FaltyDL

Benji B

Please join me in welcoming Mr. FaltyDL! (Applause)

FaltyDL

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Benji B

So should we call you Drew or Falty today?

FaltyDL

Drew.

Benji B

Alright, Drew.

FaltyDL

Or either.

Benji B

Well, thanks very much for being with us and coming to talk.

FaltyDL

It’s my pleasure.

Benji B

For anyone in the room that’s not familiar with your work, how would you describe what you do for a living?

FaltyDL

I am an electronic music producer. I sort of DJ in my own way, but I mostly produce records. I’m signed to a couple different labels, primarily Ninja Tune in London. And I wake up and I try and make a tune or finish a remix, or do something so I don’t feel completely lazy. And, like, I’m not working for my bread. But, yeah, I basically just answer a lot of emails and make music. Sort of what I do.

Benji B

And how would you describe the kind of music that you make?

FaltyDL

I guess “dance music” that’s sort of hard to dance to, but sometimes not so hard. I’m looking down at a lot of my catalogue down on the ground there. I don’t know how to describe it all ‘cause I’ve touched on a lot of different genres and different things over the years. But [I’m] influenced by a lot of UK dance music and old Chicago and Detroit records as well.

Benji B

Well, maybe a good way to kick things off is just to play something from right now.

FaltyDL

Yeah.

Benji B

What you’re working on right now? Something recent. Just to give us an idea.

FaltyDL

Yeah, absolutely. I’ll play something from my new record that’s out now. This is a track on my album that just came out a couple months ago. So this is the new, new, new-ish….

(music: Falty DL – “Finally Some Shit/The Rain”)

It’s just a loop. It just keeps doing that. You get the idea.

Benji B

So that’s from your new LP, Hardcourage, which is out on Ninja Tune.

FaltyDL

Yeah.

Benji B

When you’re putting an album together that’s sort of influenced by the club, but you also want to make a record that people can listen to, how do you find that magic sweet spot in between the two?

FaltyDL

Well, I think it’s sort of... in my catalog it’s rare that I make a track that’s either a DJ tool or a real dancefloor track. For me, it’s finding a bunch of tracks that have some sort of theme together. As far as whether or not they all belong in the home, or on the iPod and whatever, and listening to it not in a club, in a club atmosphere, I think they all can sort of work like that. So it’s really between me and the A&R of whatever label I’m working with on that record.

Benji B

And how do you know when something’s finished?

FaltyDL

Is anything ever really finished? Yeah, it’s finished like the day I’m done making it. I mean, I work on a track and when I get really bored, it’s finished. You know? (Laughter) I’m not really a perfectionist. I think some of my favorite moments in my own tracks, if I can say that, is when I’ve just had some sort of happy accident, like, literally in the program, that makes something sound a certain way and I’m like, “Alright that’s cool, that’s good enough. Next.” You know, for me, it’s just about making music, it’s not so much about like making these perfect tracks. I don’t know.

Benji B

And what about the agony of putting together an album, and picking ten songs out of 30, or whatever your process might have been?

FaltyDL

Yeah, well, on this one there was a lot of back and forth with the label and in the end I think we came to a really good compromise. I mean, the idea of compromising in any type of art is something you hopefully don’t have to ever encounter. But that being said, I mean, there’s realistic things, like the amount of time you can put on a record and budget and campaign and all that type of stuff.

But this one, yeah, it was cool. I mean, I just really respect the ears I was working with at Ninja, so it was great. And in the past on my albums with Mike Paradinas at Planet Mu, this was someone who I had been sending tracks to for years, who just knows my music – like yourself – for a long time, and just knows it really well and knows what my best stuff sounds like. And when I feel like I’m talking to someone that I can really trust, I want to hear more what they think. ‘Cause I mean, if I released the tracks that I really wanted to release, I think, it might not have been a broad look at the time I spent making that album. I don’t know.

Benji B

And when you say you look for approval, or you care about people’s opinions, who is that? Is that your peers, is that other musicians? Is it journalists?

FaltyDL

Did I say that?

Benji B

You kind of did, yeah.

FaltyDL

In what? Like, as like a final project, the album?

Benji B

Yeah.

FaltyDL

No, I think, I mean...

Benji B

Do you care what people think?

FaltyDL

Yeah! Of course, I absolutely do. I mean, this is the way I relate to the world, is through my art. I absolutely care what people think about it. But I mean, I’m still gonna put it out there, no matter what, and I’m getting a thicker skin towards reviews and all that type of stuff. So I absolutely care what people think. And I think my favorite people to send music to are people that I just really respect, people whose catalogs I know really well. And I send them music and I want them to be brutally honest with me, what they think.

