Real Playaz Ltd has long been a favourite label, and club destination for drum & bass fans nation-, and indeed worldwide. Aside from head honcho and junglist king DJ Hype, the imprint is also home to DJ/producer Original Sin. This Monday sees the issue of his new EP, ‘Move’, featuring six meaty d&b and dubstep bangers. We caught up with OS to find out more. 

Please can you introduce yourself, to any readers who might not be familiar with your work.

Hi, my name is Adam Tindill, professionally known as Original Sin and/or Monstar. I make d&b and dubstep for Real Playaz Ltd and also own and run a label called Image Muzik. 

Your new EP is out on Playaz. Can you tell us a little about the tracks on it, and some of the ideas behind them.

I really don’t put that much 'thought' into it, I’m very creative and have an over-active imagination.... A lot of my ideas come from scores of movies I watched when I was younger, and I find things capture my imagination less as I get older. Both my brother and I have a condition which means we see very clearly vivid shapes (in my case) or colours when we hear sounds. This is something that I use when designing sounds as it is easier to visualise - like drawing a picture with noise I suppose. I always wanted to be a graphic designer or an architect when I was in my teens but I was told i couldn’t and wouldn’t be as I’m partially colourblind but music was always my first love anyway .

Can you give us an insight into your studio set up? Do you use solely software, or does any outboard equipment add to the Original Sin sound?

It’s a common misconception that in this day and age outboard is still better than in the box. Most of the movie scores you hear now are written, composed and performed by one person and a Mac/PC. I’m all in the box and i keep my VST list to a minimum as I’d rather know a few quality instruments and signal processors really well than have 3000 that I sort of know how to use. I still use Zeta for most synthesis and Oxford EQs, reverb and dynamics. I’m not saying they are the best but they are definitely my favourites.

How do you feel about the drum & bass scene(s) circa 2011? Are there things you’d like to see change or improve?

I think I’d be pointing out the elephant in the room to be saying things are changing. I find underground dance music very exciting right now, it hasn’t, in my opinion, been this open and eclectic since we first discovered music doesn’t have to come from live instruments. I think dubstep is the evolution of drum & bass, I think they are actually one and the same and its only our desire to pigeonhole everything and form little tribes with opposing views so we can war it out that seperates the genres.

Can you let us know about any other music you are working on at the moment?

Well on the EP there is a dubstep track entitled Air Raid featuring the vocal talents of MC Element, that’s a good indication of what else I’m doing... From this point forward and indeed for a year now Original Sin is about d&b and dubstep, I make and love both. I also have the 'Monstar' dubstep project which is currently gathering momentum in the UK and the States.

Who are some of the best people you’ve worked with so far, and are there other people you’d like to work with?

I haven’t really worked with anyone outside of the camp but would very much like to. I’m in talks with Caspa and also Fresh at the moment both of whom I have a lot of respect for.

Who are some of the other tracks and artists who are moving you at the moment?

D&b-wise I’m loving Culture Shock right now, also my sets wouldn’t be complete without Taxman, Subzero and Supreme Being ( signed to my label Image Muzik -  this guy has a lot of talent and will be hard to ignore I promise you that).

Finally, any messages to the readers or shouts you’d like to give?

Approach music with an open mind... It’s just a bit of fun after all. Big ups to everyone at Playaz:  Hype , Pascal, Taxman , Subzero. Also big ups to Supreme Being and MC Element.

A month or so ago the students and music fans of Leeds received a special announcement. Promoters Wax:On and Metropolis had put together a series of three huge events for the 1^st term of the year. Named ‘Trilogy’, these events would see a monthly takeover of the student union building with each event seeing some of the biggest names in dance music gracing the stages of Stylus and the huge Refectory room. They promised much and part one kicked off on Saturday 24^th Sept.

Metropolis and Wax:On have curated big events at this venue for years now and they’ve got everything well organised. I entered alongside a snaking queue of people humming and chatting with excitement. Many of them knowing what to expect but for many more this was their first trip to such an event, it all added up to an electric atmosphere.

