Talking Breakbeats and beyond with Paradox

Releasing vital music from back in the early days of jungle to these current chaotic times is no mean feat, but it is safe to say that Paradox goes in deep when it comes to getting his tracks out there. That hasn’t changed in all that time and his latest release Octa4/Proceed on Sneaker Social Club (out on Friday February 26th) is a thrilling listen with even more emphasis on breakbeats, which is a speciality and love of his. We caught up with Paradox to talk about this new release and how it was created as well as discussing other subjects such as creating music during the pandemic, what other music he is working on, his history with musical partners Seba and Nucleus, the absence of live shows, releasing music on noted D&B labels as well as his own label, B-boys and breakbeats and working with Herbie Hancock in a very interesting and informative chat with with one of the biggest talents in the history of jungle & drum & bass.

You are just about to release your new 12” Octa4 / Proceed on Sneaker Social Club. Can you tell us a bit about this release and its creation?

I dropped the tempo down for these two specifically for Sneaker. Back in my days of Certificate 18 and Reinforced I did loads of 12”s at this tempo and it was great fun going back down to the 130’s. I actually felt the itch again after doing a Wax Breaks drum break series but a double a-side breakbeat 12” didn’t fully materialize until Sneaker asked me. The time felt right and the label also. I’m quite picky and I rarely do guest 12”s anymore bar the ones I’ve already recorded for. The artwork is based around the retro Commodore 64. I’m really pleased with the sleeve and the finished project in general.

Has your approach to creating music changed during the pandemic or is it business as usual for you?

Yes and no. I write solo tracks at a snail’s pace compared to collaborations and I’m spending even more time finalising stuff as I don’t have to pull my analogue equipment apart for live shows. Whilst it’s annoying to write club music intended for proper sound systems it’s also a bit liberating to have more of a window to complete things so I’m just taking my time. The flipside and the real downside is going from performing live all around the world every month to not flying anywhere for a whole calendar year. I miss that interaction.

What would a typical day be for you at the studio, if there is such a thing as a typical day?

Music has been my 9-5 job from day one and I’ve never done anything else. Monday to Friday I’m in the studio by 9am. Over here the temperatures are around -22 at the moment and I lose focus after 6pm almost like any other day job. I always end up listening to the day’s progress on earbuds just before nodding off, making notes of what’s wrong and what needs sequence shifting. You can never turn it off to be honest.

Are you working on any new music that you can tell us about and are you constantly creating new music?

I’m currently programming a new 12” for Samurai Music albeit slowly. I’ve just finalised a new Arctic Music 12” and there are a few others that need rendering so I put the enforced 2020 studio time to good use musically. Wipe boards in my studio remind me what needs to be done and the list is extensive believe me. There are three other 12”s for labels I hope to fulfil promises to this year.

You have released music on Reinforced, Moving Shadow, Renegade Hardware, Good Looking and Metalheadz to name a few. How does it feel to have your music out on those seminal labels?

It mattered more to me in the beginning. Everyone in the 90’s was label hopping so working on forty-odd labels didn’t seem strange at the time but after starting my own labels I felt more grounded. I’m quite fortunate that I’ve had the chance to release 12”s on all the record company logos I ever wanted to be associated with and that are still important to me. Some will come full circle in 2022 namely Over/Shadow.

Is there anything new coming up on your own label Paradox Music?

Yes indeed. I am planning to make Paradox Music releases more active including some surprises. I will reveal some news this spring.

Is it a challenge running record labels as well as creating music?

I can understand why certain artists simply want to focus on making music and letting a label team take care of promotion and manufacturing. I think the wiser you get the more control you want. When running your own label a strong relationship with your distributor is key. Unearthed Sounds in the UK really convinced me to continue when my former distributor went bust and I owe a lot to them to be honest. It’s a perilous industry and they do it out of love full-stop. For me there is nothing more satisfying that recording and designing your own physical product and holding it in your hands like a piece of art – which is what it is.

Will there be any forthcoming music as Alaska?

I’ve put Alaska on the back burner over the last few years but I’ve just finalised a project that I’ve wanted to do for ages. I can’t reveal too much at the moment as the vinyl manufacturing process is a longer one now what with brexshit delays. I think around June we’ll see her appear.

Did you manage to play any live sets last year at all, and how did they go if you did?

Right up till the pandemic hit I had my busiest performance year in a decade. I managed to perform a few shows in early 2020 which were great but they seem like light years away now. Last year was depressing. My USA tour was cancelled along with various European dates and summer festivals. I missed out on performing at a huge techno festival playing live jungle which I’m still screwing about. I’m in constant dialogue with my agent Tom Bassic on the situation in the UK and I really hope I’ll be able to perform again in 2022 – We all hope really.

Have you got any tentative plans this year yet or is it too early to tell?

This year is all about output for my three vinyl labels. They will be my main focus although I do have 12”s planned on labels that I’ve also become synonymous with.

You re-released the classic B-Boy Ascendance (along with Zeniths Core) with Nucleus last year. How was it brining that back out again?

I couldn’t repress that 12” as the metalwork for all the older Esoteric plates no longer exist. However the full catalogue had never been digital before so we just wanted to finally get the full forty-two titles out there for people to download.

Is Hip Hop and the B-Boy culture still a big influence on yourself as an artist and how did you get into that in the first place?

