Hyphen & SFR :: we like it raw! Interview

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Besides being awesome dudes Hyphen & SFR are a serious force in the drum and bass and dubstep scene in South Africa. Both have had individual record releases with International labels, both OWN a copy of their own individual vinyl releases and both started their musical motions in the world of Drum and Bass.

If you’ve been a loner to the world of music for the past couple of years then you wouldn’t know that there is a monthly event at the Cape Town based venue Mercury Live called: Homegrown. If you have been a little more in touch with the movement of Jah people then you’ll know that besides being the premium Drum & Bass event that Cape Town has to offer, hosting a monthly platform whereby only the best, most current D & B is staged, where we, as patrons to this evening of mental instability, have had the pleasure of being privy to some of the world’s top D & B dj’s and producers…

This is where Hyphen & SFR first made their individual mark as DJ’s turned producers.

A couple of years later, a few releases thrown into the pool of the electronic music junkies iPod, a SERIOUSLY floor destroting set at the Dont Party in the Cool World event and voila, they are still here, and most would agree: stronger than ever!

Dont Party caught up with the dynamic duo and prodded them with a stick…

here’s how they poked back:

So you guys started out in Drum and Bass, what interested you in this genre or made you want to play it out?

Hyphen - I got into electronic music back in 93 , heard a tune with a
breakbeat in , read music mags , heard about jungle , got hooked. A
friend of mine gave me the Fruityloops demo in 2000 , made a couple
beats that got played on Bush radio (thanks Alon) .I always wanted to
DJ , so i was saving up for decks and stuff , a close friend came back
from America with a tune on vinyl for me , that was the catalyst that
set me off.All systems go since that point.Drum n Bass had an energy
and a vibe that nothing else came close to , and the people involved
in the scene were really willing to help , so I owe them a lot.
SFR – Well, for me I was introduced to Drum ‘n bass by a friend of mine who played me some mix tapes around ’99. I was amazed at how much energy the beats and baselines had, as before then, i was into hip hop and i thought dance music was all four to the floor. i.e.. “doef doef” music. A year later I had a turntable and three vinyl’s that were on repeat all day.

Tell us about your names… How/ Why/ What/ Where?

Hyphen - Picking an alias is hard! My name has a hyphen in it, end of
story . I thought it sounded cool and made sense.It seems to have
worked thus far , although there was an Mc Hyphen floating around that
apparently had “beef”.
SFR – Haha. I used to go under the name “Overturn”, and once I started
pushing out my music to international record labels, I was hit up by a
very angry Russian producer claiming that I needed to change my name
immediately, since he and 2 others produce under the name “Overturn”
too. He was really angry, like I’m gonna put you in a pair of concrete
shoes and throw you off a bridge angry. So since I really was into the
film “Snatch” at the time, I thought to my self.. that Sneaky Fucking
Russian.. SFR.

Both you guys have your own releases on vinyl….VINYL. That’s pretty sick! How did this happen?

For both of us, it is an amazing feeling to have your own music on Vinyl.
SFR was in contact with Twisted Individual at the time who owned four
record labels based in the UK and Twisted was interested in one of
SFR’s tracks, but since a 12″ release needs two tracks, we sent him a
collaboration tune that we had just finished. We didn’t think he would
bite, since the label was usually aimed at wobble dance floor tunes,
and this was more of a reggae influenced roller. But he got back to
us, and really loved the tune.. 6 months later it was on wax in our
hands, and in the Beatport.com top 100.

What’s it like playing overseas compared to SA?

Crowds abroad vary, sometimes they are super energetic and
interactive, but also sometimes seem reserved and a bit spoilt for
choice. So far one of the best experiences abroad was playing at the
Rex club in Paris. The crowd went crazy, there was even a guy next to
the DJ booth trying to chew threw a cable. Haha. Cape Town is still
the ultimate city to DJ in. People are always up for a party, they
love interacting with DJs and just have a very positive vibe.

You guys have both hit the dubstep scene running, what is it that gripped you about this type of music?

Hyphen – Animal Chin from Counterstrike played me some Vex’d a couple
years back . Huge sub , big drums and very spacey , hadn’t heard
anything like it before , it blew me away , and also had a very
different energy to drum n bass . It felt very “new” and fresh , also
what was interesting for me was the bpm , it allowed for a huge
variety of influence.
SFR - I had also heard about dubstep for the first time through Animal
Chin, then soon after that I moved to London and came across dubstep
again. I was immediately hooked and went every Friday to the legendary
FWD nights in East London.

SFR: Tell us about the releases you have coming out in the near future; aren’t you dropping an EP shortly?

I have been rotting in the studio for about a year, trying to refine
my sound as a Dubstep producer. For the last few months, I have been
pushing out my tracks to record labels.
If things hopefully go well, I will see my 8th 12″ Vinyl release
signed, plus a Digital EP coming out later this month.

What do you guys think of the “sudden” emergence of dubstep, even though it has been around in CT for years now, in the commercial club and dj market? Is this a good thing, or is this just gonna make the genre “tired” or commercial?

As long as everybody sticks to their guns with what they’re playing
and also don’t let their standards slip , we’re happy. The minute
something starts becoming too trendy we begin to worry. There will
always be a more commercial side to any music genre and bandwagon
jumpers seem to cling to that.

Hyphen: Do you still find drum and bass as appealing as dubstep, what I mean by this, is does the genre interest you as much as before? Are guys still pushing the envelope in D&B?

Holy crap yes , drum n bass has never been healthier , there’s so much
good music out there at the moment , I could never not play drum n
bass .The range of emotion and depth you can find in dnb right now is
huge , from chart topping club bangers to stuff that’s seriously
pushing the limits within the genre. The minute I stop having fun with
the music is when I stop , there’s still LOADS of fun to be had.

What do you think of the SA scene of dubstep at the moment? Is it healthy or not so much?

SFR - Dubstep in South Africa couldn’t be better. The vibe at events
is very positive and people are really catching on to the genre. Many
events are starting to feature Dubstep, and we’ve even had Dubstep on
5FM.
Hyphen – From my perspective , it’s super healthy , parties are packed
, there’s loads of people making and playing the music , it’s
spreading to Jozi and Durbs , I mean , when we went on the African
Dope tour , Dubstep was slaughtering Grahamstown , so yeh people are
liking it , which is awesome . What’s nice right now is that everyone
involved in producing or djing the sound in Cape Town , are starting
to find their own unique vibe , which I think is important.