An Interview with Basher

An Interview with Basher

07 June, 2011
by: Joj

Representing Ram, past, present and future. Joj chats beats, bangers and building with Basher

Breaking through in drum and bass, or in fact any dance music sub-genre, is no minor achievement. Now that everyone and their mums have the facilities to make tunes from the comfort of their bedrooms/on public transport/whilst on the toilet, the sheer volume of competitors out there has made it common for would-be greats to be simply lost in the crowd. So you can imagine the surprise of a certain South-London producer, Mr Darren ‘Basher’ Anderson, to receive an out-of-the-blue phone call from legendary DJ and Ram Records head-honcho, Andy C!

We check in with Basher to chat about the release of his debut album and to find out what life is like aboard one of the biggest and most influential labels the genre has known to date.

What's it like to work with Andy C?

Yeah, it’s amazing. Andy and everyone at Ram are very professional and cool to work with, it opens up loads of doors for you. Although every time I write a tune I’m thinking “ah man, this is for Andy C!” which adds a lot of pressure. But otherwise it’s great.

What did you do before you were picked up by Ram?

I was a builder. I worked on a firm with my Dad, it was really good. Honestly, I miss it. It was a good man’s job that gave you a good sense of achievement and offered something different every day, not that I’m not enjoying what I do now.

What kind of gigs and venues do you like best?

I like little venues rather than huge crowds. One of my best gigs was actually in a converted restaurant in Twickenham. You couldn’t fit many people in, so it was packed tight. I had such an amazing time. I’ve played in front of 10,000 people and not loved it as much as that night. I like small, intimate nights where the vibe is going off. With fabric, for instance, I prefer playing room 3. It’s your typical grimey little dnb room. I’m actually having my album launch party in room 3, which I’m really looking forward to. We’ve got Total Science, Spinline, Fierce and a few others.

Do you play vinyl or CDJs?

CDJs. But that’s not to say I haven’t served my time on the 1210s. I got the decks when I was 12, that’s 17 years on vinyl. I’ve done my bit for vinyl. I’ve sold a lot of it now, but I used to take day off of work every monday to go and get new records. I was obsessed. With buying and collecting.

How do you find balancing the roles of father/family man with being a DJ?

It is difficult but I’m really lucky, my partner is really supportive. Any DJ or anyone in fact will tell you that it’s difficult. The truth of the matter is you just haven’t got enough time for everyone, your work and various other commitments. But the fortunate thing about this job is you can just say “fuck it, I don’t want to work today” and you don’t have to ..not that I do that, but it’s nice to have the option.

Could you tell us a bit about your production process with Transmission?

I can sometimes get bogged down with nitty-gritty details, but on this album, that didn’t happen. I literally sat down, and got tunes finished. In fact Ram gave me quite a tight deadline to finish this album. I ended smashing that deadline, getting 20 tracks done in 30 days, 13 of them got picked for the album.

Which is your favourite track?

The title track, ‘Transmission’, is my favourite track, it has that really typical old school Ram sound; big characteristic drums, a catchy bassline and a good old ‘spaceman’ sample.

Tell us about your own label; Proximity Recordings

Early on in 2010 a lot of friends who were producers weren’t really getting the breaks they deserved, so I decided to use my own status to set up a label as an outlet for them. Fortunately, when we set it up we had loads of support from people, willing to release on the label. Since then we’ve gone from strength to strength. We’ve got 14 releases and two albums so far.

Can I get a top 5 tunes (or producers) of right now?

1. Calyx and Teebee
2. Xtrah
3. Inside Info
4. Break
5. Fresh

What's next for Basher going forward in 2011?

I’ll be starting up the next album for Ram, as well as more singles for them. The Subtitles releases will be out in the summer [sub12] which I’m excited about. I’ve also just remixed the Audio Bully’s single ‘Shotgun’. Otherwise just hoping to get out there DJing more.

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Joj