NEWS
EVENTS
Danny Byrd Interview
Drum and Bass | Tuesday 25th June 2013 | Jenny
To celebrate the launch of his much anticipated 'Golden Ticket' album, I caught up with Hospital Records' one and only Danny Byrd.
Guestlist Network: I was at your crazy ‘Rave Digger’ launch party at East Village in 2010! How was the Golden Ticket party back in your hometown?
Even crazier I guess! The East Village thing was cool and had great vibes, but London is not my hometown - so there’s that extra level of excitement when you play to a home crowd. We had London Elektricity come and play and he's never played in Bath before so that was really special. All my family were there too, so it was a very drunken party. I had to play Parklife in Manchester the next day and really struggled getting up there with the hangover from hell! I don't play in Bath that often, once a year tops. It was really cool to play at Moles, as it has a studio above the club that I've been using a lot during the making of the new album.
GN: The album is packed full of dance floor killers – impossible to listen and sit still! If there was one track in the world that makes you get up and dance in the quickest amount of time, what would it be?
What a tough question to answer… D&B wise I’d say something like Roni Size's 'Square Off' - that bassline has the ultimate amount of funk, but also raw jungle energy. Garage-wise, I reckon 'RIP Groove' never gets old. That’s one I still like to drop in the club and people that don't even know it still go off to it. Warrrrp Warrrrp baselines never get old!
GN: What inspired the name/concept of ‘Golden Ticket’?
I came across this wicked string sample that was really dreamy and very Willy Wonka sounding, so the sketch title for the tune was 'Golden Ticket' and it just stuck. It can be hard to know what to name a D&B album considering a lot of the music is quite instrumental, but I could not be happier with the title. Hospital have done a great job with the promotion, I even got my own chocolate bar!
GN: If you could sum up the album in three words, what would they be?
Diverse, dance floor and bumpy!
GN: My favourite track has got to be the euphoric house-style ‘Love You Like This. What is your personal favourite from the album, and why?
Thanks! Yes, that was one of my favpurites but as that came out as a single it loses it edge as I've heard it more than the other album tunes, so some of the others seem fresher to me. I'd say 'Battle' feat. Mz Bratt as that is a great departure from my D&B, but it's a well executed song and the vocals come across really well. Big up Mz Bratt!!
GN: You’ve been working with the Brookes Brothers again for ‘Get On It’,which feels both quite 90’s and modern at the same time. What was the creative process behind it?
Last year we had sat down a couple of times to write some tunes together and it really wasn't happening. I think we were either trying to be perfectionistS or were too distracted. Into the new year my album deadline was looming but I really wanted to get a track with the guys on the album, as I know its something people really appreciate when we get together and make tunes. So I said to Dan Brookes that I was going to come down to London for a week straight and we were going to knock out the tune, 100% finished in that time! And that's what we did. It's quite hard because they tend to work from 4pm - 4am as I am more of a early riser and work more daytime hours. When I came home from that week it was a bit like being jet lagged!
GN: The title track has a really epic feel, love the use of strings alongside Tanya Lacey’s vocals. How did that collaboration come about?
Well like I said previously, I had that string sample and knew it would make a lush sounding D&B track. I had worked with Tanya on 'From Bath With Love’ from my first album and was really keen to use her again for this track. She can bring that spoken word vibe with some really soulful deep vocals to boot. I think Tanya is an incredible writer actually - she's a major talent!
GN: You’ve produced garage in the past, was that something you enjoyed revisiting for ‘New Day’?
Oh yes! That track was very self indulgent but a lot of fun! I had the great experience of working with Xavier, who's done stuff for Tuff Jam back in the day. I knew he could really bring that soulful, authentic garage sound. These sort of tunes are much more about the groove than the actual production. You can spend days on just doing a drum break in D&B but the garage stuff is a lot quicker and therefore more fun sometimes!
GN: ‘Golden Ticket’ drops just as summer is beginning, where are you most looking forward to playing this festival season?
It's got to be Glastonbury and Bestival…. Not to take anything away from the other festivals as they are all good. But it's things like the crowd at Bestival that you imagine when you are making some of these tunes.
GN: Finally, if you could have a golden ticket anywhere, where would it take you?
Oh! Good question! I guess somewhere in the great glass elevator?!
Many thanks, Danny!