The venues filled up over the next hour or so and soon each of the three rooms were heaving, although it was always easy enough to move between them. Stylus, the enormous underground room with a sunken dancefloor, was playing host to Annie Mac, Nero and Aeroplane, with residents People Get Real getting the whole thing started. As things went this was definitely the most crowded and (eventually) sweaty of all the venues, the majority of punters wishing to see Annie and Nero. Indeed it got to the point where taking any pictures was fruitless as my lenses were steaming up too quickly! 

Aeroplane played out his usual styles, disco house vibes keeping the crowd in a groove for nearly two hours straight. Following on Annie Mac emerged to a now packed out room, performing a similar house/techno/electro set to the previous evenings in Manchester. It was a much more refined affair than the sets I’ve witnessed at recent festivals and all the better for it in my opinion. She is clearly improving considerably as a DJ, apt given her position as near-enough dance music royalty. To finish the event and bring some bass to the proceedings dubstep heavyweights Nero played a DJ set. Their commercial ‘stadium-esque’ sound filled the venue, pushing the system to breaking point. The crowd were rapturous but I always leave Nero feeling there is something amiss- all the ingredients are there but the final product always seems lacking, and in a way I can’t explain.

Of course Trilogy was more than just this one room. Above Stylus the Student Union’s Terrace bar was hosting another mass of big names. It was more Drum & Bass centred up here and the Brookes Brothers were superb. The pair have slowly built up a big reputation and a back catalogue of stunning liquid dnb hits, and although only one half of the duo was present, the DJ sets I have seen only add to this. Northern Lights aka Steppa and Kitcha have seen many a night in this venue. They brought some hard and heavy jump up for the skanking masses which went down a treat. In a change of venue Ms. Dynamite played her set in this room as well, a much more intimate setting than many of her usual gigs. It went down really well with the crowd, who were within touching distance of her and able to shout song requests between every tune, eventually provoking a candid remonstration from the singer!

The biggest room of the Student Union is the huge refectory. Once solely a live music venue, legendary bands such as The Who and Led Zeppelin have graced the stage over the years. Last year it was granted a late license and promoters were able to take full advantage of its capacity and soundsystem. 

Trilogy Part One had the Refectory playing host to some huge names. Oneman kicked things off, his deep dancefloor dubstep allowing punters to get settled in before Redlight and Dread MC hit the stage. Within minutes all of the slow-paced groove Oneman had maintained was blown out of the window and the crowd had doubled in size and started bouncing. “This is not dubstep. This is not house. This is Redlight!” exclaimed Dread. He’s 100% right too- to try and pigeonhole this artist would be an insult to the unique sound he has crafted since leaving the world of drum & bass a few years ago.

As much as Redlight isn’t dubstep, Caspa truly is. A pioneer in the meteoric rise of the genre he is now at the top of the game and can sit alongside any dubstep DJ on the top of a bill. Watching him now you can see that there maybe a slight sense of boredom with the traditional dubstep drum patterns as he introduces tunes with different percussion patterns, from 4x4 kickdrums to garagey snares. It all adds up to a more energetic and interesting listening experience however, so it’s no bad thing!

A later gap in the schedule was filled by North Base- a collaboration between 2 legends; Metropolis founder and resident, Prophecy and Drum & Bass producer Silver. Although they both cut their teeth in the Drum & Bass scene, the collaboration sees them producing a unique sounding 140bpm rave music. Think early 90’s hardcore updated for 2011, complete with heavier breaks and more sub-bass. It’s a sound which seems to be going down well, and their remix of Ms Dynamite’s Neva Soft has received big support from fellow artists. Keep an eye out for more releases soon.

The ravers of Leeds received a fitting finish to their night when the Executioner, Andy C stepped up. Some technical difficulties made for a late start and I must say I was nothing but disappointed when I saw Andy C with a laptop and a serato system. As one of the last champions of vinyl I thought we could always rely on the Ram Records boss to keep things traditional- it’s not like he’s short of dubplates!

As things went it was as exciting an Andy C set as we’ve come to expect, with a huge surprise thrown in; a series of heavy 130bpm breaks tunes. A sacreligous as it seemed it was still a really well constructed set and the crowd we’re rightfully happy with it,  right until the very end.

