It isn’t often that you can top a first release but Drew Dabble certainly has. Flipside, his second Untidy release, continues his run of club bangers!
You’re back with your second release on Untidy, hot on the Heels of ‘What Ya Sayin and this time it’s even more of a bass driven monster. You must be pleased with this release?
Hey Johnny! Yeah it’s great to be back on Untidy mate. I’m always my own biggest critic so let’s so how the record’s received before I start blowing my own trumpet lol…
You live in Australia but you aren’t actually from there. How did that happen?
I have dual citizenship thanks to my parents so I came back out here four years ago with some friends to travel around and enjoy this beautiful country.
You will be performing at the Tidyland Weekender, do you think you’ll ever come back here to live?
Three days at the weekender is tough enough, not sure I could live there!
Ah no… I’m really looking forward to Tidyland, must be at least 10 years since I’ve been to a Weekender.
If the music career ever takes off I’ll probably move back to Europe but for the moment I’m trying to take advantage of the opposite seasons and catch both Summers!
Flipside is a divine concoction of trippy sounds walloped by a wet and wobbly bassline, would you agree?
Yes it’s a pretty weird and wobbly concoction of sounds in this one. I’ve used a completely different production technique for this track that involves a lot of resampling. The lead sound is basically a sliced up sample with a vocoder and LFO heavily automated which creates those weird and wobbly pitch bends along the way, layer that with some FX and you’re pretty much there. The drums and vocals just carry that chaos throughout the track.
You were one of the lucky ones, whilst we were in Lockdown with no clubs you actually got to play your tracks out in clubs to road test them whilst we Brits had to endure a long and painful break from clubland. How was that?
Well the past two years have been a nightmare for everyone really, we seem to be up and running when you guys are locked down and vice versa! We’ve been pretty lucky in Oz in fairness and the first time I got to play my music out was on a boat party in Sydney Harbour, certainly put a massive smile on my face.
The scene in Australia is awesome and they have such a good community vibe going on in the clubbing world especially in Sydney and Melbourne. There’s plenty of Irish and English crews doing their thing as well and I always love playing to that crowd or being amongst them on the dance floor.
What is the scene like in Oz right now? What are the dominant sounds?
The scene seems to still be in recovery mode due to previous lockdowns and border restrictions but there are signs of festivals coming back next year which is such a buzz because the festivals over here are unreal! We are all due a good festival at this stage.
In terms of sound they have as much diversity as any other scene but the bass heavy tech house stuff seems to be on a roll here at the moment.
How do you create your unique sound?
I’m still trying to figure out what my unique sound is lol! I really love all styles of music so I’m easily influenced and tend to end up with different sounding tracks all the time. The idea is to try create something different and push some boundaries which will either work out or be an absolute disaster haha. I also try to incorporate some influences from the old Hard House stuff I grew up listening to.
The Untidy sound is so diverse now, what advice or tips would you give anyone wanting to create tough house music?
It’s great to see Untidy back up and running with such a diverse range of music to what the OG Untidy sound was/is. So good to hear all the UX remixes of the classics as well.
Best piece of advice I think is to just have fun in the studio while making this style of music and try not to put too much pressure on yourself to get signed. Your best work will come to you when you least expect it.
Do you have a favourite piece of hardware or soft synth that is your always go to?
I’ve sold a heap of my studio gear recently so I’m just left with the laptop, my Roland TR8S and my trusty Adam A7Xs. So seeing as the TR8S is the last bit of hardware left, that’s clearly my favourite. My favourite soft synths would be all of the U-HE stuff and the Korg plugins. Also the soothe2 was a game changer for my mixdowns and Ableton is what ties it all together.
What else have you been working on?
My last release for this year is a single on Eats Everythings Edible Beats. I think I have another EP coming early next year on Untidy, we just have to try clear some vocal samples. Patrick Topping has signed another track I think but we need to finalise that one so I’m working on some other tracks to try turn that into an EP. Also working with a new label and trying to finalise some new tracks that will be out next year…so yeah my Christmas holidays will mostly be spent in the studio!!:) When I’m not in the studio I work as an Architectural Drafter but I won’t bore you guys with that stuff.
Will there be an artist album from you?
No I can’t imagine doing an album for my Drew Dabble stuff but I have another alias I’ve been working on for a number of years and finally know what direction I want to take that in. I’ll probably do a body of work for that at some stage and see if I can turn it into an album, just need to find the time!
Who would you most like to work with and why?
Maya Jane Coles has always been one of my favourites so I’d love to get the chance to see how she works. She’s just such an incredible producer and I’ve seen her play live so many times.
You’re stranded on a desert island, a bit like Australia but picture it without the luxuries… You do have a record player… what three records would you take with you?
Rupert Holmes – Escape (Piña Colada Song)
Groove Armada – Superstylin
Limp Bizkit – It’ll be Ok (I will never get sick of that guitar intro)
So finally, what’s it like being on the Flipside of the planet?
Slightly homesick thanks to the ‘C’ word!!
Download & Stream this release here: https://untidy.fanlink.to/Flipside
