INTERVIEW: DJ DARA PART II

Continued from: Part I

It seems over the years Drum 'n Bass evolved from the very danceable organic Jungle music into a sound that became darker and heavier, with a sort of industrial and death metal feel. On the extreme end of electronic dance music there is Gabber, and it seems DnB can become even more extreme. What direction you think the new breed of DnB producers will take?

"There is still a wide variety of DnB being produced but for whatever reason the harder & darker style really took root in the US and has been the dominant sound here for quite a while. Personally, I’m not into the more extreme end of the DnB spectrum in the same way as I’m not into the more extreme end of the techno spectrum ie: gabber as they both lack a certain groove that I need to move me. I was dancing before I was DJing so I figure that’s where I’m coming from in deciding what I like, albeit not consciously. Perhaps it’s because I was never a fan of heavy metal or rock music in general when I was growing up. Or perhaps it’s because I shared a room with 2 brothers who are jazz musicians (coincidentally one is a drummer and the other plays bass). Anyway there are a slew of talented new producers covering the whole spectrum of DnB and hopefully they will take it in new directions and blow us all away."

Are you a traditionalist sticking to vinyl or can we see you playing from a laptop one of these days?

"I was a vinyl junkie long before I was a DJ and I don’t see that changing any time soon as you can see by checking my wantlist here. There’s always more tunes to be bought. I do play some things off cd but only because they aren’t on vinyl yet. Also, being the owner of a record store and label I also feel I should set an example and continue to play vinyl as much as possible.

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