FREAKENSTEIN x DMX KREW interview

by Tristan Da Cunha / Images by courtesy of Ed Upton

Welcome to the first in a series of chats i have with some of the artists that inspire me and influenced my own style of playing and producing. First up is a man that needs little introduction if you are familiar with electronic music

Ed Upton or DMX KREW as most will know him, has a long history in the game and ridiculous discography full on gems and bombs. Never one to stick to a particular style, his spectrum is wide and deep. His live sets have been rocking clubs and festivals all over the globe and he is regarded as one of the pioneers of Electro and Techno in the UK alongside artists like Carl Finlow and Radioactive Man to name a few of his peers. To give you an example of how much i rate Ed , I always have about 4 or 5 of his records in my bag at any one time and numerous tracks on my hardrive. You can guarantee at least one of his tracks in every set I play especially the earlier stuff like the MPC Trax Series he did on his brilliant Breakin’ Records label. 

It’s a real pleasure to have this chat with Ed and i hope you’ll enjoy it as much as i did.  

Ed - let’s get straight to it: If you were imagining a musical family tree and ED DMX is the first son … who would be the grandparents , mum and dad, siblings and children ie the next gen ?  Basically who are the main influences that informed your sound and who are the next generation , ie new kids on the block that you are resonating with? It's nice for people just discovering you to be able to deep dive and go down some research rabbit holes and this could really set them on a trail of discovery?

“I think the things that influenced me most directly were Kraftwerk, Shep Pettibone, remixes of pop records (like Janet Jackson, Pet Shop Boys etc) and stuff like Parliament, Earth Wind & Fire and James Brown. Then I heard house and techno and that was huge, especially Juan Atkins. The other side of that was cheap instruments that were released by Casio & Yamaha that made it possible for me to experience electronic sound making at home.

Family Tree .. I guess James Brown / Earth Wind & Fire / George Clinton at the top, Kraftwerk underneath + all the 80s synth pop, then early house & techno and then me.

I dunno who you would put underneath. I don't hear anyone who sounds like me really. I hear people with similar influences, especially stuff that came at the same time as me that also affected me like Direct Beat, Twilight 76, Drexciya, Aphex Twin. I couldn't claim to be influential like those people.”

I listen to your Rinse FM show every month , it’s awesome. You’re such an amazing DJ but you mainly perform live. Why is that? I assume that you started out spinning / collecting wax before making the leap to music production and live performance.

“Thanks, mate! I got tired of turning up to gigs with 100 records to find that the decks were broken, no needles, feedback, turntables half as loud as the CDJs etc etc. Punters don't understand that it's not your fault, they just think you're shit. So after a few times of going to gigs and then just having to walk out, I retired.

I didn't feel like learning CDJs at that point. People seem to value 'live' more and offer better fees anyway. I did used to like DJ-ing though. The other thing is that (vinyl) DJ-ing is much harder on the ears cos you really have to concentrate, and mine are getting tired these days.

I was making my own music before i started DJ-ing. I started DJ-ing then people started asking me to after my first album came out. I decided that if I was gonna do it then I would practise and be good at it, so I did put in quite a few hours.

And then...... after I stopped DJ-ing and had some kids, I didn't have time to keep up with new releases and I didn't want to be an oldies DJ so that really confirmed it. I DJ once or twice a year these days.

Would like to learn USB DJ-ing but it's low on my list of priorities compared to making music and family.”

Would you like to be booked more for DJ-ing ?

“Not at all.”

Out of curiosity … What’s the first and last record you bought ?

“First single was 'Summer Nights' from Grease = not cool. MY first album was Kraftwerk’s “Man Machine" = cool af. last vinyl ones I bought were oldies: Sally Oldfield (Mike's sister) and Voice of Authority (old On-U Sound electronicish one). In my Bandcamp cart right now I have stuff from Knower (jazz funk pop muso music) a load of Tom Carruthers stuff (young guy doing very leanly produced retro nu groove / bleep / Detroit type stuff), new techno banger from Yazzus.”

