Constantly at the cutting edge of dance music since the turn of the millennium, Hyper is a DJ in world-wide demand. From the Far East to Australia, across the breadth of the United States and throughout Europe, his sets are never less than perfect, blending blistering beats and ripping bass with a panache that is the envy of the dance world.
His past as a compiler of the mix CD is unparalleled. Starting the lauded ‘Y3K’ series that set the pace in the leftfield, progressive spheres, Hyper upped the ante with a pair of superlative mixes under the ‘Bedrock Breaks’ banner before branching out into the endless possibilities of his last set, the high-tech masterpiece ‘Wired’, on his own Kilowatt imprint.
His recent output has seen him forming a kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll band under the Hyper moniker, featuring erstwhile Prodigy member Leeroy, ex-Pitchshifter axe-spanker Jim Davies and The Light and PFNs main-man Ronnie. Their critically acclaimed ‘We Control’ album took them out of the clubs and onto the stages of festivals all over the globe, including Glastonbury, Glade, the Sziget Festival in Hungary and Coliseo Ciudad de Atarfe in Spain.
His latest offering ‘Rewired’, released on 5th November through Kilowatt, goes back to his DJ roots, picking up where he left off, effortlessly looping and twisting some of the most on point sounds around into an hour long excursion through a highly charged selection of floor smashing cuts that have been the mainstay of his record bag on recent gigs.
We caught up with him recently to get his views on tracks, vinyl, breaks, mince, rinse and Family Guy?....
1. Hello Guy, how are you?
Fair to middling thank you very much. Busy, busy…
2. What have you been up to this year?
Putting the final touches to artist album number two mostly outside of a load of DJing. I have done a few gigs with the band too although that’s on a back burner ‘til we finish the album and get back on the road. I’ve also been working on a project with a Chinese rock singer for release early next year in the big place. Just finished a remix of ‘Busy Child’ for The Crystal Methods ‘Vegas’ 10 year re-issue.
3. Tell us about Rewired. What’s it all about?
It’s the follow up to Wired which came out a few years back. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last 2 years writing music for albums which I take a different approach to. I basically thought it was time to get back to the dancefloor, so I wrote a few more club tracks and put ‘Rewired’ together. It’s a comp that I’m very proud of, it jumps from Breaky stuff to House to Electro with a heavy rock slant.
4. Do you think it’s an exciting time for music at the moment?
Yes I do. It’s all change! I think people are at last starting to think outside the box a wee bit. I think it was getting a bit stagnant with everyone just rollin gout more of the same. The French sound is pretty exciting. It’s heavy on distortion the same way as the NSB is/was on the bottom end. Noise annoys (which is nice).
5. What are the best three tracks in your bag right now?
Alex Metric ‘Pins’
Hyper & Jhz ‘Computer Says No!’
Aaren San ‘Osclownyz’ Blende remix
Nine Inch Nails’ Phones remix and ‘No Rockstars’ are still, er rocking it though!
6. Do you still play with vinyl?
Yeah, I throw it around the garden as a frisby!
7. You DJ world-wide, where are the best new scenes popping up?
Eastern Europe is the most exciting place I find. I love playing in places like Romania where it’s all still fresh and exciting, we just did a festival in Hungary too which was awesome. I also like getting out to the far east.
8. What can’t you travel without?
My passport.
9. How healthy do you think the dance scene is at the moment?
Healthier than me, I must go out for a nice run! The scene is growing again I believe. If the Chems are still getting number 1 albums, how bad can it be?
10. How’s your new artist album coming along? Is it with the band again?
‘We Control’ wasn’t really written with the band, we (me and Ronnie) put that together after the album was finished because it felt like a natural progression from where the album ended up. We are currently mixing down the album. I’m writing this from the mix studio where I really ought to be working. Oops!
11. What would be your fantasy remix?
Off the top of my, head something by the Pistols or ‘Rise Above’ by Black Flag.
12. Who are the best producers, old or new out there right now.
I really like a lot of what Vandal and Alex Metric do, also really like Punks Jump Up , South Central and Digitalism.
13. What plans do you have for Kilowatt?
Releasing some more of my tracks. The next single (taken from ‘ReWired’) is a collaboration I did with Jhz called ‘Computer Says No!’ with a remix by Hystereo.
14. There are a lot of keen readers on NSB, and we know you are too, what are you reading at the moment and can you recommend any good books you’ve read recently?
Good question!! Really enjoyed AA Gills ‘Angry Island’ it was good to see that I really am a stereotypical Brit. It doesn’t make you feel that proud either! My new favourite book is called ‘Address Unknown’. It’s an old book written after the second world war about two Jewish guys in the run up to WW2 one living in US and one moving from US back to Germany. It’s such a clever book with a few twists and turns. It’s only about 50 pages long too so you can read it in no time. I think everyone should read it! I also like most things by Andrey Kurkov.
15. Have you been playing much cricket this summer?
Fuck all! Three games, gutted!
16. What is going to be the next big thing? (technology, music, whatever)
The Sinclair C5.
17. What does FTW stand for?
For the win!
18. South Park or Family Guy?
Family Guy.
19. Lager or Bitter?
Depends…
20. Mince or Rinse?
Mince for home made burgers… yum! Although, you do have to rinse your hands after touching any raw meat. Remember that please everyone!
DJ HYPER - REWIRED
LABEL: KILOWATT
RELEASED: NOVEMBER 5TH 2007
Cat No: KWTTCD033
http://www.myspace.com/hyperuk
Login
Register
FAQ
