Bubba Interview for Oonst

A little Friday bonus for you now. To add to the Oonst - Studio Gangster mix put together by Bubba for his upcoming appearance at Oonst next week (check it in the previous post) our fellow Oonst resident A.T.T.S. put a few questions to the the man himself to find out what's really floating Belfast's Jonny Bubba's boat.

A.T.T.S -  Hey Jonny.  When did it all kick off for you musically

Bubba- 

Hello!! We had a great electronic music education in Belfast David Holmes (Now soundtrack maestro for Steven Soderbergh) was running the first underground club back in the 90's bringing in top guest like Andy Weatherall, Richie Hawtin, Slam and more... we got our GSCE's in Chicago House and A Level's in  Detroit Techno and Acid House!! I wanted to make this music and started buying equipment.

A.T.T.S - Whats the scene like in Belfast at the moment 

Bubba -   

Really healthy we have a big crew of producers/DJ's pushing into the international scene...Jet Project, Space Dimension Controller,Phil Kieran, Japanese Popstars, JMX, T-Bone running labels hosting nights releasing all over the place.. and the new crews coming through Cromby, Swoose, JC Williams, Ejeca...promoters like Twitch bringing in quality guests like Gerd, Kenny Larkin, Joy O...clubs like Yello,Stiff Kitten,Thompsons putting on big parties..we have been Djing at Boat Parties and even Kebab Shops (don't ask!!)..there is definitely something in the water!

A.T.T.S - Top 3 current  dj/ producers  do you currently you admire ?

Bubba - 

Jamie Jones- - he brought sexy back and inspired a generation of Dj's and producers!

Gerd - the man with a 100 alias and the killer tunes to boot!

Andy Weatherall/DJ Harvey - tough to choose between either but..they have both been blowing me away for years!

A.T.T.S -  Which current imprints are rocking the best output at the moment

Bubba - 

Jeez...so much serious music about....loving the RushHour Clone labels always excited by there releases. Hot Creations are pulling smashers out of the bag..Crosstown still pushing it..Noir , Diynamic,Hypercolor, One Records, Real Tone...I could go on I'm selfish I love them all!!! lol smaller labels coming through Extended Play, Electronique, Tropical Beats, NastyFunk slipping out some tasty tracks!
 

A.T.T.S -  Hows Runnin' Wild going ?  What should  we be looking out for ?

Bubba -

Its has been crazy..just thought myself and Chris James (Coat Of Arms) would collab on a label putting out some of the cool unreleased music we were getting sent....we did our launch party at Sankeys with Me Amine Edge and Chris for a packed 500 people which was a crazy party for a Sunday night in Manchester! 

Release wise we have tracks and remixes from Lee Webster, HimselfHer, Sean Roman/Dick Diamond, Tapesh and a VA compilation with killer cuts from Death on the Balcony, Denney, Adam Curtain and Flow and Zeo. Its definitely off to a good start, requests for the T-shirts are in already!! lol

A.T.T.S -   Whats next up for Bubba release / production wise ?

Bubba -

I am hitting the studio hard after being away in Russia, Brazil and Canada..which was all very inspiring...Remixes coming for Extended Play, Lucid Dreaming, Neim, Elite and a new ep on Hourglass with killer Adam Shelton and Jordan Peak remixes...also remixed a cool project from my friend Jon DaSilva his band TVMR on Hacienda records which is run by Peter Hook which was great to be involved in..and finally putting finishing touches to an Azari & III remix which i can't wait to let people hear...

A.T.T.S -   Regarding production what software/ hardware /samples could you not live without?

Bubba -

Ableton is just a natural way for me to produce you don't loose the groove...digging round records fairs was great groundwork have built up a library of samples buying dodgy looking 80's 7" for 50p!! They were worth the risk. Love my plugin synth's like Blue and Trilian..and a bit of outboard an old MC303 which was'nt the machine Roland promised but some decent drum and synth sounds..also get the lend of my mates Juno which is just bad!!

A.T.T.S -  I see your social media present is really strong - how important do you think this is for modern artists to succeed ?

  

Bubba -

For me it was the key to getting noticed to be honest being based in Belfast was a disadvantage years ago as you were not at the hubs of Manchester or London.now I can be chatting and getting sent tracks from Oz and Brazil over skype..we used send demo's on tapes!!!

Its important though not to overkill!! I don't want everyone to go god not him again on facebook!!!

A.T.T.S - Where do you find your music any particular websites or is it mostly through recommendation / promo lists etc?

Bubba - 

Soundcloud, Resident Advisor, Beatport, Whatpeople play, Facebook, Feel my Bicep Blog, Purp & Soul, Music for Lovers, Deep North and more and obviously get sent promos and loads of demos which I do listen to!! And friends recommendations!! so overload but i am addicted to music they help feed it!!!! 

A.T.T.S - Thanks for your time Bubba!

Full details and ticket links for next weeks (Friday 20th July) Oonst event featuring Bubba and Alex Nagshineh can be found here