It’s December and Christmas is upon us. Daylight is short, the temperature is dropping and the nation is being battered with extreme winds. To make matters worse, both of Manchester’s table topping teams have crashed out of the Champions League, Euro zone economics are in tatters and I’m missing FWD>> tonight with one of the finest lineups to-date. But don’t worry because there is a cure for all this hullabaloo. The masterminds behind Hedmuk and TRUSIK have decided to combine powers and bring forth an exclusive feature in the lead up to one of the biggest release dates in dubstep history. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just have a look at what’s dropping on Monday December 12th. In the meantime, check out this interview I did with Hedmuk’s bossman, and meditate to the exclusive dubplate mix he put together for us.
TRUSIK: Easy chief. First up, so that the readers are familiar, what is your name, where are you from and what is your current occupation?
WILL: My name’s Will Pritchard and I’m originally from North Yorkshire but currently studying in my final year of University in Manchester. I run Hedmuk with Sam Mosely, who hails from Bristol and also studies in Manchester.
TRUSIK: How did the idea of Hedmuk come about?
WILL: It began on a bit of a whim, really: I met Sam within my first couple of days in Manchester and we got talking about music, in particular about the dubstep scene that was seeing some positive progression at the time. He had suggested the idea of running a blog but I don’t think that either of us really thought much of it until he sent me text that just said: “Name for the blog: Hedmuk?”. I suppose our original idea was just to post about producers, tunes and releases that we were particularly feeling at the time. It wasn’t until I had interviewed first Dark0 and then Damu that we realised that giving what we were doing a bit of structure could potentially provide a decent promotional base for some of these artists. Ultimately we just want to push good music: I’m not interested in being negative about things when we could be spending our time more effectively in telling people about what’s good.
TRUSIK: You’ve interviewed a broad range of DJs and producers providing the bass scene with a series of in-depth features and brilliant mixes. Who would you like to see Hedmuk interviewing in 2012?
WILL: That’s a tough one, as there’s a real wealth of talent within the wide umbrella of what might be termed “bass music”. There’s plenty of established artists whose take on building music I’d love to hear about, the likes of Cyrus or Distance, for example, who have been carving a genuinely original sound for so many years now. But then there’s so many newcomers too who are doing really exciting things with the sound. With the interviews, and Hedmuk in general for that matter, our focus is on pushing quality bass music in an inviting and, for want of a better word, simple style: not underground music just because it’s underground or popular music just because it’s popular, but good music that we’re enjoying and want to be able to share with others. We always try to seek a balance between featuring artists who already have a firm fan-base that wants to hear what they have to say, and up-and-comers who we want to introduce to a potential pool of new listeners.
TRUSIK: Favourite mix from your series so far, and why?
WILL: I suppose it sounds like a bit of a cop-out to say so, but I have genuinely really enjoyed all of the mixes we’ve had contributed. In curating the series, as it stands thus far, we’ve tried to build something that stands well as a collection of individual mixes as opposed to a list of competing sounds, if you know what I mean?
TRUSIK: You have recently teamed up with Goli & Ashburner and DEM Recordings. What are the prospects with this collaboration?
WILL: Goli & Ashburner are two of the most positive and hard-working guys we’ve had the pleasure of linking up with over the last couple of years, and the idea of actually making moves towards bridging the gap between grime and dubstep is something which really appeals to me as a fan of both forms of music. Having grown from similar roots I see it as a natural progression that the two should be combined in some way, and DEM is providing the sort of platform needed for this.
TRUSIK: Are there any other areas you would like to see Hedmuk break into in the future?
WILL: Well I’ve got things in mind, and I know Sam does too, but it’s probably best to keep things under wraps for the time being: we’re never ones to want to make hollow claims.
TRUSIK: You have put together a Hedmuk x TRUSIK dubplates mix. Can you briefly explain the thought process behind this mini project and the final mix.
WILL: The idea behind the project was basically to give a bit of extra exposure to some of the new or less-well-known producers out there. Other than hearing stuff played out on a decent system, a mix is probably the best way to experience this sort of music and I hope that I’ve been able to do the beats justice with the blends.
TRUSIK: Respect Will, thank you for your time. Is there anyone you would like to acknowledge?
WILL: Everyone?
TRACKLIST:
- Karma – Harsh Times…(Never Mind) [dub]
- Lack – Untitled 2 [dub]
- Legend4ry – Six Feet Deep [dub]
- KBeatz – 717 [dub]
- Reamz – Fear [dub]
- Percept – Corrupt [Forthcoming Innamind Records]
- Pistonsbeneath – Resonate [dub]
- Percept – Boxed In [dub]
- Arktrix – Creeper [dub]
- Ghost Note – Deception [Forthcoming Innamind Records]
- Karma – Soul Merchant [dub]
- Occult – Assassins [dub]
- My Nu Leng – Time Goes By [dub]
