Catching Up With MistaJam (+ Exclusive Recording)

Whether its pirate, local, national or internet, radio is still a vitally important tool for the proliferation of new music. That instant relationship the airwaves spark in their listeners isn’t going away any time soon and that level of interaction is one of the things that first caught the attention of MistaJam. Along with Benji B, MistaJam now represents the current low end lean of UK club music on Radio 1. After putting in the work on his BBC Radio 1Xtra show since 2005 (its currently on 7pm – 10pm weekdays) MistaJam’s been bestowed the honour of appearing on 1xtra’s nationwide sister station BBC Radio 1 every Saturday, representing the best in dubstep and underground bass music for two hours at a time. ‘The Daily Dose of Dubstep’ started as a regular segment on his show after hearing Benga & Coki’s landmark production, ‘Night,’ but since then the genre has graduated to a high percentage of his Saturday night Soundclash show. It’s safe to say dubstep has really caught his attention, and he’s become one of the most vocal DJs on national radio playing it, as a direct result. Long since a mainstay here, MistaJam’s club sets break boundaries and build bridges - something you can hear in a set exclusively recorded back in December for the fabricfirst Audio section of our website – and his club night, Speakerbox, is the perfect outlet for that kind of audio assimilation. Gracing us on Friday with a bunch of good friends in tow (see MJ Cole, The Others, Maximum and Mz Bratt), we caught up with MistaJam to grab the lowdown on the lineup and throw him a few questions... You’ve been hosting Speakerbox nights for 2 years now, for newbies who may not have had the pleasure to party at one, can you describe the vibe? The vibe of a Speakerbox party is one of much skanking to many different vibes of music all united by one thing: quality bass! What can people expect from your takeover of Room 2 at fabric on March 25th? It’s one of the best Speakerbox line ups to date without a shadow of a doubt. MJ Cole is, was and has been one of the best producers of what can be loosely described as the British sound and as a DJ; his selection is always on point. The Others are some of my favourite dubstep producers right now. Representing the Dub Police family, they are truly versatile both in the sound they produce but also in the sound they play out. Maximum is one of the best grime DJ's out there right now point blank. Representing both Rinse FM and Boy Better Know, he's gonna bring some of that grime energy to the dancefloor. Ms Bratt has been working on the underground for years and now the mainstream seems to be taking notice after some monster hits with ‘Selecta’ and ‘Get Dark;’ and then of course I'll be doing what I do in one of my favourite clubs in the world! You’ve played a key role in championing dubstep, what first made you fall in love with that sound? I wasn't there in the early days but I was aware of the scene thanks to Mary Anne Hobbs' ‘Dubstep Warz’ show amongst other things but at the time, I didn't really have the outlet to be able to play it on radio. Then a few months before my show changed at 1Xtra to be the multi genre show it is now, I got handed a promo of Benga & Coki's ‘Night’ and that was it for me! I've always been a bass head thanks to my cousin getting me into jungle and when I very first started to take DJing seriously as a young teenager in a youth soundsystem, we used to play garage so I suppose in hindsight it was a logical progression. I couldn't believe that dubstep hadn't been given some sort of regular outlet on national radio so I started to play and champion anything I could get my hands on. Having recently been given the responsibility of providing bass music to listeners of Radio 1 on your newly revamped Saturday night show, how does it feel to be entrusted with such task? Truly honoured. I still pinch myself that I've managed to make a career out of playing music that I love at a station I've grown up listening to. I've been supporting all quality aspects of the scene heavily on 1Xtra for years and as right now the music coming from the dubstep and bass scene is completely dominating and influencing popular culture, it makes perfect sense for me to spread the word to a Radio 1 audience. The response has been phenomenal and I spend a lot of time to make sure the spectrum is covered. Quite simply, you’re Mr Know-it-all of what’s hot in bass influenced sounds right now, can you tip us off on artists we should be listening to or keeping an ear out for? Two Inch Punch, R1 Ryders, B.Traits, Mensah, Flux Pavilion, Time Takers... there's so many. Keep listening to my Saturday dubstep & bass show… anyone I play on there! What are your thoughts on the recent effect bass culture has had on music worldwide, even reaching State-side pop music artists? It was inevitable in my opinion and its good for those producers who have set the foundation get the chance to get paid for what they've been doing and introduce more people to the music. I've always been of the opinion that a big record is deserving of a big audience. The underground will never die though - there are far too many good up and coming producers and DJs pushing the scene and the boundaries for that to happen. With dubstep rapidly mutating to form different variations of bass music, what are you predictions for the genre in 2011 and beyond? I think it's just going to go from strength to strength. There are so many different sides to the same genre, it can only really progress. While I do spend a lot of time moaning about the amount of copy cat tracks I'm sent, there are loads of new producers bringing new sounds, new energy and new takes on what is the UK bass sound. It's been around in various forms for the last 20 years at least, so here's to the next 20, 40 & 80 years!