Dubbyman - D3K Podcast 003

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DUBBYMAN INTERVIEW

Our third podcast comes courtesy of MadridÕs Dubbyman. Also known as Jose Manuel Alvarez, he has been DJing since 1992, starting with private parties and small clubs, and moving on to bigger clubs and festivals. His production career began in 2001, when his ÒIcarusÓ EP was released on Strike Records. His association with the dub scene of the time inspired the Dubbyman moniker, which has stuck. Jose launched his Deep Explorer label in 2002, pushing the deep sound with which it has become synonymous. We asked him about his past, present and future:

You have been pushing the deep house sound in Europe for a while now, running Spain's flagship deep house label. Spain is a country often associated with percussive, tribal house and tough techno ... what is on offer in the way of deep house?

Obviously less than tribal house and tough techno! I mean there are not too many people making this kind of sound, although Spain has a big scene in electronic music, which is not often associated with the country.Ê Also, today the word "house"Êis used for everything that has a 4/4 rhythm, without thinking about the other elements that define the real meaning of house: that was the next step of the disco sound.Ê

You seem heavily influenced by the Detroit sound. Who are your main inspirations from the Motor City?.

Yeah, you can see the influence of the Detroit sound in my tracks, but I really think that it is something moreÉ I mean, I really think that I am touched by the music that influenced the deep house producers from DetroitÉ mostly the underground black music from the 80s. Indeed, my record collection consists more of those records than actual deep house productions!

Who else inspires you?

Nobody in particularÉ I can be inspired by a song by Simply Red or Brian Eno,Êby music from a score or simply listening to jazz.

Tell us a bit about the mix. Is this very representative of your sound? Is this what we can expect to hear you play in Croatia?

It depends on when I play. This one is more downbeat, soÊI wouldÊplay it during the day. For a night late session I would up the tempo...

You have been running your label, Deep Explorer, for a while now. What was behind your decision to launch an imprint of your own?

Deep Explorer for me is something logical.Ê I was really tired of sending my tracks from one label to another, and always getting "Yo man, don't you have something harder? This is too relaxing... ". So, I decided to create the label with the help of my brother. Deep Explorer is seven years old and it has featured many styles of music (tech house, minimal, etc.), but I really think thatÊwe found the sound that we like for the label many releases ago. That deep sound that appears in some of the tracks in the first releases is more evident and basic in the actual records.ÊThe idea that we always had in our mind was a label with tracks that you could play as a DJ, or just listen to at home. I meanÉ not simply loops, but not constantly changing rhythms either...

What is your favourite release so far, and can you tell us about what you have lined up for the future?

I really can't choose one above the others; almost all of them contain a favourite track. I do have a special weakness for the compilation with The Lady Blacktronika track, because nobody knew about her, and it was a total honour to edit it. I love too our tribute to Ferris Park and Psychostasia in the Psychpark EPÊand, of course, the participation of legends like Mike Huckaby or Alton Miller was cool as well.Ê The immediate future for Deep Explorer is the comeback of my brother, after ten releases, with an EP with Alton Miller and Stereociti.

Tell us about any other releases and remixes you have coming up.

I really don't like to talk about the things which are still Òin processÓ, but there are things that are finished and will see the light in the next weeks, like a new remix for Yore and a new EP for Dpress Industries that will contain a Rick Wade remix.

You mentioned your brother, producer Above Smoke, with whom you produce some tracks. How do you find working with a family member?

Really good, because we donÕt feel the need to race against each other.ÊIf something good happens to my brother, it is like it happened to me too.

Were you both musical as children?

I really don't see us as musicians. We started producing tracks a long time ago, and that's because we listened music from childhood.

tracklisting

Jazz intro

Reggie Dokes & Delano Smith "Missing YouÓ (Reggie Dokes Simply Ask Mix) (Psychostasia)

Soul 223 ÒTales Of The Faded CityÓ (Soul Jazz)

Boogie Delites ÒJourneyÓ (Future Vision)

Son Dexter ft Larry Heard ÒPrecious LoveÓ (Alleviated) white label

6th Borough Project ÒNights Over MemphisÓ (The Revenge Dub) (Instruments Of Rapture)

Inverse Cinematics ÒPassing ThroughÓ (Pulver) white label

Dubbyman ÒLes Vampires BakalasÓ (Deep Explorer)Ê

Kuniyuki ÒAll These ThingsÓ (Theo Parrish Remix) (Mule Musiq)

3 Chairs ÒUnderwater PeopleÓ (3 Chairs)

white label (Philpot)

Rondenion ÒThe Beautiful MemoryÓ (Aesthetic Audio)

The Lady Blacktronika ÒItÕs All About SurvivalÓ (Deep Explorer) white label

Dubbyman ÒRise Of EqualityÓ (Piano Take Beats) (Ferris Park)

Slowhouse Two ÒB2Ó (Slowhouse)

Cognition ÒBall Of SinÓ (Eargasmic)

Juju & Jordash ÒEl SilencioÓ (Deep Explorer)

Promotional Links:

» www.myspace.com/dubbyman