Dabrye (Ghostly International Records) - Interview
When I first heard Aphex Twin's 'I Care Because You Do', I knew I wanted to make music electronically.
| 13 Oct 2006
Glasgow seems to be turning into Tadd Mullinix's home-from-home, and the versatile producer is set to make his second visit to the city in two weeks.
Following a DJ appearance at Kinky Afro under techno alias James T. Cotton, he's due to showcase his hip-hop side with a Dabyre live set at the Numbers club with MC support from Kadence. The release of 'Two/Three', the second in a planned trio of albums, has invited critical acclaim and seen Mullinix finally actualize a long-term musical ambition - a full-length collaborative effort with a host of MCs. It followed a blueprint established by his earlier work with Phat Khat on 2003's 'Game Over', and legendary Detroit producer James Yancey a.k.a. Jay Dilla, who tragically died from lupus earlier this year.
Mullinix grew up in Rochester, Michigan, and hip-hop soon became his first love: artists such as Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy and Wu-Tang Clan became the soundtrack to his skateboarding youth. The arrival of the mid-nineties rave scene revealed new artists to him, such as Plastikman, Jeff Mills and Aphex Twin - the Cornish electronic virtuoso becoming a key musical inspiration: "When I first heard 'I Care Because You Do', I knew I wanted to make music electronically."
A move to Detroit satellite-town Ann Arbour saw his early musical forays take a more serious turn when he took a job at local record store, Dubplate Pressure. He began working with Todd Osborn, and the pair were soon sharing ideas and equipment, forming the Rewind label to release jungle output under their Soundmurderer and SK-1 monikers. It was at this point that Tadd first met Sam Valenti of Ghostly International. "I was a clerk. He was a customer. Sam heard from Todd that I made house. I gave Sam a cassette that had house but also tracks of other styles as well. He came back to me with a plan to release much of it on a label that wouldn't be defined by genre".
As it turned out, this tape formed the early musical foundations for his James T. Cotton and Dabrye output as well as material released under his own name. His decision to record under different guises stemmed from his appreciation of hip-hop, jungle and techno, though it wasn't planned.
"When I first started making music on my PC I was listening to my favourite labels and artists like Suburban Base Records, Autechre and Gangstarr," he explains. "I just liked a lot of different styles, all of which I could make with the PC, so I began making them, all at once. I only started creating aliases when I realized that it would be best to package each style differently in order to specialize for different audiences."
Now established with several musical personalities, he doesn't hold a particular preference for one over the other. "I like all the styles equally. Generally I'm in one mood or another each day. So I sit down in the studio with a certain style in mind naturally and then I mess around in that paradigm until I approach something interesting".
His 2001 debut album, 'One/Three', was one of Ghostly's early releases and unveiled the Dabrye signature sound. An instrumental fusion of glitchy, fizzing electronics melded to snapping, head-nod beats, it met with approval from several quarters. Next-up was mini-album 'Intsrmntl' on Scott 'Prefuse 73' Herren's Eastern Developments label, which saw the positive responses gain further momentum, reaching tipping point when Motorola picked One/Three's 'Hyped-Up Plus Tax' as the musical backdrop for its 'Hello Moto' TV ad campaign; the track is a perfect example of his electronica-meets-hip-hop sound.
The subsequent release of 'Two/Three' has seen Tadd build on this recognition of his musical talent and the encouragement received from musical mentor Jay Dilla, helping him produce a well-rounded long-player. While still displaying his signature electronic edge, it demonstrates an expansion of his palette of sounds and a range of MC talent - MF Doom, Platinum Pied Pipers' Wajeed, Beans, Wildchild and Vast Aire, to name a few. After positive responses from the hip-hop community, he's keen to work with other MCs: Almighty Dreadnaughts, Fat Killahs and Slum Village's Elzhi are all cited as potential recording partners ("They're sick and slept-on"), with a further goal of an all-Detroit album.
For his forthcoming appearance at Numbers he says to "expect a little showcasing of 'Two/Three' and a whole lot of new joints." After his well-received summer tour of the States, it's surely a night not to be missed.