Benji B

Who are those people for you?

FaltyDL

Let’s see, who are the people I’m currently sending music to? One contemporary of mine is Floating Points. I really like his music a lot and I think you could probably hear that in some of my records. And what’s funny is I sent him a text after this album came out and a couple reviews were comparing us two. I was like, “Man, I’m so sorry. Like, they keep saying I’m trying to sound like you.” He’s like, “Man, I listen to your records, so I don’t know who first listened to whose, but you know... we both listen to each other’s records.” So that was pretty cool.

I’m gonna release a record this year under my own name on 2000Black, which is Dego’s label from 4Hero. That’s is a guy I really respect, of course.

Benji B

And before you did your albums, you put out a series of 12"s that made everyone sit up and take notice. Maybe we should go back to the first 12" that really had an impact for you. I think it was your first 12" ever, wasn’t it?

FaltyDL

It was my first 12". And I think you played it on the radio quite early on. “To London,” let’s see here. How about we open this up?

Benji B

Thanks for bringing all the vinyl in.

FaltyDL

Yeah, well I mean I never get a chance to play them so, why not? (Laughter)

(music: FaltyDL – “To London”)

Benji B

When was that from?

FaltyDL

Released, I think, the beginning of 2009? Made it like 2007, 2008.

Benji B

Right so, relatively recently.

FaltyDL

Yeah.

Benji B

Depending on how old you are.

FaltyDL

In the great scheme of things.

Benji B

But the clue is in the name, right? I mean, there’s obviously a lot of influence going on in there. And one side of the record is “To New York” and the other side is “To London,” right?

FaltyDL

No.

Benji B

No, one is “To Party,” one is “To London”?

FaltyDL

Neither... (laughs)

Benji B

No? OK.

FaltyDL

This is “To London.” “To New York” came out on the record on Planet Mu that same year.

Benji B

That’s right.

FaltyDL

And “To Party” was the next 12" I did for Ramp.

Benji B

But both cities seem to have had a big influence. Obviously you live here [New York].

FaltyDL

Yeah.

Benji B

But it seems both New York and London have had a strong influence on your music.

FaltyDL

Yeah, totally. I mean, this was me really just trying to make a dance record, I guess. Like a house record. But it’s funny, I hadn’t really been to many parties where I’d heard this music – I guess, at the time we called it post-dubstep, didn’t we? Or some people did – where I’d heard that on a system. So my interpretation of that is this record, which I actually mixed down very quietly. And there’s some weird things I do where I just sort of drop a 16th note here and there from a measure and so it’s like an instant clang playing this record out. You know, unless you cue it like halfway through.

That’s why I think I like listening to it now, is because I hear a lot of my old mistakes but there’s something sort of honest in those mistakes that I was making, I think, because I was just so excited about making a record at the time. And my friend did the artwork, and we’re like, “Yeah, we’ll put 45rpm ‘cause it’s cool when records say the speed on the outside.” These little things, and you can’t even really read some of the typography, it’s a bit rasterized. But we were just so happy to make a record, it’s so cool.

Benji B

So, talking about your musical influences, a lot of which come from outside of the United States. You’re talking about London and this record definitely has a bit of the garage shuffle and I know that you’re a big fan of all music from London and the UK, including jungle and stuff like that, right?

FaltyDL

Yup, very much.

Benji B

So when did all of that wave of music really start influencing you?

FaltyDL

Well, I got into electronic music, like old Warp Records stuff, when I was pretty young, when I was about 15 or 16, young enough. A little over half my life ago.

Benji B

And what kind of parties were you going to and where were you living?

FaltyDL

Well, that’s the thing, I was living in New Haven, I hadn’t moved to New York yet, and I was going to hardcore shows – meaning like punk rock shows and hip-hop shows. That’s what I was going to. But I was going home and I was listening to Aphex Twin and Squarepusher and stuff like that. And it wasn’t until later, when I moved to New York in 2005, that I started really going to parties. But it was that sound from London that was coming over, it was Dub War [in New York], and it was Mala and Kode9 and Loefah and
Skream and those guys were coming over and playing right here, for like 10 bucks, down the street. It was cool.

Benji B

Two of whom we’re going to see tonight.

FaltyDL

Yup, that’s right.

