Music Not Diving with Scuba

Should you bother to learn music theory if you want to make dance music? This is a rare area in life where ignorance is quite often openly celebrated. That's not to be sniffy about those who can't pick out the sixth note of a minor harmonic scale, but the arguments used to justify the lack of knowledge do lend themselves to a suspicion that the people involved are either kidding themselves or seeking to do as much to everyone else. In the introduction to an interview with MJ Cole, the term 'classically trained' is reliably invoked - notwithstanding the opening paragraph this is an epithet which can justifiably be met with some trepidation. In this case however, the briefest acquaintance with his late 90s, genre-defining UK Garage classic 'Sincere' instantly banishes any such worries. This is a maker of tunes with the highest level of sophistication in terms of knowledge and technique, but also the chops to know when to let those things get out of the way. I was intending to have something of a deep dive into the development of UK Garage during this conversation, but instead we got a snapshot of a career defined much more by a personal approach to music than fitting into a given genre, even though the MJ Cole name is synonymous with the aforementioned style. We also discuss other stuff including that first question about the value of technique in making club music, engineering tunes for DJs, and the relationship between UK Garage and Jungle/DnB.This is an awesome conversation with a really important figure in UK music. You will enjoy it! Join us in the Hotflush Discord ServerListen to all the music discussed on the show via the Not A Diving Podcast Spotify playlistFor more links and other info visit the official Scuba websiteFollow Scuba: twitter instagram bandcamp spotify apple music beatport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What constitutes a hit record? In the underground dance world the definition can be very different to one that, say, a major label exec living in LA might use. A genre-defining club track is not a "hit" on everyone's terms. But this week's guest has made records which can unambiguously be associated with the H-word. Since starting out in the mid 2000s on Tiga's Turbo label, Duke Dumont has established himself as perhaps the leading UK exponent of what might be called 'pop house', and having decamped to Los Angeles a few years ago, he is able to give us a slightly different perspective on the industry to previous guests on the show. We discuss topics including the mental bandwidth war in social media, the debilitating nature of depression on creativity, soundtracking experiences, and the freedom of writing albums. This was a great conversation, you will enjoy it! On Hotflush and affiliated labels.... this week Closet Yi drops the full release of her 'Simmer' EP. Check it out, it's awesome! Join us in the Hotflush Discord ServerListen to all the music discussed on the show via the Not A Diving Podcast Spotify playlistFor more links and other info visit the official Scuba websiteFollow Scuba: twitter instagram bandcamp spotify apple music beatport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At this point the argument over NFTs probably seems a bit tired. But the fact is that very often the real benefits, theoretical though they might be, can be absent from the conversation as a whole. When Jacques Greene effectively sold the publishing rights to a track via the blockchain he was hinting at a world which currently doesn't exist, but the reality of which would unquestionably be a huge improvement to musicians. That is a world where contracts automatically execute without the need for legacy institutions which operate with extreme opacity and questionable efficacy. So clearly the subject needed to be addressed during this conversation, and on this episode we get fairly deep on all that stuff. Additionally to the NFT debate, we cover topics including the minutiae of 808 kickdrums, his experience with a major label, and the effect of high and low rents on the productivity of musicians.This was a super-interesting conversation with someone with whom I have many mutual friends but had previously never talked to directly. You will enjoy it! On Hotflush and affiliated labels.... a reminder for last week's drop of the James Welsh Sound Exchange Remix of Jayson Wynters' Lost City. This week we have Biemsix dropping the second half of his latest EP with 'Highway High Way Too High' - proper techno. And over on YAEL trip, Glaskin present their full remixes EP featuring me + Etapp Kyle, Baby T, Uncrat and Isaac Reuben... also out on Friday. Join us in the Hotflush Discord ServerListen to all the music discussed on the show via the Not A Diving Podcast Spotify playlistFor more links and other info visit the official Scuba websiteFollow Scuba: twitter instagram bandcamp spotify apple music beatport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you're trying to get started in music there is a tendency to find yourself doing all sorts of stuff just for the privilege of being involved. One of the first things I ever did was conduct an extremely poorly-researched interview with an up-n-coming DJ and producer who was making tunes every dark garage DJ wanted (it wasn't quite called Grime yet). He called himself Plasticman. A few years and one letter from Richie Hawtin later, Chris Reed aka Plastician was spinning on Radio 1, and shortly after that became one of the busiest DJs of the Dubstep explosion of 2006. Fast-fwd another fifteen years and he is still DJing, making tunes, and running his label Terrorhythm, while also heavily involved in the Friends With Benefits DAO, and a firm advocate of the web3 space as a whole. As the above would indicate we discuss a wide range of topics, including the end of UKG as we knew it in 2000, what exactly a DAO is anyway, and the legendary DJ Hatcha. We also get pretty deep into the challenges of making a living out of music over the course of multiple decades, and the many different opportunities that present themselves along the way. Chris is a true soldier of the UK underground and you will enjoy this conversation! On Hotflush this week the 'Iceberg' EP from Bakongo drops, featuring the 'Over Again' collab with *me* which first dropped a few weeks ago. Join us in the Hotflush Discord ServerListen to all the music discussed on the show via the Not A Diving Podcast Spotify playlistFor more links and other info visit the official Scuba websiteFollow Scuba: twitter instagram bandcamp spotify apple music beatport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Musicians can be broadly assigned one of two categories - those who are willing to say what they think, and those who are not. There is an element of risk and reward at play in this dynamic - and it might be a calculated strategy or purely a reflection of a given person's ability (or otherwise) to express themselves. This week's guest, Dave Clarke, is a reliable representative of the former group. He is frequently interviewed, and those interviews often cover topics which have little to do with music - international politics is a common point of discussion.... which leads us to the disclaimer that there is quite a lot of non-music related chat on the show this week.BUT THAT'S OK. DJs shouldn't be limited to talking about kick drums, and we cover topics here including living abroad, Brexit, energy policy, cultural conservatism, as well as the disappearance of counter-culture, the perils of record deals, and the secret sauce of hardware compressors.This was a conversation I was looking forward to having and it did not disappoint. On Hotflush this week we have the second single from Closet Yi's 'Simmer' EP, entitled Red Comet. It's a cracker. And my remix of Glaskin's amazing track Hydrogroove I is also out on Friday. 140bpm breakbeat action ! Join us in the Hotflush Discord ServerListen to all the music discussed on the show via the Not A Diving Podcast Spotify playlistFor more links and other info visit the official Scuba websiteFollow Scuba: twitter instagram bandcamp spotify apple music beatport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the pandemic hit, no part of the music scene has been dissected so minutely by people with less direct knowledge than the club and festival circuit. That was inevitable - everyone loves to party and far too many take an unhealthy pleasure in the misfortune of others. Thankfully on this week's show we have some actual expertise to draw upon. Rich McGinnis has an inordinate amount of experience of the area in question, going back to the early days of the rave scene in Northern Ireland, working at Amnesia in Ibiza, to being one of the key players in the seminal North-West parties Chibuku Shake Shake, Circus, and The Warehouse Project. He's also found time to play a key role in festivals including Parklife and Lovebox. We talk about all of the above, plus the perils of chaperoning the denizens of Big Beat, why it's not always wise to build a DJ their own special booth for one gig, how ecstasy can change international politics, and much else besides. Rich is a raconteur with stories to tell and you will enjoy this episode!On Hotflush affiliated labels this week, Biemsix returns to Who Whom with the first part of a 5-track EP of signature deep and energetic techno.Join us in the Hotflush Discord ServerListen to all the music discussed on the show via the Not A Diving Podcast Spotify playlistFor more links and other info visit the official Scuba websiteFollow Scuba: twitter instagram bandcamp spotify apple music beatport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

House music all night long is a fine adage for the feckless youth of no responsibility, but try delivering the aforementioned while breastfeeding a newborn and facing the prospect of doing the same thing tomorrow in a different country. Cassy has unquestionably done the 'DJ thing'. Formerly resident of Circoloco and graduate of the inaugural Panorama Bar class, she's played all the shows anyone serious about House music ever wanted to. We talk about all of that stuff, and also dig into some of the less glam aspects of DJing, like the limitations of being part of a highly-insular community like the dance scene, the increasing pressures to conform to the norms of that community, and the deficit of authentic voices in the scene. We also discuss making music, the influences of Prince and most notably James Brown, and address the crucial question of whether DJing is