English born and now San Diego native ASC has been producing for over a decade both in the sphere of electronic dance music and also for Hollywood film production companies.  His own label Covert Operations which racked up an impressive catalogue over the years. 

This month he is releasing a single on Samurai's sister label Red Seal along with a limited edition 12" vinyl as part of a new series dreamt up by Samurai head honcho Presha entitled HORO.   We caught up with ASC to find out a bit more about his Hollywood activities and his forthcoming release with Red Seal. 

Example : Your next release on Red Seal is accompanied by a vinyl only single which comes out on the same day.  As a record collector yourself Im guessing your pleased to be rewarding the vinyl buyer?

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ASC : Yeah totally.  I love the vinyl format and have been trying to bring back playing it more and more into my DJ sets, where setups allow for it.  When I'm buying music, I always buy vinyl or CD, as I want something physical for my money, so I love doing projects like this.

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Example :  Do you think Vinyl will become more and more a special colliectors thing as opposed to a normal way of purchasing music? 

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ASC :  More than likely, yes.  Times are changing, equipment is changing and people are embracing these changes.  The more modern approach to DJ'ing and music buying is purely digital so when you look at the likes of new controllers, hardware setups etc coming out, it's hard to see where vinyl fits in as a 'normal' way of purchasing music, as you say.  Personally, I'll be buying it as long as it's available and releasing my music on it until it's not tangible any more.

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Example :  You've been producing tunes for film companies.  How does that compare to making electronic dance music?   Do you work in a different way when producing for films and which is your favourite? 

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ASC :  Vibe wise, it's not too different to what I do, as my music is very cinematic and emotional usually.  Structurally it differs though, as I'm not writing music for the purpose of DJ tools.

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Example :  What have you got on the cards for 2012 ? 

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ASC :  So much stuff, but I don't want to give anything away just yet, so I'm not going to go into too much detail.

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Example : If you hadn't become a musician what do you think you would be doing now? 

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ASC :  I'm not sure tbh.  I was always a good footballer and had trials lined up for a local professional team when I was young before I literally snapped my ankle which put a stop to that.  It might have been a doorway for greater success, who knows?  It was around about this time that I really started to focus on music and I eventually finished university and went at it full time.

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Example :  First thing you do in the morning.? 

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ASC :  Get a glass of ice cold water or usually curse my neighbours for letting their horrible rat dog Yorkshire terriers out and waking me up.

Example : Interesting fact ? 

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ASC :  Holland makes more money exporting Soy sauce every year than Japan does.  Apparently. 

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Example :  3 tunes never out of your box at the moment? 

ASC :  Imagination Network - 01B, Oak - Escapist and a new untitled thing by myself which I need to title and send out

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aciASC - Droids and Never Enough is out on Red Seal + Accompanying Horo on 12.12.11 

Merchandise, the magical word.  To my mind it conjures up images of miles and miles of Star Wars action figures, I heart NY t-shirts, those stupid rubbers you see if you ever go to visit some sort of ancient roman fort.  "Exit through the gift shop" is the climactic moment of any family outing or school trip.  Evil capitalists just seem to have a knack for manufacturing the sort of stationery object which 4-8 year olds really find exciting and must purchase.  

These days everything has merchandise, its pretty cheap to make and there's something warm and fuzzy about seeing your own logo on something. Why not get it printed on lighters, pens, mousemats and t shirts.  Its more exciting than wearing whatever Primark tell you to wear. 

Bearing in mind that every man and his dog now has a merchandise range, I dont really understand why I found it so shocking andalmost spooky in a way when I stumbled onto the Merchandise page for YouTube and Google.  Im not even sure how I ended up on it but I saved a link at the time and put a note on my to do list that I should definitely write an article about it.  

I have never seen anyone with Google or YouTube merchandise, nor had it ever crossed my mind that I would like some.  However it seems to have crossed their minds and they seem to have thought quite in depth about the merch range.  

I bet you've often thought; "I like my bicycle bell but it would be cooler if it was a google bicycle bell!!!" or "Lets not just play normal cricket anymore, lets play GOOGLE cricket!!!"

YouTube and Google have thought about it all.  Head over to the site and check it out. My YouTube shoelaces are already in the post.