Gucci Mane - I Be Everywhere (Mumdance Remix) (MediaFire)

El Guincho - Kalise (Mumdance Remix) (MediaFire)

Having not even released his first EP proper, Jack Adams aka Mumdance has established himself as one the UK’s favourite party DJs, darling of the blogosphere and serial remixer. We caught up with the Mad Decent affiliated producer ahead of his appearance in Room 2, hosted by Z-Shed, at Chew The Fat! Meets Dirty Canvas this Friday (February 12th).

Where did the name come from?

Well not many people know this, but the sole & only reason for me choosing my name is because it rhymed with ‘Bumdance’ I tried Thumbdance, Chumdance & Somedance, but thought ‘Mum’ had a more homely ring to it.

Your productions are pretty wild; in a single track we can be catapulted from some kind of delightful plinky plonky steel drum-esque composition to a relentless barrage of ghetto bass and bouncing drum rhythms;

Do you approach productions with ideas already in mind, or do you just jump in and see what happens?

Nine times out of ten I have an idea in mind when I start making a track, usually the idea will be a drum pattern. As a lot of genres are rhythm led and usually go hand in hand with a specific drum pattern, when you mix up the rhythms its a nice way of mixing up the genres and turning them on their head.  With some of my newer music I have made a conscious effort not to over think it and go in with no idea in mind and just work from feeling and vibe, which I think you will definitely be able to hear when my EP surfaces.

Do you think the breaking down of genre boundaries not only in DJ sets, but now increasingly in single tracks too, represents some kind of epic degradation in the concentration span of listeners? Or are DJs and producers just having more fun?

I think its primarily just producers and DJs having more fun, but if I was holding a lecture I’d probably say the other reason so that people felt like they were getting their money’s worth!

How did it feel to suddenly be considered ’somebody’ and start working with people like Diplo, Switch and Brodinski?

Hahaha I wouldn’t say I’m a ’somebody’ yet, but it’s great man, as with everything it has its ups and downs and frustrations, but I never expected to choose this path and feel very privileged and lucky to be in a position to spend my time indulging myself in music.

As mentioned; your productions are jam packed with ethnic samples, far out world music bits and bobs, klaxons, and dropping your name here and there too.

Did you just find these samples and noises fitted in, or were you actively seeking some kind of hyper-carnival vibe?

It was definitely a conscious decision to try to make my drums sound like they were being played by a drum ensemble, I wanted to get an organic kinda vibe, but saying that a lot of my new stuff sounds like it has been made on a Playstation and has been massively quantised so its on a track by track basis. I definitely have ideas of how I want my music to sound, but at the same time progression is the key and I like to keep my sound moving. Although it’s good to have a ’sound’ I think it’s lazy to make all your tracks sound the same.

Did anything in particular inform you to move in that kind of direction?

Radioclit helped me a lot when I was first starting out and I think I deffo drew some influence from them, to me they are one of the originators of this current wave of tropical music that is currently in circulation

Unlike some other producers in the ‘tropical’ scene, and also pushing the dirty ghetto bass angle, there often seems to be a lot of fun – satire even – in your tracks. perhaps a knowing sense of British-ness…? Your Silverlink remix for example has this amusing chirpiness to it. Black Lace gone Badboy…?

What do you think your sound is comparable to, if anything?

I don’t know who I sound like really, I guess thats for you guys to decide, then for me to have some sort of ‘you can’t put me in a box maaaaan’ rant.  I deffo like to put a sense of fun into my music though, music purism and snobbery are some of my pet hates. Why use music as a vehicle to limit yourself or be negative?  The music is called DANCE MUSIC. It’s about getting loose, having fun and enjoying yourself, not scratching your chin and being a nob!

Dirty Canvas Meets Chew The Fat! @ Cable is just round the corner, with some great emerging artists and stand-alone BIG BOYS too.

Who on the line-up are you most excited about?

Oneman, he’s my favourite DJ. Also Scratcha DVA as I listen to his radio show a lot and have never seen him DJ before.

And finally, we aren’t too far into the New Year,

What’s on the horizon for Mumdance in 2010?

My first EP is 99% locked, looking like its going to be a 4 track affair with features from Badness, Sparks, Kie and Frisco. I’m also doing a lot of production work. Ive been in the studio with Esser making some really interesting music and am working on the new Man Like Me and Bonde Do Role albums. I’ve also got a load of collaborative EPs that will coming soon, one with Drums of Death (Mums Of Death), one with AC Slater and another with Brodinski. Decided to knock remixing on the head for a little while as its not as fun for me as it used to be.

- Dickon Stone