What with the upcoming takeover of Fabio and Grooverider's legendary Radio One drum & bass show, the imminent release of the first single from his debut album, Led Astray, and the continued dominance of the club scene in the form of the ever popular Shogun Audio label nights, Friction is gearing up for his busiest year yet. We managed to catch up with the man himself ahead of their event at Cable on February 18th to talk about the single, his plans for Shogun Audio in 2012 and, of course, what to expect if your heading down to the long awaited night next Saturday...

You're set to replace Fabio and Grooverider as Radio One's ambassador of drum & bass, how important is it to you to have the scene represented on national radio?
Oh it's imperative to our scene and I can't wait to get cracking with the show. As a genre we've got so many strings to our bow and I just want to show the world this. I have to send a massive big up out to Fabio and Groove also. They've been doing their thing for the last 12-13 years and that's such a massive achievement in itself.
 
Not only are you taking over Radio One's drum & bass show, but you're also gearing up for the launch of your long awaited debut LP. How have the preparations been going, and when can we expect it to drop?
I think we're looking at end of the year for the LP. I'm not the quickest at writing as it is and having the DJ schedule I have doesn't help either. Being busy is a good problem to have though. Travelling around the world DJing was itself my dream so everything else is a nice bonus!

First single Led Astray's pop-infused drumstep has already made it on to national radio playlists, but what other styles will feature on the album, is it an eclectic mix?
Yeah for sure... I've always been about different styles of dnb and the LP will touch on everything from crazy tear-out to deeper stuff to straight-up rollers.
 
Shogun Audio are touching down at Cable on February 18th for what should be one of the club's biggest nights yet, what can people heading down expect?
Upfront beats and the freshest dubs. We are delighted to welcome Fabio back to Cable for a classic liquid set..... plus Shogun soldiers Alix, Rockwell, Spectra, D-Bridge and SGN new boys Technicolour & Komatic..... Friction two hour set to smash up the dance as per usual! SP, Stamina, Mantmast and LX1 are on mic duties and watch out for some danger in room two with Wookie's old school garage set and JJ Frost's jungle set, which is sure to be fire!! Tickets are already sold out though there will be more on the door but please get there early to avoid disappointment!
 
Aside from the upcoming album and club nights, what plans to you guys have for Shogun Audio in 2012? Are there any new signings in the pipeline?
Going forward we will continue to develop and expand the label - 2012 will include albums from Spectrasoul, and potentially myself and Alix Perez at the end of the year. We're doing more and more Shogun label events around the UK and abroad too, which is particularly exciting for us. We're also always looking for new signings to compliment the existing roster and that fit with the Shogun brand but we can't say much more than that at the moment, you'll just have to keep watching!

 

Related Links:

• Friction - Led Astray: Video
• Friction - Someone (ft. Mclean): Video
• Shogun Audio Present Way of the Warrior
• Faster Returns to Cable For NYE
• Shogun Launch New London Residency

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