JDNB Interview - Feed The Fire
Phillip and Vadim aka 'Feed The Fire' are a dynamic duo from the bustling city of Hamburg. They first emerged onto the drum and bass scene with their self release EP 'Gone / Dying Light' through Spotify and since then, they have accelerated their recognition and gained an extensive amount of followers and streams. The speed at which their popularity inferno is travelling is striking. So we thought seeing as they had a new release out on Digital Assassins, what better time than now to sit down and have a chat:
Hello Phillip and Vadim, thanks for talking to us here at JDNB! How have you both been coping during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Hi, thanks for having us! We were lucky to have this project (Feed The Fire) to work on and keep us sane during lockdown etc. So we both really tried to focus on the things that make us happy and tried to be as creative as possible.
I see you're quite new to the scene. What made you get together and form ‘Feed The fire’?
Feed The Fire was more or less a coincidence we would say. We both found out a few years ago that we are both big fans of drum and bass. We would send each other the latest releases every week and at some point one evening we opened Logic Pro for fun and just tried to do something ourselves. It was like a flash of inspiration and at that moment we both knew that we had to do DnB together! It was probably there, in us, all the time .. just sleeping, waiting.. hahaha
Describe the style of drum and bass you both produce?
Since we are still at the beginning, it is not yet very clearly defined what our style looks like. However, we are now noticing which direction it will go. We are somewhere between heavy, primitive bangers and techy, deep rollers. With small excursions into melodic realms from time to time if that makes any sense. It has to have some kind of edge to it though. We like it filthy… In any case, we will definitely try a lot in the future in order to be able to shape our style better. We love the whole spectrum of DnB/Jungle so we draw our influences from every sub genre.
And what is your studio set up like?
Vadim: PC running Ableton, a Midi-Controller, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, some small monitors (need to get proper ones), a pair of Beyerdynamik DT 770 Pro and some microphones to record stuff
Phillip: I like to work on my MacBook as well using Logic Pro
Tell us about any releases you have had so far?
Ok, so we started kind of different from what we are currently releasing. When we launched 'Feed The Fire' in April, we wanted to have some musical content to present to people. We had these 2 tracks finished, we started producing a few months back, when we first tried to come up with some decent tunes. They are way more melodic than the others that came after that. We wanted to go in a different direction with our sound though so we released our two track single 'Nasty Shit / Keep It Low' shortly after that.. which got way more attention than the first two tracks. We thought: "okay, let’s continue this path a little more and see where it takes us“ since we felt very comfortable with that style. Then we released 'Criminal Exhibition' which has these vocal parts from a documentary from the 1950s about a wax museum where they would exhibit wax figures of famous criminals like Machine Gun Kelly, Bonny & Clyde etc. This is strongly influenced by 'Sharks' from Benny L & Shimon. The track got picked up by Hugh Hardie for a livestream feedback session on his Instagram a few months back and he really liked it. That was very cool for us, because we both are big fans of Hugh.
Tell us a little about your musical backgrounds?
Phillip: I come from more of a Rock & Metal background. This was my favorite music when I was getting into music as a kid. Big ups to my father for always playing Hendrix, Zeppelin, The Who and Bands like that when I was a child. He is like a real Jazz-Head as well so I took a lot from that music as well. Also I remember him having some LTJ Bukem records in his collection. I still play the drums & guitar. Used to play in bands a lot. Over the years my taste in music has expanded a lot I would say. I Always will be a little Rock’n’Roller at heart but I like to listen to a lot of different genres now. Drum & Bass though gives me the same feeling you would get when you are in the Metal scene... it's not only music it's a lifestyle and I resonate 100% with that.
Vadim: I used to spend a lot of time with my older cousin, when I was little. He introduced me to a lot of Hip Hop and a bit of Rock as well and I came to like those genres, especially Hip Hop / Rap. Later on I discovered I like electronic genres as well and I still keep coming back to Trap regularly. In 2006 I heard 'Slam' by Pendulum in a game called 'Motorstorm'. That's pretty much when I fell in love with Drum & Bass.
