Spoonfed catches up with Nottingham's Ursa Major ahead of their appearance at The CAMP this Friday.
After months of writing about exciting cutting-edge beats, the Loose Synths collective thought it time to dust off the 1210s, fire up the CDJs and throw a party of their own. Joining them this Friday at The CAMP is the Kool Kids Klub party-starter Whole Sick, and the Nottingham based DJ duo, Ursa Major, who’ve recently been signed to Trouble and Bass. Promising the most forward of forward-thinking dance music, expect anything from house to dubstep, with the odd sprinkling of UK funky, drum 'n’ bass and everything in between.
We spoke with Sarah and Kieran of Ursa Major to find out more:
So you’ve gone by many names in the past, from MeMeMe to Ursa Major via Waves – are there any others we’ve missed out? Are you Ursa Major for life?
We previously played separately under Moxie (Sarah) and Purlow (Kieran). After DJing under MeMeMe for three years, we decided to start producing under a new name, Waves. However that was short-lived as there were a few factors which meant we had to change our name again, and settled upon Ursa Major. After all the previous names, we definitely don't plan on changing again!
How does it feel to get a release signed to the mighty Trouble and Bass?
We've both been huge fans of the label since their early releases and they've always been a label we wanted to work with. They've been really supportive of the release and, despite being incredibly busy, are always available.
When did you two start DJing together and how did it happen?
We started playing together about four years ago now. It started through a mutual love of the same music, and straight-up geeky interest. We both played separately at various nights around Nottingham but came together to play at bigger events such as Dollop, and it went from there!
You’ve run successful club nights in the past up in Nottingham. Is it something that you’d ever consider doing again?
It’s hard to appreciate how much work and effort is required to run regular nights until you try it – we would always encourage people who are interested to do it though. Personally our focus was more on running nights that we thought people would enjoy, including ourselves, rather than for financial gain. I wouldn’t necessarily approach it as a money-making scheme.
In terms of us doing it again, I don’t think we would ever do a regular club night again. However, we wouldn’t rule out doing one-off events with other promoters and DJs though.
Who in your opinion is leading the way in terms of music innovation within the UK dance music scene?
Currently, it seems the UK is spoilt for producers pushing the boundaries, each in their own unique way. There are a few stand-out individuals such as Ramadanman/Pearson Sound, and Boddika. Recently, I don’t think we’ve heard a track from these two that hasn’t made us want to work harder in the studio. Not to limit it to producers, Jackmaster and Ben UFO have been two of the best DJs we’ve seen in recent years.
What do you think of the Loose Synths blog/collective?
Loose Synths has quickly become one of our most used reference points for music. The posts are always on point and really well detailed. We’ve also really liked the tracks that Rob (The Specialist) has sent over; he’s definitely one to watch.
What does the future hold for Ursa Major? Many projects in the pipeline?
We’re currently working on our second EP for Trouble and Bass and just enjoying making music. We’d like to try our hands at some remixes and definitely some collaborations with other producers. We guess the future is us continuing to enjoy making tracks and DJing. Hopefully people will enjoy the outcome.
Entry to Loose Synths 001 this Friday is free. Be sure to check out their website here (www.loosesynths.com).
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