
BK has old school piano’s, filthy beats and bass with all sorts bouncing off of
it. The arrangement is fast too so it really gets the crowd going and injects
some pace, it was a fun track to work on as we wanted to retain the energy and
fun of the Hard House scene but bring it bang up to date with a new edge. ‘Big
Fun’ with ‘The Organ Donors’ has been smashing it, it’s a cover version of the
‘Inner City’ classic and works so well with the firing loops and driving
bassline. There are others also that I want to mention but we’ll be here
forever so check em out and see what you think.
As well as producing anthem
after anthem, you’re also a killer DJ. Where can fans go to see you present the
album and your style?
I am currently touring the
album and there are new dates going in all the time, come and see me at these
events
March 28th The Factory
In
March 28th Majefa at
The Music Box In
March 29th Rezurrection
in
April 11th at the
Crowbar in
April 12th at Nice1 /
April 18th at The
Cotton Club in
April 26th at Storm /
The Emporium in Coalville
April 26th at Rockin in
Stoke on
May 10th at Nu Religeon
in
May 17th at Detox near
Necastle
May 25th at Frantic /
Heaven in
May 30th at Transaction
/ L2 in
May 31st at Inside Out
/ The Arches Glasgow
Finally, where can fans keep up to date with news from the labels and your
Djing?
To find out other future dates and to keep updated on additional dates please
visit my myspace – www.myspace.com/scottattrill
For all label info please go to www.riotinlondon.com / www.trafficrecords.co.uk
'Bass Junkie' is out now. See below to download!
Featured Tracks:
| Bass Junkie - 15 Single Tracks & 15 Mixed tracks (158:17) | |||||
|
Artist: Scott Attrill aka Vinylgroover Label: Riot Recordings Genre: Hard Dance Release Date: 2008-03-31 
|
|
|||
