Savage Rehab are Gareth and Rus, "two friends from the middle-of-nowhere" who share an obsessive, compulsive drum & bass disorder. They're making waves with their latest release, Walk The Bass / One Shot, on V Recordings and with forthcoming releases on both Liquid V and Chronic you're going to be hearing a lot more from them in the coming months...

When did you first try your hand at DJing and producing?

Gareth: I was 8-years-old on holiday in Spain, my sister Lee was looking after me for my parents anniversary. She snuck me into a club as she was seeing the bouncer, the next thing the DJ was showing me the turntables, I was instantly hooked! Production urges came much much later in 2003. I was in a record shop and had gone through 50 slabs, for the first time I found nothing I wanted, so I decided it was time to have a go myself.

Rus: Seeing the buzz of a big rave and the penny dropping that the DJs that were playing the tunes were the people writing them and owning the labels! That was such an inspiration that it became a mission to immerse myself in the culture. The DJ duties came as a natural progression of that and my first attempt at production came later in 2003. After playing your own tunes out and having people go mental to the noises you've made is next level!

Who have been your biggest influences?

G: Apart from my parents who always showed me to appreciate good music, it was Ed Rush & Optical's Wormhole album that cemented my lust for drum & bass & made me want to be more involved, the unearthly vibes were like nothing I had ever heard. Rus & I were listening to it on the way back from a Warning in Cambridge in 1998 and we noticed how all these basslines were talking to each other, these conversations making the tunes stand over and above anything I was hearing at the time.

R: So many artists from over the years but in the main it was Micky Finn for all the rinse-out dubplates he used to cane and the big knees-up energy of his sets. Hype due to the sheer showmanship from the scratching to the back-to-backs. I've heard countless mixes over the years but when Hype wants to leave a mark he pure tears it.

Where did you get your name from?

G: Savage Rehab was the name of our events from 1999 - 2002. We've always been about drum & bass as a whole, and been militant with converting people to dnb. In 2007 we decided to use Savage Rehab as our combined production and DJ title as it suited what we're up to. Rehabilitating the masses with 360 degree drum & bass.

How would you describe your sound?

R: Full spectrum, high energy, bass-heavy. Whatever sub-genre you want to put any of our individual tunes into, they're all intended for one thing - to make people dance.

Who or what inspires your music?

G: I take my influences from the many styles as I come across, from the power-arrangements in jazz big bands to the smoothness of Latin American music and everything good I hear inbetween (probably a good reason why we work well together). I try my best not to be influenced by other drum & bass, but for this to happen completely I would have to stop listening to it... which isn't an option!

R: Lots of people say its not healthy to smother yourself in just one type of music. I don't care for this rule. I love dnb and listen to it from morning 'til night. Always have, always will. The way I see it, I know exactly what I like about drum & bass because of the excessive use. Inspiration can come from anything from a good line out of a movie, a stand-out vocal or just flicking through samples and finding something that rings out.

Who else would you like to collaborate with?

G: We'd love to work with Fresh as the man is next level, so much of the dnb we hear today is in one way or another influenced by him, the original king of the switch up. Audio too is a filthy badman. He's got such a menacing vibe and his snares are hench.

Tell us more about your forthcoming releases on V...

R: We are lucky to have our first release, Walk The Bass / One Shot, out now on the main V label. Then as Rehab for an EP on Liquid V with Hallowed and Sweet Nothings on vinyl and Devil May Care and Lushness available as exclusive MP3s. The Big Bad & Heavy 2 album drops September and sports Viagra, and we have numerous other rhythms in the pipeline for V.

 

PLV010 - A- SAVAGE REHAB - WALK THE BASS - V RECS EDIT by VRECORDS

 

Lv018 A1) Rehab - Hallowed - On Promo Now by VRECORDS

SAVAGE REHAB - VIAGRA - BBH ALBUM PT 2 - CHRONIC by VRECORDS

 

What else do you have coming out soon?

G: We have Wicked Ting and Cone Melt first, followed by our jungle tear-out remix of Kenny Ken's Murda You forthcoming on Mix 'N' Blen and Manchester's G13 label are bringing Judder. Also DNB Arena are taking a track for their next album.

 

Kenny Ken Murda You (Savage Rehab Remix) by Mix&Blen Recordings

 

What are you currently working on in the studio?

R: Right now? Right this second? We're working on something for Skibba's album and something for us that Harry Shotta is gonna drop some bars for.

Done any interesting remixes recently?

G: Loads, we love remix duties! It's good fun deciding which direction to take the tunes in and how to put our stamp on them. Remixes coming include EZ Rollers' Crowd Rocker (available soon), Hoax's Muscle and Pair A Dice for 2kilo Mocking Bird. D Product's Faithless will be getting savaged too.

 

EZ-Rollers - Crowd Rocker - Savage Rehab Remix - Back 2 You Recordings by Back 2 You .

 

Are you making any other styles of music?

R: Savage Rehab is all about the drum & bass.

What tracks / producers / labels are you feeling at the moment?

G: Lots of great stuff around us right now, from our boys Flat T & Dominator, Sam.I.Am, Propz & Rowney and the G13 sound. As for tracks there is something coming on Spearhead by BCee & SPY called Anybody Out There? - amazing tune. Also, watch out for Villem, the man is BAD. He's also one half of Mute working with Mako and The Sect. Keep your eyes peeled for Do You, I Wanna... HUGE TUNE.

What's the best gig you've played in the last six months?

R: We've had some great gigs this year, from Italy to all over the south of England, but we'll both agree it was supporting Andy C @ Cargo in June, amazing sound system, awesome crowd... a real all rounder.

Who would be playing at your ideal night out and why?

G: For a start it would be a three day drum & bass festival. No noise restrictions and a full on grasp for the whole scene's capabilities. A mainstream/jump-up arena hosted by Valve, a liquid arena hosted by Liquid V and a Filth arena hosted by Therapy Sessions. You'd have that many artists the selection would be so diverse ranging form Calibre to Current Value, From Hazard to Break... BIG!

Who would you like to play back-to-back with and why?

R: We already play back-to-back, but we'd let Andy C pile in on the mix & we'd go 7-deck-tastic!

Anything else you want to tell us about?

G: Rubicon Pineapple & Coconut tastes like holiday.

R: Phenylalanine is bad for you.

 

 

Download Savage Rehab's guest mix

 

Mix hosted by www.digital-tunes.net

 

• Savage Rehab

Related Links:

• Jon Savage On Shy FX In The Guardian Blog
• Bladerunner Launches True Bass
• Planet V Carnival Sunsplash
• Old Skool Classic: Liquid - Liquid is Liquid
• Have-A-Break - Liquid Soldiers 2

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