Benji B

Well, you’ve brought a whole stack of vinyl in and it seems a shame not for you to illustrate some of your musical palate. Yeah, and also, it’s Friday – it’s that point in the Academy where we’re all sitting around, and you know, and we’ve all gone out every single night. So, let’s just listen to some good music, if that’s alright with you lot?

FaltyDL

Yeah.

Benji B

Is that cool? That’s what we’re all here to do anyway, right? So you know, Drew’s brought all these records in, some of which I can already see are definitely the kind that will wake you up.

FaltyDL

 OK, we wanna wake up then. I’ll play a wake up record.

Benji B

So what’s this?

FaltyDL

We’re gonna play Nasty Habits – Doc Scott, [an] old 31 Records [release]. Yeah. Let’s see if I can cue this up.

Benji B

So, just before you play this, maybe give us a bit of context to why you’re playing this record, what it means to you and when you heard it.

FaltyDL

Sure, sure. Well, when did this come out? This came out ‘96?

Benji B

No, a bit later I think, like ‘98 or so.

FaltyDL

‘98? OK. So, of course, I was not raving in a field listening to this when it came out. I was here listening to hip-hop and, I don’t know, Bob Dylan or whatever I was listening to at the time. But I guess my context is just around 2004, 2005, when my friend from England, who was a bit older and who had DJed for years, was describing to me the euphoria he felt standing in a field listening to jungle and drum & bass. Like, in the middle of the night with the wind going through the trees and stuff. And it has a lot to do with the bassline on this track and the way it builds.

But when I started hearing… first, I guess, [I heard] what came out of jungle, I did it in reverse. I heard, like, Squarepusher records, which is like sped up drum & bass, which is influenced by jungle records but it’s later. So, like many musical avenues I’ve discovered, I’ve sort of started current and gone backwards to find where things come from. And I think I’ve done that in my own productions as well. As I go back and I make some deep house now, and things that have been around longer than more current flavors.

But when I heard this, I think I felt the same euphoria he was describing and it’s an excitement I get from listening to a lot of electronic music that I didn’t get from listening to rock or from hip-hop growing up. So it’s always been this, like, “Was I born in the wrong place?” But, I mean, it’s all good. I’ve gotten here somehow for some reason.

(music: Nasty Habits – “Shadow Boxing”)

Benji B

You can clap for Doc Scott, wherever Scott is.

FaltyDL

It’s funny watching you with your eyes closed.

Benji B

Sorry.

FaltyDL

No, I think that’s it. We have two different experiences. It’s new to me. I’m like, “This so exciting, this is new to me.” So I think you’re like going back to that field.

Benji B

This is not my interview, it’s yours, but the first time I ever heard that record, it got pulled up 12 times. And the bass doesn’t come in ‘till about four minutes in so that was a good 40 minutes. (Laughs) But what do you want to play next and why?

FaltyDL

Yeah, OK.

Benji B

This is like Show and Tell with Drew.

FaltyDL

(Laughs) Yeah, I’m showing off my record collection . We’re going to go back a few more years to ‘95 or something. Dillinja, “[The] Angels Fell.” This came out on Metalheadz. Yeah, let’s play some of that. My hand shakes when I put it on.

(music: Dillinja – “The Angels Fell”)

Benji B

So that’s Dillinja, “[The] Angels Fell.“ I mean, you have to clap to that record whether it’s his or not. So it’s my absolute pleasure to sit here – and all of ours as well – to listen to these amazing records, but how do we relate some these records back to you and how the feeling in these records has that affected your approach to producing music?

FaltyDL

I mean, it has. I don’t know if I thought about how this has directed my approach but I think the attitude like that goes along with this record – not only just the music, but like, the label, the producer itself, the whole package of this thing – mastered at The Exchange. Everything about this. There’s even some other stuff written there that feeds into my excitement to putting a record together. Then I think I’ve felt that excitement on smaller records when I feel it’s a hands-on approach, like releasing records on Swamp 81 with Loefah.

Benji B

I mean, a lot of us, including Loefah, are obviously a generation influenced by Metalheadz, not only the label but the club. The whole movement. What was the equivalent for you? Was there a nightclub or a label or a movement that you were really influenced by and went to in the States?

FaltyDL

No, I absolutely was not. Yeah.

Benji B

So how does that change your ability to have access to the music and experience it in a nightclub?

FaltyDL

The first time I heard a lot of these records in a club was me playing them in London in my sets, which is maybe a throwback for people that were there or playing it to young kids that had never heard them as well. I mean, that’s the funny thing. The context outside my bedroom – there really isn’t one. I think I just latched on to something years ago from an Aphex Twin record and then just followed English labels. You know? I don’t know.