What is the jungle, drum and bass scene like in Hamburg, Germany?
It’s very much alive i would say. We have these established DnB nights that take place in one of our favourite little clubs in Hamburg (Hafenklang) every third saturday of the month. The crew is called 'Drumbule' and they are doing this for over 16 years now... we think. Also we have 'Liquid Concrete', which was one of the last events we went to before lockdown. They had QZB playing that night, which was amazing. During this pandemic they did a couple of live streams, which were great as well. These are our 2 favourite events/nights here in Hamburg. Also Phace is based in Hamburg and his label as well we think.
How did the link up with Digital Assassins come about?
They reached out to us on Instagram after we posted a little WIP clip of 'Immortals', the title track of our new release. We were so excited about them asking us if we want to release it on their label, it was pretty cool.
Tell us about your latest release ‘Immortals’ on Digital Assassins?
The title track is inspired by legendary warriors from the past. Like the elite soldiers of the ancient persian army, which gave the track its title but also the Samurai or the Berserkers of the Vikings. All these legendary and merciless warriors who fought epic battles and spread fear and terror among their enemies. On the one hand, the drop should appear monumental and powerful due to its force, but at the same time also sound like the singing steel of a Katana on your neck. We absolutely don’t want to glorify violence at all, this is more to see in a cinematic kind of view.
'TechSaw' is basically an attempt to channel two of our favorite producers, Emperor & Mefjus. We admire both producers very much and their music very often inspires us to open the DAW ourselves and start a new track. Especially the collaboration 'Hello World - EP' from 2014 had a big influence.
And what's to come from you guys moving forward?
We will continue to sharpen our skills, define our sound and release some serious tunes the next months. Just doing what we love and sharing it with everybody who wants to listen. Also, working on our DJ skills to bring Feed The Fire to the clubs once this pandemic situation has passed.
What would be your dream lineup?
Andy C, Kasra, QZB, Sub Focus, Mampi Swift, Fabio b2b Grooverider, A.M.C
Which artists influence you and why?
Phillip: Definitely Andrew Huang. He’s not a DnB artist but his view and understanding of music and creativity is really inspiring to me. For DnB I’d probably have to say Hugh Hardie. There is something about his style and his songwriting/production that really speaks to me. His 'Shadows & Silhouettes' album is my most heard record of the past year I would say.
Vadim: Andrew Huang is definitely the artist I learned most from over the last year or so. Also I'm listening to Degs a lot. His voice and lyrics just keep inspiring me.
Any festivals or club nights you would love to play at?
We’d like to go to London and play those legendary clubs someday, that would be cool. And the big stage at boomtown, because it's freakin' ridiculous haha... never been there but it looks insane from what you can see on the internet.
If you could remix any track, what would it be and why?
Phillip: 'Happy Birthday' by Stevie Wonder. Because i want to listen to a DnB version of it on my birthday hahaha
Vadim: That sounds great, we should do that!
What do you like about the www.jugledrumandbass.co.uk
We really like the way you structured it with the sub genre menu selection at the top. This is pretty cool when you just feel like a certain sub genre and you want to know what's new etc. And that you guys are having us for this interview, giving young artists the chance to talk about their music. That's just great!
We wish you all the best on your drum and bass journey, Lastly, any shout outs or thanks?
We would like to thank Ben & Tom of Digital Assassins. They are such great guys that really are dedicated to this music and the scene and they are so great to work with. Also a big shoutout to our Hamburg crew & friends! Thank you so much for having us!
'Feed the Fire - Immortals' is out now on Digital Assassins via the following link: Click here to buy or stream
Feed The Fire Socials:
Juno / Instagram / Soundcloud
Digital Assassins Socials:
Beatport / Juno / Soundcloud
Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Interview And Edited By: Chilla
Published: 30/08/2020
