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Hyper- I'm Still Angry “I'm not listening to too much (Burt) Bacharach as yet. I do enjoy some of life’s finer things which perhaps I didn't a few years ago, but mellowing is not really in my nature. I'm still angry and I still like the odd night out.” Chatting to Skrufff about his new mix compilation Rewired angry, not quite so young man Guy ‘Hyper’ Hatfield insists his energy levels remain as high as ever, both for DJing and his hotly anticipated new artist album that’s due in the New Year. Featuring ex Prodigy people Jim Davies on guitars and Leeroy Thornhill on vocals, the ‘more aggressive’ record (as Guy puts it) is currently being mixed down and will distance him further from the breaks style he remains most commonly associated with. “Is Digital Punk a genre yet?” he laughs, “It's certainly not chilled out Sunday afternoon listening.” Tough talk aside, Guy’s keen to stress he’s not abandoning breaks altogether (‘It still has a lot to offer’) and reveals an unexpected soft side when quizzed about any phobias he suffers from. “Yes, heights,” he confesses. “I'm totally fine with staring out of the window of a plane at 39000 feet but put me on a balcony 10 storeys up and I'm in pieces clinging on to the rail. It seems to be the thought of throwing myself off that is the problem and not actually the height itself,” he suggests. Switching topic rapidly he’s happier chatting about the main reason for today’s interview, his just released mix compilation Rewired, though similar emotions accompanied its completion. “Oh god, it nearly killed me,” he laughs. “I worked at the track-list and sequencing forever and at times felt like banging my head against the wall. There are a lot of different styles and sounds I wanted to fit on there to represent where my DJ sets are at the moment,” he explains. “The whole plan for this compilation was to get back to some club music after my last album 'We Control' which as an artist album took on a whole new direction. I also like to make sure my mix CDs have a definite start, middle and end point; I think the structure is important. I ended up waking up one morning at 3AM and couldn't get back to sleep for thinking about the last couple of mixes. Then in a weird flash of inspiration I came downstairs and finished it there and then. I'm really happy with the results and I enjoyed my Corn Flakes all the more for finishing it like that.” Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): I guess you did it all on Ableton: how much is selection and sequencing more important than mixing these days? Hyper: “To be honest, as a DJ who earns a living from it, you should be able to beat-match two records together without much difficulty. I spent most of the time editing tracks to work as I wanted them, adding effects and sounds and layering.” Skrufff: Now we’re living in digital download/podcast days: how much has the significance of compilations changed? (Are they still as lucrative or more about getting you more gigs or more about putting ‘Hyper’ out there? Hyper: “It's really all about keeping your hand in at keeping the name out there. I think the whole scene has changed in terms of how people make their money. Once it was primarily record sales and now it's very much about synch and gigging. I guess gigging is the constant factor. Compilation sales (as with all sales on the whole) have dropped off because people are more interested in getting hold of singular tracks they like rather than listening to a body of work. That’s a bit of a shame, I think.” Skrufff: You also run your own label: how much has the music business changed from your perspective in the last couple of years? Hyper: “Immeasurably. Thankfully, download sales are stepping in to save the wavering vinyl sales. It seems that every week another record shop has shut down. But you have to move on and look at other revenue streams before you get too downhearted and get left behind. I'm perfectly happy with the way things have gone in the last few years from a personal perspective.” Skrufff: How much do you see yourself as a brand? Hyper: “I'm not too sure, really. I guess it's important to try and brand yourself in this day and age. I try to do my own thing; 'We Control' wasn't really the 'cool' thing to do when we released it, with its 3 1/2 minute songs etc but you have to follow what makes you happy and inspires you. 'Rewired' is here to define my club sound and to wet people’s appetite for the new artist album. I'd like people to identify the Hyper name with quality releases and not quantity.” Skrufff: I know you’re spending a lot of time overseas: how do you prioritise between keeping your profile high in the UK- compared to pushing yourself overseas? Hyper: “It's not easy. I spend so much time away it can be hard to juggle all the balls. That’s why it's important for me to keep a steady flow of releases. 