Low-end inspiration: Flava D is at the forefront of bass music

Royal-T makes up one third of t q d with you and DJ Q. How did that project come about?

I’ve worked with Royal-T a lot in the past and it was the same with DJ Q. Those two had never worked together before. They were working on their first collaboration one day in the studio when I suggested putting something on the track. They asked if I wanted to get on it and that was how it started. We were just inputting our ideas and it just made sense. ‘Day & Night’ was our first track. We did our first back-to-back set in Birmingham and it went off! Our energies just complimented each other and we knew how to blend together as a DJ collective. Footage from the show went a little bit viral and created a massive buzz so we knew we had to do more work. We never expected to be touring it all.

Shall we expect an album then?

We’re working on new music at the moment – we’re just wrapping up our latest tune. It’s just hard because I’m in America at the moment, Q lives in Huddersfield and Mark lives in Southampton. We’re always busy so it’s hard to get into the same place. We’re going to work on more singles and there’s a lot coming up but I can’t really go into it. We’ve got a tour to announce later in the year but then we’ll take a break from it for a bit. We don’t want to overdo it and play the same cities over and over again.

DJ Q’s been around for years and is obviously a bit of an icon in the bassline scene. What impact has working with him had on you?

He’s influenced me massively. I was listening to his BBC 1Xtra show when I was 17 or 18. I look at him as a DJ EZ-type figure. He produces as well, he’s not just a quality DJ. He’s the full package. He can make a disgusting bass banger but he can also make really nice, chilled 2-step. You don’t find many DJ/producers that are that consistent. He’s one of my favourites and I’m privileged to be working with him.

You’re touring the US right now. How receptive has the US crowd been to the kind of music you play?

What I’ve noticed this time is that people are getting down to grime. They’re a lot more responsive to the bass sound now. The whole vibe is different thanks to guys like Skepta. There’s still a long way to go but every time I come back it gets better. I was playing in Seattle and my tune ‘In The Dance’ got a reload. Obviously the reload culture is not really a thing in the States compared to the UK. It’s what we do. That was a big moment. Even if I drop a Skepta track, like the very first bit of ‘Man’, the people love it. There was even people coming up to me asking if I could play certain tunes of mine. It’s just good to know I’m playing to people who know about my sounds.

Do you reckon this type of bouncy, vigorous bass sound has the potential to conquer the US as dubstep did?

I feel like there’s potential as there are a lot of people using a lot of bass inspiration and making cool stuff. But there’s some that are just jumping on it because it’s really popular right now. They’re not necessarily doing a good job of executing that sound and it’s kind of taking a commercial turn. I hope it doesn’t get really commercialised and get ruined. If people continue to come up with creative ideas and not repetitive bass sounds, it could have a really long future ahead of it.

Bass music is killing it once again in the UK. Do you think there’s a possibility of it becoming as popular as house and techno are now?

House is always going to run things. I wouldn’t say it could overtake house, I think it can do well in itself. It’s really thriving right now and it’s a completely different sound. There’s been things in the charts, not bass music but tracks with elements of what we would consider to use in our music. It’s flirting with that whole bass sound. What the bass scene is really missing right now is a big vocal track, something that’s in the middle but has enough to cross over, too.

Something like Magnetic Man and Katy B’s ‘Perfect Stranger’ in 2010?

Yeah, something that’s not cringe and still sounds authentic. Just a good track that can reach out to more people without ruining the sound.

Why do you think that sound is so popular right now in the UK?

People always love dubstep and the mad bass sounds where you think ‘how did they make that?’ The ones that make you screw your face up. It’s almost a mixture of garage and the grime bass sound, but there’s also a house loop. You’re merging all of those sounds into one and it’s a good way to please someone that’s in to all of those. It’s easy to dance to.

You were 16 when you started producing. What would your tips be for people looking to get into music production?

Don’t rely too much on sample packs to do the work for you. A lot of people are getting these loops or getting these one shot sounds and not really motivating them to use their own ideas properly. It’s just not very creative. You just have to think what’s going to make you different. Don’t make what everyone else is making because that way you’re not going to stand out for much longer. A lot of emails in my inbox are sounding like things that have been made in sample packs. You just have to work on creating your own style. If you can create something that people are going to recognise, you’re always going to be winning.

Would you say you’ve got a special sound?

I don’t know if people notice but every track I make I have a signature echo noise that I put on the first drop of the tune or in the build-up. Pretty much most tracks I’ve made, even my grime instrumentals, a horn noise is always in there. If my production was on a mixtape, my name wouldn’t be on there. I thought if I put that sound in my tunes, people are going to know it’s a Flava D beat. It just always stuck and I think people recognise that, too.

E.M.M.A, Ikonika, Dexplicit and P Jam hosted the Beginners’ Music Production Workshop For Girls in June. How important are things like that?

Things like that are really good as it can give new females in the game confidence. It’s not such a male-dominated scene anymore, though. There are female DJs and artists popping up everywhere. Obviously there’s things that could change but it is changing for the better. There’s a lot of talent emerging in all areas of the music scene. Nina Wilde is someone I’m really rating.

What could change?

I’m not into all girl line-ups. It’s good to see females on a line-up with males and being seen as equal. I like seeing that rather than females being bunched together. I want to see them presented for what they’re good at and for them to be more equal, not being known as a good ‘girl’ DJ. I want them to be known as a good DJ or producer.

'fabriclive 88' is out on July 15, the same day as the launch party featuring Flava D, DJ Q, Elijah & Skilliam, Royal-T, D Double E and more

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor, follow him on Twitter