We caught up with Cardiff's Maxx Roach to find out a bit more about Cardiff's bubbling scene and see what he's got coming up this year...

EXAMPLE: Hello Maxx Roach, thanks for talking to us for a hot minute. How are you? What have you been up to?

MAXX: Good Thanks. Hitting that time of year where it rains most of the time especially in Wales, so its a usually more productive time than the Summer when id prefer to be outside.

EXAMPLE: So what’s it like in Cardiff this time of year? We hear Carmarthen is hot for a bit of Dubstep, tell us what your manor is like?

MAXX: I suppose there is abit off a lull in the scene at this time of year, everyone is skint from Christmas and all the nights going on around then and New Year. Also very few records get released at this time of year too, so it seems to go quiet for the last couple of weeks of January. Still its not going to put people off if a big night does come along!
Its been 4 years since i lived in Carmarthen now, doesn't feel that long ago, its a town that gets under your skin....Got to hand it to the people who have done things down there, both now and in the past. For such a small town it has some big things happen every now and then. I remember back in 2006 Mala and Sgt Pokes played, around a similar time Skream was brought down, mainly by the foward thinking of Matt who runs the local (and only) record shop 'Tangled Parrot', he introduced me to Skull Disco 1&2...and things moved from there i suppose. Even now Carmathen has some big nights going on, not so long ago Goth-Trad was booked by Martin and Dai of Project Roach (no relation :P). Its been a long time since ive been back to Carmarthen. I suppose Carmarthen is where i come from and Cardiff is where my home is now.

EXAMPLE: What kind of vibe does Aperture have?

MAXX:  Really good, one big happy family underneath it all. You know its a good night when the Dj wants to be in the crowd too. Aperture was one of the first nights I played at when I came to Cardiff and the one i felt at home with straight away. Dave who runs the night was really welcoming and and the longer standing residents like Ransom and Subs:stance were too, that doesn't happen at alot of nights you go to!

EXAMPLE: Where is your favourite place to DJ if it’s not Cardiff?

MAXX:I think ill change this question from 'is' to 'was'......and it was in Cardiff......It WAS Glo. That place is missed by alot of people around here. Seen alot of different people there, Dj Marky stands out, and so did Dj Format, play a set of mainly 7" soul mixed with his hip-hop was sick...cant put this list down with out local hero High Contrast in it either. I think it was because it was such an intimate venue with the nice bar upstairs and then you would go down stairs into this little sweatbox, where everyone was in good spirits!

EXAMPLE:  So what would be your favourite thing about the music scene here for the people who haven’t been before?

MAXX:The relatively unknown local talent, especially coming though at the moment, Obviously Lung is doing well at the moment with the original and the remix 12"s out on Kokeshi, But also Tolerance, Magenta. Monky, Curtamos. as well as the recent releases on 10-thousand yen of Didz & Chico and C.R.S.T.

EXAMPLE: Can you tell us who some of your influences are?

MAXX:First we should get big ones out the way.....I think that the record labels themselves is something I think about.....When a label has a a bigger scheme in there choices and signings.....When I go to Catapult to buy records there are labels that I don't have to ask for, they are just something that you need to listen too. Ive got every release on Deep Medi, mainly because they are all epic tracks but as a collection of records they all sit well together. I give credit to labels that are willing to overhaul and image to go in a new path, Black Acre did it a couple of years back and R&S have gone a major new direction. I also like that you can hear different local scenes in the releases that labels put out..... Hessle gives you a look into the Leeds, Tectonic with Bristol, and DMZ & Tempa with London....there is many more labels doing that sort of thing but the list would go on and on if i names specific artists too.

EXAMPLE:  How would you descibre your sound?

MAXX:In Progress.......at the moment ive been going with funk-ish noise's, with a dub echo....Ive been digging though alot of old motown and soul vinyl too and sampling those....

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

MAXX:The first i remember going out and buying was White Town - 'Your Woman' on cassette from Woolworth's (RIP).........The most recent was The Rope Tightens By Shackleton on vinyl and a Julian Jeweil Ep digitally.

EXAMPLE: If you had to choose, Drum and Bass or Dubstep...if you HAD to choose.

MAXX:Dubstep for sure. Drum and Bass was what i first started going to night to see, but i never had the urge to make it, Ive tried, but if anything my tempo is slowing down from dubstep not speeding up im getting closer to tech-house as we speak...haha.

EXAMPLE:  Sounds like you’re doing big things at the moment and for the future, how are things going with Step2Records?
What’s the plan for the future?

MAXX: Good, Step2Records is going through some changes at the moment, there is about 3 releases mastered and on hold and will be put out close to each other.The reason being is that Step2 has both its Hip-Hop side and its Dubstep side. My Best mate Dan is the MD of Step2Records and works with the Hip-Hop side of the releases and I have been in to work with the Dubstep things, and hopefully over the next 3 releases we are going to bridge that gap and end up with some interesting collision in the middle.
Also the collaborative music between me and another one of my closest mates Lung has recently been signed for Deadplate Recordings 001 release, which is exciting, James and I have finished the tracks and now its with Alex who runs the label, Ill keep you updated with that.  

EXAMPLE:  whats never out of your box at the moment?

MAXX:Julio Bashmore - Batak Groove/Around hasnt left my bag since it came out.....And i dont think ive left the house without at least one Mala track in the bag in a few years now haha.

EXAMPLE:  Finally.... Anything else exciting going on in Cardiff in the near future?

MAXX:Signature is a relatively new night that have done some big nights over the past couple of months including Martyn and James Blake and have also  got some big bookings coming up, Zed Bias is at the end of the month, and 24th of Feb is SBTRKT, which im lucky enough to be booked on too.

And on a fashion note there is Droneboy Laundry. some seriously amazing designs coming out.

Also it will be exciting when Cardiff get promoted to the Premiership.......
x

http://www.soundcloud.com/maxxroach

http://www.droneboylaundry.com/