Introducing: Altered Natives

Danny Yorke, also known to dancefloor dwellers as Altered Natives, has this year prompted extreme reactions from both ends of the spectrum. A self confessed lover of hacked up drum samples, Yorke tends to ride when it comes to his percussion, whether it’s underneath the sexed up funky vibes of his breakout hit, ‘Rass Out,’ or across the dissident gloom of his newer material. His mutant production approach twists and congeals all manners of electronic strains, with the end result often comprising the unpolished grit of grime, the infinite precision of techno, the jacked up bump and grind of UK funky and the melodic luminosity of house. His 2010 material, including two albums on his own EYE 4 EYE imprint and a single for Martyn’s 3024 label, has helped him break out of any convention - surprising heads who figured he was all about winding up a dancefloor – so we’re taking great pleasure in welcoming him to our venue. Ahead of his debut performance inside our confines on Friday 3rd December the man himself has taken the time to put together a promo mix that showcases some of his new sounds and in return we grabbed a chat with him to find out what he wants for Christmas, amongst other things… Download: Altered Natives – FABRICLIVE Promo Mix (tracklist after the jump) Hello Danny! You’ve got a way with words. Perhaps you could describe your sound for those who aren’t familiar with it using an aptly twisted and multifaceted metaphor? Hello fabric. Ok metaphorically, I’m the Doctor Frankenstein of sub-genre. My music surgically is an amalgamation of a lot of limbs and body parts from genres I have kidnapped, tortured, disassembled and refashioned. I have monsters that have for example the torso of Josh Wink, arms of Frankie Knuckles, legs of Stephen Hawking, the heart of Bounty Killer and the teeth of Goldie. If you were to get stuck in a lift today, what would be your current choice of elevator music? You can choose one album... I really thought about this hard. Return to the 36 Chambers by Ol' Dirty Bastard. I would love to be trapped in a lift with this album. I know all the lyrics, so that would be fun. And I’m the bastardizing king so it doesn’t matter if we're stuck for longer, I can reword it all. Can I ask if there are decent speakers in this lift? It’s a fabric lift, so yes. It also has a vibrating floor. You’ve championed a fair few Rinse FM DJs in your mixes and interviews. How do you view the station and what impresses you about the productions coming from the station’s artists such as DVA and Roska? I've got nothing but admiration for Rinse, they are a tight station composed of decent producers and DJ's. You can't fault what they have put together in terms of collective and input into the current UK dance music/club scene. As for me championing, I’d rather say I’m appreciating in the same way Rinse and every radio, pirate or legal has with my tracks. I owe a lot to the underground pirates, having paid my dues on pirate radio rival Déjà vu, I highly respect Rinse for the branding and success they have achieved. I’m a fan of a lot of the productions coming from the Rinse camp. This year, you released two albums (Tenement Yard and Serial Vendetta) in quick succession on your digital EYE 4 EYE imprint. Why did the releases happen to come out like this, in such succession? Were the works born out of different moods/inspirations? Serial Vendetta was long overdue, and a direct follow up to my first album, A Thousand Days of Patience, which was for my hardcore broken/brukheads. The close release dates caused some confusion. Tenement Yard was solely aimed at moving dance floors; I just never expected the wide attention or mass confusion it would cause. It’s a lesson learned for me and one best not repeated. What have you got planned for your EYE 4 EYE label in 2011? Will you be supporting any fledgling talent? Mid February I’m releasing the first CD compilation on EYE 4 EYE featuring a selection of artists from the UK and around the globe who are moving in the same wavelength. The compilation itself spans from house to broken all the way through to dubstep. I’m personally feeling all the artists behind all these tracks and the transition from track to track is nice. All the artists involved I strongly believe in, so I hope when it drops you all take notice. I've also got Tenement Yard Volume Two ready for summer plus another album project. This week also saw the first physical release in the form of the Tenement Yard Volume One Sampler One. So I’m hoping that 2011 is the physical year for EYE 4 EYE plus the fair exposure of a few artists and material from myself that I’m more than excited about. What can Room Three dwellers expect from your set on December 3rd? What will you bring to the mix alongside the likes of Shortstuff, Mosca, Girl Unit and Marco del Horno? I’m looking forward to playing along with these guys; it’s a great line up. I've played out with Girl Unit before, who is next level. I highly rate everyone in Room 3, so I reckon it’ll be popping off nicely. I'll be dropping a lot of new production from all ends of the spectrum plus pieces from my EYE 4 EYE compilation. I’m also looking forward to airing out some fresh bits for the night, plus more bits similar to the end of my promo mix. We’ve heard talk of an Altered Natives 12” on Night Slugs. How did this come about? What attracts you to the label? It's in the pipeline. I've been chatting to Bok Bok for a while and I like what he's doing with Night Slugs. Whatever I turn in has to fit with the label’s identity most importantly, which is what I like about them. Every release compliments the last. A lot of stuff is speculative with labels, the interest or attention may be there, but its all speculation till genuine business is done and we are both happy. Tell us about the exclusive mix you’ve prepared ahead of your fabric appearance, particularly the Altered Native tracks. ‘Truth Hz’ presents quite a dark conclusion to an otherwise upbeat kind of mix... Ok, I guess the first few were just to please the neighbours downstairs, haha. In the selection, it’s pretty much pure UK production (bar three tracks). In my opinion, you’ve got more than a handful of some of the UK's most exciting, fun, dance floor orientated players: T.Williams, R1 Ryders, Roska, MA1, Slackk. Not forgetting my EYE 4EYE ninja Grayz in there, and illusive Ratcatcher on the intro. The last 3 are from a new album project I've been working on in which I’m pushing the more brukkier beats into the grey thinking area of dubstep. There are a few obligatory halftime dubstep bits, but the responses in my sets have always been positive. As you mentioned ‘Truth Hz,’ in titles like ‘Close Apart’ and ‘Welcome to Hell’ you can tell it’s not completely tampon-ad-happy, plus I’m coming from my own sound so I hope to compliment the UK dance music scene and not insult it with my angle. At the end of the day this is just another part of my production range that I’m going to finally share next year. What do you want for Christmas? Honestly, 2011 is about keeping fit so I want one of these: Altered Natives – FABRICLIVE Promo Mix Tracklist: Ratcatcher - Chlorophyll T. Williams feat. Terri Walker - Heartbeat - Local Action MdCL presents Sy Smith - Truth (Bertrand Dupart Mix) - Defected MA1 - Blade Runner GHP - Jimmy Go Boom - Loftworks Slackk - Theme From Slackk - Numbers Martyn - Left Hander - 3024 Roska - Untitled R1 Ryders - Pop Shit Off Grayz - The Real Deal Altered Natives - Welcome to Hell Altered Natives - Close Apart Altered Natives - Truth Hz