Your new album is out soon - are you excited?

I put in a lot into Make & Do and it took a lot out of me.  When I finished it and had it mastered that's the real excitement, hearing the tracks get plumped up and just listening to it loud on a pair of speakers after hearing it coming together from tiny pieces. I have this amazing feeling on mastering day, its like my blood runs free and fast and I'm light on my feet, like I'm traveling at a million miles an hour in my own direction but fulfilled fluffy and relaxed.  The launch party at Chew the Fat will be a special night and on the albums release I will relish a feeling of purpose and deep satisfaction.

How do you feel your style has changed since the release of 2007's Berserka?

I think I've placed more importance on refining the sounds I use and how they work together, Beserka was a scrapbook of everything that meant a lot to me, where as with Make & Do I wanted to use my sounds to create a message of positivity that I could feel was my doing.

You've got your Mystic Man alter ego putting out more hip hop orientated cuts - is there likely to be more from this side of your work?

Highly likely, I'll be throwing myself into another Mystic Man project next.  On that front I'd like to show the heads what I'm really made of.

For your production work, do you find that you've got a broader palette to work from now in terms of technical knowledge?

No my technical knowledge has faded as I've got out of the sound engineering circle. I worry now that I don't pay enough attention to detail but it's more enjoyable to make progress than to break tracks down into a technical exercise.  I'm hoping to develop them side by side so I can be proud of the sound and the music. Saying that a lot of the technical skills I've gained are now second nature and it really helps me work creatively with them rather than getting stuck on sonic issues like I used to.  I've found the greatest learning curve is releasing music and then being able to have your own opinion on it which helps you move forward.

What about collaborations - do you find more doors are opening for you than would have 18 months ago?

London is a great place to meet people and I have a wonderful circle of friends who collaborate with and inspire each other.  I'm very shy when it comes to touting for projects but I have now got a great body of music I can represent myself with.  I've always been intent on developing my music myself but now I'm finding my confidence and musical esteem I'm pushing doors open.  Looking back 18 months Fat! have given me the opportunity to see a world through music. When you're young its easy to set your sights on a certain dream but through the label releases and DJ gigs I've been put in places I couldn't have thought about, and its opened me up to look around rather than keeping my head down.

You're playing at the last ever Chew The Fat! at the End - what's been your best memory of the times spent down there?

I've never had a bad one there, it was a very memorable night when I played the Beserka album launch, I'll remember being like a proud kid whenever I'd watch Paul Arnold play, and I'll never forget the times dancing with my friends and all the fat family.  Two friends Nick D and K Deemo always partied hard as we all love it down there; I think we'll talk about it when we're old.

What was it like when you first heard one of your tunes played down there?

Like I hadn't got the mix right and I need to work on my arrangement, and elation.

And what tunes have you got lined up to rattle the ribcage this time round?

I've got my album kit I can't wait to hear on the system, especially a track called 'Another Place'. I've done a booty with Hektagon of 'Everybody's Free' which will absolutely kill it.

Can you give us a run down of how 2009 is shaping up in the Merkaverse?

Not yet, I don't think too far ahead. I'd like to write a hit with Duffy and reinvent breaks, maybe at the same time. I'm setting up a new studio so I want that in full effect through the year. I've got high hopes for 2009, I think for a while everybody's been stuck in limbo looking at what we have got and done because so much is possible.  We have been focused on our decades and styles for too long. I see a realization of the infinite and an embrace of freedom coming and I want to be flying in it.

And finally......what do you want for Christmas?