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Here's a Q&A we did with Grant!! Check it out 
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One of the most prolific and prominent of the producers and DJs to emerge from London's tech-house underground, Grant Dell's musical roots span far beyond the current club scene. From punk rock to dub reggae to deep house, Grant has been playing and making music for over 20 years. He brings his unique understanding of dancefloor dynamics in a much-anticipated return to the Sullivan Room on Saturday, August 26th.
With dozens of releases out over the last few years, on both UK and US labels alike, Grant has built a strong following of fans around the world. His sound covers all the bases of house – whether deep, percussive, jacking or techy – and his prior New York gigs have always been memorable nights. In this Q&A, Grant delves deep into his musical history and production philosophy, and gives us all an update on his current projects.
You've been a part of the UK dance music scene for quite a while now. Talk about your musical roots, and how you first picked up the turntables?
My musical roots started in the 1970's when England became emerged in the punk movement. I was totally into -- not just the music, but the whole scene, the music, the clothes, and the anarchy of it all. The first records I ever bought were by the Sex Pistols and the Clash and I was a big fan of Adam and the Antz (circa 1977-80). After the punk movement died out I was lured into dub reggae; most of the people I grew up with were English West Indian, so it was from hanging with them that I got turned onto dub. In the middle 80’s, me and a group of friends had built a sound system called Libra Hifi. We used to play blues parties and squat parties and that’s where I first got the taste of playing records live.
So many styles of music have come and gone since you first got involved. What does it take for a sound to catch your ear? What do you look for in music?
I am a house music lover. When I say house, I mean proper house like Kerri Chandler, Dennis Ferrer, early Masters at Work and Todd Terry, so I listen out for new stuff that has a lot of their kind of style. Anything that has been influenced by that sound, whether it be house, tech-house or techno.
Tribalation was the project that first helped break your name as a producer. Talk about that partnership and how you approached those tracks. Will there ever be any more Tribalation releases in the future?
When we first did those tracks, I was using Gareth Oxby just as my engineer and I had all these samples that I had been saving over the years, and the idea of fusing dub reggae elements with tribal house. I mean there were other producers at the time, like Hipp-e and Halo that were doing that, but I wanted to give it a more London feel, something that had a connection with the dub sound systems from the 70’s and 80’s…lots of heavy bass and sparse vocals. After we did the first four or five tracks, we realized we both had a really good working connection so we decided to form Tribalation. That’s it now for Tribalation - we both moved onto different things, but I do have a couple of new tracks in the pipeline that use that same formula so watch this space.
There was a stretch where you had releases coming out quite frequently. How do you balance a steady studio output with keeping the quality high?
That’s a hard thing. When you start releasing often, you come into the record buying public's eye a lot more, so they start to comment more on your work, saying things like 'Oh, it wasn’t as good as the last one,' and things like that, so you have to stick to what you know and what works. I got to a place where I wasn’t happy with everything I was doing so I had a break from turning out three tracks a week to taking my time and only working on one and making sure the quality is kept high
What are you focusing on now these days? Any noteworthy projects coming up?
I have been co-producing an electro punk band called THE IMBECILES, that’s been really refreshing. You can hear their tracks at www.imbeciles.co.uk
Also I have been working with a very famous singer from the 80’s and we have this very cool project underway but I am keeping that under wraps at the moment as it is something very special. Also I have been working on some new house tracks, just need to finish them which is taking some time due to other projects.
Talk about the different labels you've been a part of over the years. How are things coming with your most recent one – Pancake?
I have been really lucky over the years to have released on some really cool labels like Loaded, Strictly Rhythm…Nightshift and various others. Pancake is on a little hiatus at the moment and will be back in the new year with some mighty fine new stuff. Also I am in the process of launching Pancake as a digital download as well.
What's your take on the UK club scene at the moment? Any spots that you're playing at regularly?
I don’t really play in London at all. I do however play on the south coast of England a lot at this really cool night called Conch. In my opinion it is one of only a handful of proper underground house nights left. I play mostly in other parts of Europe: Germany, Bulgaria, Zurich and of course North and South America
You've become associated with a few different scenes in North America – San Francisco, Vancouver, New York. What's your perspective on underground music in the USA? Any recent travels or gigs?
I think there is a very healthy scene here in the States. In San Fran there is something going on most nights of the week and New York has some cool spots. In general, I think it's very healthy. I am on tour at the moment in the States, playing San Francisco, LA, New York, Boston and Dallas.
Finally, how about a recent top 10 list of tracks you're feeling?
1. DENNIS FERRER/UNDERGROUND IS MY HOME/KING STREET
2. OLIVER DESMET/MURDRED/WHITE LABEL
3. JAY TRIPWIRE/NU STEP/MIEKA DU FRANX REMIX/AMFIBIUS
4. ERIK RUG/TRIBUTE TO MY PEOPLE/LDT RECORDS
5. JON CUTLER&MATTHIAS HELIBRONN/640/DISTANT MUSIC
5. KERRI CHANDLER/SUNSET/NITE GROOVES
6. MILTON JACKSON/FUTURE FUNK EP/SILVER NETWORK
7. GRAND HIGH PRIEST/MARY MARY/WE-ZE RECORDS
8. MAXX RENN/LOS CHINGONES/CHILTEPIN MUSIC
9. DISCOURAGED ONES/MIRACLES/FUNKFIELD
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Sleepy & Boo
http://www.basicnyc.com
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He'll be in Dallas the week after next...I definitely plan on getting my groove on...