Hip-hop of today, not at all. 90’s rap totally though. Personally for me it will always be a b-boy thing. I’m also planning a third Wax Breaks album specifically designed for break DJ’s and b-boy dance crews again. As a teenager I was collecting tracks that used my favourite James Brown breaks. I used to rap but it was the drums that got me into Hip hop and not the rapping side. I always wanted a Technics 1200 too even though I wasn’t a DJ. I just wanted the red light on the platter.

Did you always see parallels between hip hop and jungle in terms of the culture both scenes have at their hearts?

Myself and DJ Trax from Mixrace were brought up on breakbeat hip hop and the emerging Britcore you could call it – British hardcore rap that was bordering on the fringes of jungle and this is basically how we stumbled into rave music. Loads of white labels were lifting breaks from breakbeat hip hop and let me make this crystal clear – I mean breakbeat hip hop and not the bitch, hoe swearing crap. Hardcore and jungle fed off hip hop and our early Moving Shadow releases are a good example of this I think. I was even rapping on a 12’’ in 1992.

How was the experience of the jungle scene when it was first emerging and how do you think it has morphed and evolved over the years?

When I think back to this era I feel extremely lucky that we were there before it all – In the right place at the right time. I wouldn’t say our music was amazing as we didn’t really know what we were doing but we didn’t care – we were musicians on vinyl. When we got our first record deal and saw what we had created in our bedrooms rotate on a SL1200 we couldn’t believe it. I can’t begin to describe the feeling of euphoria. After we got our first test presses we went down the pub in our Moving Shadow jackets to celebrate. The pub was empty. Music technology has definitely changed how we keep the scene ticking and so many things have evolved from watching ragga jungle come and go in cycles, Good Looking Records and Metalheadz emerging, two-step breaks pushing the bpm’s up and CDJ’s all of sudden replacing technics in clubs. Everyone outside the scene would say that jungle is dead and vinyl won’t survive, well Drum and Bass is one of the longest serving dance sectors now and a scene that has withstood everything that has been thrown at it. That’s something to be proud of, helping forge it.

What would you credit to your longevity in making music?

Vinyl. It’s the reason why I still do this. I haven’t a clue how to make a Spotify playlist. I’m pre-skool. When vinyl eventually disappears I’m more likely to disappear along with it.

You and Seba have just digitally re-released and remastered Frost / Sound on Sound. What are your memories of making those tracks?

Hot summers in Sweden and cold studio winters in the UK on that 12”. Kind of reflects the titles.

What has been the reaction to the re-release been like and have you had calls to bring them out for a while?

People are pleased it’s finally available. There has been a wide call for the whole Bassbin catalogue to be made digital for some time and our 12” is just a small part of it. I’ve had so many great memories with Rohan and all the Dublin Bassbin Records crew. I miss the place and the vibe. The one time Seba and I were booked together Seba’s flight was cancelled due to weather conditions and I had to do it solo. Still irks me that.

You have worked extensively with Seba too. Have you got anything new coming up at all between you both?

I’m happy to say yes. We started a vinyl label for our collaborations and I’m close to revealing something. Just before the pandemic we released our Metalheadz “Hexagon” 12” which I’m sure was the most expensive 1 x 12” to manufacture for the label. Seba & Paradox are no cheap date.

How did you first start working together and what do you think the reason is that you work so well together?

We met at Logical Progression at the Ministry of Sound and we both liked each other’s works and discussed doing something in the future. Seba was tied to Good Looking at the time and was in the process of getting out of his contract. I’m glad that I turned down an offer from Good Looking otherwise I would have been in the same position. I think we work well together because we have vast experience in what we individually bring to the table. Again that’s something crafted over time and It can only get better I think as professional musicians. We’ve often toyed with the idea of an artist album but have chosen the 12” routes instead. That’s not to say it’s out of the question, and it may be something we’ll look at again post-pandemic.

Breakbeats has always been at the very heart of your music. What was it that did it for you and continues to do so?

It’s the spine of the music and without it dance music falls apart. The 1970’s funk breaks spawned so many forms of underground music and jungle is hands-down the diverse child of funk. There are many styles of Drum and Bass and that’s what makes it wider compared to other genres with breaks. I appreciate many forms of it. Take Marlon Equinox’s tracks for example who is one of the best is the breakbeat business. I could listen to an Equinox set all day long. People put us in the same bracket and his style is very different to mine which makes D’n’B’s versatility unique. Equinox tracks focus on the twisted science of breakbeat editing whereas mine follow a funk code with fills that fold and focusing on the prominent 1 of an 8 bar loop to keep a funk flow and swing, but all the patterns are from the 70’s. I don’t talk about it as its quiet nerdy but it’s just an example of how versatile jungle is with breakbeats compared to other genres. Stuff like this is important to me and no matter how long I’ve been doing it it’s a craft that I’m constantly re-tuning.

You worked with the legendary Herbie Hancock. How was that experience and how did it come about?

That came about via Bill Laswell’s A&R department after meetings in USA and Germany. He’s such a legend worldwide. One of the things Herbie said was ‘That cat can swing’ which I’ll take to my grave as one happy Indian drum programmer.

What have been some of the most memorable moments from your journey in music so far?

Making music that gets recognised brings many opportunities and for me travelling the world more times than I can remember hands-down has been the golden ticket. Looking ahead there are still moments to come though, one being my 200th vinyl release next year with a special manufacturing invoice for my distributor that’s going to go down like a lead balloon.

Follow Paradox here; Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Octa4 / Proceed is out this Friday. Pre-order/buy here.

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