When it comes to producing dancefloor-orientated smashers, there aren’t many more around more capable than Tantrum Desire.
The Technique Recordings powerhouse consisting of Jay, who looks after the production side of things, and Devon, who joins Jay for the live sets, has played a big (and loud) part in modern-day drum & bass since forming in the early noughties, with a string of releases all picking up widespread support.
Their debut album – Tantrum Desire – Diversified – is their biggest body of work to date (in terms of both length and sound) that will no doubt only enhance their reputation as connoisseurs of serious dancefloor destruction.
“Yeah I’m looking forward to it man,” grins Jay. “I was writing it for about a year and a half so it’s finally about the time to share it with people. I can’t wait to hear what everyone thinks of it.”
It wasn’t all plain sailing, though…
“When writing a large body of work, every producer hits a brick wall at some stage,” he says. “This happened to me at one point, and all I could think was ‘oh shit, there are no more ideas coming into my head, how the hell am I going to write a whole album worth of music!?’ but it’s just one of those creative challenges you learn to overcome.”
We’re thankful that Jay managed to smash the dreaded brick wall down and we’re now fully excited for the album to drop next week. We hope you are too…
Diversified: The title says it all…
“The reason it’s called Diversified is because it’s a mixture of different styles all in various shapes and forms. When I got stuck at a certain tempo during the process of producing it I just switched things up, which helped me to refresh my mind when things got a bit samey.
“Although I’m mainly a drum & bass producer, I listen to a lot of other genres too including deep house, so when I’m not producing things at 170 bpm I tend to mess around with housey bits. Some of those then develop into actual house tracks that I release! I like all kinds of music, though, and try to spread across the board as much as possible.
“I hope this album shows people that I can produce a range of different sub-genres and also that I can mix things up when it comes to making music. I’m curious to see what response people have to all the different styles.”
I didn’t just want to have an album of dancefloor smashers, as this can get a bit repetitive for the listeners. Instead of just being an album that people can listen to in clubs, it’s also an album that can be listened to at home. Every track has a different feel, shape and form.
The first releases give an indication of what’s to come
“I didn’t expect Oblivion to get the response it has got whatsoever; it seems as if everyone has accepted it, which is wicked.”
“We’ve been dropping Pump for a while now in our sets and it’s one of those big-sounding club tracks that goes off every time. I thought I’d give everyone on Facebook a glimpse of what’s to come on the album, which is why I posted a short clip of it being played a few weeks ago. It’s a completely different track to Oblivion and, like I said before, a completely different track to the rest of the album!”
It’s a carefully written album that combines a number of elements, as well as a number of genres
“Some producers like to tell a story with their album, but with this one I’m gonna leave that to the listeners’ imaginations. However, I did base the whole album on the idea of elements, so in some tracks you’ll hear water and in others you’ll hear fire, for example. This idea of different elements can be seen on the front cover too, and it gives the album quite an atmospheric feel.
“I didn’t just want to have an album of dancefloor smashers, as this can get a bit repetitive for the listeners. Instead of just being an album that people can listen to in clubs, it’s also an album that can be listened to at home. Every track has a different feel, shape and form.
“I kept working on little bits as I went along, which is a different way to how I’ve written in the past. I tried to leave the tracks alone after they were done, otherwise you can find yourself going around in circles, never actually finishing a track. This different way of producing has definitely helped the creative process.”
It’s released on the back of a healthy relationship between the label bosses and the producer
“I’ve been on Technique since around 2008 and I love it. I’ve got a really good relationship with Drumsound & Bassline Smith and I also appreciate how they’re really open-minded when it comes to new music; they always give new producers a chance to show what they can do. There’s a collaboration with them on the album, as well as one with Matrix & Futurebound.”
They’re already working on new material…
“I’m not going to have a break after it’s released, I’m gonna go straight back into the studio instead! Now that it’s out of the way, I can get on with some other stuff I’ve had planned for a while, mainly more singles. There’s also an American and a Canadian tour lined up which should be fun. The scene is really strong over in America right now. Drum & bass is being played in places like Hollywood which shows how far it’s come!”
Tantrum Desire – Diversified is out June 28: Support
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