Breakspoll’s favourite act NAPT is set to return to these parts at the tail-end of July, armed with a heavyweight arsenal of productions and remixes. We spoke to the Australia-bound half of the duo Tomek Naden about the ‘N-Funk’ workouts that await.

You must get sick of ‘the state of breaks’ questions, but do you think in recent years a lot of productions started to feel stale?
You have to spend time finding a sound and growing it. Look at dubstep – in the UK it’s huge now, but not so long ago there were only a few people at FWD, one of the first dubstep nights. In terms of breaks, it’s so varied in theory but a large amount of it remains unexplored. There are great producers out there like Baymont Bross and Peo De Pitte who are making hot original music. We need more of this and less re-edit’s of other people’s work.

Remixes have been a strong suit of yours – do you enjoy the challenge of a remix, or is it a bit of a distraction from your own stuff?
In honesty, more or less every remix we’ve done in recent years has consisted of nearly all our own work, with only a tiny element of the original ever being retained, so in a way they really are as much work and sound very much like our own originals. We definitely like the challenge of remixing and we’re really excited about our new remix collaborations with some huge names in drum & bass, dubstep and house. We also have remixes of U.S. electro-soul outfit J.Viewz and UK soul legend Mica Paris coming out very soon.

The NAPT sound has never been strictly breakbeat. Do you feel that has given you an edge?
We think producers should be free about what they want to produce without feeling they have to ascribe to a certain style; this is part of the reason why we started calling our music ‘N-Funk’. Obviously our roots are in breaks but we take influences from everywhere – electro, house, soul and so on, which we didn’t think anyone was doing in breaks in the same way.

We’re both avid fans of all kinds of music and more importantly lots of different kinds of dance music itself. We think that any genre of music that only references itself runs the risk of becoming in-bred, so we strive to avoid that. Since arguably, there is no real accurate description of what breaks is, it’s easy to find a mutant middle-ground. So yes, in that respect our N-Funk sound has helped us cross over and get a larger fan base and profile. We might not represent the breaks genre in its entirety but we definitely represent a good chunk of what some breaks heads like.

You’ve certainly done very well out of the Breakspoll, particularly the Best Producer accolade in 2010. Is that a buzz to be singled out for your productions?
Yes it is, we’ve been fortunate enough to come away with the Best Producer and Best Track awards at Breakspoll for the last two years running and also a Beatport Award last year. We spend a long time working on tracks and doing things in our own way and differently to what’s going on. We both take production and writing very seriously and always aim to put out the best we can. We spend time sourcing sounds, programming synths and effects, playing percussion and mixing. For people to recognise us is a brilliant feeling.

Can you tell us a bit about the NAPT DJ/live hybrid show?
It’s usually five decks and two mixers. We play mostly our own productions and remixes interspersed with elements from other promos and tracks around at the moment and create loops and FX which we drop onto the set. As an artist these days you have to hone your sound and present it in the best way you can – it’s a bit like bands going on tour promoting their songs.

Does having the two of you on deck for DJ sets expand what you’re capable of?
Of course. A DJ is a music presenter and having both of us there means we can do more and have more control over the pace and rhythm of the set. One of the most important things about DJing is letting the music do the talking, so we try and avoid the temptation of incessant mixing and layering tracks and strike a balance between giving a unique performance and keeping the integrity of the music we are playing. Ultimately four hands are better than two.

Australia has always been mad for your sound – are you looking forward to heading back here, and what’s planned for these shows?
Yes, this will be our third time to Australia and second to New Zealand. We had some killer shows the last times we came. We really love the vibes and general atmosphere in Australia. Like in the UK, dance music culture seems very well represented. We always play shows together but unfortunately this time only I’m coming across, as Ashley is due to have a baby during the tour; he will be back next time! That said, we have loads of new material I’ll be road-testing exclusively on the tour which I’m really excited about.

NAPT tour dates:

Friday 23 July – Against The Grain 2nd Birthday @ Brown Alley, Melbourne
Saturday 24 July – Major Break 7 @ Villa, Perth
Friday 30 July – Destination @ 202 Broadway, Sydney
Saturday 31 July – Breaks & Enter @ Empire Hotel, Brisbane
Saturday 7 Aug –Breaks & Enter @ The Ruby Tramp, Surfers Paradise