Features

Rockwell

Rockwell's The Noir EP is out on Critical in the first week of February. All tracks have received amazing support in the clubs from a wide section of artists like Noisia, Alix Perez, Icicle, C4C, Sabre, Zero T, Bailey, and Loxy. "It's quite a varied EP but I think it's an accurate snapshot of the forms and textures I like to explore with my music," he says.

Keep your eyes peeled in 2010 for releases and remixes from him coming on Digital Soundboy, Critical, Darkestral, Black Audio and Shogun Audio. Here are ten things you need to know about Rockwell...

1. He went to university in Bristol, lived in Cardiff for a little while and now is permanently based in London and feels they have all had a large effect on him regarding the development of his music:

"Bristol really served as my introduction to the scene. I went to loads of parties there such as Full Cycle Sundays, Drive-By and Mutiny, and it was in Bristol where I first started buying vinyl from Rooted Records. Cardiff was the first city where I started playing out regularly at the now closed Moloko's, Hospitality and Aperture. My music took a more sombre direction once I had moved to London, and as I was DJing less, I spent more and more time in the studio and my sound started taking shape."

2. His earliest musical memory is violin lessons which he began even before he started school and he also had clarinet lessons up until the age of 18:

"My parents are both from a classical music background so they were always in the music room playing and teaching various instruments, so it was natural for me to learn instruments too. Other than that, growing up I was really into my hip hop and punk. To be honest until I was at University I didn't really understand or care for dance music culture, as it didn't really infiltrate my school because we were so far from a big city."

3. He started DJing because one of his friends at university had a pair of 1210's in his room in halls:

"I got decks soon after as I thought 'I could do that'. I think producing was the natural step after that as I had been writing music in some form or another for years."

4. The artists that have helped him the most in his career to date are Alix Perez and Icicle:

"Alix was the first DJ to start playing my tunes. I had met him through a friend of mine who used to make tunes with him, Specific. He was playing Drums and that's when my music first came to people's attention. It's also great having Icicle just down the road as he's the most gifted person I've ever met in respect to the technical side of things. Both these guys have become big supporters of my music and also close friends, as have other North London producers Zero T, Jubei and the Medium crew. Also people like Clayton from Renegade Hardware for booking me consistently in London and being someone who you can always rely on for a fair and honest opinion."

5. He hooked up with Digital Soundboy through Alix Perez passing Drums on to Shy FX who signed it pretty quickly:

"After that I sent him Stowaway and a few other bits and everything went from there. With Critical, Kasra hit me up on AIM and I sent him a few bits and pieces."

6. His biggest influences are Premier, Pete Rock, Dilla, El-P, Rza, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Boards of Canada, Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Outkast, Mobb Deep, Burial, Goldie, D-Bridge, Ian McKaye (Minor Threat / Embrace / Fugazi) and "loads of grime instrumentals that I haven't got a clue who they are by or what they are called".

7. The first club he went to was a Knowledge Magazine event at Café Blue in Bristol featuring Hype and DJ Craze.

8. His first proper gig was in Cardiff for a night called Submerge:

"I was opening up for Martyn when he still made dnb. Can't remember if I got paid though..."

9. His first tune to come out was Underpass on the Critical Sound album.

10. He's surprisingly good at table tennis...