“If the record company is sure that the record will sell a certain amount of copies, they’ll fork out the money for a top producer, for an underground one there’s always less money involved even though the artist will gain more credibility,” he explains.
“Sure I make more money remixing these type of artists, but it’s nowhere near the thousands you’re thinking of- unfortunately.”
Chatting to Benedetta Skrufff this week about his upcoming mix album Wired, he’s actually a picture of contentment, clearly delighted to have recently got married at the tender age of 27.
“People may think that 27 is young to get married, but in comparison to our parents’ generation, couples would have had two kids by then,” he points out.
“I now live in a cottage in Oxfordshire with my wife and my cat, our surrogate child, and that’s the non-glamorous side of what I do. I love my job, I travel everywhere all the time, but I really wanted a grounding and a real home life. I met the right girl, she’s older than I am and it was just the right thing to do, because I knew she was the right girl almost straight away. I’m not scared of the commitment,” says Guy.
Skrufff (Benedetta Skrufff): The press release for Wired describes your new mix album as ‘a live snapshot into the world of breaks’, was it an easy compilation to put together?
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “Well, yes and no. It was quite hard because I can be extremely fussy when it comes down to selecting the tracks. Many of the ones featured are new and exclusive, which is very important to me since I’ve made my name from the previous compilations I have done. I also wanted to use this album as an introduction to my production catalogue, hence many of the tracks are either my own records or remixes I’ve done for other artists. I also wanted it to work well as an album you can listen to as opposed to just being a 24 track dance floor record. A lot of thought went into it, I had a clear idea of where I wanted it to go so in that respect I wouldn’t say it was easy; no.”
Skrufff: Breaks is currently getting loads of media attention, what’s your assessment of the scene right now?
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “It’s been happening for years to a greater or lesser degree, but what I like about breaks is that it hasn’t fully blown up in the media in the same way electroclash did a year or so ago. Thank God it’s grown organically, the same way drum & bass did in the past, and it will keep on gaining popularity because it still has an underground following, and for that reason too will never go away. There’s always a danger that if it becomes too commercial it will lose its appeal and there’s also that possibility if it crosses over, but at that point it will be good to have some recognition for all the work we’ve been putting into it.”
Skrufff: Could working with superclubs for example, damage breakbeat’s longer term future?
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “I don’t think so, I personally like to play in big clubs. I think the term ‘superclub’ isn’t relevant anymore anyway because a lot more clubs are taking more risks with their bookings. Fabric for example, should really be classed as a superclub, yet they keep on booking underground DJs. As long as the DJs play good music, I don’t see big clubs presenting a danger, I think instead they can help to raise the music’s profile.”
Skrufff: After all nobody wants to play in a room with ten people . . .
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “Well, nothing can beat the atmosphere of a room with 200 up-for-it people, but at the same time you want the event to be well promoted. There’s so much talk about the backlash that has hit dance music lately, but I feel that it was much needed, since there’s a large amount of rubbish around. Ultimately you have to keep up the quality, because the public will eventually stop buying into it anymore. This is what I try to do in the first person; for example, some people might raise an eyebrow simply because I’ve remixed a Paul Van Dyk track, but if you listen to the remix, you’ll realise that the quality is there and I’m doing it with the right intentions, I’m certainly not selling out. ”
Skrufff: You’ve also recently remixed the likes of Pink and Sugababes, how did you get involved in these projects?
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “Pink’s manager in America called my manager and offered me a track to remix; I think that within the pop world Pink is a really cool artist with a good attitude, so I accepted. When she heard it, she loved it and said she wanted me to remix all her tracks, so I worked on ‘God is a DJ’ too, her next single. The same thing happened with the Sugarbabes when I did ‘Caught in the Middle’. The original music for the track was by Moguai, a producer from Germany, it was licensed to the UK market and the Sugarbabes wrote the lyrics for it, I think. I always wanted to remix that track and Moguai loved what I did with it.”
Skrufff: In the 90s many house producers got five figure fees for remixing pop acts, are you now being courted by the majors with similar massive pay checks?
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “No, you have to remember that when that used to happen, the singles concerned actually went into the top ten charts, but with me, it’s a different story. They offer me these remixes because they think I’m cool and I’ll do something cool with the track but the paychecks will differ. If the record company is sure that the record will sell a certain amount of copies, they’ll fork out the money for a top producer, for an underground one there’s always less money involved even though the artist will gain more credibility. Sure I make more money remixing these type of artists, but it’s no where near the thousands you’re thinking of- unfortunately.”
Skrufff: You recently toured America with the Crystal Method, what was it like playing places like Salt Lake City, the Mormon capital, were many Mormons there at the show?
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “The show in Salt Lake City was the last on our schedule and we actually had to cancel it because the venue was unfit. It had no roof, so the promoters decided to put a plastic cover over it, which wasn’t good enough. At least it meant I had a break from the 50 odd dates; up until then we’d only had four days off. With all the shows we did in America, I don’t think it made any difference where we were, the kids are all really up for it everywhere.”
Skrufff: How were you treated by customs and immigration, given that you’re a DJ?
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “They’re not really worried about you being a DJ, what they’re really worried about is whether you’re American or not, and if you’re not, they just give you hell. I remember going to the States for a big six week tour on January after 9/11, my flights had been booked months in advance, yet everyday I had to go through checks with the excuse of having being ‘randomly selected’. How could I have been ‘randomly selected’ 14 times in 14 days I wondered? I must have been the unluckiest person in the world. They do that, for sure. Most of the times, they just open your bags without even checking it properly, though they can be quite patronising at the same time, especially if you happen to be late for your check in. They single you out particularly if you’re flying business class wearing jeans and T-shirt, rather than a smart suit like the rest. They just don’t take you seriously, and I do tend to be dragged out more often than not, to be honest.”
Skrufff: Breaks overlord Adam Freeland is pretty outspoken about political issues; do you have any strong views about the war on Iraq or Tony Blair?
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “Yes, I do. I read a lot about it and I generally have my own views, but I’d like to keep them to myself. Sure I will be outspoken if I talk to people in person, but I wouldn’t like to see my political opinions written about on a publication, to try and influence the way people feel.”
Skrufff: Reading the dance mags, particularly DJ mag, they often refer to breaks as being more popular with blokes than girls, how much does that still hold true?
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “It is true, I tell you why that is, and the reason why there’s a big percentage of records I don’t play. When people think about breakbeats they immediately associate it with hard, strong bass lines, and why would people want to listen to that? I certainly wouldn’t. My album isn’t like that, and I hope to have the chance to prove it to the audience. I also don’t like this label ‘new school breaks’ invented by the media which is really not what I’m about, I have tried to move away from it for the last two years. I can only keep doing good work and hope that eventually people will notice it.”
Skrufff: You recently got married, did you meet your wife in a club?
Hyper (Guy Hatfield): “Absolutely not, and if I had done, I wouldn’t have married her. I mean it’s a bit awkward to marry a fan. We met at the pub across the road from a studio I was working at where she happened to be recording as a singer. She had never heard of me, I ‘d never heard of her, we started chatting then we met the next day at the recording studio bar. The rest is history as they say.”
DJ Hyper’s new mix CD Wired is out now on Kilowatt Recordings.
http://www.djhyper.com
Benedetta Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
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