Benji B

You were talking to me earlier about also being influenced by something you call IDM, which is also interesting to me and maybe to people from outside the United States who don’t really know what that term means.

FaltyDL

Yeah, it’s a dirty word. Which I only use just because I’ve heard and read it so many times.

Benji B

What defines IDM? What is IDM?

FaltyDL

Well, what it means, you want me to say it? You don’t want to say it. (Laughter) It’s a really weird term. It’s means “intelligent dance music” which is just sort of degrading to any other dance music out there. And what I’ve found in my own production – in talking to other artists, this is not my own idea – but I find that getting a dancefloor moving and dancing is really intelligent and hard to do in your own productions.

Benji B

What kind of artists and producers would fall under that journalistic category?

FaltyDL

Well, you know, the ones that I brought in my collection, there’s Aphex Twin and some Squarepusher and some old Luke Vibert stuff, and a lot of the old catalog on Planet Mu. Although, you know, they then adopted their own terms like drill & bass and braindance, which was Aphex Twin’s thing with Rephlex. So I think when any artist feels like a journalist is putting them in a box they’re going to try to squeeze out of there naturally.

Benji B

And you are pretty candid in saying about how certain records have influenced specific songs of yours, like…

FaltyDL

Yeah. “Aftermath” and “Hardcourage.” That’s an old Warp record there.

Benji B

Yeah. Maybe give us a example of that and how you find the line between wearing your influence on your sleeve, and also having something...

FaltyDL

My sleeve here. On my left arm.

Benji B

Yeah.

FaltyDL

Yeah, “Aftermath.” This is Warp’s sixth single, 1990. Well, I don’t know, WAP #6, maybe they that another cat[alog] number as well. I’m playing the influence first and then my record.

Benji B

Cool.

(music: Nightmares On Wax – “Aftermath #1”)

FaltyDL

Yeah, so that’s that.

Benji B

So this is a direct influence on one of your most recent tunes.

FaltyDL

Yeah, this one came out probably a year ago. “Hardcourage,” which is the same name as my album. I don’t know how that happened.

(music: FaltyDL – “Hardcourage”)

That’s the most bass I’ve ever put in a record, by far, definitely.

Benji B

So I wanted to ask you, I mean, we’ve been lucky enough this week to hear from some amazing legends, Giorgio Moroder and Van Dyke Parks, and people who have an incredible history of music. But as someone who’s an independent producer right now, who a lot of people can relate to in the room – we’ve got a lot of people here who are making tracks, probably some are signed, probably some are looking to get signed. Can you eat from putting records out anymore?

FaltyDL

Yeah.

Benji B

Can you survive? I mean, obviously it’s a truism to say at the moment that the touring is where the money is, that’s what everyone says. But some of the early 12"s that you played, you could make money from putting those out. Is that still the case? Can you still survive in New York from putting independent albums out?

FaltyDL

Yeah. Albums, yes. Singles, much harder. Albums are more expensive and the return is a little bit greater, but I think it ties back to the fact that I don’t have a lot of experience going out and raving as a kid. And I have come from a family that believes in a real nine-to-five structured job. And also what I said before about if I’m not making music, I feel like I’m being really lazy. So I feel like I have the drive in me just to keep making tunes and releasing records.

OK, I’m answering in five different ways at once. Touring can be a way to make a living. I mean, I’m incredibly honored everytime I get flown out to play anywhere, or play even if it’s just for a friend down the street, if it’s just for a pal and I’m playing for free, or if I’m playing at some festival in Europe somewhere and they’re really taking care of me. There’s always that whole range and I’m incredibly honored. And that’s not just a diplomatic answer, like, I really do feel like, “Why me? That’s crazy that I get to go that.” But there’s a lot of aspects of touring which I don’t like. I don’t like traveling that much. I hate airplanes. I mean, I’m a little bit afraid of flying. I don’t like any of that. I prefer to be home, just in the studio. So I have this feeling that I need to make albums and release big records and stuff. So you need a lawyer, an accountant, and a good album deal (laughs). But yeah, it’s totally possible.

Benji B

And how’d you get the good album deal?

FaltyDL

Uh…

Benji B

How?

FaltyDL

Releasing records. And being sort of my own manager. I mean, just hustling, in a way, you know? Somehow presenting myself as a marketable thing, you know?

Benji B

Well, I guess we were talking before about how it’s a privilege to be able to create, and how what most of us are trying to do in our lives is buy us the time to be able to create, so that you don’t have to go and do the nine-to-five, so that you can actually focus on going into the studio. And you were saying to me that you’ve actually managed to do that, which is quite an achievement [through] music alone.

