Ashley Beedle might be best known for his work with the much-loved dance collective X-Press 2, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the projects he’s been involved in. There was the infamous Black Science Orchestra that came early in his career, his current Warbox project that he describes as “my reggae arm, that takes in elements of dubstep, hip hop, ska and soul”. There’s Ralph und Beedle that he formed with Filthy Dukes member Mark Ralph, his ‘blue eyed soul project’ known as Mavis, his take on the nu-disco sound with London Heavy Disco Review, and his Out Hear Audio record label… So it goes on.

And of course, he’s still “flying the flag for house music” with his X-Press 2 team. He’s also in the country over the next two weeks for DJ gigs as part of Sydney’s Playground Weekender festival, and he says we should “Expect the unexpected. I will be veering from X-Press 2 style house sets to the Beedle sets that incorporate all styles.” ITM chats with Ashley Beedle.

As part of X-press 2 you have been responsible for some of the house musics finest moments. Was there any hesitation in allowing a track like London Express being updated, particularly by other remixers?

No there was no hesitation at all. Getting remixes done of your work is part of the dance game. We have lived with London Xpress for years, so it was nice to hear some new interpretations. I personally loved the Caged Baby and Steve Lawler mixes. They just sound really fresh and interesting.

Having a show on KISS FM seems a natural extension to what you’ve done in the past. With so many harder sounding genres competing for attention do you ever feel you are flying the flag for house music?

Believe me the X-Press 2 show on Kiss is flying the flag for house music. House music has gone underground again. The amount of amazing productions coming out every week is incredible. We use the majority of our show as a conduit for those tracks. We love music period but there was room for an upfront house show so we stepped up.

In creating the Raise Your Hands compilation, are you likely to tour the album at a later stage with Rocky & Diesel, or will you be incorporating X-press 2 material into your tour dates in February?

We have already done many dates supporting the album. I will be featuring certain X-Press 2 tracks on my solo dates in February. I hope later the full X-Press 2 line up can get back out to Oz as we love coming out there.

You have remixed a huge variety of artists and styles in the last few years. What is your approach when you get asked to put your own stamp on someone elses music?

First and foremost I have got to feel comfortable with the track I am remixing. I usually go for vocal based tracks because I love to hang a melody on there. My remixes tend to be very musical. I also try and think about the artist when i am remixing.

Do you have many goals for your Out Hear Audio label or a specific sound you’d like it to be associated with?

For Out Hear Audio I am gong to step up the amount of releases coming out. I am steering the label musically to a more trippy direction to incorporate elements of disco, rock, krautrock and soul. I just want Out Hear to be an outlet for my solo ideas and hopefully the public will get it and then we can all be happy!

Have you had to work any harder bringing your Warbox project to life in an industry that clearly likes to pigeonhole artists to particular groups and genres?

Well Warbox is my reggae arm that takes in elements of dubstep, hip hop, ska and soul. It’s hard getting people into it but we will get there. I have purposley not put out that many tracks. I want it to grow slowly. I also use Warbox as a production moniker for instance in the album i have done with Horace Andy that is coming out in February.

What will the focus be on tour this time round and will your set likely to be vastly different for the Playground Weekender Festival?

I am bringing the full Ashley Beedle experience! Haha. I am so looking forward to coming over. I don’t know what to expect at Playground because it will be my first time. But believe me it’s going to be alot of fun. I love djing by the seat of my pants. Expect the unexpected. I will be veering from X-Press 2 style house sets to the Beedle sets that incorporate all styles. I have given the game away now!

Reflecting back on your career do you have any favourite production or passage of time?

I loved doing the Black Science Orchestra and Ballistic Brothers projects back in the mid nineties. They were great days and as far as i am concerned those records from that period still stand up. We had a great sense of adventure and fun. It’s bringing a tear to my eye thinking about it!

Any thought of reforming Black Science Orchestra?

A: I won’t be reforming the Black Science Orchestra. That’s now done and dusted. We made a great body of work. I have a new outfit now called The London Heavy Disco Revue which is pretty much the bastard son of the Black Science Orchestra.

With the reputation you created early in your career with X-press 2 for using 6 turntables together in a performance. What is your stand on the change to using CD players and other media?

We love using CD players. In fact we pretty much use just CD’s now. It’s much more convenient and you can carry so much more music. When in the UK I still use vinyl as a well just to show the kids it’s a viable medium. I am thinking of going over to Traktor Pro because i have seen a few dj’s using it and it looks really cool to use. But the bottom line is what ever medium your using you still have got to come with that killer set!

Ashley Beedle tour dates…

6th Feb – Ambar, Perth
7th Feb – Playground Weekender Festival, Sydney
7th Feb – Switch, Sydney
8th Feb – Electric Field, Adelaide
13th Feb – Darkbeat, Melbourne
14th Feb – Family, Brisbane