Calibre is not really an artist who needs an introduction. Famous for his unique liquid style and countless releases on Soul:r, Signature, Revolver et al. Hes released several succesful LPs in his time and played all over the world. We caught up with him following the release of his brand new LP "Even If" to find out about his work process, what music he listens to and what hes got coming up.

Example: What was the first and last piece of music you bought?

Calibre: i believe the first peice of music that i bought was a UB40 album, their debut lp i think, and the last thing i bought was ALICE COLTRANE-RADHA KRSNA NAMA SANKIRTANA......  a very beautiful album.

Example: You're music is heavily influenced and also at the same time very unique what music do you listen to outside drum and bass?

Calibre:i listen to anything, and i mean anything, i have a keen interest in original forms of folk music from around the world, i like the honesty in it, while i collect a lot of types of music recently im feeling close to ambient music, i love the emotive space it has, but when i start to think about what im into its difficult to give a condensed view, i have thousands of records, and moments, too many to think about.

Example: You've just released your new LP "Even If"  to round off 2010 hows your year been?   

Calibre:its been good, im happier with my path now, it was better than last year, i feel like i have so much to learn about what im doing, and to finish another year with an album that im happy with is nice timing.

Example: What did you want to achieve with the new LP was there a message or feeling you wanted to convey?

Calibre: primarily i just wanted to write a good album, good enough to transcend the culture of DNB, there are areas in DNB that i felt could be more lyrically open, i wanted to see if i could convey a message, vague as it is, that it can be a more open style than most producers think, my view of the conceptual album still remains with the individual tracks, in that its not such a tight style but a looser and more expressive one.

Example:  With a new decade just around the corner what have you got planned for Signature and yourself?  

Calibre: i can only talk about what's next in the close cycle, im planning on compiling a downtempo shelflife, unreleased tunes that never came out over the years for whatever reason, i also want to write a follow up to 'shine a light" the singer songwriter album that i did last year, then i have various DNB commitments, and an ongoing project around the 140 bpm mark, remixes....etc,
in the distant future being alive and well would be good enough for me.....but maybe id like to write a book who knows....

Example: You've been releasing experimental stuff and house under your name Dominick Martin what can we expect from that side of things?

Calibre: im starting to build some new material for the next album in that vein, its a wider and more freeform approach than the DNB stuff, it takes more time to adjust to that, but i love doing it so hopefully it will be finished soon, im trying to collect tunes that tend to relate to each other in a way that is more visual, its not bound by tempo in terms of how its presented so the pace of the work can change significantly, and this turns me on haha

Example: Where do you stand on the Digital vs Vinyl Debate and were you sad to see the end of the Technics 1210?

Calibre: i think its the end of a long era for vinyl, but it will live on, it still has a dedicated fan base, i buy all my music on vinyl, but thats just me, it does effect me though, in terms of finance it has reduced my income from music, but im not going to complain too much, formats change, thats life.

Example: When creating music how do you find inspiration and whats your process?

Calibre: ive always found writing music to be a place where i find peace, i dont think too much about anything, i think thats one of the reasons i love it so much, i think Charles Bukowski said that the creative process should be like having a good poo, it should happen quite naturally.

Example: Do you have preferred software or hardware?  

Calibre:not really, i use logic for mac, its fairly stable software, unlike my earlier experiences with sequencers and hardware, so im pretty happy if its not crashing and making me swear, i did like the old akai samplers, for the filters in particular, but i don't get too attached to these things, as long as it bloody works ill use it.

Example: Name an interesting random fact?

Calibre: ive never had one of my own tracks remixed.


Example: Whats your favourite place to play?

Calibre: thats a difficult one, i love playing band on the wall, the soulution nights we do there are usually damn good, i feel like im family there, sometimes its not so much the venue but the place, i love playing in Japan and New Zealand.

Example: Do you have a favourite and most hated drum and bass track and why?

Calibre: i have favourite's, quite a few so ill pass there, regarding the stuff i dont like, nothing id mention individually, but i really dislike the arcade machine sound that seems to infect all genres of electronic music. i feel like im in some pinball hell with that shit.....

Example: You play regularly in our home town at Soul:ution. how do you find the Manchester scene?

Calibre: like i said, i feel like family down there, i love working with DRS in his backyard, and the new sound system is nice, Manchester is my second city in the UK, i feel like i know it best, and it has some great personal memories and moments for me, to play there after all these years is still a privilege.

Example: What up and coming producers are you listening to / playing out ?

Calibre: i got a tune from New Zealand recently by Tokyo Prose that i dig, i got a weird 10" from Cologne and i dont know who it is but its fecking good, im terrible for contemporary props.

Example: If you hadnt become a dj / producer what do you think you would be doing now ?

Calibre: id be working in some creative post of some sort, i play the drums, sing, paint, draw produce.... im intolerable as a person if i dont have an outlet so im sure i would have found another place to create.

Example: If you could do a collab with any musician alive or dead who would you choose?

Calibre: id like to do a blues punk DNB crossover with Frankie Stubbs, a singer in a band called Leatherface from Sunderland, he has a wonderful gravel style voice, a bit like lemmy, it would be interesting to hear that i think.

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

Calibre: some things have been in there for too long, i suppose my remix of Zero tolerance's "Refusal" always stays handy, but to be honest theres quite a few tracks from a few years back that i hold on to, nostalgia and pragmatism....