Interview

Black Sun Empire: On the Edge

Black Sun Empire spoke to the drum & bass website Dogs On Acid (DOA). We published a Russian translation of the interview at the time. DOA: Two parts of the Endangered Species LP are already out and the third is on its…

By yegor24 Sept 20077 min read

Black Sun Empire spoke to the drum & bass website Dogs On Acid (DOA). We published a Russian translation of the interview at the time.

DOA: Two parts of the Endangered Species LP are already out and the third is on its way. I remember you saying on the DNBA podcast that the album would feature a lot of collaborations. Was that the plan from the start, or did the album gradually turn into a compilation?

BSE: After the albums Driving Insane and Cruel & Unusual we no longer wanted to risk our sanity by trying to make a third album on our own—you can go crazy doing that! But on the other hand, we wanted to continue working on serious projects, because it is a lot of fun. So we decided to record a compilation album that would include both our music and other drum & bass that we like. So we had this idea from the outset.

DOA: How did you choose the musicians you wanted to work with on this album?

BSE: We simply approached the producers whose work we like and offered to work with them on the ''Endangered Species'', and fortunately for us, after we put sufficient pressure on them, many agreed.

DOA: What can we expect from the CD version of the album?

BSE: We want to create an album version for all music lovers, not just DJs, which is why the album is being released on two discs (just like the previous two albums). The first disc will contain tracks released on vinyl in the ''Endangered Species'' (for those DJs who play with CD, as well as for those music listeners who like intro and outro in tracks). The second disc will contain a mixed compilation of our tracks and tracks from our labels (there will be both tracks that have already been released and tracks that we are only planning to release).

DOA: Now that Endangered Species is finally finished, what can we expect from you as producers? And what is lined up for release on the labels?

BSE: We are planning to release several twelve-inch singles; besides that, we have discovered a new game called ''how to change the project speed in this Cubase!?'', and you will be able to find out later how it all ends

In the meantime, the following things can be expected to appear soon:

BSE Recordings: Telemetrik ( Marcio from Corrupt Souls ) – My Lightyear ( album)
Obsessions:
009: Cooh – Armeny / BSE – Monologue ( October) –
010: Trei – Day Away / BSE & D. kay – Bullet in the Head (TBC)

DOA: About your labels: I have heard that BSE sells on the same level as established drum & bass labels such as Metalheadz, RAM, Full Cycle and other recognised market leaders, yet you rarely get the attention you deserve. What do you think about that?

BSE: I think the sound we write and release is not as popular in UK, but it is highly respected outside England. That is why English DJs rarely play this kind of music in clubs or on BBC Radio and English magazines rarely write about us, whereas our sound is in great demand in other countries.

DOA: BSE are without doubt among the best drum & bass projects from the Netherlands. How does the Dutch drum & bass scene differ from the other places you have played?

BSE: A lot of good drum and bass is being produced in the Netherlands today; we have nothing to complain about here, and our parties are doing fine too: there are neither too many nor too few of them. Compare our scene with the rest of the world? Well, it is difficult to say anything specific about that, but I know for sure that we have the best Chocomel [translator’s note: chocolate-flavored milk made in the Netherlands].

DOA: More and more producers from your part of the world are emerging. Can the Netherlands compete with other countries in releasing drum & bass? Which of your artists should we keep an eye on?

BSE: YES! BRING IT ON! Besides Noisia, Limewax, Icicle, Martyn, Eye-D & Hidden, artists like Spinor, Eskalation & Lenzman are also gaining momentum!

DOA: Your MySpace has recordings of BSE performances from all over. Which trip was the craziest?

BSE: When we were touring New Zealand with The Upbeats and Concord Dawn we joked around, made noise and so on, and as a result, a nervous turtle that was nearby started running away like crazy.

DOA: Back to BSE: what is happening with your BLACKOUT parties? Whose DJ sets will we hear there soon?

BSE: The BLACKOUT parties have now been running for five years, and everything is going well. We decided that it was time to use another club to hold smaller parties there, which would allow us to bring over artists who do not yet attract such large audiences, whose sound we see as the future of drum& bassmusic. Klute had already played there, along with Jade, and it was simply great! Next up are two “big” BLACKOUT events with Bad Company UK, Vicious Circle & Noisia for October 5 and with TC, Teebee and The Upbeats (TBC) for December 7.

DOA: There are a lot of good producers on the global drum & bass scene right now. Who would you call the next big thing?

BSE: I don’t know how commercially successful they will be, but for me, those producers are Telemetrik & Audio. They are both currently working on solo albums and, it seems to me, these will be very successful releases!

DOA: I noticed that you sell your music through online stores such as Beatport and iTunes. We know that you already have some good experience selling licensed MP3 Music. What could you say or recommend to those labels that want to move to a digital format?

BSE: We believe in evolution and, despite vinyl’s undeniable appeal, there are new sound formats. Yes, the transition from vinyl to the format digital may be very difficult, but we need it. So we say: forward!!! One and the same distributor handles the distribution of our digital and vinyl releases—we don’t need to deal with multiple digital online stores, and both we and the distributor remain in business!

DOA: Can you share your current top 10?

BSE: