Lutin has been in the music game for years, cutting his teeth as a performer with a reggae and dancehall crew. He's spent years tirelessly representing for the French drum & bass scene, releasing tunes both a solo artist, with his former crew Audio Unit, and alongside dnb legends like Digital and Silver.

Having recently signed to DJ Vapour's 36 Hertz label it's likely we're going to be hearing a lot more from him in the near future. Here at Knowledge we decided to get the lowdown on all his forthcoming projects well in advance.

Please introduce yourself...

My name is Goulpié Lionel, better known as the dnb DJ and producer Lutin. I've lived most of my life in Toulouse, in southern France, and still do. As far back as I can remember I've always been passionate about music, I got my first set of decks and started collecting vinyl when I was 11. Initially I was really into hip-hop, back in my skateboarding days, but became passionate about Jamaican reggae and dancehall around the age of 14.

I joined a crew called KNS1, we ran a sound system, and even at that age I was performing at all their live and radio shows both locally and nationally, performing alongside some great guys such as Bunny Dread and MC Lox.

How did you first get into drum & bass?

It was back when jungle was big! I used to make regular trips to the UK to buy vinyl, there was loads of stuff I just couldn't get hold of in France. On one of my trips in '93 I spent a lot of time in Brixton and jungle was everywhere! People were bumping it in their cars, stereo systems, even in a lot of the shops. Then someone introduced me to pirate radio, I taped loads of it and took it back to France with me. A few weeks later I was addicted, and the rest is history...

Could you tell us some of your thoughts on the drum & bass scene in France, do you feel it is maturing and getting more popular?

Jungle and dnb has always been popular here in France, you hear it a lot at festivals and clubs, but it used to be bigger than it is nowadays. It seems electro is the next big thing that everyone's getting excited about.

I do feel like the scene is definitely maturing though, and we're seeing some strong French producers coming through. Dirtyphonics are getting big now, they've signed to Audio Porn and they're great at what they do. I gotta say thanks to Shimon for that, he's really been helping push the French scene.

Redeyes has been representing the liquid side of things, and DJ Panik is also doing well having signed to Breakbeat Kaos. I'd say the French have been a bit late to get on it. But I definitely feel they have something significant to bring to the table in the close future.  

Do you find it difficult to stay on top of what is going on in the scene as you don't live in the UK?

Not at all, with the internet you just have to be passionate and know what you're looking for. It's not hard to find out what the latest dubplates are that are killing it.   

You recently signed to 36 Hertz, could you tell us a bit about the deal you've got and where you see this taking you?  

I've always been a big fan 36 Hertz and their sound since the beginning, and after a few months of sending beats to Vapour [the 36 Hertz label boss] he approached me and asked if I was interested in joining the camp. I agreed, and it's all moved pretty quickly from there.

I've signed exclusively to the label, I'll be releasing three tracks on various artists compilations, an EP, two solo singles and my forthcoming album with them. We're hoping to have the album out sometime during 2011.

It's an exclusive deal and I'm totally happy with that, I think Vapour sees a lot of potential in my music and he's all about building an artist. I'm dedicating everything to the label and in return they are managing me musically. Vapour has loads of experience and has been giving me loads of great advice, and has solid contacts that help get my music support from the scene and help me make an impact. It means that I get to focus squarely on the music.

Could you tell us a bit about the upcoming releases you have on 36 Hertz?

My first release is out now, it's called Pimp My..., you'll find it in all good record stores. Following that You're Not The One should be dropping very soon, it's a pretty heavy dancefloor track, big ravey synths and a tear-out bassline! It hasn't left Vapour's record box since I made it. It's been getting a great response and doing some serious damage in clubs!

I've got a four-track EP on the way and I'm working on a remix for Randall's label Mac 2. I'm remixing the classic tune Time Is The Fire, which I always used to love so it's putting quite a bit of pressure on me to bring something that's as good or better than the original, especially when you've been such a big fan of a tune for so long! I'm honoured Randall's asked me to do it.

Quite a few of my forthcoming tunes are on the mix I've done for Knowledge readers like You're Not The One, Sativa Dub, Gully Ting and Transformer Remix Ft Silver, plus a few other special bits...

