Music > Interviews
DJs Hazard & Hype
The Nick Rayns LCR, UEA
20/09/17
Rewind selector! Meet two of the originators of Drum n Bass, DJs Hype and Hazard. Hype runs the Playaz record label and was responsible for releasing the classic tuuuuune Super Sharp Shooter, and Hazard recently won Number One DJ In The World at the Drum n Bass Awards, so, you know, they’re pretty good at what they do! DJs for 20 years, they’re bringing the whole Playaz party to Norwich to help celebrate Rumble’s 23rd birthday at the LCR and I had a good chat with them about Fabric, pirate radio and what gets them up on the dancefloor.
You’re heading out on a special run of back to back shows. Is it more fun to play together than individually?
Hazard: I think I prefer mixing on my own, and I reckon Hype would agree with that – you can just get on with it, know where you’re at with stuff and do your own thing. But there’s no denying how much fun we’ve had playing B2B sets recently. We’re really comfortable with each other’s playing, and it’s now almost second nature to do these things together. It almost cuts our set times in half and makes things very simple.
Hype: I enjoy both but I find the B2B sets are a lot of fun as it’s always a laugh when me and Hazard catch up!
It’s a showcase for artists on the Playaz record label. Playaz Recordings was one of the original drum n bass labels – you were the first on that label, Hype?
The very first release on Playaz was my production featuring MC Fats called Peace Love and Unity back in 1996. I also own the label too.
Do you remember the first time you heard drum n bass music, and how did you first get involved with making your own?
Hazard: I started out listening to rave music, then it moved into jungle and it all progressed from there. It was a long time ago now, but as I started to buy my own equipment, build a set up and start mixing, I soon realised that to get myself noticed I needed my own sound, so I started to produce. Luckily, I realised early on that you have to get music out there to turn some heads.
Hype: I am part of the foundation and creation of drum and bass and jungle music, and was around before it began. If you look into the history of the music you will find I am part of its roots.
How would you say drum n bass has developed over the years?
Hype: It’s grown and grown over the years to an international level with a strong underground scene alongside a healthy amount of commercially successful acts. It seems to take over festivals everywhere these days – it’s stronger than ever I suppose and I have been there since day minus dot!
Hazard: Producers have definitely progressed and improved over the years. There’s so much accessibility to computers and software nowadays that you can get away with producing old and new sounding music within a few clicks. It’s cool that older and younger DJs are blending their sounds together and everyone is getting involved. It’s a really good time for the Drum & Bass sound.
Hazard, you recently won the number one DJ In The World at the Drum n Bass awards – how was that experience for you? Were you surprised to win?
I was definitely surprised – it’s always nice to win an award!
Hype, you started off running Ganja Records and moved onto True Playaz. Perhaps the best known track you’ve been involved in was Super Sharp Shooter. What are the qualities of a track that makes you want to release it?
I own Ganja Records but I did not start off that way. For me to sign a track, I suppose it’s gotta be good enough for me to want to play it out in my sets, but also it’s gotta have an original vibe to it, meaning I don’t want to release music from artists that don’t have their own original angle, and finally, I like them to have an experimental, open-minded approach too.
You also were an early DJ on pirate radio in the early 90’s – what did you learn from those days that you still use now?
Erm, I wouldn’t say I learnt much from being on pirate radio but it was a fantastic way to get my name out to the public, and it’s a great way to promote your music.
What did you think of the campaign to keep Fabric open, and the sad demise of nightclubs in general?
Hazard: I have so much love for Fabric, it’s one of my favourite clubs in the world and to have it reopened after everything that happened was an incredible achievement. It was a real statement that if people stand up for something they believe in, things can change. The togetherness shone through and everybody should be very proud.
Hype: Clubs are so important for the development of our music, it’s my favourite place to DJ; as much as I love festivals and huge stages to perform on, they are not a platform to develop your music. I had the longest-running label monthly event that was packed every month for 15 years straight, and when the club lost its licence I was gutted… I am glad they got it back and I look forward to performing at the 18th birthday event in October.
You’ve been playing a lot of festivals across the UK and Europe this summer – what’s been the highlight so far?
Hazard: Definitely one of the best run of gigs I’ve ever had. SW4 was great – our first ever Playaz stage, a really important milestone and the place was electric. I can’t thank everyone who was involved enough.
Hype: I loved them all but I will be biased and say my very own Playaz stage at SW4 festival was my highlight as it was our biggest Playaz stage to date and totally was sold out.
When you’re doing a back to back show together, do you practise sets ahead of time or is it pretty flexible on the night?
Hype: It’s all organic, we laugh and joke at each other and have digs at each other when playing – the only thing we do practice is our dance routines, we have a choreographer that trains us twice a month.
Hazard: We keep everything unrehearsed and spontaneous! We often surprise each other new tunes which keeps things fresh. Also, I can’t be bothered driving all the way to London to see Hype for a practice! Ha ha!
Do you both have tracks you always play when you play out?
Hype: In our sets there are certain tracks that we leave for each other without actually discussing it… I will just clock that he likes playing a certain track and vice versa.
Hazard: We end up playing each other’s tunes quite a lot. There are loads of unwritten rules when we do B2B sets, things pop up every now and again that we seem to notice. Stealing each other’s tracks that kind of thing. It’s all good fun not knowing what’s coming next!
What for you is the track that always gets you up on the dancefloor?
Hazard: It’s been a few years since I’ve been up on a dancefloor so I wouldn’t know!
Hype: Mate! Agadoo!
Has the lifestyle of a DJ changed much over the last 10 or 20 years?
Hype: The business side has changed a lot over the years but the rest is pretty much the same as its always been, and I love that.
Hazard: It’s certainly relaxed more. It’s less intense in terms of the demand for writing music and travelling to shows. I can be a little more choosy as to when I’m playing, whereas 20 years ago I’d be playing six sets per weekend all over the country – it was pretty full on! I’m very lucky to be where I am now and it’s definitely not taken for granted.
What can we expect from your set in Norwich?
Hype: An explosion of great drum and bass to make the walls bleed
Hazard: Who knows? We’ll try our best to make it special though.
DJs Hype and Hazard play at Rumble’s 23rd Birthday at the LCR on 6th October. Tickets available from uealcr.ticketabc.com