Sleep D are a couple of fantastic producers from Frankston in Victoria who despite their youth are already held in the same regard as any of Melbourne's top underground acts. Whilst they DJ more than they produce, a solid line of forthcoming 12"s are testament to a few years of dedication in the studio together busting out raw techno and house records worthy of dance floors with large sound systems.
A record earlier in the year on the vinyl only BBW label under ‘Public Ebony’, an alias they share with fellow local producer Villa Savoye, saw their potential displayed on the world stage with solid support from Clone and Hard Wax. A record label is the next step naturally and in a couple of months the first 12″ on their Butter Sessions label will have dropped with a groovy three tracker of their own. A live set in progress and a club night in the city to curate, along with weekly international support slots have been keeping these guys pretty busy but they’ve found time to deliver a diverse mix of techno, house and electronica for our 99th podcast.
You guys have been producing some solid music for the past couple of years now, and are about to have a few cool records finally released. What can you tell us about the Sleep D project and how it all began?
It all started in the summer of ‘06, at our high school in Frankston. We were introduced to each other by a mutual friend and ended up making a mix tape for the annual school swimming carnival that never got aired. We’ve been DJing together ever since and somewhere along the lines started making music together.
One of my favorite records of yours Gush, which was released under the Public Ebony alias on BBW this year received some strong support overseas. Do you have plans to continue with that project and with BBW in the future?
Yeah Public Ebony is the thing we do with our mate Villa Savoye. We’d like to keep those plans private for now!
You guys are behind the monthly Rhythm City parties at the The Night Owl in Melbourne – home to a rather insane sound system, hosting The Carter Bros and a host of other cool acts. What do you have coming up there, and will you attempt any more pop up raves over the summer?
Rhythm City is a party we run with our friends Dylan B and Tommy Tonic. There’ll be more parties showcasing Melbourne’s undeniable talent as well as a few guests throughout the rest of the year. We love it how Derek (the Heartical HI-FIs creator/sound engineer) tweaks the sound system all night whilst also enjoying the party himself. As for the other parties, you’ll have to keep your eyes and ears open.
I know under the Butter Sessions banner you have a vinyl label about to be launched, which will see an artist EP from you guys being released as the first offering later this year. What was behind the move to start a label?
We decided to start the record label because we really enjoy the whole process of putting out music (artwork etc). We also know a lot of underrated musicians in Melbourne that we believe deserve a voice from their hometown. Having full control over your music is a pretty good situation.
Tell us a little bit about your live set, which some people may have seen for the first time at a recent Rhythm City party. What is the set up that you are running with at the moment and will you be brining it out again soon?
At the moment the plan with the live set is for it to be built differently in context with each party. The set we did at the Rhythm City party had some pretty heavy techno jams because it suited that environment, the next live set were preparing at the moment will be quite different to what people would’ve heard. We’ve got a bunch of new gear to play with!
What can you tell us about this podcast? What are some of the records that feature in the mix?
We decided to dedicate this mix to our recently passed friend Edbert. The vocal sample at the start is an excerpt from our show on TRNSMT that he played on.
We’ve chucked in a few forthcoming unheard Butter Sessions releases and a mix of tunes from Dozzy to Fat Freddys Drop.
What else do you guys have coming up?
A release on Cuckoo Music from Adelaide with a nifty Carter Bro’s remix in early September, as well as the first release out of Butter Sessions Records in Mid Nov. More parties and more surprises!