TC’s new album ‘Evolution’: interview

TC’s new album ‘Evolution’: interview

4 October, 2007 | 2.05AM

• Written by: Dom Steel
• Filed under: Music News: d-style records, drum & bass rollerz, mc jakes, sub focus

TC is the hottest thing in drum & bass at the moment. It would be a struggle to find a DJ who can’t fill dancefloors with his track ‘Raise the Roof’ or find a radio station that isn’t playing ‘Deep’.

His fans range from Grooverider to DJ Hype and TC has collaborated with the likes of Sub Focus and the infamous D.Ramirez.

This week sees the release of TC’s much anticipated album ‘Evolution’ on the Bristol based D-Style label and Beatportal got the opportunity to ask Bristol’s bad boy himself about his new album, the scene and his new video for ‘Drink’.

First off, congratulations on the album. Was it your intention from the start to produce such an amalgamation of differing styles of drum & bass?

Thanks a lot. I have just always made different styles of drum & bass and I never want to be pigeon holed into a sub genre and then limit myself like that.

The album was just a natural evolution of sounds that I have made over the years.

I have evolved as an artist too. I have a live band to tour the album which is great because it gives me the opportunity to play a lot of places I would not normally be able to play as a DJ.

What’s your favourite track from the album – and why?

My favourite track from the album has got to be ‘Deep’ ‘cause Jakes and me had a real laugh making it.

It’s a really simple track but it seems to work on a few different levels, you can play it in your room or in a club and it’s at home in both.

‘Taxman’ - is a track where you prank phone call someone and pretend to sting them for a massive tax bill. Can you tell us more about that track and who is involved?

I have been sworn to secrecy on that one! It was hard enough to get them to let me use it on the album, the only thing I can say is that he is in the D-style family…

MC Jakes features a lot on the album – how would you describe your working relationship?

Me and Jakes are good mates who make music together that’s pretty much it really. I usually come up with the instrumental he writes a vocal and then we’ll lay it down.

How has the Bristol scene contributed towards the making of the album?

Bristol has been a massive part of my life, I was born in Forest Gate in London but I moved here when I was five years old.

I grew up in St Pauls which is a bit ghetto.

My bedroom was next to the front door of the Malcolm X Centre where they held drum & bass and dance hall blues parties, so I think I must have absorbed the basslines in my sleep. 

Other than that there is a really great artistic community in Bristol, not just music but art and filmmaking too which has been great for me as an artist.

TC ‘Drinks’ video

Was the ‘Drinks’ video as fun to make as it looks?

We just got the outtakes so watch out for that!

I have been told it has been on T4 and MTV too which is great and yes we got smashed. 

We were using real drinks in the video so it got pretty messy by the end! 

There was a real vibe going on and it was just like a normal night at Run when we were doing the bit in the bar. 

Run is a night that we do here in Bristol at Native every Tuesday – come on down!

What is your personal opinion towards the growth in the mp3 industry?

I seem to be playing loads of vinyl at the moment but my opinion is that it’s the music that’s important not the medium you play it on. 

You can’t ignore the digital revolution - people will download things illegally so why not give them the option to buy it - I think a lot of people would prefer to support an artist they like.

I heard that Radiohead have put their album up for download from their website and are asking people to pay whatever they think it is worth. So it will be interesting to see what happens there.

And finally; if you could sum up ‘Evolution’ in three words - which can’t be drum & bass by the way - what would they be?

Bottom. Fish. Banana.

Beatportal would like to extend our thanks to TC and D-Style for this interview.

If you haven’t heard the album then definitely check it out, it features a bonus Scratch Perverts mix of TC’s material and special track ‘Soul Time’, only available on Beatport.

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