What do your kids think about your music ? and what are they into ? Do you try and steer them towards instruments and music in anyway? Do they pay any interest in your record collection ?

“They are very young and not allowed to touch the records but they do request certain ones sometimes. Minnie Riperton is popular. Kraftwerk were big for a while (we use to play Kraftwerk as a roleplaying game where I would be Florian and my kids would be Wolfgang & Ralf etc). My oldest daughter is into stuff with female vocals mostly. we listen to Sia, Lawrence, Knower. They know a few of my more vocally tracks but mostly they find the lyrics too sad :( Cos I write a lot of breakup songs etc.”

So a few things i would love to know on a bit more of a nerdy vibe: The studio is on fire and you have to grab one piece of equipment … what would you save and why ?

“Hard drives! But actual gear I suppose my SH-101 because I can't lift the Rhodes on my own. Just cos it was my first analogue.”

Have you acquired any new toys ? Tell us about your latest hardware purchase… Have you used it on any tracks that have been released yet ?

“I went mad and bought the big Korg reissue of the Arp 2600 which is really nice. and also a Formant Elektor modular which is a synth from a 70s/80s electronics magazine where they published circuit diagrams and stuff each month. I found a retired engineer who built it new for me.”

What DAW do you use ? Any particular reason why you favour this one ?

“Ableton. No reason at all, haven't tried any others. Originally my mate was using it and we wanted to do stuff.”

When you are recording, is there a lot of work that happens in the computer or do you mainly work with the hardware and then just record the results ? How much do you work “in the box” as they say ?

“In terms of creation, 99% is live "outside the box" but in terms of time, those tiny EQ tweaks and edits on the computer take longer I guess. I just do jams but then I edit & do overdubs.”

I’ve heard you just record the master out when you bounce a track down and don’t use stems ? is that true? If so what’s the reason for this ? Is it laziness or because of a more practical reason like you feel it sounds better ?

“Often it's true but not always. These days I tend to record the basic track live but then do overdubs. The reason is that if you wanna do it fully live, you need a lot of time to sit with it and make sure the mix is right before you record. If you record stems or overdubs, you can tweak it later. Now I have a family, there's rarely a chance for me to have a 20 hour session, usually I record in 1 hour bursts so I just do what I can. I think it's the opposite of laziness to record finished stereo tracks, cos you have to get everything right at once. Also it does sound better in terms of that mysterious vibe that nobody can explain. It just does.”

You make so many tracks as well and have an incredible discography. Do you have a particular method or system when working on music. Something which allows you to get from jamming to finished idea quickly ?

“No - the ideas just come into my head and I try to record them before I forget. I dunno where they come from: space, god, the unconscious, who knows? the good ones feel more like discoveries than creations.”

Do you try get a track finished all in one go or do you work on a few things at once, switching between different projects?

“I try to finish them straight away otherwise it gets painful. recently I had about 8 unfinished tracks on my computer and it was doing my head in so I just deleted them. Much more fun to just move on to a new one. If it was gonna have a vibe, it would've got finished quicker I reckon.”

For someone like me who finds it hard to get things finished, what bit of advice could you give ?…. apart from the obvious “just finish it”?

“Just don't start the next one til you finish the current one.”

What percentage of the music you make actually makes it to market ?

“I dunno, maybe a fifth? Totally wild guess though.”

At this stage of your life / musical journey is there any boxes you’d still like to tick, maybe a collaboration or project with another artist or creative force?

“Yeah would still love to work with great musicians and singers but i am such a hermit. I have a possible thing on the go with a great keyboardist and an incredible singer & multi instrumentalist but not giving clues yet.”

Outside of music what are your other passions / hobbies ? … i know you like to play chess on your phone … i’ve seen you many a time dropping the queens gambit before you go on stage at the club.

“I don't play Queen's Gambit - I prefer the London System. One trick pony though, music is my life apart from my family.”

Then to bring things to a nice end: What’s next ? Anything in the pipes that you’re excited to tell us about ?

“I’m just sorting out a few new releases with a few labels, thinking about that collab i just mentioned. wanna spend more time with my new synths.”

Thank you, ED!