The group with possibly the longest name in dance music have decided to cut it short – again. Aquasky vs. Masterblaster are back on a first name basis, casting off the Masterblaster moniker they adopted in 2001 to differentiate their breakbeat project from their drum and bass one they started way back in 1995. It was meant to clear up the confusion once and for all. Well, that was the intention anyway. “When we first started doing breakbeat, people were mixing it up with our drum and bass stuff and playing drum and bass tunes at the wrong speed,” explains Kieron Bailey, who along with Dave Wallace and Brent Newitt form Aquasky. “Plus people were booking us to play breakbeat sets and drum and bass guys would turn up. We wanted to make it easier for people.”
The veteran trio from the south coast of England have hardly abandoned their breaks, so why the re-rebrand? Were they sick of typing it out all the time? Did it not fit on promo posters? Was it because their name sounded like it could have been a duel to the death between two Transformers? “We’d get a lot of promoters expecting Masterblaster to turn up,” recounts Kieron. “We’d explain we were Masterblaster as well and they’d get funny. Even if we all three of us were playing, they’d still be looking for Masterblaster. Others would expect some sort of battle behind the decks, so we thought it’d be easier to stick with just Aquasky. We’ve kicked out Masterblaster, so he’s looking for work if anyone’s got a job for him.”
Now all their material will come out with the Aquasky stamp, regardless of genre. Calling the shots for a whopping three labels – two dedicated to breakbeat, 777 and Passenger, and another one, Black Noise, for d ‘n’ b – one name will finally fit all. With Masterblaster now just a… er… blast from the past, the guys can stop explaining themselves and concentrate on what really concerns them – music. “Now we just make it, and let people figure it out for themselves,” says Kieron.
For now, the Bournemouth threesome’s most immediate goal is finishing their seventh full-length album. Easily their most ambitious LP to date, it sees Keiron, Dave and Brent drawing on collaborations with some of the scene’s biggest players including Krafty Kuts, Meat Katie, the Autobots and Backdraft among many others. On ‘Good Sound’, Aquasky team up with the incendiary Breakfastaz, recent winners of the Breakspoll’s ‘Best Breakthrough Artist’ award, and singer Diane Charlemagne (who sang on Goldie’s seminal ‘Inner City Life’). Orbital’s Phil Hartnol lends his voice to another track, entitled ‘Point of No Return’.
It all sounds like a breaks lover’s wet dream, but for the trio, their most dynamic album has also proved their most challenging. “We must have been on it now for a good six months, which is long for us,” says Keiron. “Our last album ‘Stay Fresh’ took us three months to do, so it’s been twice as long. We were at the stage a month ago, where we had lots and lots of half-finished tracks. We couldn’t really see the light at the end of the tunnel, and you’re wondering what are we doing here? But it’s come together in the last few weeks and it’s looking really good now.”
It will also, Keiron promises, pack a few surprises, including first and foremost the shocking news they’re actually making some tunes slower. What the? It turns out some of their previous cuts have been too fast and too furious for “certain breaks DJs”. “It’s funny, because it’s only about four or five BPMs faster but it seems to make a difference as to who can play our tracks. Some DJs have said ‘I really like your stuff, but i can’t play it out ‘cause it’s too fast to mix into a set. It’s something we were never really aware of until now.”
With the new album predicted for a spring release here, in the meantime Aquasky fans can sate their appetite for breakneck breaks with ‘Breakbeat Bass’, a new compilation showcasing the best of their 777 and Passenger labels. Mixed live on decks (gasp!) by all three of them, it hurtles through the likes of the Breakfastaz, Backdraft, Transformerman, Baitercell & Schumacher and a barrage of Aquasky specials and will be available soon through Fuzzy mail order.
The coming weeks see Aquasky spread over all three (?) corners of the earth. Keiron will be touring down under, almost a year to the day since his first ever Australian visit. “It was good but too short,” he recalls. “Dave and I were literally there for just three days, and then we flew straight back”. It’ll also act as recon for a rumoured live tour much later in the year.
Meanwhile, Brent will be heading to the US to play the Miami Winter Music Conference (they flipped a coin), and Dave will stay home to care for his very newly born baby. No doubt it’ll be him that gets the messiest and the least amount of sleep. Armed with a whole new album’s worth of tracks and then some, Keiron’s very excited about his return to Oz, and very keen to road-test the new tunes on local audiences.
“It’s all kind of exclusive ‘cause no one has got them, apart from the individual collaborators who have a copy of their tune. But we have them all! The Krafty Kuts one goes down pretty well, and the Backdraft one is mental. Plus there’s some special mixes of tracks we’ve done which no one else has. It’s all a bit hush hush, but there’s lotsa goodies in the bag!”
Just don’t ask him for Masterblaster, okay?
Keiron’s Top 10 tunes of the moment
1. Aquasky vs Backdraft feat Spyda – Untitled
2. The Breakfastaz – Midnight
3. The Funkobots vs Beastie Boys (bootleg)
4. The Autobots vs Deep Impact – Bullit Time
5. Dylan Rhymes – Salty (Meat Katie remix)
6. Control Z – Bad Man
7. Aquasky vs Krafty Kuts – Untitled
8. Backdraft feat 24 Karot – R U Ready
9. Aquasky v Phil Hartnol – Point of No Return (hard mix)
10. Baobinga – Shake Yer Head
You can catch Keiron from Aquasky touring Australia this March and April. His remaining dates are:
Thu Mar 24, Landspeed – Canberra
Sun Mar 27, Ambar – Perth
Fri Apr 1, Hijack – Sydney
Sat Apr 2, Fractured – Melbourne
