The London-based Irishman known as Zero T returns with a vengeance as he prepares to unleash an ungodly amount of tunes in the months ahead. With a number of solo bits, remixes and collabs with Fierce and Beta 2 already causing a stir among the heavy-hitters, stick around after the jump for a sneak peek at what the future holds in the form of an exclusive guest mix.
Before we get into things let’s take a look back at your childhood growing up in Ireland. What sort of music do you remember your parents listening to around the house?
My parents lived in the States in the mid-70’s and my dad amassed a huge jazz collection, so there was a lot of that. They’re pretty big classical fans too along with some folk and a smattering of Irish trad music as well.
Were your parents or family members particularly musical or into music?
My father was what I’d describe as a very good amateur guitarist; my mum can play a bit of piano and does a mean a capella of “Crazy” by Patsy Cline! But one of my older brothers is a talented musician. He started off playing guitar in the early ‘90s and moved to drums. He can also play keys, was involved in the ‘90s Acid Jazz scene in London and is a persistent influence on me musically to this day.
Did you receive any formal music training growing up?
I did the preliminary grades on piano when I was a preteen, but stopped when it started getting hard – a decision I regret massively. I can pick chords on a piano, but I couldn’t play live.
At what point does electronic music and d&b in particular enter the picture for you? Do you remember your first exposure to jungle/d&b?
One of my friends in Dublin was a bedroom DJ and he turned me onto Jungle in ‘94/’95. I was previously heavily into the Bristol “wild bunch” stuff and what I reluctantly refer to as trip-hop (hate that name!) and the first time I heard a Dillinja amen I was like: “WHAT THE F IS THAT!!!” Within a year I bought my friends’ old decks and I was hooked.
Who were some of the artists/labels that you cite as responsible for getting you hooked and what was it about that sound that caught your ear?
I still remember one of the first CDs I bought (before I thought about owning decks) was the Tech Steppin LP on Emotif. The first time I went out buying vinyl, I came back with the same LP, Jonny L’s “Im Leavin,” J Majik’s “Your Sound” and Dillinja’s “Angels Fell.” Once I started getting into DJing I was mostly obsessed with No U Turn, Metalheadz, early Future Forces stuff and anything Dillinja had an involvement in.
When I was in what’s called “transition year” in school in Ireland (16 yrs old) I even wrote to Nico to ask if I could do work experience at No U-Turn studios…I never got a reply! (I’m still up for it Mr. Sykes – I’ll send you my CV). I can’t explain why this sound caught my ear so thoroughly, but it was (and remains) unmatched in its effect on me.
From what I understand, before there was d&b there was hip-hop – if we asked you to do a classic hip-hop session who would you would absolutely, positively have to drop on us?
The big ones for me were [A Tribe Called Quest’s] “Low End Theory,” [Nas’] “Illmatic,” Gangstarr and everything Pete Rock or J Dilla ever touched.
In your mind do you see a natural progression or connection between hip-hop and drum & bass?
I saw jungle as the UK form of hip hop. The concept is the same (I’m referring to hip hop beats/instrumentals, not the vocal element) for both forms. My approach to making music is essentially the same as a hip hop producer: recontextualising disparate elements into a new form. It’s the music I still listen to more than any other and will always have a massive influence on anything I do.
Now, you originally started out as a DJ, yeah? At what point does production enter the picture?
Shortly after I started getting gigs with Bassbin I realised that making tunes was the only way to make a go of this. The Bassbin collective at that time was organically set up with 2 DJs of each particular style of dnb at the time, so in one night you would have one guy playing all Paradox and Reinforced stuff, another playing pure dark Blue Note styles and then someone coming on and playing a full on Bristol set. The idea at the time was to translate that diversity into a record label, so we all started trying to make tunes that reflected our own styles in the hope we’d end up with something akin to Metalheadz/Reinforced/Full Cycle.
What was your first set-up like?
My first set up was a studio share with another guy involved in Bassbin (DJ Elmo/Natty Ted). I bought an EMU ESI4000, he had a PC with Cubase on it, a Yamaha Digital Desk, a Novation SuperBassStation and a Roland JP8080…there may have been a Focusrite Compressor in there too, if I remember correctly.
This was all in Dublin when you were going by the name Zero Tolerance – at what point did you decide to make the move to the UK and how was that transition overall?
My brother had lived in and around London since ‘96, so I’d been coming over to check anything I could blag my way into (being underage) and buy records. Then from 1999/2000 onwards I was releasing for labels over here (starting with Reinforced) and was over and back regularly. In 2006/07 I decided to make the move and haven’t looked back since.
