There’s no question Kid Kenobi has been a busy man of late, but it appears there’s no rest for the wickedly talented, as he builds up to the ‘Breaks on N-Gage’ tour, which kicked off November 15 in Brisbane. Playing alongside Kid Kenobi and the major breaks DJs from each state will be Aussie superstar trio Nubreed, whose live sets have become the stuff of clubbing legend. I caught up with Kid Kenobi and Jase from Nubreed and asked them about the tour.
How did the Breaks on N-Gage tour come about for you?
KK: With a stroke of good luck I guess. I’m honored to be representing the NSW end of the tour.
Nubreed: Not too sure – I guess our profile encouraged someone to call us which was maaad!
For the Breaks N-Gage tour you’ll be back to backing with some of the finest breaks DJ’s in Australia. Are you looking forward to the experience?
KK: Definitely. I think as performers we all feel that the night / tour isn’t about us as individuals but the event as a whole. That should make for an event filled with positivity and passion.
Nubreed: It’s great that we can all unite with the major players from each state… You know the standard of music will be high!!
What can we expect from your sets on the N-Gage tour?
KK: I haven’t really decided yet. I think I’ll just go with the flow of the event.
Nubreed: We will be keeping it fresh and new for this tour with some new vocal stuff and new mixes… Lots of jump up party stuff to keep the dance floor hyped. We wanna see no backs on the walls!
Kid Kenobi. You’ve no doubt heard it before but I’ll say it again – ordained by many as the king of Australian breakbeat, he is a phenomenally talented DJ who never fails to rock the dance floor. Boasting an impressive resume which includes having played some of the biggest club nights in the country, 2 DMA’s (Dance Music Awards) for Best DJ, 3 successful mix cd’s and an ever growing reputation as a world class producer and remixer – Kid Kenobi is a superstar in his own right – with a down to earth attitude unaffected by the trappings of success. A rare thing indeed.
You’ve just rounded up your tour for the new cd – how was it?
Long and rewarding. Fantastic to get out of the main cities and visit places like Cairns, Hobart, and Darwin.
The second disc of your new cd displays a deeper techier side to your musical range that punters wouldn’t have heard in the clubs. What made you decide to put down a deeper mix instead of the chill breaks of your previous two releases?
I just think it made for a more ‘complete’ breaks package and allowed me to cover a lot more breaks labels and artists than the previous discs had. It’s the same idea and the same kind of vibe, just different style really.
How do you see the musical direction of breaks here in Sydney and indeed Australia evolving over the next few months?
I think talking in ‘months’ is hard. I reckon over the next year you’ll see Australia becoming more and more independent musically. We’ve got the scene, soon we’ll have the music to match. With acts like Nubreed and Poxy it’s already started. But that’s just the beginning.
Do you find that you have an image to live up to each time you get behind the decks?
Not sure about ‘image’. Sure people have certain expectations musically but I get to play the music I want to and it’s not hard to keep on doing that.
How do you deal with criticism?
Depends on what kind of criticism it is really. Constructive criticism can be useful. Unnecessary negativity is just a waste of time really. Its not always easy but I guess I’ve just come to accept the fact that at the end of the day I’d much rather have said something positive with my life and been criticized for it than having said nothing at all.
You’ve put out some awesome remixes with the Poxymusic boys. Any future collaborations in the works?
Yep, just finished a remix of ‘Rock Your Body Rock’ by Ferry Corsten with the Poxy boys as well as a remix of ‘Barcelona’ by D.Kay with Ritual and Q45 under the name RED. Looking forward to working on my own artist work when I can.
Over the past two years, Melbourne trio Nubreed have quickly risen to become one of Australia’s leading electronic acts largely due to their supremely energetic live performances – playing alongside some huge acts such as Layo and Bushwacka, Junkie XL, Sasha and Jamiroquai but to name a few. Here in Australia they were nominated for 3 DMA’s (Dance Music Awards) last year for Best Debut Artist, Best Live Act and Best New Release, and have been nominated for Best Live Act again at this year’s awards. I caught up with an excited Jase and found out what the Nubreed boys have been up to lately.
With the amount of releases you guys have forthcoming and with the work on your own feature album, how much time have you spent in the studio recently?
It’s been non stop since we finished the Mob album release. We are still currently finishing our Australian version of the album. We also just finished a remix of a Crystal Method track which gets a full O.S release soon called Born Too Slow! It’s a remix for the big sound systems.
How have you found the process of making an album? What kind of sound can we expect?
Working on the album was fun but being our first full length breakbeat album we wanted to bring new ideas to the table – so we spent a lot of time experimenting and changing the track orders of the album. The Mob release is predominantly dance floor based breaks and the Australian version has a lot more vocal input from all of us.
Do you find it harder or easier to produce your own work as compared to doing a remix?
It’s easier doing remixes as you are working off existing ideas and you just reinterpret what the original artist has done, whereas with an original you are starting from scratch. The hardest part is coming up with that good first idea, then you just build around it.
When producing, do you plan and brainstorm what you’re going to do before you make a track?
Most of the time is spent finding and making good sounds. Getting the right snare that fits the kick drum etc or a bass sound that mixes well with the direction and mood of your track. Once you have an archive of good parts you arrange the song to what feels right.
Who would you say were and are your biggest musical influences?
All good music in general – any genre gets sponged in the head for later use… Like I might be listening to Drum N Bass that morning and feel like making a garage track real tuff and nasty, so that influences the direction of a track. Specifically forward thinking producers like Timbaland, Jaydee, Neptunes, Just Blaze, Bugz in the Attic, Wiley… and electronic experimental stuff like Si Begg, Tipper, Andy Page – anyone taking things a little further from the norm.
You’ve played some massive shows with some superstar acts. Which has been your favourite show to play?
Outdoors it has to be a show we did with Phil K that shut down the house room… I think it was a Two Tribes? More recently a Dave Seaman support that went down nicely. The more intimate breaks gigs at Seven’s Fractured are some of my personal faves.
If you could play on the same bill as any act, who would you choose?
Amongst some decent bands like The Roots, London Electricity, Hybrid or in between some heads like Freeland, Tayo and Stanton Warriors with some DnB by Andy C and fresh BC to end the night would be nice – All in front of a crowd like field day… hmmmm!!
What does the future hold for Nubreed?
More tunes… Plenty of dirty fours releases coming your way and some new remixes for overseas and local artists – and the massive ‘Breaks on N-Gage’ tour!
To chat with Kid Kenobi & Nubreed, simply log on to ‘in the spotlight’ Thursday December 4 at 7pm AEDST, you’ll be in the running to win signed ‘Breaks on N-Gage’ tour merchandise, as well as autographed Nubreed Vinyl! For more info click HERE.
Log on to www.breaksonn-gage.com.au to register for the doorlist. It’s a free event, so as long as you’re over 18 all you need to bring is your dancing shoes and your breakbeat loving ears. Game on!
Remaining ‘Breaks on N-Gage’ tour dates:
Fri Dec 5, Adelaide – Traffic Nightclub
Sat Dec 6, Melbourne – Lounge
Sun Dec 7, Sydney – Home