a form of art. Cassy is a true original, and you will enjoy this conversation! On Hotflush this week I drop a collaboration with Bakongo, aka former podcast guest Roska. Join us in the Hotflush Discord ServerListen to all the music discussed on the show via the Not A Diving Podcast Spotify playlistFor more links and other info visit the official Scuba websiteFollow Scuba: twitter instagram bandcamp spotify apple music beatport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Techno is a functional form of art, one which on first glance might seem highly formulaic but upon closer inspection reveals itself to be almost infinite in the number of variants in which it can appear while still feeling fresh. Chris Liebing is a master of the style. From a starting point in the early-90s Frankfurt scene, through launching his recently-relaunched label CLR in 1999, up to his present position as one of the world's best-known Techno DJs, as comfortable playing Coachella as he is at Berghain, he has moved with the times while staying true to his self-confessed obsession with the kick drum. In this conversation we discuss the continuing importance of record labels, the increasing irrelevance of albums (even as he releases them on Mute), the origins of Techno, the enduring appeal of DJing, the phenomenon of Tiktok, and much else besides. Chris is such an interesting guy, with huge knowledge and experience - you will love this episode!This week on Hotflush we welcome Closet Yi, dropping the first track from her forthcoming EP this Friday. And we celebrate the full release of Psyk's Scattered EP on Who Whom. Get involved on Bandcamp. Discuss the show in the Hotflush Discord ServerListen to all the music discussed on the show via the Not A Diving Podcast Spotify playlistFor more links and other info visit the official Scuba websiteFollow Scuba: twitter instagram bandcamp spotify apple music beatport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Musicians often view the public relations side of the industry with a degree of suspicion. Sometimes outright hostility. This is occasionally the result of misinformation, or perhaps just a poor level of understanding of what can be a crucial cog in the wheel of an artist's career. But like most things in music there can be a slightly unsavoury side to the construction of narrative and crafting of messages of the sort that PRs get up to which justifies a certain level of cynicism. Melissa Taylor, we can rest assured, is not one of the bad ones. The owner of Tailored Communication, her day job as a PR guru(!) also involves management, and music consultancy. She was formerly press officer at Fabric in London, and is a current board member of the streaming co-operative Resonate. She is also an engaging and witty conversationalist, and someone who is unafraid to be disagreed with - which is fortunate as we did have some points of departure in the course of this episode. But that's what a free exchange of ideas is all about, right? And in woefully short supply in the music conversation generally. We cover topics including the problems of the streaming model, the role of co-operatives in a potential improvement, what it was like promoting a record in the early 2000s, the inability of the industry to deal with diversity issues, the Berlin club scene, the death of music reviews, and much else besides. A great episode, you'll love it. On Hotflush-affiliated labels this week we welcome Jayson Wynters to Rhythm Nation, and check Etapp Kyle's remix of Glaskin's Slim Line monster. Some links from Melissa: https://resonate.is/pricing/https://pioneerworks.org/broadcast/library-music-liz-pellyJoin us in the Hotflush Discord ServerListen to all the music discussed on the show via the Not A Diving Podcast Spotify playlistFor more links and other info visit the official Scuba websiteFollow Scuba: twitter instagram bandcamp spotify apple music beatport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manchester in the late 1980s was as vibrant a musical environment as you could wish for, and following the second Summer of Love in 1987 societal barriers were crumbling as the combination of music and ecstasy provided the catalyst for eventually became the all-conquering leviathan that we now know as the global rave scene. A Guy Called Gerald made key contributions to that moment, but the experience of releasing transcendent music via an industry that made today's seem like a paragon of professionalism was far from straightforward. His subsequent journey through genres, performance, and legal wrangling, has left him with a deeply held sense of independence. We discuss all of the above over two highly interesting hours, in addition to digging into the specifics of how the industry might develop and many other sidetracks. This week on Hotflush we welcome Psyk into the fold with his forthcoming EP 'Scattered'. Stand by for release news from Locked Groove coming this Friday... hotflush.bandcamp.comJoin us in the Hotflush Discord ServerListen to all the music discussed on the show via the Not A Diving Podcast Spotify playlistFor more links and other info visit the official Scuba websiteFollow Scuba: twitter instagram bandcamp spotify apple music beatport Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.