Eveson has just finished putting together an all new website for his Channel 82 label and has a new single out so we took the opportunity to speak to him about both and get exclusive news on his debut album that he's currently working on...

Please introduce yourself...

Hello, I'm Eveson. I originally entered the d&b scene as a designer, creating record sleeves and flyers for the likes of Exit, Metalheadz & Intrigue. For the last few years though, it's been my music that's risen to prominence and I've clocked up releases on a wide variety of record labels ranging from Good Looking, 31 Records and Creative Source, to Integral, Shogun Ltd and Critical. I've spent the past six years living between Bristol in the summer and migrating to France to snowboard each winter, although I'm now gonna be in London for the foreseeable future, I need to make base for a bit...

Tell us more about the ethos behind your Channel 82 label...

Channel 82 is something I set up in order to have an outlet for both my art and music simultaneously. We're still in early stages with a handful of releases under our belt but we're growing and about to start opening the doors to other artists, as until now it's been mainly about my own productions. The main idea is that with each release, as well as the music, an art related piece of merchandise is also available. Numbers will complete a series of four large scale Fine Art Glicee Prints, with 05 I'm planning on doing a limited run of tee shirts. Hold tight for Channel 82 do-rags in the near future! (Not actually sure if that's a joke or not.)

 

 

Tell us more about your next release....

The next tune to drop is Numbers, by myself, backed with a split AA-side featuring two versions of Life In The Balance, one at 172bpm, one at 140. Numbers is me dipping my toe into the more 'minimal' arena, although regardless of the half time beats, it's still very much an impact tune which gets a strong response every time it's dropped. As well as plenty of support from the d&b community, it's also gained appreciation from leading members of the 140 fraternity such as Vaccine and Joy Orbison who was using it to finish all his sets for a while.

 

Forthcoming on Channel 82 by Channel 82

 

Got any other Channel 82 releases in the pipeline you can tell us about?

Dropping soon after Numbers is a various artist project entitled the 'Roots & Rhythm EP' featuring Theory's long awaited slice of junglist perfection, Pictures, Shapes & Patterns, alongside some moody dubwise cuts from myself and two of my favourite production outfits right now, Edward Oberon and Need For Mirrors. Until now the Channel 82 releases have mostly been on a more classic 'liquid' vibe, if you've seen me DJ though you'll know my selection encompasses the whole spectrum of d&b which is something I wish DJs did more often. I'd like CH82 to represent music I love to play, not just the sound I'm more commonly known for producing. For me, it's basically all about the groove, regardless of whatever sub-genre something fits into. Audio will be up soon on the website.

You've just put together an all new Channel 82 website, tell us about the new features and improvements...

Until now I've just used a simple shop based page where you can purchase MP3s or art prints but as it's such a visual label, I felt I needed to have a more content based website. For instance, there are galleries displaying my sketchbook work where you can see the blueprints and line work that go towards producing the finished sleeve art and also (my favourite), there's the 'Vinyl Porn' section where enthusiasts can perv over photos of mint condition records displaying themselves seductively across hard wood floors or getting downright naughty with some Technics 1210s... The website is designed around a blog format so it'll be regularly updated with content, news and forthcoming audio. At some point in the near future I'll start with the Channel 82 podcasts and get some studio mixes up on there...



What else do you have coming out soon on other labels?

I have a second 12" due for Samurai Redseal, a New Zealand based label run by Geoff 'Presha'. This one rolls out on that old school liquid funk vibe with Deeper Green (apparently a 'big tune down Swerve') and Vice Point which has a rather cheeky surprise ending that caught Grooverider completely off guard live on Radio 1... I'm not sure if anybody else found it funny at the time but I was cracking up. I'm also just sorting a release for the end of the year for V Records.

What are you currently working on in the studio?

I've been going a bit mental for the last eight months or so, writing all sorts of different styles ranging from 120 to 170 bpm. I've been producing similar styled tunes for the last few years and felt it was time to start experimenting outside of my comfort zone. It's refreshing to do and it influences my D&B positively when I go back to it. A lot has been on a more laid back vibe, kind of a fusion of downtempo and D&B, but just this last week I went on a bit of a 'future' garage (shit name for some great music!) kinda mission, writing eight tunes in seven days. I've been raving to that sound all summer at festivals, the groove you can get with your bass and percussion when you drop the tempo back to about 130ish is just sick, I'd quite like to get a little more involved in that area as an addition to my d&b. I like the way dance music's boundaries are a very grey area right now, it's like a whole mash-up of influences and styles coming together which reminds me of when I first got into it and you'd have Carl Cox, Ellis Dee and Grooverider all on the same line-up.

Done any remixes recently you can tell us about?

I remixed Struggle for the recently released Kabuki album on V. I was asked to do something at about 140bpm and the reggae vocal was just crying out for some dubwise Amen action so I rolled out my 'Ode To A Rave Generation' remix, which draws influence from '92-'94 style hardcore / jungle which I was hugely into as a kid (in fact, the 'Rave Generation' double cassettes I bought in Woolworths were my initial entry points into rave music). The release received a good reception from the dubstep crowd with Toddla T, N-Type, Youngsta, etc all supporting it..

Any plans for an album?

An album for V Records is already underway. They were early supporters of my non D&B productions, releasing Body & Soul and Stand Up on the Club Sessions Vol.3 compilation and are keen for me to produce an album in whatever style I feel, rather than just compile an assortment of D&B tunes on a three pack EP which is all good, just not something I'd personally be interested in doing myself (mainly down to the fact that I very rarely listen to modern drum & bass albums start to finish and when it comes to my debut LP, I'd like to make something I'd actually want to hear myself!).

I've got about half an album of instrumentals already complete that I'm gonna get some vocalists involved in. There will be a few 170 things in there but as a whole I'm only using D&B as an influence to draw from, rather than a template to follow, most of the stuff so far is between 120 and 140 bpm. My goal is to produce an album that draws on all of my musical influences from 90s rave, jungle and trip hop to 60s and 70s jazz, dub, folk, and psychedelic / prog rock. Although I'm going in much deeper musically than I have done with past releases I'm not sacrificing the energy levels! I've been testing some of my instrumentals on dancefloors around the UK and Europe and some of the slower stuff has made people shock out more than my drum & bass (it's all in the groove!). It seems to be sparking interest, with people approaching me afterwards keen to know what kind of music I was playing, although I don't have an answer for that yet as I'm not entirely sure what genre tag is applicable myself...

Anything else you want to tell us about?

Any London heads can catch me DJing at Fabric on 24th September at Bukem In Session... definitely one of the more enjoyable gigs for me, as the monitor stack Danny brings in and dumps next the decks is about the same size as the main system! All about the rolling musical vibes and heavyweight sound... Peace!

• Eveson

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