We've heard you have an album planned for next year, could you tell us a bit about what you've got planned for it? What sort of musical direction will you be aiming for?

It's a bit early for me to talk directions, as it's my first album. It's going to be a big challenge for me and I want to be 100% happy with it, I'm a real perfectionist. I'm aiming for it to be pretty diverse, I've never been a 'one-style man'. I'd like it to have a fair amount of dancefloor smashers on it, but I have a lot of different influences so I'd like that to be reflected too. Hopefully some more dubby sounding tunes, a few rollers, some drumstep and possibly even a few downtempo non-D&B tunes.

Collaborations are important to me, I'm hoping to work with Jungle Drummer, do a collaboration with Vapour as well as people I've worked with before such as Digital and Silver. We'll have to wait and see how things end up...

Finally, from your experience, what advice would you give to any upcoming producers and DJs?

First and foremost, stay focused on what you do! I think starting off doing it on your own is important. Spending time getting to know your gear /software and cutting up samples will really help you to develop your own sound.

Spend time building your own sound bank as well, sample as much stuff as you can, 'true' samples. Sample things such as movies, original music and drum breaks, it's even better if you can find a drummer to record then sample that. The same goes with synths, spend time creating original patches and try to build up a library of synth presets. This will really help you when it comes to making tunes.

Time is something that is precious to me and I think it's all about getting the vibe and the idea of the tune your making laid down as quickly as possible. Then you can spend time going back and tweaking all the elements. Getting as much done as quickly as you can first will help you to keep the original vibe you had for the tune.

I think making D&B is all about the vibe, it's not necessarily about having a big strategy or formula, but really about having a great vibe and getting the most you can from that!

 

Words: Sam Clelow

 

Download Lutin's guest mix

Tracklisting

1. Intro: 2 Da Massive - MADD - 36 Hertz
2. Babylon Timewarp - Durban Poison (DJ Vapour remix) - 36 Hertz Dub
3. Sativa Dub - Lutin - 36 Hertz Dubplate
4. Who Jah Bless - Bladerunner & Serum - Critical Dub
5. Friday - Capone - Hardleaders
6. Souped Up - Serum - Co Lab
7. Riff Raff - DJ Marky & SPY - Digital Soundboy
8. Transformer Rmx - Lutin & Silver - Dub
9. They Don't Know - DJ Vapour - 36 Hertz
10. You're Not The One - Lutin - 36 Hertz Dub
11. Romper Stomper VIP Mix - Steppa & Kitcha - 36 Hertz Dub
12. Bottomfeeder - Gridlok - Project 51
13. Untitled Drumstep Dub - Lutin - 36 Hertz Dub
14. Massive Attack (Lutin Rmx) - Nicky Minaj - 36 Hertz Dub
15. Bad Boys - Serum & Northern Lights - AudioWarfare Dub
16. Gang Related -  Crystal Clear & Zen - Cold Blooded Dub
17. Mind Is Drifting Away (VIP Mix Dub) - Camo & Krooked  Dub
18. Lord Have Mercy - Serum vs Northern Lights - Zombie Dub
19. Cold Kiss - Commix ft Logistics - Metalheadz Dub
20. Favela - SPY - Metalheadz
21. Basic Principle (Commix Rmx) - Alex Reece  - Metalheadz Dub
22. Black (Bladerunner Rmx) - Ray Keith Dread Dub >>>>  4 3 3 - Lynx & Hellrazor
23. Confess (DJ Vapour remix) - Jillian Ann - 36 Hertz Dub
24. Gully  Ting - Lutin - 36 Hertz Dub
25. Dub Bass - DJ Vapour - 36 Hertz Dub

Mix hosted by www.digital-tunes.net

 

 

Lutin - Black Out

• 36 Hertz
,
• DJ Vapour
,
• Lutin

Related Links:

• Lutin Signs To 36 Hertz
• 36 Hertz Release Bass Invaders LP
• 36 Hertz To Release Jungle Drummer LP
• Lighterman Signs To 36 Hertz
• Dawn Raid Sign To 36 Hertz

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