You've been described as some of the hardest working men in breaks - how did you get involved with everything?
Nick: Al, this must be you, I've never been described as hard working...!
Alexei: Yeah I would describe myself as 'professional plate-spinner' at times. Bottom line is I've always loved music and was determined to work with it from a young age. My educational background is in music business (which is where I met Nick during the infamous 1st year of our degree - he didn't make it further than that, lightweight!), this gave me a head-start when it came to breaking into the industry. But I also own a label with Paul Kiernan called Sinister Recordings which has been running for about 5 years now - this is how I got to know Sir P Arnold. Although I am officially petitioning for a 30-hour day, working alongside 'Trouble' has been an inspiration - I've enjoyed every minute of it!
With management, promotion and DJing all going on, do you find anything takes preference over anything else?
Alexei: My salary comes from Fat! so this obviously takes preference over everything. Although, I put as much of my spare time into Sinister as I can, I'm really proud of the artists we have on our roster and want to give them the attention they deserve. We're firm believers that the artist should also play a pro-active role in promoting themselves though, it's got to be a cooperative effort between artist & label. I love writing music, I'm a musician at heart and occasionally feel a bit like I'm becoming a glorified accountant (I think the Fatmail has previously referred to me as 'the Fat! Marketing Robot'), so writing with Nick is always a pleasure! The DJing is a bonus - I get to play music from all the fantastic artists that I work with every day!
The thing is, it's all so intertwined, all elements feed off each other. It's not enough JUST to be a DJ or JUST to be a producer or JUST to run a label these days, you have to be a jack-of-all-trades (and a master of none?!) to get where you want to go. Luckily I love doing all of the above!!
Was there a particular eureka moment that you both decided to start producing together?
Nick: A hazy night at college after much "extra curricular activities" and after realising we had stunningly similar tastes in music, there was a definite eureka moment... We booked a studio session only to fin the night was too hazy to remember that moment, it took us 5 years to remember it....
Alexei: Nick lives out of London so originally it was a good excuse for me to come down and visit him to take a break from the Big Smoke (and get a studio tan!). But we realised after a while that we were actually getting quite good at it, then I remembered that I run a record label - the penny dropped ;)
Coming from different backgrounds, what skills do you both bring to the table?
Nick: I'd say I was the more technical of the two, i.e. synth programming, overcoming Cubase difficulties; bleeps and swooshes! Also I give a different view by not being connected to the industry on a daily basis...for Al, he has the more musical / DJ experience to add, and he is connected to the industry on a daily basis!
Alexei: Nick tends to come up with cool ideas on his own (way too much time on his hands that lad!) and then I tear it apart when I arrive and put all the pieces back in a different place. I'd say I'm probably the beats and rhythm man more than anything, and also tend to spend a lot of time on the arrangement. Nick likes making funny noises and generally they sound pretty cool. He's also even more of a computer geek than I am, so he always finds crazy new ways to build sounds...
I also tell him what's down with the kids, cos I'm cool like that ;)
In terms of production, do you start off with a clear idea for a track or wait for inspiration to hit, so to speak?
Nick: A bit of both. I'd say we have a rough idea of how we approach a track but as we write it can inspire us to take it in a different direction.
Alexei: We tend to go through ideas like particularly more-ish hot cakes, an average tune will usually take a few hundred tangents before we actually arrive at an audible conclusion. But yeah we usually have ideas in our head before we start writing the thing. Although, I think half the battle with production is knowing when to give up on a shit idea and move on to the next. Or when to say it's finished. Yeah that's a hard one!
Are there any particularly strange places that you've taken inspiration from musically?
Nick: Wasted Youth took its inspiration (and vocals!) from a now defunct acoustic band who played around the folk scene
Alexei: I once thought I heard a really cool jungle beat...and then realised it was a bus driving past. Crazy days...
Can you sum up your style for people that might not have heard you play?
Nick: Not easily, its still pretty early days for us as artists together, we're still finding our style I guess but so far - warped sounds and mean beats with a good dose of wonkiness.
Alexei: We've written a few Breaks tracks already but the new stuff we're working on is on a much more 4/4 mash-up tip. Completely different to the last few tunes in fact! We love twisting with peoples minds, but it's also got to have a stand-out groove. Basslines are really cool. We like them a lot ! Also - a bit of tech madness is always good.
In a typical DJ set, how much of what you play are tunes that you've had a hand in?
Alexei: I play a lot of tunes I've had a hand in, but only probably because I have a hand in quite a lot of tunes! I love all the stuff that comes out on both Fat! & Sinister, although that's obviously not all I play. I tend to veer towards the more aggressive & techy stuff though. Tunes that thump and growl at you with a bit of attitude.
Who are your picks for Breakspoll this year?
Nick: Sam Hell, Introspective, Bone Snow and Sinister!
Alexei: Yeah that's Nick trying to sweet-talk me into a Badlands vinyl release next year ;) I think Merka should win best album hands-down. I also love the Si Begg remix of 'Rocks The Bass'. Baobinga & ID have come up with a cracking album and some blinding remixes. Kid Blue deserves recognition for his solid DJ sets. But then I would say all that wouldn't I! Also reckon 30Hz surpassed himself last year with Daddio....all the remixes for that we're cracking as well. Obviously Introspective is a legend...so many to choose from!
And what about US President?
Nick: Arnie, he does a fantastic job in the Simpsons movie, "I'm paid to lead not to read!" (In my best German accent...) At least it would be a step up from Bush...
Alexei: 1000 monkeys with 1000 typewriters - we'd be a step closer to world peace
Finally, what does 2008 hold for you?
Nick: Unemployment? (that'll help us get a few more releases out there!)
Alexei: Living the dream!
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