FaltyDL

Yeah, I have. And my parents respect that, which is cool. No, I mean, that’s a relatively new thing. I mean, I was hitting the road a lot harder last year. Well, I don’t know. When the album first came out I did a good two-and-a-half weeks of touring in Europe and then two-and-a-half weeks of touring in the States. There was a good two months or so, just about, where I wasn’t home.

Benji B

And you played the game and all that nonsense? All that online business? Profiles and all the rest of it? Because it seems that a lot of people think it’s more important to have your press campaign sorted out before you make a record. What’s the process been for you? How important is that whole brave new world of self-promotion online? What would be your dos and don’ts for someone that’s just about to put their first artist statement out there?

FaltyDL

Yeah, I mean, I would tell you this, if the label suggests… or even if you’re part of the conversation of how much money is put towards an album campaign, or a record campaign, I would be wary of large expenditures, which then go into your account which you have to recoup. It’s not like owing the label money, but it does go against you, and then you have to sell enough records to get out of that.

Because I think, honestly, what’s really hyped and what sells a lot is a new thing – a new label, with a Tumblr and a Twitter. And some sort of hype and maybe some big DJ dropped a new tune in a Rinse set or something like that, and there's a YouTube rip that gets like a couple thousand plays. I don’t know what’s really more important than that, as far as getting the word out there. A lot of the magazines are no longer magazines that do press, they are sort of just webzines or whatever, websites. We are all adapting, you know? So the fact that I could get an album deal did sort of blow my mind. Also, publishing, you know? If you get on a song or video game or a commercial or something like that.

Benji B

How early should you sign your publishing?

FaltyDL

Wait, or talk to people that have already signed it and see what they think about it. I was thrown...

Benji B

That’s why I’m asking you.

FaltyDL

Yeah. The third option, take the third option, whatever it is. No, talk to some friends and see what they’ve done, or some people and see what they have done. I am glad that I didn’t sign the first option, and the second option, which I did sign, was great. That expired and my third option is even better. I don’t know. I mean it’s not what it used to be. I have a friend whose publishing deal in ’98 bought him a house in London.

Benji B

Yeah, different times.

FaltyDL

That’s different times, that’s beaucoup bucks right there. (Laughs)

Benji B

Do you have a studio at home or a studio in New York that you work out of? Talk to us on a technical level.

FaltyDL

Yeah, for sure. I have always had my studio in my apartment and I’m two months away from having my studio not in my apartment and it’s kinda freaking me out, because I’m used to just waking up and being right there. But the idea is that I will be even more productive, and actually eat breakfast and get out of the house.

But I have always had a very in-the-box setup, which is an old obsolete version of Reason – version 3.0 from like 2003, or something like that, or maybe 2002. I have never wanted to even try to update it because I have gotten so used to how it works. I think I am afraid of any sort of change with that. Actually it’s no longer in my bedroom. There is a separate room in my apartment. I have a true one-bedroom in New York, which has a second room. Maybe it’s a two-bedroom. I don’t know.

Benji B

So you are never going to update Reason?

FaltyDL

I don’t know. I mean, it’s funny because they asked me to give a talk once on version 6 and I said, “Yeah sure, why not?” Because I’m like, yeah, why not, I’m a nice guy. I installed it on a laptop the night before with a friend and had a crash course, and I showed up, and other than meeting my current girlfriend at that talk it was a complete disaster. So it’s pretty good when you look at it. But I had no idea what I was doing with it.

Benji B

Talking of which, marrying personal life and work life, you have made no secret of the fact – in fact it’s almost part of the press release – that your latest album was sort of an overture to winning the affection of a woman?

FaltyDL

You have got the word “muse” written down in a square and underlined, and in exclamation point.

Benji B

“Everyone needs a muse.” Quote [from] FaltyDL.

FaltyDL

I did say that on the radio, didn’t I?

Benji B

You did.

FaltyDL

She liked that, so it worked.

Benji B

Hell of a drug. (Laughter)

FaltyDL

It’s funny though, the job of the muse is to probably show you the whole range of emotions, right? But I can only create when I’m actually in a good mood. Even when I’m making dark music it’s only because I’m happy. If there is a situation going on where I’m not completely on the level then I can’t even make a tune. But maybe that’s all part of a process, the creative process.

Benji B

So it worked.

FaltyDL

Yeah. I mean, I got an album done, so that was good. And I got two more to do, so we’ll do it.

