CF: How and where was the mix recorded?

In the comfort of my own home. Keeping it pure selector styles. No fancy mixing tricks, just music I dig one tune after the other 🙂

CF: What attracted you to music in the first place and what got you into playing the drums?

My father is a musician and so there’s a little bit of ‘taking up the family business’ going on there. The drums just were a natural fit. I enjoyed how rhythm worked and having the power to make people dance, and it all just evolved from there.

CF: Your last two albums, the two installments of ‘Crisis & Opportunity’ might be our favourite releases of yours so far. Can you tell us a little about them and how they might differentiate from one other?

Thank you! I guess Vol. 1 was my take on the London jazz scene and an effort to immerse myself in that world. Vol. 2 uses fellow Kiwi expats and leans a little more into my beatmaker sensibilities. A nice blend of live musicianship and beatmaker production.

CF: How did the new remix by Blue Lab Beats’ David Mrakpor come about? And are there any other remixes close on the horizon you can you tell us about?

I’ve been a fan of Mr Mrakpor since I got to meet him on a jam session back in 2020. He’s a really special artist and multi-instrumentalist, both in Blue Lab Beats as well as his own music and the various gigs he works as a sideman for. The David Mrakpor remix came about by basically just asking him if he’d be up for it, and I was lucky enough to have him say yes.

We recently dropped a remix from Australian DJ/producer Sampology. Keep your ears peeled 😉

CF: What do you normally listen to at home? What are 3 of your favourite albums past or present?

I’m having a bit of a classical music phase at the moment. Some Beethoven string quartets have been pretty inspiring lately. Also, I’ve been working a lot with UK saxophonist Alex Hitchcock recently, so his album ‘Dream Band’ has been on high rotation. In terms of a top 3, I’d say ‘A Love Supreme’ by John Coltrane, ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ by Common, and ‘Caravan’ by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. I could list countless others, but they’re the first that come to mind.

CF: Since moving from New Zealand to London you’ve been popping up on stages everywhere. Whereabouts in London have you enjoyed playing most?

I gotta give a big shout out to Ronnie Scott’s here. I’m lucky enough to have a monthly residency there and they’ve given me a forum to try a bunch of new ideas out, with an audience that’s up for going on that journey. The staff definitely feel like family now too.

CF: Venues aside, what’s your favourite thing about living in London? What would you recommend to someone visiting for 24h?

Probably the diversity. I love hearing all the languages and accents from around the world on the streets. Seeing the wide range of cultures, religions, cuisines, & music all coming together to make the city do its thing. It’s a pretty special place for that and very fertile ground as an artist to work in.

If I was in London for only 24 hours, I’d say it’d be worth aiming to see the Tate Modern, the view from Greenwich Park or Hampstead Heath, and the old school London riverside pub vibes of ‘The Grapes’ in Limehouse. Also, if possible, do London by bicycle. It’s pretty flat and you get a good feel for the city that way.