Rennie Pilgrem goes back to his roots and brings his influences into 2010 with the release of the second volume in his Street Legal series. Like the first volume it's a double EP featuring eight tracks. Rennie tells us all about it and everything else he's currently up to, like scoring a movie and making a sample pack.

Tell us more about your new EP, Street Legal 2...
I am trying to buck the trend of just releasing one track at a time just to suit the world of digital downloads. In the past artists would create EPs that included club bangers and more esoteric stuff... so too with my Street Legal series. Except I've gone one stage further by making it a double EP. I want people to but the whole thing and get some bits they might want to listen to as well the dancefloor stuff. Hence the inclusion of hip hop and even a blues track. Basically I am going back to my roots which was the blues and the funk. So much stuff around now is devoid of any groove... I am not feeling it.

The music you're making now is being labelled as nu funk, this is a fairly new genre, how would you explain it to people unfamiliar with it?
Well, I suppose it means a modern take on the '70s funk sound that was the bedrock for hip hop and breaks and all the subsequent dance genres that came out of the those scenes. There are a wide variety of tracks that fit into that category which means it's a pretty broad church.

Got any other forthcoming releases on your TCR label you can tell us about?
Currently I am just concentrating on the Street Legal series but I may expand that to include other people's tracks as I'm getting sent some good funk in a similar vein. Also I plan to release the soundtrack to the film I'm currently scoring called The Fix.

Any plans for an artist album?
No, I like the double EP vibe at the moment. Albums tend to struggle these days because people just cherry-pick the individual tracks they've heard.

You're also one half of the Bush Doctors, tell us more about this project and how it differs from your solo work...
Bush Doctors is a collaboration with Jem Stone from Fingerlickin. The starting was our '70s funk collection and from there we are creating, bouncy, chugging funk-infused music that will work in a club on for listening. We are also working with a very exciting singer called Heather McCallum who is in effect our 'in-house' vocalist.

 

BUSH DOCTORS STEW Vol. 13 by Bush Doctors

 

Done any interesting remixes recently?
I have just remixed a dubstep track by Caper called Something Else for Distinctive which has worked really well and the Bush Doctors have remixed The CBs track The Finding. I've also been asked to do a 'rave breaks' remix for a label but I may be doing that under a different name.

You're scoring your first film, tell us more about how this came about, what we can expect and what the film is about...
Film-makers are where we were as music producers about 15 year's ago. Suddenly the technology is there to do it yourself. As well as doing the music I ended-up acting in the film as well. Basically it's a small, surrealistic thriller and marrying picture to sound is definitely the way forward for me.

I also hear you're working on a sample pack for Loopmasters, what can we expect with that and when do you think it will be out?
Lots of real guitar and bass and horns plus brand new drum loops and enough keyboard ideas to do several albums... been hard because I keep wanting to use the ideas for myself instead.

Anything else you want to tell us about?
As well as the above I currently working on my second art exhibition of my paintings and I am also doing more acting, this time on a big budget film currently in production.

Rennie Pilgrem - Dalek by knowledge

• Rennie Pilgrem

Related Links:

• In The Studio: Rennie Pilgrem
• Rennie Pilgrem 'Rich Rule Us' video
• Nufunk: Rennie Pilgrem
• Nufunk: Bush Doctors
• Interview: BSD

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