Did dropping the “Tolerance” part of your name have anything to do with moving to the UK?
Haha – no… it’s simple practicality. Zero Tolerance is still my name, I just don’t use it in its full form because it’s too long for posters and flyers. Also, after years of performing with MCs trying to find rhymes for the word ‘tolerance’, I thought I’d cut them some slack and abbreviate it.
Flash forward to the present and you have not only earned a spot in the upper echelons of the dnb elite as a producer but also as a remixer. Give us a sense of what your typical workflow looks like when working on a remix.
I do love remixing. It offers a specific challenge within a tight framework and you have to make something good, that you feel sounds like “you,” out of whatever is in front of you. I think I thrive under those conditions.
Take the Kolectiv – “Dog Pad” remix for example, that was one where I had the choice of a bunch of tracks to pick from. I instantly heard an idea in my head which took elements from two tracks and combined them into a hybrid remix a la “Lifecrisis” or “MindScan.” After loading in some of my own drum kits, I stripped out the riff from one tune and made a bassline/lead out of it and then got the strings and pads from the other tune and got them running together. From there I just worked on the main groove of the bass and drums, incorporating percussion elements from the original tracks. Once I had the drop and the first 32bars locked, it pretty much wrote itself.
After a bit of a quiet period you seem to be hitting it hard in the coming months release-wise. First up we have this absolutely beautiful single on Prestige that has been causing quite the stir. Give us a sense of when these tunes came together for you and how they came to find a home on Prestige.
Yeah, I’ve been away from the studio for quite a while, so these two tracks were some of the first ones from my new batch. I won’t say what the title is, but I was watching an old film on TV and heard a piece of music that grabbed me and instantly made me want to build something around it. From there I just did what the sample told me to.
You seem to have been spending some time with Fierce in the studio – give us a sense of your relationship with Danny and how these tunes due out on Quarantine came about.
I’ve known Dan since ‘98/’99 from when he used to come over to destroy Bassbin nights on a regular basis. He’s an Irish Lad (don’t let the accent fool you!) and he’s been an inspiration since I first found out about him. His age had a lot to do with it initially, but once he started coming over to Dublin to play, we made him a part of the family. The tunes all came about very organically and it’s proving to be very satisfying partnership. We’re about to master two 12’s for Quarantine and have another couple on the boards at the moment. People may be surprised at the fact that we’re making tunes together, but despite the differences in our so called styles, our approach and work ethic line up seamlessly. So watch out… the Paddies are coming!
You’ve got plenty more bits in the pipeline so fill us in on all the details and then let us know what kind of vibes we can expect from the mix!
I’ve been working hard over the summer to get a batch of releases ready. Along with the Quarantine stuff with Fierce and the Prestige 12” you mentioned, I have a follow up EP to the Roxy Music EP for Dispatch, a five tracker due at the turn of the year. Another one I’m really excited about it my debut on Metalheadz Platinum with my oldest collaborator Beta 2. We have a 3 tracker (2 collabs and one solo from Beta2) being mastered this week. Other than that, I have a VIP of my remix of Kolectiv due on Scientia and have just signed a track with Friction – can’t say any more about that just yet…but stay tuned to my Soundcloud and Twitter for updates!
MIX LINK HERE
Tracklist:
1.ZERO T – LATE NITE MOVIES [DISPATCH]
2.ZERO T – ROXY MUSIC VIP [DISPATCH]
3.PENNYGILES + SEVIN – UNTITLED [DUB]
4.ULTERIOR MOTIVE – SIDEWAYS [METALHEADZ]
5.JESSIE WARE + SAMPHA – VALENTINE [ZERO T BOOTLEG]
6.FIERCE + D BRIDGE – FOREVER [DUB]
7.ZERO T – ROUNDWOOD [PRESTIGE]
8.BETA 2 + ZERO T – ELECTION [METALHEADZ PLATINUM]
9.ULTERIOR MOTIVE – OPEN UP [METALHEADZ]
10.FIERCE + ZERO T – BACK [QUARANTINE]
11.ZERO T – EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE [DUB]
12.KOLEKTIV – DOGPAD [ZERO T VIP] [SCIENTIA]
13.FIERCE + ZERO T – SEE THROUGH [QUARANTINE]
14.FIERCE + ZERO T – SUNSHINE [QUARANTINE]
15.ICICLE ft SKITTLES – PROBLEMS [SHOGUN]
16.BETA 2 + ZERO T – WHATS WRONG [METALHEAZ PLATINUM]
17.STEO – THE TRUTH [DUB]
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