An Interview With Breezy UK
Rob Brandon aka Breezy UK is a drum and bass producer, sound engineer, event planner and DJ from London, UK. From setting up pirate radio stations to travelling across Europe with sound systems as their sound engineer and DJ, he is constantly spreading the jungle/drum and bass vibes we all love. A regular on OriginFM between 2005-2014 and one of the main reasons the signal reached so far across London and the surrounding counties. He has always been a dab hand when it comes to setting up pirate radio stations, including the erection of the masts and sorting of the frequencys to get maximum reach. Breezy UK is going full throttle these days with his productions and mixes. Fresh from completing his next release 'The Corona Virus EP', he took some time out to catch up with us and tell us abit more about himself.
Thanks for talking to us Rob! So how have you been coping during lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic?
To be honest it hasnt really been that much different, i spend most of my time in my studio anyways so not alot has changed in that aspect. The only downside to it all has been the cancellation of gigs in europe i had planned due to lockdown.
What track would you say got you hooked onto jungle /drum and bass?
The first track that really got me hooked into drum and bass was Spiral by Pendulum.
What was the first event you went to?
My first drum and bass event experiance was at Telepaphy (Shabba D's Birthday Bash) at Club EQ in Hackney Wick, London. I was working there, restocking the bar, thats when i first heard drum and bass thru a banging sound system aged just 17yrs old.
Tell us a little about your pirate radio days and climbing on top of rooftops?
It started in 1996, i found a station on the radio and had it written on my pencil case at school. Everyone at school said that i would never get on the station then fast forward 3 years and there i was as the engineer. The station was De Va Vu 92.3fm(99-2001) where i was a DJ/FM Engineer. Then i moved onto flava 87.6fm (2001-2003) as co-owner with Chris L and G-Man and we were the frst pirate to be on 24/7 for 18 months solid, mad story about that one was i locked off the roof and had to absail down the building, hence why it took em so long to get us taken down. Also during the flava period i was enginner for Y2K 93.9fm station in Southend, Essex, which was the station Kurrupt FM was based on. Then i moved to norwich where i helped out with Stylish 100.00fm (2003-2005). Then i moved back to London and got in with the crew at OriginFM 95.2fm (2005-2014) thru my cousin DJ Rusher (joint founder of Weekend Rush 92.3O) and within the first day of joining the crew and meeting Mr T i was made engineer and moved the signal to 95.1fm because it was a clearer all round frequency which went on to get the station out further. I also had a show on OriginFM 6-8pm every friday.
How long have you been producing for?
Since i was 17, i was always the bad kid at school, so i enrolled onto a course called EYS For Music, at the Square in Harlow. When i turned up, one of the lecturer's there was Ellis Dee, so i learnt quite a bit from him.
What is your studio setup like?
I have an 8core G5 Mac, UAD appolo quad soundcard, Yamaha NS10 MStudio Monitors, Rotel Amp, 15 inch FBT active sub, Studio 1 version 4 and use mostly UAD plugins.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
From the age of 15 i have had a passion for fixing up old motors. My first car was a Ford XR2 MK1 Super Sport. I used to drive it to school and park it in my teachers car space, thats how much of a pain i was at school!
Do You mix any other genres of music?
I first started in 1997 playing house and garage music. I am also known to spin some funk, and soul and rare grooves so abit of an all round dj really, but these days when playing out at gigs i mainly spin drum and bass.
Tell us about your envolvement in the free party scene?
In 2006 i got introduced to Howsie Danger (R.I.P) thru the Harrington brothers who introduced me to the free party scene helping out with One Unity Sound System as sound engineer. Then in 2008 i linked up with Biggs at Exodus at The Haze Manor in luton. Since that date ive been involved with many squats mainly ScumTek in and around London but i am also the sound engineer for Disco Bobulated Generation DB46 as recently seen with theeir Flare Audio Stack at Santa Tek 2019 where i also engineered the Trailor Trash Sound System. I have since ventured in to the european free party scene. First of all in Spain at the Santa Fe Halloween 2019 link up, with Ketwork 32 Sound System as sound engineer. The latest one i was involved with was in Morroco just before lockdown on NYE with No borders TV Crew. Funny story about that one was that there was 3 x army trucks that came towards us from the border area, theres me thinking they are going to shut down the rave or worse, but no they eneded up being our protection from the Taliban who were known to be 20 odd miles over the border and mountains.
