Bloodstream
New Member
Klute's approach to drum & bass is one of independent thought and broad influence. Championed by the late John Peel, Tom Withers aka Klute is thought of as one of the most indepedent and forward thinking drum & bass producers of his time, using the sounds of techno, house and dub in his music and refusing, above all, to join the often cliquey and insular world of the genre. On the tenth anniversary of his seminal Commercial Suicide imprint, Klute has released a compilation with some of his favourite sounds and artists of now. To celebtrate, he's delivered an exclusive mix to Pulse and caught up with Helen S on where he's headed next.
http://pulseradio.net/media/mixtapes/k_mix71211.mp3 SICK SET !!!!!!!!!!!!Pulse: Hello Klute, where does this interview find you? Klute: Hey! I'm currently hiding in my flat avoiding all calls and emails so I can concentrate on my interview with PULSE RADIO!
This year sees the ten year anniversary of your legendary Commercial Suicide label- what impact do you think the label has had on the industry? To be honest, that's a good question, and one I've never asked myself. Have I made a difference? I think thats for someone else to answer, as I have no idea and something that i must confess has never been on my agenda. There is no doubt that we are a different presence within the scene so in that respect I guess we do make a difference. Have we had an influence? I really haven't thought about it before.
The Commerical Suicide compilation is out now- with a stunning selection from the likes of Amit, Hive, Spirit and your own productions, how did you choose which tracks to include? When I began compiling the album I had a different agenda. I was going to commemorate 10 years and include new and old music. In the end I decided to concentrate on the here and now. It then became a task of finding the best new music around from my fav producers.
You famously refuse to be pigeon holed into one of the many splinter genres of D&B- how do you perceive the sounds you make? I just like to release the music I like and that goes for the music I produce as Klute as well. I must admit that d&b as a whole does tend to gather its self into sub divisions and sub genres. I've never understood why people are so keen to gather as groups and follow one another.
What do you make of D&B right now? It's seen better days, but then most music has. I think in the past, especially in the 90's there were huge leaps in the sound and things really progressed at a fast rate, but now it's as if the blueprint has been written and people just adhere to those rules with little progression.
Who would you sign to Commercial Suicide if you could have anyone? I would sign Suburban Knight for 900 million dollars and release everything he did on 24ct gold metal records.
It's easy to hear techno and house influences in your music, who do you particularly admire within those genres? I like all kinds of people within the 4 x 4 world. As I just stated, James Penningtom is a great influence, of course the original guys from Detroit, Derrick, Juan, Kevin and those who followed. I'm a friend and fan of John Tejada, it's too hard to make a list of names for you because I have hundreds and hundreds of techno & House records, more recently though I've been very impressed with the sounds coming from the Sandwell District camp. This has got me very excited about techno again.
John Peel was a huge champion of your sounds. Do you see a replacement for him in the industry and who do you get most support from now? I miss John Peel's presence immensely, there's no one that can replace him, he was one of a kind. I think there's a lot of people who feel they do a good job but I think everyone completely misses his point. He didn't give a fuck about anything but presenting music he thought was for real. He had no particular personal agenda. He came from the old school, was very selfless and genuine.
Your last album came out in 2010, when do you anticipate some new work being released? I've got some new singles coming in the new year, you'll have to wait and see what they are.
Why Ninja Tune? Do you mean, why did I release as single with them as Override back in the late 90's? Because things were a lot more open then and everyone was interested in d&b. How things have changed now. D&b is the dirty cousin no one wants to admit to liking anymore.
Where have you enjoyed playing recently and where can we see you over the next few weeks? In the last month or two I've really enjoyed my shows in Tokyo for the Hangover crew who were such nice guys and so much fun to hang out with, Madrid for Red Bull Academy which was just super fun in this huge big event and Brussels on Halloween as a Commercial Suicide night with Concord Dawn, Chris SU , Stamina & Zero T. we're all good friends and we had a great time. I'll be playing in Saltzburg, Freiburg, London for Bunch of Cuts and Nottingham Detonate over the next few weeks. See you there!
Any plans for a tour to celebrate the compilation? I am constantly touring so for compilation or not I'll be out there DJing, so check your local listings to see if im coming, and if not, then hassle your local promoters! I'm worth it [laughs].
Klute's Comercial Suicide Compilation is out now
