JDNB Interview - Scartip
Following the recent release of Scartip's Pay Party Unit EP on Sleep Less Records, we invited him for a wee chat about all things Drum & Bass!
Scartip, aka Michael Beardsley, began his love for the UK underground sound at the tender age of 9 years old after pinching an old-skool, hardcore Vibalite cassette tape off his elder sister’s boyfriend. Since then, the enthusiasm and passion for the music encouraged Scartip to become immersed in music production.
The genre of choice being Drum & Bass, Scartip began his long plight to become a producer at Confetti College in Nottingham back in 2007. Flirting with Cubase, Reason and Pro-tools he finally locked on to Logic and has since participated on various courses at ‘Point Blank online’ to further sharpen his production skills.
Scartip has been DJ-ing for 7 years and has played at numerous established nights in the East Midlands including Nottingham’s biggest Drum & Bass event ‘Detonate.’ He has supported the likes of Foreign Concept, Taxman, Emperor, Crissy Criss, Mutated Forms, Nympho, Octane & DLR, Chromatic, Dub Motion and has had the honourary pleasure of warming the crowd up for Andy C.
Extract from Drum&BassArena - Dave Columbo Jenkins
Yes Michael a Merry Xmas to you from myself and the rest of the JDNB family - thank you for making time for the interview.
"Likewise, thanks for the shout!"
Safe to say 2020 has been a white water rafting experience for us all - how have you rode the rapids?
"Using my face as an oar."
It would be rude not to mention your Pay Party Unit EP which dropped earlier this month on Sleep Less Records - where did the idea for the theme stem from?
"The theme came from a sample on a free-party documentary, I remember reading about a police division called “pay party unit” which was set up to stop illegal raves from happening in the late 80s/ early 90s, put that in a track and with with some other tracks we have pay party unit EP as the result."
'Move For Me' is incredible, the transition from intro into the first drop is something else - which track did you enjoy working on the most?
"Thanks! Move for Me was quite straightforward and probably one of the easiest tracks I’ve finished, wasn’t even many channels in the project - was the least CPU intensive track! Virago I have nice memories of working on, though frustratingly in hindsight, it’s the track I’d probably play the least. Gaz got Loin is dedicated to a good friend of mine. For a short while we were obsessed with the word ‘Loin’, so sampled him saying something about loin, nothing too profound!"
Producing music for over a decade now - what inspired you to begin making your own beats?
"Always been into the idea of producing music in some form from an early age, had the music2000 game on the PlayStation years ago and some archaic hip-hop themed DAW on a PC as a kid. Used to play the drums for years though had little interest in joining a 'band'. A few times I beat-boxed at this small hip-hop night, specifically remember wanting to record different percussive elements and make a track with them, so I’ve got a strong suspicion the journey began there."
With the events industry taking a heavy blow this year - do you see a return to the dance in 2021?
"Genuinely hope so. I’m foaming at the mouth for it."
A handful of releases on Sleep Less Records over the years - tell us about your journey with the label?
"Got talking to MC SAS (label boss) back in 2013, he wanted to release some tracks which was cool, then just been releasing with Sleep Less since then. It's been a while since the last release, so it's good to get some tracks out again."
Almost a year of lockdown restrictions have forced Promoters into developing safe alternatives to keep our beloved scene alive - what is your take on the new socially distanced events?
"I managed to go to one, was good fun though for obvious reasons it didn't feel the same. I completely admire promoters for using their creativity within the guidelines. Very difficult times in the live sector of the industry and I feel for those whose livelihoods have been damaged. I'm optimistic things will go back to normal at some point in the future."
As we know Drum & Bass is a worldwide movement - what are some of the countries you've enjoyed playing in the most?
"Only played in the UK so far, when that changes I’ll let you know!"
Festivals have grown from strength to strength, it would be hard to pick one favourite - give us your top three with a few words.
• "Let it Roll - everything you want / need in dnb will be at LIR. Great location too, a former Soviet air base, quite spooky."
• "Slammin' Vinyl Sanctuary Festival many years ago. Very small and was quite poorly organised but that made it quality."
• "Global Gathering - first festival."
So many gifted heads climbing the rungs - are there any rising Producers that have caught your eye this year?
"Buunshin, Gyrofield and Caracel Project have smashed 2020. Incredible production skills."
With so many talented womxn at the forefront of Drum & Bass now - do you feel the scene as a whole is doing enough to support minorities?
"It's currently in a very healthy place for DJs & Vocalists which is great, though I’d definitely love to see more Producers come through. Anything that could encourage / inspire more women to get on the beats can only be a good thing."
Aside from Music is there anything else you find the time for?
"I occasionally write erotic-braille novels."
Any stand out features on the www.jungledrumandbass.co.uk website you like?
"Wide range / selection of DnB."
Michael it's been a pleasure thank you again for passing through. I'll catch you another time for Russian Donk questions. Lastly any shouts?
"Yes to Russian Donk! Massive love and huge appreciation for anyone who’s supported my music in 2020."
Scartip;
Beatport / Juno / SoundCloud
Sleep Less Records;
Beatport / Juno / SoundCloud
Interview & Posted: Oliver Cogle