Following a DJ appearance at Kinky Afro under techno alias James T. Cotton, he's due to showcase his hip-hop side with a Dabyre live set at the Numbers club with MC support from Kadence. The release of 'Two/Three', the second in a planned trio of albums, has invited critical acclaim and seen Mullinix finally actualize a long-term musical ambition - a full-length collaborative effort with a host of MCs. It followed a blueprint established by his earlier work with Phat Khat on 2003's 'Game Over', and legendary Detroit producer James Yancey a.k.a. Jay Dilla, who tragically died from lupus earlier this year.
Mullinix grew up in Rochester, Michigan, and hip-hop soon became his first love: artists such as Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy and Wu-Tang Clan became the soundtrack to his skateboarding youth. The arrival of the mid-nineties rave scene revealed new artists to him, such as Plastikman, Jeff Mills and Aphex Twin - the Cornish electronic virtuoso becoming a key musical inspiration: "When I first heard 'I Care Because You Do', I knew I wanted to make music electronically."
A move to Detroit satellite-town Ann Arbour saw his early musical forays take a more serious turn when he took a job at local record store, Dubplate Pressure. He began working with Todd Osborn, and the pair were soon sharing ideas and equipment, forming the Rewind label to release jungle output under their Soundmurderer and SK-1 monikers. It was at this point that Tadd first met Sam Valenti of Ghostly International. "I was a clerk. He was a customer. Sam heard from Todd that I made house. I gave Sam a cassette that had house but also tracks of other styles as well. He came back to me with a plan to release much of it on a label that wouldn't be defined by genre".
As it turned out, this tape formed the early musical foundations for his James T. Cotton and Dabrye output as well as material released under his own name. His decision to record under different guises stemmed from his appreciation of hip-hop, jungle and techno, though it wasn't planned.
"When I first started making music on my PC I was listening to my favourite labels and artists like Suburban Base Records, Autechre and Gangstarr," he explains. "I just liked a lot of different styles, all of which I could make with the PC, so I began making them, all at once. I only started creating aliases when I realized that it would be best to package each style differently in order to specialize for different audiences."
Now established with several musical personalities, he doesn't hold a particular preference for one over the other. "I like all the styles equally. Generally I'm in one mood or another each day. So I sit down in the studio with a certain style in mind naturally and then I mess around in that paradigm until I approach something interesting".
His 2001 debut album, 'One/Three', was one of Ghostly's early releases and unveiled the Dabrye signature sound. An instrumental fusion of glitchy, fizzing electronics melded to snapping, head-nod beats, it met with approval from several quarters. Next-up was mini-album 'Intsrmntl' on Scott 'Prefuse 73' Herren's Eastern Developments label, which saw the positive responses gain further momentum, reaching tipping point when Motorola picked One/Three's 'Hyped-Up Plus Tax' as the musical backdrop for its 'Hello Moto' TV ad campaign; the track is a perfect example of his electronica-meets-hip-hop sound.
The subsequent release of 'Two/Three' has seen Tadd build on this recognition of his musical talent and the encouragement received from musical mentor Jay Dilla, helping him produce a well-rounded long-player. While still displaying his signature electronic edge, it demonstrates an expansion of his palette of sounds and a range of MC talent - MF Doom, Platinum Pied Pipers' Wajeed, Beans, Wildchild and Vast Aire, to name a few. After positive responses from the hip-hop community, he's keen to work with other MCs: Almighty Dreadnaughts, Fat Killahs and Slum Village's Elzhi are all cited as potential recording partners ("They're sick and slept-on"), with a further goal of an all-Detroit album.
For his forthcoming appearance at Numbers he says to "expect a little showcasing of 'Two/Three' and a whole lot of new joints." After his well-received summer tour of the States, it's surely a night not to be missed.
Dabrye (Ghostly International, Eastern Developments) & Kadence (live) with Nok La Rok, Goodhand DJ and VJ Retina Glitch, Numbers, Glasgow School of Art Vic Bar, Glasgow, Sept 8, £10, doors 10pm-3am.
http://www.dabrye.com/
http://www.dabrye.com/