I’m currently in the grip of an Atomic Crisis. Now I’m not talking about how North Korea is pulling out of treaties and lobbing missiles into the Japanese Sea. Nor am I referring to Australia’s greatest kept secret (which, in case you weren’t aware, is that I believe McDonald’s coffee is made from nuclear waste). My distress is caused by something much more insidious. The reason is that, although I’m writing this article while in a Perth café, the beautiful days and pristine beaches of WA offer little consolation for the fact that I won’t be back in Melbourne in time to catch the Atomic Hooligan gig.
For those of you who are not acquainted with the genius that is Atomic Hooligan (and so feel no pity whatsoever for my predicament) the Hooligans are Terry Ryan (DJ Terrance) and Matt Welch, and they are one of the UK’s most electrifying breaks groups.
With a style that Terry described during our interview as “ENERGY ENERGY ENERGY!” the duo have been producing and performing together since they first met through a mutual friend only five years ago. “At the time Atomic Hooligan (even though they weren’t called that) needed a scratch DJ. That’s where I (Terry) came in. From there we were a group. One of members left to concentrate on his education and shortly after that we got our first deal with Botchit.”
In the scheme of things five years is not such a long time, but since their formation Atomic Hooligan have quickly made their mark on the breaks scene, particular since they’ve established themselves as one of the flagships of Botchit & Scarper, one of the UKs most respected and proliferate breaks labels. “Our friend Jason Sparks asked us to do a DJ mix for a show he was doing for Annie Knightingale on Radio 1. So as a repayment of the favour, he took a track that Matt had done to Botchit for us. Vini (R.I.P.) liked it and asked us for a couple more tracks and for an EP. That was the “Servin it UP” EP and from there we have released continuously with them.”
The strength of the relationship with Botchit & Scarper became evident when the Hooligans were asked to provide a mix for the recently released “Botchit Breaks 5”, an album which has received wide acclaim since it hit the shelves. “It’s going really well. We have toured that album a lot since its release and everyone I have talked to has loved it, which makes me very happy. I had a lot to do with that album. I helped A&R it, was there at the mastering and mixed the second CD. So I felt in some ways it was our little baby. It was nice to get the tracks on vinyl to do the mix with. I did it on 3 turntables and just straight attacked it.”
Production teams are notoriously cagey about how they divide their workload, both on the road and in the studio, so it’s a little surprising that Terry is incredibly forthcoming about Matt and his individual strengths. “Well, Matt is really the producer engineer and I am the lucky guy that goes out on the road and DJ’s. We have our strengths and we stick to em. Matt is an amazing producer engineer and I am an ex battle DJ. Of course we both get together in the studio and work on all the tracks. But with my DJ schedule, we don’t the chance to do that everyday!”
Although they may be rare, those shared moments in the studio are invaluable when Atomic Hooligan are creating those mind blowing breaks tracks that they are becoming so renowned for. “It’s the old perspective thing – when you have 2 people in the studio working on ideas you can give a more objective opinion. It defiantly helps to have my DJ head on when I get to the studio. We can arrange tracks a lot better with the 2 of us.”
It makes you wonder if the old cliché “two heads are better than one” is responsible for Matt and Terry’s ability to produce such amazing tracks. Then again, it could partially be born from the fact that the Atomic Hooligan base of operations is a small town in the idyllic countryside of Hertfordshire. The peace and quiet is more than a little conducive to a productive lifestyle. “It’s a sod to get there and back though, as I don’t drive. It’s a nice place to be when you want to get creative. Plus it wasn’t a conscious decision to base ourselves there. We are both from that area. I was born in London and live slightly closer to the city, but we both live in a town called Watford, which, once you get out of the town itself is a very rural area. I live opposite a farm. And the studio is in an area that only has one bus a day going there, and is surrounded by fields. It’s nice, but you need that city life as well to balance it all, bright lights and all that. We both grew up with constant trips to the city for music, nightlife and the like. You have to balance it all. But one of the major things about being based in the country side is being surrounded by all the country pubs!”
All this talk about pubs only makes me more depressed about the fact that I’m going to miss the Atomic Hooligan gig, although it is some comfort knowing that the Melbourne crew is about to experience one of the best gigs of the year. Make the effort and check it out, and, while you’re there, have a dance for me. It won’t be hard to find the motivation. “I play music to make you dance; I don’t have a particular style of music that I play, really just try to keep it interesting. You can expect a lot of funky melodic scratching. A lot of breaks, some hip hop, funk some house, whatever the crowd is feeling. Try to keep it big! One thing you can expect is that I will be dancing my ass off behind the turntables, I only play music I love.”
Catch Atomic Hooligan in your city on the following dates:
Sydney – March 21st – BREAKSCENTRAL
Newcastle – March 22nd – NUTSHELL
Melbourne – March 28th – THE LOUNGE
Perth – TBA
Brisbane – TBA
