05 April 2011
The Stanton Warriors couldn't care less if you’re off your face at one of their gigs, just as long as you’re going mental on the dancefloor. “Obviously you want everyone to go mental and demand one more tune,” says Dominic Butler, one half of the UK breakbeat duo.
“Whether it takes drugs to make them do that, alcohol, music, or weather, that’s when I know I’ve done my job, that’s my goal. I’ll do anything to get them toward that goal.”
The Bristol duo named themselves after a manhole cover that other half, Mark Yardley tripped over in London over a decade ago. The twosome have been filling floors and radio airwaves throughout the scene’s underground ever since; and are fully aware of the type of crowd that comes with the territory. Butler laughs as he chats openly about drugs and the Australian masses they performed to this year on their January tour. “The drugs are pretty shit in Australia, apparently,” he surmises.
Peakers and vices aside, the DJ producers are more concerned about getting their genre-crossing sound heard than how their fans choose to listen to it. Their latest offering, The Warriors, is also their first “real album,” says Butler; this could be down to the fact they’ve spent 90% of their career on tour.
“We’ve spent so much time touring, we’ve done some great live gigs, been around the world, met lovely people, did big remixes, been in award winning mix comps; but we haven’t had a real album out.”
After enduring three major labels, The Warriors was released through their own label, Punks last month. The album debuted at #1 on the Australian dance charts, in the top 20 everywhere else and their single Get Up currently sits pretty in the top 10 on the Alternative Chart. They're accolades Butler says come from staying true to their timeless twist on garage and hip hop.
“You lose a lot of power with your major labels, you get rigged in to doing things you don’t want to do,” he avers. “The fact that we’re doing underground stuff and although it has evolved, we’ve kept our sound for over a decade. We haven’t jumped into dub step or house, we’ve kept to our ethos.”
Like many artists, Butler doesn’t believe his sound can be pegged to a genre. It may sound smug but to him, it’s always been about audience reaction.
“If it sounds good we’ll put a beat on it, call it whatever you want but if it works then people will dance to it.”
It’s true the Stanton Warriors got their start like most DJs, remixing other artists’ music, but the distinctive sound and independent route they've taken has become their blueprint for industry success. Up and coming artists are now vying for a cameo on a Stanton track, with the new album showcasing up and comers Hollywood Holt and Ruby Goe. Both artists have now signed record deals as a result.
“I think it’s nice to work with new raw talent as opposed to going with famous name," Butler says. "The whole process is much more organic, the people that are working on the album are happy to work on it because they like our music not because we’re big superstars and we’ve paid them money to.”
The Warriors is out now through Punks.
No comments:
Post a Comment