In August M Shock remixed Chimpo and DRS' Holding On as part of the competition we organised with Kmag.  M Shock's remix came through over a hundred entries to win the competition.  Check our interview with him exclusively on Example and download the winning tune... 

Example : So M Shock for those that don't know you who are you and what do you do?

M Shock :  Im a full time youth worker in Manchester and DJ and Produce in my spare time. I've been DJ'ing for about 3 years and producing for around a year and a half, I'm getting to a point now where I am having fun with the production and getting to grips with 'my sound'. I also help run a monthly night, with a great group of friends and fellow DJ's in Manchester called Pandemik. I also have a seriously unhealthy addiction to fruit gums. 

Example : You are of course the winner of the Chimpo and DRS remix competition. What were you going for with your remix? 

M Shock : It seems a bit cliche because generally everyone says with remixes they want to keep the flavour of the original, but yeah, thats what I wanted. I thought it was possibly one of the best and most unique remix comp's of the year due to the fact that it was a tune that was of a really high production standard, with an equally well shot video, given away on a freebie. To hear DRS come with something new on the vocals and for it to come out as a comp I knew I couldn't afford to miss out on having a play around with them. I think it says a lot about artists who clearly put in a shedload of work into each of their tunes to then give something back to their audience for free! 

Example : How would you describe your sound and who has influenced you? 

M Shock: If i was to try and give it a label then I think the easy answer would be to say 'dark', I quite often make a conscious effort to make 'happy' tunes but they always end up sounding sinister in some kind of way. I enjoy making both drum and bass and dubstep depending on my mood. 

Influences is a tough one, over the years I've been a listener of everything from pretty obscure metal to grime to prog rock and everything in-between. The dubstep sound of the earliest pioneers was the one that really stuck with me and kicked me off wanting to DJ. I think my main influence is living in Manchester, it"s pretty astonishing to see how much local talent we have and the work ethic of everyone here is second to none, it's often this thought that convinces me to hit the buttons after work. 

Example : What's your production setup?

M Shock :  I run Logic 9 on an iMac with some baby Alesis M1 monitors, Alesis IO2 interface, Korg Padkontrol & a Korg mini keyboard (soon to be upgraded!)

Example : What do you want to make on your day in the studio with Chimpo and DRS?  Any ideas in mind?

M Shock : I think once I've got over the nerves then I'm really open to giving anything a go, I haven't had creative licence in a professional studio before particularly not with two guys that I think really sum up the backbone of the Manchester scene! I just want to learn as much as I can from them and use the experience to a maximum, anything that I can take from the day is going to be a positive so I just intend to roll with it. I'm still trying to come to terms with it to be honest. 

I think I will also try and push my luck to have a sneaky listen of 'Blowfish' because my curiosity for this tune is killing me off. 

Example : What have you got coming up in the pipeline?  any releases / gigs? 

 M Shock :  I've got a whole host of half complete projects that I would like to finish one day, hopefully sooner rather than later. Some bits of interest from certain people but I say no more. You can more than likely catch me playing at the forthcoming Pandemik nights @ Dry live over the next few months too.

Example : 3 tunes you can't live without at the moment? 

M Shock : 

Dub Phizix & Skeptical - 'Marka'. I know it's not out yet but having heard it on a few mixes recently it never fails to get me going. 

Echo Wanderer - 'Gham Dub' 

Goth Trad - 'Sunbeam'