Read what Chew The Fat! resident Foamo had to say about everything from his early days playing Under 18’s Drum & Bass raves to his parents’ filthy Jungle habit, and a potential artist album…

When did you start out as a DJ/Producer?

I started producing when I was about 14. I used to make Drum & Bass beats on my mum and dad’s computer with a pair of headphones. I started DJing around this time too. Me and my mate used to DJ at these big local Under 18’s raves. They were actually really good. We got to DJ with some big name D&B MCs on our sets, like Shabba, Det and Foxy. Those were good days.

What is your production background?

I’ve always had a basic setup. Always just a computer, midi keyboard and a pair of headphones or speakers.

What is your musical background?

My mum and dad have always been massive music lovers, and have blasted their music out loud from their massive soundsystem in the living room when I was a kid. They listen to pretty much everything, Blues, Rock, Indie, Jungle, and all kinds of Electronic and Dance music. I got into a lot of bands just from hearing my parents playing it out.

I started listening to electronic music myself when I was 13, my mate got me into D&B, and I was obsessed by it for years. I hardly listening to anything else. I got a bit bored of it though after a few years and lost touch. I started listening to a lot of Garage/Grime/Dubstep type stuff, and was well into that for a while. It wasnt until about 2 years ago that I even started to listening to any House/Electro.

But it was mad, as I’d spent years and years experimenting and making D&B and Dubstep etc. and never really got anywhere… then the first attempt at making a House track I suddenly got Radio 1 play and support from big DJs, so it was a massive suprise for me!

Where has your ongoing tour taken you? What has been your favourite venue or festival?

Its mainly been in the last year/18 months. I’ve been all over Europe. Been to California a couple times, and New York for Drop The Lime’s Trouble & Bass party. I’ve also toured Canada, and been to Australia twice.

Apart from my London residency at Chew The Fat! my favourite place to play is probably Australia, it’s always a wicked experience, and everyone’s always well up for it. Favourite festival has to be Bestival!

Tell us about your remix work. Who have you remixed so far and what is your process for creating a remix? Which one are you most proud of?

I’ve remixed some cool people like Mystery Jets, Franz Ferdinand, Jack Beats, La Roux, Man Like Me and MSTRKRFT. I still find remixes challenging, I like to take my time with them and occasionally don’t meet the deadlines! I prefer remixing bands and non-dance music tracks. It gives you more to work with musically. I always try to keep the feel of the original, using the same notes and melodies, and putting my own synths and stuff based around the melodies of the original.

What equipment do you use in your productions and DJ set? What is your opinion on the use of laptops in DJing now?

I’ve always had a basic production setup. Just a computer, midi keyboard and a pair of headphones or speakers.

As for DJing, I use CDJs. Nearly every track I play though, I do some kind of edit of it, to try and bring something different to my sets, instead of just plain mixing. I’ve been thinking about trying out some kind of laptop set with Serato or Ableton. I dont think you should bash people who use Ableton for DJing, but as long as theyre using it to their advantage, doing stuff that you wouldnt be able to do when just using CDJs. Traditional beatmatching seems to be becoming more and more irrelevant, with CDJs and laptops making it easier, so people are beginning to look at other ways to make their sets exciting.

What are your future plans?

I’m really enjoying what I am doing at the moment, and just want to carry on with it for as long as I can. I think next year though it’d be cool to start thinking about doing something bigger, like an album or something…