Features

Mason and Dstar

Anyone who follows US drum & bass knows the names Mason and Dstar. Along with MCs Armanni Reign and Sharpness they've been taking the US drum & bass and dubstep scenes by storm recently. Bear witness by checking out last year's double CD, Swarm – Still At War. Kmag recently had a chance to sit down with Mason and Dstar at an LA restaurant after their set at Drum Abuse live from Club Dragonfly in Hollywood, CA.

You've released tracks on many different labels. Can you give us a rundown?
Mason: Gasm, Freak, Obscene, Metalheadz, Tech Itch, Intasound, Penetration, Cymbalism, Ohm Resistance, Habit, Eastside, Human, Barcode, Renegade Hardware, Zeropoint, Taciturn, Outbreak, Citrus and Jungle Sky... whew, I'm outta breath!

Some of the best labels in the biz...
Dstar: Yeah, but spreading ourselves out so thin is not necessarily the best...

So now you're primarily focused on Gasm Recordings, right?
Dstar: Yes, we've been holding a lot of the tunes for labels we've mentioned, but decided we're just going to keep them for our own label.

Who were your influences coming into the drum & bass scene?
Mason: I was first introduced to drum & bass by J-Smooth. A friend of mine brought me to Skyline in late '97 or early '98, I can't remember exactly. That's the first time I had really heard it, and I fuckin' just fell in love with that shit! It was like hip hop, big drums, rock influences... it was just everything, y'know? It drove me crazy, and from that point on, I couldn't stop listening.

Dstar: In college I took over the radio station as RPM and hip hop director, and started discovering all the electronic stuff out there... Aphex Twin, Plug and all that shit. And then I dug further and started getting into all the early stuff. I think it was like '96 / '97... so Liquid Sky was poppin' off and I was feelin' that hip-step shit. Then Hive came out with his album Devious Methods and that was a huge inspiration for me.

What has been your best experience DJing?
Dstar: I've seen dope parties everywhere but Los Angeles is almost always a fuckin' adventure! Cali... just the west coast in general is always an adventure. But I gotta add, Salt Lake, muthafuckin' City, is crazy, man! I've probably had the best, most crazy experiences there. We played Pressure a few years ago, that was probably one of my most memorable experiences. LA is like a second home to me... to all of us sometimes.

Mason: Berne, Switzerland is the first place that comes to mind. That shit was awesome! It was my first time there with Armanni. The party was in old horse stables?! It was all wooden, with a pitched ceiling. The floors were wood, the ceiling was wood, so the bass just carried, and shook everything! They had mics in the crowd, so I recorded the set, so it came out like, phenomenal! You heard everybody talking, whistling, yelling, and it was totally recorded perfectly! That's where I met MC 2Shy, killed a bottle of brandy with him, and smashed it with him and Armanni.

What gear do you guys use on the road?
Mason: I use Serato now, because of the convenience and the sick tricks you can do with it. It's just easier... I use to use CDJs and bring out some vinyl. I would rather play vinyl if I could...

Dstar: I'll blaze vinyl, CDs, or Serato.

What gear do you use for production?
Dstar: I use Logic for PC as well as Mac...
Mason: Well... I use Logic 9 to arrange, mix and produce my music on my Mac, but I still have Logic 5.5 on my PC which is ran through my Mackie Board, and use that as one or multiple synths. I Have Mackie HR824 Studio Monitors, an Axiom49, Echo Layla for PC, Presonus Firebox for Mac, and a BBE EQA231 to RTA my Room so I can keep it as flat as can be. Oh yeah, I also have a shit ton of plugins and soft synths for both Mac and PC. I almost forgot about Wavelab, which I use to edit and master my tunes in. Wavelab is the best for editing I think.

Any advice for up-and-coming DJs / producers?
Dstar: Clean your samples, mess with your EQing and be original...

Mason: Definitely start with clean sounds, it'll make your mix easier and sound better. Another important thing is learn to finish a tune. I think the hardest part of making music is actually arranging the whole song... the mixdowns will come later when your ear gets better. When I started out people use to tell me to pick a song and try and recreate it so you can teach yourself how the music is made and arranged properly, y'know, learn the vibe of the music. So I would listen to as much DnB as I could to learn. Also keep at it, make as much as you can, just get your ideas out and you can pick from the best.

What have you guys got in the pipeline for 2010?
Dstar: The debut album of my dubstep project, Down Jones, is forthcoming on Foul Play Records. It's called Dumb It Down and features collabs with 6blocc, Mad Cobra, Armanni Reign, Hulk, Command Strange, and more! Also, don't sleep on the Down Jones remix of The Angel's Kush, it's available from Supa Crucial along with our drum & bass remix of The Angel's Ultralight. Upcoming 12" and releases available from p5 Records feat. Down Jones, End Boss, BeasTode, and more!

Mason: An upcoming EP, singles for digital release and limited vinyl feat. Swarm, Dstar, Mason, Mental Sharp, Perpetuum, Noah D, Chino, Pytchlocka, and remixes from Dylan, Mark Tailor and Mutt! Our first album Still At War is still going strong and also check the Heavybag show every Wednesday at 10pm on DnBtv.com.

Download Mason & Dstar vs. Down Jones & beasTmode's exclusive guest mix

Tracklisting

Breakout - Mason feat. Mental Sharp (Gasm)
Feel The Love - Atlantic Connection feat. Armanni Reign & Shannon Swain (Westbay)
The Mountain - Focus & Tactile (Good Looking)
March Of The Mutilated - Pytchlocka (Gasm)
Nomad - Djunya (Gasm)
Ultra Light (Mason & Dstar Rmx) - The Angel (Supa Crucial)
40K (Mason & Dstar Rmx) - Dstar (Gasm)
Control Freak - Noah D (Gasm)
Fate Of A Legend - Perpetuum (Gasm)
Therapy - Original Sin (Playaz)
Encryption - Mason feat. Marisa (Dub)
Fountain Of Youth - Dylan & Tech Itch (Dub)
Break Bread - Mason (Dub)
Warcraft - Mastif (Black Hoe Alimony)
Led Venom - Mason & Niskala (Dub)
Alternate Worlds - Dom & Roland feat. Rob Playford (Dom & Roland Productions)
Ruff, Rugged & Raw 2010 (Mark Tailor Rmx) - Mason feat. Armanni Reign (Gasm)
My Sound revisited - Down Jones (p5 records dub)
Rape Escape (DmnDays rmx)
Do It To It (6blocc rmx) - Down Jones (Foul Play Dubstep)
Foul Played feat. Mad Cobra - Down Jones (Foul Play Dubstep)
Dumb It Down - Down Jones (Foul Play Dubstep)
Didn't Need Nobody feat. Prolific & Cojax (Hulk Rmx) - Down Jones (Foul Play Dubstep)
Sweet Shop - Dr. P (Circus)
Kush - (Down Jones rmx) the Angel (Supa Crucial)
Mudd - End Boss (P5 records dub)
Radio Thang - Down Jones vs End Boss (Foul Play Dubstep)
Art of Love - Down Jones (Foul Play Dubstep)
I'm So Happy - J.Rabbit (Play Me)
Nuke 'Em - DatsiK (Rottun )
The BreakuP Song - Down Jones feat. Drüe Blood
I'm Not Alone (Doorly rmx) - Calvin Harris (Quantum)
Everlasting Gobstopper