The rise and rise of Netsky.
Netsky, as well as being a computer virus, is of course is Boris Daenen - the Belgian drum and bass producer who makes those liquid funk belters that first got him noticed by Hospital Records. The young producer has followed up his self-titled debut album with '2' - a euphoric fourteen track long-player which challenged him to reimagine his music to be performed live. We caught up with the super-chilled drum and bass hotshot to see how it's all panning out.
When you were making your album did you have a vision of how you wanted it to work as a whole or did you approach it track by track?
Basically it took me about 3 years to make this album and I didn’t really spend more than a month or two in the studio at once. I didn't work on music all the time I just made it on tour and at home. I didn't start the album with an idea in mind I just kept making tracks.
Every track has a story behind it – rather than the whole album - which is a different story to than the first album. Then I really had in mind what I wanted the whole album to sound like. I'm kind of happy with this way of working because it doesn't restrict you in any way – you don't have to feel like you are ending a story you started.
What’s your favourite track?
That's so hard – I should've thought about this before really! I am really happy with The Whistle Tune which I did with Dynamite MC. I was on tour with him and we didn't have any studio space to record so we just tried a few options during DJ sets while on tour – it was a really good way of working on a tune: just being relaxed and trying to get all the fun of the tour in there.
Do you often play a track you are working on to a crowd and tweak it once you see a reaction?
I try not to because nowadays everybody just records everything they see – but it is very hard not to play a track you've just made and I'm not very good at keeping secrets. My label isn’t too happy with my way of working like that!
Erm... Im sure they're pretty happy with you!
Yeah...I'm sure they are really!
So your live show, how's it going down? Are people enjoying it?
Yes this weekend was incredible! We did one short show at Brixton Academy and some longer ones in Brussels. The crowds were insane. I've got an amazing crew together for the live band – we all get on with each other really well. It's so much fun to do stuff like that. I've never felt like this after a DJ set – it really fills you with the music. When you are actually playing the melodies rather than playing them on CD you just feel so much closer to the music you play.
As a DJ you can feel like you aren't using the dimensions of the stage. With the live show I can go to the front and say hey to people or jump around and be crazy – it's amazing.
How does it work musically then? Are you on the decks or playing hardware?
No – everything we do is played live. The drums are played live by my drummer on my left, I have my keyboard player on my right – he plays all the backing chords – he's trained as a jazz pianist. He kind of makes really funky jazzy interludes between songs. He really makes it very musical. And I play all the leads to the tracks on keyboard, or different controller, I sing on some tracks. We just needed to find a way to translate those songs into a live set and that's been the hard part. We've worked really hard on it for about a year and now we are finally ready to bring it out to people.
Do you play any other instruments yourself?
I wasn’t schooled to play anything but Ive been playing the drums since I was 7 or 8. Then I stopped when I was 16 or something - just when I started making music. I've been working a lot with synths and keyboards in the studio. It took me a while to get used to playing those on the stage – but it's a new project for me – it's so much more exciting to do for me than just DJing. I want to start becoming more of a musician than just a DJ.
So you're like the frontman of your own band?
We've got a frontman/MC who hypes the crowd and guest vocalists. It's strange to describe what my role in the band is – it's all about the musicians really!
Who are your drum and bass heroes?
Since I started making drum and bass Hospital was the label I was really looking out for – that was always my goal. Nowadays I think Sub Focus is still one of my big heroes, and looking at the live stuff I think New Zealand Shapeshifter are incredible, I think London Elektricty was an amazing step forward in drum and bass back in the days when they were still playing live. Both of those were defo a big inspiration for me. And Chase and Status and Pendulum – it's so much fun to see electronic music being accepted in the mainstream – and as music that people can play on guitars and on keyboards. I think that's a very nice statement to make with the live show – so people can see that drum and bass is music as well.
What's your dream gig to play?
I want to warm up for Bob Marley! I'm a big reggae fan and Bob Marley is the number one for me. There's so many people I'd love to play with – they don't even have to be dead there are so many amazing artists alive! I think my favourite band at the moment is Fat Freddy's Drop – that's what I listen to when I'm not in a night club...
And your current dancefloor bomb?
I just got addicted to this tune and I'm going to smash it all summer – do you know Disclosure? The Jessie Ware 'Running' remix is such a sexy tune I love it.
Netsky's album '2' is out now and can be bought here.
Add an event
Scoping Out London’s Coolest Historic Bingo Halls
London’s bingo halls were once a bustling part of many of the city’s communities, but as...