Tempo Clash

Since Tempo Clash began, pushing emerging talent has been a high priority. On May 25th London’s very own Deft will be joining the likes of Instra:mental, Danny Breaks, Sweatson Klank, Kahn, King Cannibal, XLII, Laurent Fintoni and of course the Clash residents to celebrate the crews 1st Anniversary. Deft has been making waves for a while now and with The Clotting EP set to drop June 4th expect to hear a whole lot more from WotNot’s very own.

Interview by Tom Mullett

Introduction….

I’m Deft, I live in the delightful town of Croydon, and I make electronic music on a computer

 Give us a brief run through of your music, and what you have been doing for the last 12 months.

Well, at the moment I don’t think there is a solid direction with what I’m doing with Deft, which I like. I’m testing the waters with different styles of music, mixing and matching as I go along, and that ranges from hip hop/beats to house/techno to footwork/juke, and a few things in-between.

The last 12 months have gone pretty well, things have picked up a lot so I cant complain! I’ve had a few gigs here and there, been making music, going to work, making ambitious plans that will hopefully soon materialise and working closely with some really great people on forthcoming material. All a bit vague there, but you know, I don’t want to jinx it.. But yes, things have gone well on the Deft front so far.

Music you have worked on…
Artists you have worked with…

Release wise I’ve been honoured with the opportunities to remix Gang Colours on Brownswood and Pixelord on Hyperboloid, as well as having the opening track for Maya Jane Coles’ DJKicks mix.

I’ve made a few tracks with Manni Dee, a good friend of mine and an amazing producer, we seem to bounce quite well off of each other as we share a very similar taste in music, and are both honest and straight forward with our opinions on music too. So I think its quite a healthy dynamic between us, its just a shame he’s in Brighton! But thats something we’re definitely going to continue with, we’ve got an EP coming out together at some point this year, so more news on that when we get it!

I’m also working on a few other projects with other artists too, but again, I’ll leave those until the right time comes to talk about them.

Where did you hear about Tempo Clash?

I heard about it through one of the first promo videos made of the first or second night Tempo Clash, and I’ve been keeping up to date with them since. I was excited to see a night where the residents are Kutmah, Blue Daisy, Om Unit and Kidkanevil, and to see them pushing the sound in London and creating an identity with the music. The only comparable night I can think of off the top of my head right now is Hoya:Hoya in Manchester, and say Low End Theory over in LA. So its nice to see it happening here.

I haven’t actually been to a Tempo Clash night yet unfortunately, I just haven’t been able to reach down, so this will be my first time and probably the best one to come to and be a part of too! Very, very excited to be a part of it, the line up is ridiculous, to be on the same bill as the likes as Instra:Mental, Take and the Tempo Clash crew is sick. Very damn excited.

How is it for you breaking through in London?

It’s a bit of a love hate thing I think. London is an amazing city and there is so much good music coming from it, and of such different variety, and its great to see things being pushed to higher levels and being more openly accepted. Its great to be moving with the pace of it all. I could drivel on how I think the scene is in London, the pro’s and con’s etc, but I’m just glad that things are moving with my music and that some people enjoy it.

Live set or DJ set?

Well, it depends on a lot of different things, but essentially its about using a method to create the desired performance, atmosphere and vibe that also suits you as the performer too. I haven’t got anything against either, I love Dj sets and Live sets. As long as everyones having a good time, its all good.

Name some key releases that have grabbed your attention in the past year?

Samoyed – Her Honey Drippin Behind EP (Glum)
James Welsh – Air Valley EP (Losing Suki)
Machinedrum – SXLND EP (LuckyMe)
Lost Twin – Birds (Bandcamp)
Andres – New For U (La Vida)
Schlachthofbronx – Dirt Dancing (Disko B)
Dream Continuum – Reworkz (Planet Mu)

I’m most likely gonna be playing a lot of footwork/juke stuff, a lot of my own stuff and some old throwback bits too. Lots of energy and good vibes.

How are the next 12 months looking?

Release wise I’ve got my debut ep is coming out on WotNot Music on 4th June, with remixes from Jimmy Edgar, Soosh, Chesslo Junior, U and Fybe:One. I’ve got an ep coming out with Hypercolour offshoot label Space Hardware, and track featured on Raised by Records compilation ‘Terrain’. Theres also this EP with Manni Dee and another solo EP too which you’ll hear some news on soon. Also got remixes for Fybe:One, Manni Dee and Polar Pair coming out later.

Gonna be playing my first festival this year at Glade with Hypercolour/Sneaker Social Club, and a few other gigs dotted around London and the country. Lots to look forward to!

PS Keep your eyes on WotNot Music, big things to come in 2012+

Download the exclusive “Jungle Jim” from XLR8R here

Catch Deft perform at the Tempo Clash 1st Birthday @ Rhythm Factory (May 25th). Tickets are available from RA.