I see you love to travel, which places are on your bucketlist once the world turns to some kind of normality?
Morroco again, India and Asia, in paticular Ko Samui in Thailand which is absolutley breathtaking, a must for any traveller.
Who has influenced your style?
Going to Rumble's at the Waterfront in Norwich and hearing the likes of Mampi Swift, Andy C, Randall and Grooverider dropping all the great tunes of that era. The Nine by Bad Company, Paranoia by The Militia and Messiah by konflict had a big influence on my style of prodcution.
If you could colab with any artist, who would you choose and why?
Sub Focus because of his energy in his early tunes, and LTJ Bukem beacuse literally everything he produces is just gold. Djing B2B it has to be ANDY C. No explanation needed.
If I gave you £10k right now, what would you do with it and why?
I would have to invest it for the future and invest in stocks and shares. I have been dabbling recently in the Plus500 app getting my head around it all and have so far reached £105k on the demo mode so hoping if i traded real money i would have the same luck haha
What is the biggest moment so far in your DJ/production career?
For both it was playing my own tunes out main stage in front of a few thousand people at Santa Fe near Granada in Spain. Seeing all them happy faces and people going off to my tunes was next level. Never felt so happy, considering i was a bit nervous before hand as to how well my tracks would be taken.
If you was stuck on a desert island, which two tunes would you take with you?
For a drum and bass track it would have to be Sonic - Big love, such an amazing track which i played literally every week on my show on OriginFM. Another track i would take would be Lenny De Ice - We Are IE. This was the first track i ever asked for at Rugged Records. I was on way to the pie and mash shop for me dad as i was working with him on his market stall selling ladies lingerie and womens wear, couldnt resist just nipping in to see what new tunes they had in.
Any tips for aspiring djs/ producers looking to get into the scene?
Use the pitch control and learn to dj without using the sync. Be different, dont follow the crowd, work on your own sound and your own craft and most importantly stay humble as the scene can be pretty unforgiving.
Your remix of 'Good Marijuana- Tugga War feat Dan Man' is out on itunes, how did that come about?
I was sitting round TuggaWars studio helping him out with some vocals one day and he played me the original mix and i was like man i gotta remix that. Thankfully he said yes there and then.
Any new tracks that we should be looking out for from yourself in the next few months?
I have a new 4 track EP called 'The Corona Virus EP' which i have put together. This can be pre-ordered from my bandcamp, Itunes and spotify from 10pm today. Plus i have an album which i will be releasing around december time, so i will be working on that quite abit. Plus look out for my mixes on soundcloud and mixcloud which i update on the regular.
What are your goals for the rest of 2020 and beyond?
I have just dropped a 10yrs of liquid drum and bass mix on my soundcloud which i really enjoyed putting together so expect some more mixes. Plus expect plenty more releases and a few cheeky bootlegs including my latest one which is Bicep - Atlas (Breezy UK Bootleg). Once things calm down regarding the pandemic i will be doing more free festivals in Spain and Tuggakek in Portugal in October. And Morroco again in September and hopefully NYE. I Also have a main stage booking lined up for a festival in UK in September, C-19 Permitting.
What do you love about the www.jungledrumandbass.co.uk website the most?
I love how upto date the promo section is on the site and all the different genres make it easy to find a certain style of tune if your looking for it. Also love the interviews and mix series you have on soundcloud.
Thankyou for your time, lastly any shouts or thanks?
Got to big up Rusher, Sting, Racheal, Chrissy L, DJ Renegade, DJ Mr T, DJ Spooks, Joe90 (R.I.P), Ellis Dee, Jason Jaye, Sam Bob, Chapman and all my Trailor Trash Sounds Crew, Howsie Danger (R.I.P), Vitamin aka VITZ, DJ Pl, MC Darky, My Mum, my Dad (R.I.P), Tronic, Scumtek Crew, Disco Bobulated Genreation DB46 Crew, Adam Abstract, Bryan from Spiral Tribe/UFOT, Ketwork 32 Crew, Fabion, Badgersticks Emry, all the gang down at Music Box Radio and last but not least the JDNB crew for taking their time to interview me. Music Beats Rave Repeat!!!
Breezy UK Socials:
Breezy UK Official Website / Bandcamp / Facebook
Instagram / Soundcloud / ITunes
Photography By: Honey Bee Photography
Interview By: Chilla
Posted: 19/07/2020