Benji B

Well, maybe you should play “For Karme.”

FaltyDL

 “For Karme.”

Benji B

And then we will go questions right after.

FaltyDL

Okie dokie.

(music: FaltyDL – “For Karme”)

Thank you, thank you.

Benji B

So I just wanted to ask you about your label. I forgot to talk to you about the next stage. I was going to ask you about the future, but you just started a record label, right?

FaltyDL

Yeah, I did. Blueberry Records, it’s official. I have barcodes and everything, and stickers. I made merch before I released a record.

Benji B

And are you doing that all off your own back, or have you got help?

FaltyDL

No, all on my own. I’m looking at some different P&D [press and distribution] deals from different distributors and stuff, and a lot of them want you to go in at least half on the first release, which shouldn’t be too bad if you’re pressing up like 500 records or something.

Benji B

And seeing as you’re the artist and you can view it from the artist’s side of the fence, what’s the first thing you’re gonna make sure you do?

FaltyDL

Pay my artists. (Laughs) Is that right? Is that the right answer?

Benji B

I mean, what other things as an artist, apart from receiving some of the money you are owed, what things make a label good to work with?

FaltyDL

I think what I’m really excited about is… OK, I’ve found two artists whose music I really want to release, and one of them I want to release everything he sends me. He’s this young, super-excited guy and I have this excitement when I hear his music that I want to have every time I’m about to release a record, you know? So if I still have this label in ten years, hopefully I will still have that excitement. I don’t know what I will have been through in the next ten years, but...

And what I really want to do is I want whoever the artist is I’m releasing to have a real say in all of the creative aspects, with the artwork and the presentation. This artist also happens to be a sculpture MFA student. I think he may have graduated already, and if he wants to build a crazy website and some sculptures, let’s do it. You know what I mean? Just do something interesting. I think if I can really trust the artist, why get in the way and tell them how I think we should present something? If this is a really talented person, I think they should get it out there the way they want it to be seen. You know? And that’s me obviously speaking from shit with releasing records with other people telling me how to do it in certain ways and fighting to get it the way I want it, you know?

Benji B

And I mean, how important is the whole visual aesthetic part to music these days? I know you put a lot of effort into getting the art done for the gatefold. Do you have a vision for your label that goes beyond the audio side of it?

FaltyDL

Yeah, absolutely. And not only that, but it’s surrounding myself with some of my best friends who are artists, who are going to be doing the work with me. My friend Tom, who is going to build the website. He doesn’t really know this yet, but Tom, you’re gonna build the website for me, and the artwork and everything. And also, it’s a brand, so we really gotta think about what we are going to use for a while, just like anything. Like, I think that’s why I wanted this (picks up “Hardcourage” 12") on this old ’93 Ninja Tune sleeve. It’s just cool because I haven’t seen it in a long time, and I saw it on a wall and was like, “Can we use that?” And they were like, “Yeah.” So it was like, “Let’s do that.” Anyways, I have a song that I’m gonna release from this fella, named Brrd. It’s gonna come out this year (laughs). I’m being realistic.

(music: Brrd – “SCOCJ2”)

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Benji B

Forthcoming Blueberry Records, right?

FaltyDL

Blueberry Records. I just think there’s a patience in his production which I just do not possess. And he’s about ten years younger than me.

Benji B

From New York?

FaltyDL

Boston, I think, or Denver, I never know. ’Cause he’s like from one and in school in the other. Or he’s gone to school in both and from one.

Benji B

And talking of New York, obviously that’s where we are for this year’s Academy, and as you’re not a native New Yorker but you live here right now, what’s it like, musically speaking? Just on a music level, what’s the scene saying at the moment for you, and what’s it like living here in musical terms?

FaltyDL

There’s a lot of options these days. I mean, on a Friday, Saturday night there’s a few things going on, definitely. There’s always been a few nights going on, here and there, and very relevant nights, not just like, “Yeah, New York has a great house scene and great hip-hop scene,” but like, really current, relevant nights. But now there’s these nights that are also record labels, and also have a larger sort of presence in pop culture in New York as well, or not pop culture – culture in New York. So they’re stronger and there’s a lot more people going out to them, and I think it’s pretty easy to start a night.

There’s all these spaces out in Brooklyn where people will travel to go to. I just saw a 40,000 square foot warehouse the other day which I wanna throw a party in, and I’m just thinking how many security guards I’m gonna need to rent for that. And how many police I’m gonna have to pay off. Just kidding. Yeah, there’s a lot going on and there’s these young kids – I think when you were here last, we went to that Astro Nautico party which was thrown by a bunch of kids that are in their early twenties and stuff. And it’s really exciting. I’m not that old, but I feel like I’m older than a lot of the people at a lot of these parties I go to, but it’s exciting to see that type of energy there. I guess even when I was their age I guess I didn’t have that outlet. So it’s pretty cool.

