Published: 5 Oct 2012
073
- 6th Borough Project

Trend setters, kings of the edit, masters of the funk.. you choose the catch phrase, these guys are worthy of it.

There’s no denying that our next guests have been two of the very best at the mid tempo business since becoming household names in 2008/09, helping drive the reinvented disco edit genre to reaching the dizzying heights that it did a couple of years ago. The 6th Borough Project boys have recently closed up shop on their famed label Instruments Of Rapture, but as that chapter finishes, they continue to unfold their distintive sound through Delusions Of Grandeur, the revered label in which they’re set to release the follow up LP to their hit One Night In The Borough full length of last year.

If you’re a fan of the 6th Borough lads, you’ve most likely enjoyed one or all of their hotly tipped 6th Borough blends of recent times, we certainly have. When together Graeme and Craig have a pretty formidable knack for selecting records, and they prove this yet again in this 2 hour plus long, sun kissed episode of the Deepcast.

You guys have been pretty busy on the road together recently! Tell us about your tour of the US which you just finished up, what were the highlights over there and what did you do in your time off between gigs?

Graeme: It was full-on as the schedule was pretty tight but we had a ball. The majority of gigs were excellent, and it really opened our eyes to a healthy and growing U.S. scene. We didn’t have much chance to hang out, but we managed to squeeze in some record shopping in LA and got stoned up on Mullholland Drive which was pretty surreal. I got a chance to go back for another tour last month and play a few other places which just confirmed that things are really starting to develop majorly for dance music over there.

Craig: Yeah wasn’t much time to do much other than sleep, travel and play (though as always I managed to fit in a fair bit of record shopping) but as Graeme says there was a really healthy club scene over there and I look forward to going back soon.

We know you recently had your Instruments Of Rapture One Year Underground party at Sub Club, marking one year of running regular IOR parties at the infamous club. How was that party in particular and what do you have planned for the future with those nights?

Graeme: The party was ace, although Sunday’s are a difficult one in Glasgow these days. Optimo used to do weekly Sunday’s when I was a student, but since they moved to monthly parties, it’s been difficult to bring the students back.

So what we end up with is 200 people in a 500 capacity club, which seems bad on paper, but actually it’s really special in that place. The Sub Club is the only place to do what we do as far as I’m concerned. It’s got a vibe unlike any club I’ve played anywhere in the world. This is partly to do with the layout and soundsystem, and partly to do with the crowd and the owners. There’s one room, so if you don’t want to dance, you leave. We rotate weekly with other promoters including Optimo, Auntie Flo & Esa, Thunder Disco Club and Solid Gold Safari – so we’re in esteemed company. it’s slowly gaining momentum now as the younger crowd are starting to recognise what they’ve got on their doorstep. I’m not a religious person, but it’s pretty close to church for dance music. We’ll continue until people stop dancing.

Craig: As I’ve said before in all my years of dj’ing, in many a different venue/country Sub Club is one of THE best clubs in the world to play in and party in so it’s a no brainer for me.

We loved Instruments Of Rapture’s final release, The Streets Are Alive With The Hounds Of Music – great name by the way! Many people are probably wondering what might be in the works label wise for you guys with IOR calling it a day. Is there any plans at this stage or are you just enjoying some time off for now?

Graeme: Thanks. I think it’s important to close chapters and open new ones – it keeps things fresh for me. The idea was that I would transpose the label into an event, which allowed us (myself, Craig and AliOOFT) to DJ together close to home and do small and special parties, much like the records themselves. I’m currently working on material for a new label I’ll be starting in spring next year.

We saw you mention a single from your next album for Delusions Of Grandeur was being finished and sent to Chicago Damn for remix duties, which is exciting! What can you tell us about that album, and who else will be in line for remixing the singles?

Graeme: We’re nearly finished with the album now – we’ll have it finished by the end of the year with plans to release in spring / summer next year. We’re just deciding on remixers as we go along really. The album sounds really fresh to me at the moment as the tracks have all been created recently, where as we sat on a lot of the previous album’s material for years in some cases. I’m looking forward to testing out the tracks over the next few months and pulling the whole thing together.

Craig: I’ve been enjoying working on this LP as it feels we have gone back to producing like we did back in the day. There’s more use of hardware and less looking at screens! It’s a quicker, rawer process but I love the the results you get…….squezzing more soul and emotion outta machines!

Graeme we spoke to you briefly about a new live electronic project you’ve been working on with drum machines and synths and the like, how far has that come along and do you have plans to take it further at this stage?

Graeme: I did one show in summer this year to test out the logistics of taking the studio apart and putting it on the road. There were some teething problems and I think the whole thing needs tightened up a bit in terms of ideas and equipment. So I’m doing another show for Halloween this year at the Sub Club which we’re going to film and test some of my new material with a view to doing some UK and European shows beginning of next year. If that goes well then we’ll plan out some shows across the universe. Probably Jupiter first and then Saturn etc.

We just heard the snippets for One Eight Seven, your new record together for the Japanese Speed Of Sound re-edits label under the catchy alias Homicide Mbride, firstly how did that funky ass name come about, and what else do you have in store for HM?

Graeme: The name comes from a record of Craig’s actually … we thought it’d be pretty funny as there’s a Scottish connection in the surname. We met the label owner on a tour of Japan last year and said we would do something for him when we got some time as he was very good to us. We’d already committed to doing a 2nd album for Delusions Of Grandeur under our 6th BP name, so we thought it’d be funny to put something out (slightly) undercover for the enthusiasts.

Craig: There are so many perfunctory edits these days it’s nice to put out something thats been treated with a bit of love and little bit of creativity.

It’s not often you two record a podcast together, bar your hotly anticipated 6th Borough blends, so we are understandably excited about this episode! What can you tell us about the mix?

Graeme: I think it encapsulates part of what we do together as DJs. We like to play for at least 3 or 4 hours if possible when we play as we love all sorts of music. If we get a chance to start the night then we’ll keep it slow and ease people into the night. Nothing annoys me more than to hear a DJ banging it out at the start of the night before anybody arrives. It’s part of the reason we do the parties at Sub Club – as we don’t often get a chance to start the evening when we play, and I miss that.

Craig: It’s just a freestyle selection of music we like, vintage & prototype. It can be difficult dj’ing in tandem but I find it very easy with Graeme. Even though we have different styles it always feels coherent when we play together. DJ’ing is my favourite means of expression and I think to many people get hung up on what they should be doing/playing…….just feel it!

What else do you have coming up for the rest of the year that you’re able to tell us about, and when might we next see you guys for a beer down under?

Graeme: We’ll be touring individually and together for the rest of the year, with another short tour of USA and Canada before the year is out. Hopefully we’ll make it out to Oz in February or March if the stars align. I think Craig is looking to beat Andy at FIFA again.

Craig: It was really enjoyable last year so hopefully be out early next year…………….Andy beware I’m coming to beat you again 😉


Warning: file_get_contents(https://graph.facebook.com/?ids=https://www.melbournedeepcast.net/portfolio/dj-fett-burger/): failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request in /home/klzd07gu2occ/public_html/w/wp-content/themes/mdc/sharebar.php on line 25
Share Facebook Twitter Email