Concord Dawn from New Zealand are drum and bass DJs and producers with a zest for the technical edge and hard hitting basslines. Before their forthcoming trip across the Tasman Sea, Evan Short – aka Kiljoy – spoke to inthemix about music, corpse paint and their roots.

How did you guys discover drum and bass, and what are your first memories of it?

Evan: I got into “rave” music back in the early 90’s and kinda liked the more jungle sounding stuff. I got into jungle and drum and bass proper after I heard Goldie’s ‘Timeless / Inner City Life’ on the radio in ‘95.

Obviously you make your own tunes as well as mixing, but which do you prefer?

Evan: One is just a part of the other to me really, they’re hard to separate.

What were you doing before you guys hooked up? And how did your partnership come about?

Evan: We met each other at intermediate school when we were about 11 and started playing rock music together about then too. We ended up going to different high schools but met up later in our teens to be in a rock band together. The band broke up and we hooked up to start Concord Dawn another 3 years after that.

Do you feel your New Zealand location influences your music and how is the scene over there?

Evan: I don’t think it’s so much the location as much as how isolated we are down here. In London or Europe you can go see a big name DJ pretty much whenever you want, where as down here it’s a monthly or bi-monthly thing so I think we get to develop our own sound without as much external influences.

Can you see a time when drum and bass starts challenging the other types of dance music in terms of popularity?

Evan: I think it already is, definitely in NZ it is.

Where is drum and bass going? I have a sneaking feeling that housey drum and bass is going to start ruling the dancefloors but what do you reckon?

Evan: I think – and hope – that the housey sound of drum and bass isn’t going to start ruling. I think there’s room enough for a wide variety of the drum and bass spectrum to be had. I find the housey and jazzy stuff a little tedious and fake, although there are some definite stand out tracks, but that’s just my opinion. Each to their own.

I had a dream a couple of nights ago where I was a woman but no one would believe me because of my beard. Thankfully this dream is not recurring but tell me – what do Concord Dawn dream of?

Evan: I dream of burning down churches and wearing corpse paint full time and living in a dark forest in Norway.

What defines a good tune for you?

Evan: Good music, well mixed.

Your top five all time tunes please?

Evan: Darkthrone – Transilvanian Hunger, Nine Inch Nails – March of the Pigs, Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill, Europe – The Final Countdown and Beatallica – The Thing That Should Not Let It Be.

What’s something everyone should know?

Evan: Slayer Rulz!!!

Concord Dawn will touring Australia over the New Year period:

Jan 1 – Byron Bay, Beats On The Beach
Jan 1 – Brisbane, BBQ Breaks
Jan 1 – Melbourne, Eat The Beat