Benji B

It is. Alright, let’s open it out to questions, if anyone’s got any questions from the floor. If not, we’re just gonna play more music really loud (laughter). It’s alright, I’ll give you another 30 seconds... 28... 25... Yeah, alright.

Audience Member

Hi, what’s up?

FaltyDL

Hey.

Audience Member

I watched that Real Scenes New York with you and I remember you wrote on Twitter that they only used one of the lines you said? Do you want to expand more on like what you think about living in New York and what you said but they didn’t use?

FaltyDL

Yeah! I mean, the Real Scenes series is incredibly well-produced and they all have this unifying, dystopic film over whatever city they’re looking at. Which is great, it’s interesting. But it’s only sort of one side, and a city like New York you’d need to film for like three or four months to get enough interviews to really get an accurate portrayal of all the scenes that are going on. But I think I got caught saying something like, “It makes me disgusted, the gentrification in the area.” Which I’m obviously a part of, you know? But what I think I then felt like I needed to say, and what most people who know me would agree, is that I feel incredibly blessed to live in New York and make a living off of making music. I mean, if I’m complaining, smack me. I don’t know why I should be complaining about what it is I’m doing. But I guess there’s a couple things going on – the idea of being misquoted is kind of frustrating, or taken out of context. But what are you going to do?

Audience Member

You love New York then?

FaltyDL

I do, yeah very much. I could see myself staying here for a long time. Or moving to Barcelona. (Laughter) So one of the two.

Audience Member

Good.

FaltyDL

Yeah.

Benji B

Any more questions?

Audience Member

Hi.

FaltyDL

Hey.

Audience Member

I wanted to know if there was ever a point in your life that you felt that you had little or no personal life because of your work and how you maintain a balance. And then, when you play a song later – I know you’ll play another song before we go – could you tell us a really cool story about it?

FaltyDL

A cool story, about it?

Audience Member

Yeah, or choose a song that you know has a really interesting story.

FaltyDL

Of how anti-social I was when I made that record? (Laughter) Yeah, I mean, specifically when I first moved to New York, I had two cousins living here and a couple of friends, because it’s not far from New Haven. You sort of either go to Boston or New York if you want to get out of New Haven. So, I came here and it was at a time when I really wasn’t partying. I wasn’t drinking, I was really a straight-edge, tattooed kind of fella. And for the first year and a bit I did not go out on Fridays or Saturday nights, or any real nights. I mean, I’d go meet friends but I was home at eight o’clock, nine o’clock at night, making music ’till 3 AM and then getting up and then working part-time at a school as a substitute teacher and then in the afternoon taking classes at City College.

So all of that left me very isolated. But I had the options, my phone would ring and they would be like, “Hey Drew, come out, there’s this party.” And I’d be like “Nah, I’m cool.” I think partly it was because I wasn’t partying, drinking and stuff. But I was so onto something, and early on I got the heads up from Planet Mu to release some records and I was like, “OK, what’s more important than me making an album right now?” I was weighing it against going out and meeting people and I was like, “This is just a lot safer and more fun, just stay home and make music.” But yeah, I was just getting lack of Vitamin B and whatever it is you get from the sun after a while. I was very anti-social when I was making records, for sure. Oh, should I play a record and tell a cool story?

Benji B

“Mean Streets”?

FaltyDL

Yeah, why not? This is cool, this is number one.

Benji B

What’s the story about “Mean Streets”?

FaltyDL

I sent a bunch of tracks to Loefah through Dave Q, a mutual friend who is a long-time promoter and all-round music lover here in New York, and he passed a bunch of tunes onto Loefah for me and then I went and did a Rinse FM in like 2010, I think with Loefah and a couple other people. And he was like, “In what way did you send me those tunes?” Or something like that. And I was like, “What do you mean?” And he was like, “In what capacity did you send me those tunes?” Not really elaborating. And I was like, “Do you want to release some of those tunes?” And he was like, “Yeah,” and I was like, “Alright, let’s do it!”

I make new tunes all the time and send them to him and he doesn’t even check them. He just wants to release the ones I sent him in, like, 2009. So these are all old tunes. I’m going to play the first track off part two, and there’s a part three that’s hopefully going to come out this year. Say what?

