A native of Canada, Semper Fi has been a welcome addition to the Sydney d’n’b scene since settling here around the turn of the millenium. ITM’s jayb had the chance to speak with him about, among other things, his upcoming gig with the legendary Sly & Robbie.

You first visited Australia back in 1996/97, what attracted you back in the Millennium?

The reason I really came was actually a girl who was my wife to be… We met working at a record store in Toronto and the invitation was extended to come over once I had the cash for the trip. She’s been really supportive of me and even set me up with decks when I arrived. I’ve been here the majority of the time ever since. It’s been amazing to see the drum’n’bass scene grow in Sydney… especially over the past year. It’s really diversified and promoters are starting to regularly get decent turnouts at one off parties. Things are definitely on the up and up here at the moment…

Your musical journey started playing drums in live groups, how does this compare to playing records in a club?

It’s different… they’re both a wicked vibe in their own respects. I think it’s a bit more nerve racking playing by yourself than with a group. I like working with other people and feeding off the energy you get from that situation. I haven’t played the drums live with a band for about 5 years now and really missing it. It’s something I’d really like to get back into if I hooked up with the right group of people. All in good time…

Your early Drum & Bass influences were L Double & Darren Jay playing that jump up stylee, which artists inspire you at this stage in your career (and why)?

There’s so much coming out at the moment, it’s hard to say. People like DJ Shadow, RJD2, Ming & FS, Scientist and the Jackie Mittoo ‘best of’ on Blood & Fire are getting heavy rotation on my cd player. As far as d’n’b goes I’m really feeling labels like Soul:R, L Plates, Paradox, Droppin Science… For Breaks labels I like SoulJa, Horsepower Productions, Tempa and Sound Of Da Future. There’s all kinds of amazing hip-hop coming from all over the place… I saw Rodney P and Skitz the other night and hearing some of the new beats Skitz was dropping was cool. He uses a lot of d’n’b type sounds in his beats, but in a hip-hop context which is something I’m really seeking as a production sound… so anything that really crosses over between the two grabs my attention straight away.

You have a broad spectrum of music in your record box but DnB & Hip Hop seem to be your main passion, what is it about the music that drives you?

I’d love to be able to solidly collect everything from hip-hop, breaks, dancehall… there’s even house stuff I wouldn’t mind getting into, but records cost money and there’s only so much you can concentrate on as a dj if you don’t have much money. I normally buy d’n’b and hip-hop every week, order dancehall/dub from overseas every few months and occasionally breaks as well. I guess the initial thing with d’n’b is the drums… I love anything with really well thought out drum programming/playing and out of all the styles I’d say I find it the most rhythmically intense. Looking at it from a production point of view I think its the most forward thinking form of dance music around. I think the main reason the scene has become so strong over the past few years is mainly due to the quality of tunes coming out. There’s still a lot of shit out there, but it’s not as one sided as it used to be. There’s an element of fun that’s come back into the sound and it’s a lot more inviting than it was a few years ago.

You’ve warmed up for artists such as Lee Scratch Perry and played alongside a good portion of Sydney’s mixing fraternity, what’s been your best gig to date and what was the worst?

My favourite gig would have to be a party called Optic Nerve in Melbourne a few years back… it was only about 150 people in a small club, but the crowd was mad up for it. There’s still a couple tapes left of that set at BPM in the city. Played at Kerfuffle in Manly a few weeks ago and that was the best recent gig with a really good crowd who liked the hard stuff. All the guys before Koda & I were playing tracks I really dug…hmmmmmmm. Doing the Xstruction parties back to back with Koda are always a blast. The worst would definitely be Pave New World a 61 Regent a while back… the rest of the night was good but as soon as I went on we had massive sound problems and completely screwed my first mix, it was all downhill from there. Still trying to forget that one ;)

Who was the best dj/artist you’ve had the pleasure of being on the same bill as?

If I had to pick favourites for who I dig checking out in our scene I’d have to say Alf, Murda 1, Eli and Koda. Kye, Kray and Ozi Batla always do a wicked job on the mic. As far as other styles go I like checking out the Firehouse Crew and Nasty Tek for the west indies styli, Sub Bass Snarl never cease to amaze me, and Nick Toth and Mark Walton for the funkier side of things. Each of these guys are pretty unique in their own respects and really change up the styles when they play.

Opening for Sly & Robbie must top your list of gigs, apart from the obvious why do you think it is about these two Reggae boyz have been featured on over 200,000 tracks and are gaining more popularity after 30+ years in music?

Definitely, I don’t think I could ever top this one…to be on the stage before these two is the biggest honour I’ll probably ever have. Their contribution to the sound of reggae music, let alone modern rhythmic music as a whole will probably never be rivalled. They were, and to a lesser extent still are the rhythm section every reggae artist wanted to have on their albums. They played on Herbie Hancock’s ‘Rockit’ which many consider a major turning point leading into rap, not to mention backing Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Gregory Issacs… even Bob Dylan. When I first moved to Toronto I lived with a reggae DJ / guitarist who I also ended up joining a band with. I had always played in rock bands previous and that wasn’t really what they were after. He dropped this pile of records on me one day and told me I should listen to the drumming… so I ended up practising to stuff like Peter Tosh ‘Equal Rights’ and Gregory Isaac’s ‘Soon Forward’. It was a turning point for me musically and the way I played drums changed from then on. Hopefully I can get Sly Dunbar to sign some skins for me!!

You’ve been spending a fair bit of time in the studio recently, what can we expect to hear from you this year?

This year I’m just planning to continue pursuing dj’ing and pushing for things interstate and over in New Zealand. Production wise I’ll be working on tracks with Ozi Batla, MC Antic and some other MC’s combing elements of hip-hop and drum’n’bass… I’ve also started working on some dancehall and breakstep type tracks as well, but the priority is to work with MC’s. I want to get a few more things together and then think about trying to release something maybe later in the year, no rush though.

With all your musical influences this must be pretty hard to list but what are your top 5 all time tunes?

How about top 5 I can find within arms reach?

1. It’s Alright, I Feel It – Nu Yorican Soul (Roni Size Remix)
2. When They Reminisce Over You (TROY) – Pete Rock & CL Smooth
3. Midnight In A Perfect World – DJ Shadow
4. Kings County – Ming & FS
5. Light Them Up – Nitty Kutchie

Semper Fi supports Sly & Robbie at their two Sydney shows, Friday 11 and Saturday 12 April, Metro Theatre.