Another week, another article on a killer Austrian drum & bass act.
We won’t go into details about the current hotbed of Austrian talent – we’ve covered it right here – but the sheer volume of high level D&B coming from Germany’s next door neighbour is immense and Dossa & Locuzzed are at the very front of this movement.
After a string of cameo appearances on Viper albums, the duo are now officially signed to Futurebound’s megabrand and dishing out batshit crazy fusions that tap into a range of drum & bass styles from jump up to disco. We copped Dance from their latest single Dance/Shag, it’s another fine example of their furious fusion.
For a partnership that only dates back to last year, the duo are on a serious trajectory right now. We caught up with them to find out their story so far and discuss shagging, ragga jungle and banana splits. Standard.
Austrian D&B… You guys are putting the UK to shame!
Dossa: Awesome. So many new producers coming! You just interviewed Phentix too didn’t you? Loads of stuff happening. Too much haha!
So you guys are based in St Polten – does that get overlooked in the shadow of Vienna?
Locuzzed: We’re only 60km away so we’re pretty close and every region has one key city. So in our region Vienna and St Polten run things.
Things have picked up for you very quickly as a duo but let’s get a slice of your history… Dossa you were on a Bristol label for a bit weren’t you?
D: Yes, Run Tingz. Three or four years ago I signed with them and did a few ragga jungle releases. Me and Rene (Locuzzed) have known each other for six years and have always respected each other’s opinion and perspective so we’ve been sending each other tunes for years. Then one day we hooked up.
So Dossa started on a ragga flex. Locuzzed where do you come from?
L: My first releases came on Crissy Criss’s label The Zoo Recordings. He pushed me a lot and was a really helpful. I was actually always more inspired by the neuro side of things, though, so I went to Mainframe which was a great fit for my sound and what I wanted to do.
Interesting you both came through on UK labels. Was it UK records that hooked you into D&B in the first place?
D: I got into it at 13/14 and it was actually Pendulum all the way… From them it was jump up with Taxman and all those guys and from there it was a logical move to ragga jungle.
L: I also came through Pendulum. Who didn’t? Hold You Colour had me addicted and from there I was checking mixes and exploring every style. Mainframe was a real inspiration for me because it was local and they were making some very strong statements.
Mainframe has been hugely important for the Austrian scene and drum & bass in general hasn’t it?
L: Disaszt is a genius at finding new talent – Fred V & Grafix, Camo & Krooked, The Prototypes, the list goes on.
D: We’re both proud to be part of the label’s ongoing history
Then along came Viper…
D: Yeah we’d been sending tunes to Brendan for a while and had a few appearances on their compilations like Summer Slammers, then we sent a few more tracks and he brought a deal to the table with a consistent platform and management – we can strictly focus on the music and nothing else.
You can be artists and not worry about the admin stuff I guess…
L: Exactly. Normally we’d make tunes and send it to three different labels one by one and wait till they respond. The music can get lost in that process. Now everything happens naturally.
Like a good shag I guess?
D: Word!
It’s a bit of an old fashioned word you know… Is there a trend in Austria of people using it or something?
L: No we just watched Austin Powers lately!
So I read in an interview that your thoughts on the release is about the natural mating process – first you dance together, then you shag. Right?
L: We had this discussion on different orders – do you shag someone first then dance? Or do you dance together then shag?
I’d have a shag sandwich – have a little dance with someone, have a cheeky shag, then have a dance to celebrate said shag.
D: Yes! We should have done a three track EP!
Why stop at three? There are other stages in this social situation… Dance / Talk / Drink / Chill. Between dancing and shagging there are other stages of familiarity.
L: Thanks for ruining the concept of our release.
No problem! I feel sorry for the people who aren’t very good dancers and can’t attract someone in that way.
D: Those guys usually become drum & bass producers and DJs.
Zing! Your quite good with your titles… Banana Split always stood out to me.
D: You should see the crappy working titles before the final ones – just ABCDE1 or whatever we can type at the time. There’s seldom any idea behind the title.
L: When it’s ready to send out and finalise we’ll sit down and listen and try and think of any connections. So with Banana Split the marimba sounds made us think about the sound of a spoon on the glass.
Very underrated dessert.
L: It totally is! The best thing you can do with ice cream and bananas. No question.
Amen. So…. There’s this ‘new jump up’ tag attached to what you’re doing right now. Obviously everyone hates subgenres and being pigeonholed. Buuuuuut….
D: Well it’s where we come from – Reini from neuro, me from ragga jungle. Both of us have had evolution in our own music so what we make together is everything we love, everything we’ve learnt and everything we want to achieve in a modern drum & bass style.
L: It’s all drum & bass at the end of the day!
You know this. What’s next?
L: A VIP of Beat Funk on Mainframe is coming soon. Plus our remix of Dope Ammo & Tali’s Cold Rock A Party is finally coming out too. Then the next step is a few more singles, EPs and constantly trying to develop our sound. Stay tuned!
Tune in: Facebook / Twitter / Soundcloud