Benji B

Is this the sort of Tony Allen influence?

FaltyDL

Yes, yeah, absolutely. I was listening to a lot of Fela Kuti records and Tony Allen records, I think I brought Black Voices in here somewhere. And in fact, I think why a lot of these are limited and there’s no digital [releases] is because there’s some pretty silly sampling going on that I would not be able to pay for.

(music: FaltyDL – “Mean Streets”)

Benji B

It’s always a good test if you see the sound engineer behind the glass having a little dance – that’s always a good look, isn’t it?

FaltyDL

Yeah, he comes to all my gigs. Like, everywhere.

Benji B

Was that enough story for that tune?

FaltyDL

Yeah.

Benji B

Good.

FaltyDL

Was that a story?

Benji B

Yeah, you had a story. I think we had one more question just here, right? Can we get a mic? Thanks.

Audience Member

Hey. You mentioned that you’d been playing at parties in Europe, and obviously in the US. Have you noticed any differences in the crowd, or in the things that you’ve visited?

FaltyDL

Yeah, definitely! I mean, I think every city’s different. To say just Europe and America is different, I mean, every different city I’ve been to, and every country is a different sort of scene. But what I find interesting is when I’d show up to a gig in London in the first few years of touring and play a very “London” set, and then the promoter would be like, “I thought you were gonna play more of your own stuff for like a ‘New York’ set.” And I was like, “Oh, yeah!” And it’s not because I was in London, it’s just...

Audience Member

What’s a “London” set?

FaltyDL

I don’t know. At the time, a lot of things that were on the front page of [music store] Boomkat? I don’t know. I mean, did I play this? No, probably not. I mean, you can’t just say, “Yeah, the internet, it’s amazing, everything travels so quickly.” That’s kind of cliché, but in the last year, more than any time in the last four or five years, I think music is traveling so far, so fast that you can get away with playing anything anywhere, and it sort of has an appropriate context. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I think probably way too much about these types of things and I have a hard time articulating them – but yeah, there’s definitely a difference. Everywhere.

Audience Member

Alright, cheers.

Benji B

Any more questions?

Audience Member

Speaking as a record label person, I guess I wondered about the whole idea of record labels having some push and pull with an artist to put a record out. Sometimes you feel like you’re trying to make a better record, maybe? Or a record that you have envisioned. And sometimes the artist agrees and sometimes they don’t. And you put out a record with an artist and you’re not going to have any input into what they’re doing at all. I guess it was just kind of a... This is not really a question. It is a question, but I don’t have a way to phrase it.

FaltyDL

It’s your defense.

Audience Member

No, no, no, it’s not a defense. It’s like, we’ve existed as a record label for 20 years, the first ten years we had a lot of influence into the way record came out, the second ten years, the record industry changed so much there seemed to be no longer a need to do that. But I think sometimes that does make the records more… something? Maybe? I don’t know, interesting, possibly? Maybe not, but...

FaltyDL

Well, I mean you wouldn’t really know unless you released both versions, you know what I mean?

Audience Member

Yeah.

FaltyDL

There’s definitely artists that need a little bit of quality control and artists that you can just let them do their thing and they really know what they’re doing, you know? The tracks they want to release, I mean… it sounds like you know more about it than I do.

Audience Member

Well, I mean I work with artists that have started their own record labels and it’s interesting to see that transition, from being an artist who’s putting out a record with you, to them then being a record label having artists put out records with them.

FaltyDL

Well, if I get to put out a second record then I did my first one right, I guess. We’ll see.

Benji B

One last question over here, then it’s tea time.

Audience Member

Hey, thanks for being here. How much do you think about your perceived audience when you’re making music, and do you think about it at all?

FaltyDL

Define perceived audience.

Audience Member

The audience you imagine that you have. I mean, you see your audience at your shows, but to a certain extent as an artist you can only have this vague idea of who they are and what they are, because you don’t know every one of them.

FaltyDL

I think about that during the compiling stage, but when I’m actually making a track I’m really not thinking about anyone, including myself. Hopefully I’m just on auto-pilot and just listening, and just sort of creating. Sincerely. Although, I think that’s probably when I fail, when I’m thinking and I’m worried about how it’s going to sound anyway. I mean, I think about soundsystem culture and I think about, “Is this going to sound good on a system in a club?“ And that’s changed the way I mix my records down now. But yeah, I think the less I can think about anyone, the better the art is, in a way.

Benji B

Great, well, please let’s say thanks a lot, Drew. Cheers.

FaltyDL

Let’s go make some music.