'No Rockstars' has gone down really well and the next single is 'Computer Says No!' which is due out at the end of next month. At the end of the day, there are more gigs in 'the rest of the world' than in the UK so I guess it's inevitable that I spend more time away than here.” Skrufff: Have you had any overseas experiences where you stepped on local’s toes? Hyper: “Funnily enough last month in Australia I was playing at Empire in Brisbane and the liaison girl picked me up for my set an hour later than when my set was due to start. The resident DJ called me to see where I was and told me they had other DJs booked to play so I still had to finish on time. I hung out with them afterwards and it turned out the club owner really wanted me to play and had insisted I played on this night. The night, however, was a Drum & Bass and the residents weren't too impressed. Then there's always that promoter issue of 'you can't play for us if you play for them' politics. That rears its ugly head from time to time too.” Skrufff: What’s happening with the artist album: how close are you to release? Hyper: “We finish mixing it down next week, it's really close now and I'm really excited about it. 'We Control' was a starting point but I feel now that maybe we tried to be all things to all people and now I want to release something for myself. I think that comes across in the tracks too. The live show has also been an inspiration to how the new album is turning out. It's more aggressive for a start but still very song based on the whole (although there are two or three club tracks on there too) with plenty of guitars and analogue synths. As usual, it's me and my studio partner Ronnie doing the bulk of the work and our guitarist Jim Davies (formerly Pitch Shifter, Prodigy) has also been heavily involved and sings on what will probably be our first single ('Centre Attraction'). Other vocals have come from a few different people. Leeroy again has supplied four or five vocals, Charlotte from The Subways is on one, Odissi has done one too and our drummer Keiron Pepper (Dead Kids) has also got on there.” Skrufff: How much does the live act -or will it soon- take precedence over DJing? Hyper: “Who knows? Certainly we will be trying to get heavily back into the live thing in the middle of '08 to support the artist album release and in the mean time it's DJing all the way promoting 'Rewired'. To be honest, I love both activities equally; both offer something uniquely rewarding.” Skrufff: How differently do you get treated as a ‘rock star’ compared to DJ? (if at all?) Hyper: “Haven't really noticed to be honest, it can be nice to have a dressing room full of booze though which is more band orientated than DJing where you’re passed a couple of drinks tickets (if you're lucky).” Skrufff: How much has breaks become a dirty word? Hyper: “I think it has a wee bit, especially with a lot of band wagon jumping mags. A lot of producers started copying each other too and some of the creativity inevitably got stifled. For years it's always been the next big thing and now it's slightly out of favour with many people instead now making House. The club scene is always swings and roundabouts anyway so I don't doubt that it will be back before long. Our new material certainly isn't purist breaks by any stretch of the imagination but I'm certainly not about to turn my back on the scene either. It still has a lot to offer. Skrufff: How much do you see yourself as an outsider? Hyper: “I do see myself as an outsider really because I've tried to avoid being too heavily involved in the scene politics for a few years now and that has involved moving out of London. When I ran Waxworks (his promotion company), I was knee deep in it all and when I finished with that, I'd kind of had enough of it. Many people also don't like guitars in dance music (purists, tsk) so I guess I don't fit in that mainstream per say. I like to make music that grabs your attention whether you love it or hate it.” Skrufff: Have you had any problems being arrested when travelling? Or robbed? Hyper: “When I was on tour with The Crystal Method we were held up at the border because one of the crew was caught with weed but not I, for I am a good boy.” Hyper’s new compilation Rewired (including cuts from Boys Noize, Nine Inch Nails, Rogue Element, Alex Metric and Digitallsm) is out now on Kilowatt Records. http://www.myspace.com/hyperuk Article by Jonty Skrufff Subscribe to Skrufff music newsletter at www.Skrufff.com
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