Hailing from the D&B side of North London, Charlie Fieber and Nelson Bayomy
- otherwise known as Fracture & Neptune
- had their first release
, Deadlands / Discharge back in 2000 on Danny Breaks' legendary Droppin' Science label. Since then, they have slowly been building up an impressive reputation for themselves within the scene. Armed with their classic Emu 6400 sampler, valve compressors and plenty of old school hardware, they've been responsible for such tunes as Ventura on Hospital Records' minimal off shoot, Med School in 2006, Colemanism on Paradox's label, Outsider in 2004 as well as a slew of other notable 12
”s and remixes over the past decade.
Last year the pair set up their very own label, Astrophonica. Initally intended as an output for a release that would otherwise not have seen the light of day, Astrophonica has become somewhat of a go-to label for creative, forward-thinking, quality D&B output. So much so, that the fledgling imprint already has the support of electronic heavyweights Aphex Twin, Amon Tobin and DJ Food.
With big plans set for Astrophonica for 2010, we thought we should catch up with Fracture & Neptune to find out more about the production duo and their curiously named label.
How and when were you first infected by dance music?
Fracture: I think I probably got into it when I heard stuff like Snap – I Got The Power. That was actually the first record I bought. I got it from Woolworths for £1.79 when they used to have that week's top 40 singles in order on the shelf. After that I started listening to all the pirate radio stations in London. At such a young age I didn't really know what it was all about but I was definitely hooked.
Neptune
: I remember going to Portuguese social clubs with my family when I was about seven and hearing Bob Marley. The heavy bass used to rattle my bones and I loved it. I was forever turning up the bass on the EQ on my mum’s hi-fi at home after that. I remember being in second year of secondary school in 1992 and seeing a list of pirate radio frequencies etched into the tables during my maths lesson. I think that’s when it all started for me.
When did you start producing, and how long was it before you started making tracks that you were really happy with?
Fracture: I messed around at a mate's house who had a sampler for a while in about '95 and then our mate Matt Qualifide bought an Emu sampler and started producing. I used it bit more round his, we all made a tune together and then Neptune and I started saving for one ourselves - they were expensive back then.
F+N: As Fracture & Neptune, I think we started producing in 1998/9. We met at Islington 6th Form College in 1996 and were both heavily into jungle so we used to meet up and go to Black Market Records and hassle them for promos and white labels. We had been doing it for a year or so and got to a point where we had a CD of five tunes that we were happy with and started sending them out. Then, out of the blue, Danny Breaks got in contact and said he wanted to do a 12", which for us was a dream come true. We had been buying loads of his stuff around that time, tunes like Beat Biter and Aquatica, so we were chuffed!
What have been your personal favourite productions so far?
F+N: Definitely Ventura on Med School Records. We listen back to that now and are still very happy with it. It totally captures a vibe and is not over produced at all. It's also a fave because it features Fracture's dad playing lap steel guitar. That was a very special moment for us. It all came around because we had half made the tune and Neptune came up with this little melody / progression kind of thing. It really worked but we couldn't find an instrument or sample that sounded good. At that time the studio was in Fracture's bedroom at his parents’ house.
Fracture: I suddenly thought, 'oh my god, my dad's got loads of guitars downstairs and the lap steel would totally fit the ‘60s bluesy kind of vibe of the track.' A week later we got my dad up in my room to record the part and then to just jam some stuff and it sounded amazing. We couldn't even look at each other while he was playing it...truly tear-jerking stuff!
Where does your name come from?
Fracture: I can't really remember, probably because I thought it sounded cool as a kid. It was a DJ name really and when we were ready to start sending tracks out we couldn't think of a name so we just became Fracture & Neptune.
Neptune: I remember being in college and thinking of names that begin with N, like my real name. And I slowly started gravitating towards Neptune. I couldn't think of anything else that sounded 'cool' so stuck with that.
What have you got in store for the coming months?
F+N: We have a few UK gigs coming up so keep them peeled for more info. We're really excited as we are going to be working with Fracture's dad, Martin Fieber, on another track for Astrophonica in the next few weeks. We're just going in the studio once a week at the moment and trying to get stuff done really. We are going to start doing a podcast series soon too, with everything from ‘60s Turkish psych records to brand new drum and bass.
What can we expect from one of your DJ sets?
F+N: Our DJ sets are usually very high energy. We play across the board and really try to mix it up but always try to keep quite an intense vibe. We were blown away by the intensity of DJ sets at clubs like Paradise or Metalheadz at the Blue Note in the '90s and try to give off that vibe in our sets. We like to get into it and put on a performance and let the crowd know were having a good time too.
If you weren’t a DJ/producer, what would you be?
Fracture: Either a guitarist or a drummer. Or a self-sufficient farmer living on a mountain side.
Neptune: I'm a full-time teacher so I guess I would just be doing that - and still buying loads of records.
Which other producers and DJs do you really rate?
Fracture: In terms of drum and bass, the producer I rate the most is System. He and I used to play together on Rude FM 88.2 around 2001 and share a very similar taste in music and production and I just seem to like everything he does. He's got a really distinctive style and ridiculously immaculate mixdowns. He's also a wicked MC! I also really like SP's stuff. Again, he's got a very distinctive sound. I love the mood he gets in his tracks. Consequence is killing me right now, very dark. There's seriously loads of great drum and bass out there at the moment.
Neptune
: Yeah System has got a lot of good music. He’s been making great stuff for a few years now and it’s good to see it coming to fruition. A tight, polished production every time. Again, SP and the Code 3 boys are also going in with some serious sounds - very deep and minimal. Of course dBridge and Instra:mental have been really pushing things with their ‘80s synth-inspired music. It’s really healthy that people can make diverse drum and bass again, which pushes us to think about things too.
F+N: As for DJs, we have to mention Equinox. He’s probably the tightest in terms of mixing and is so good at working the crowd. We don’t know of anyone else who can mix Amens like he can! dBridge needs a mention too; he showcases his sound, which makes his sets quite refreshing. It helps that he’s a wicked mixer as well.
Can you tell us a bit about how Astrophonica started out in the beginning?
F+N: We really just started it because we had two tunes we really, really liked and people had been them playing for out for about 2 years. They were originally scheduled for release on Play Musik but then Flight decided to give the label a rest for a bit so the tunes almost got shelved. We thought, why don't we put them out? So we did, and it sort of snowballed from there really. We now have bigger and bigger plans for the label every day. It's also nice to be in full control of your own music in terms of how it is packaged, how it is branded, the colours, when it is released... everything.
Which artists are involved with Astrophonica?
F+N: Astrophonica at the moment it is just for Fracture & Neptune. Maybe Danny Breaks if he made a drum and bass tune again...are you reading Danny?
What sound does Astrophonica represent?
F+N: Astrophonica represents the Fracture & Neptune sound. In one word? Cosmic. We write, and will release on Astrophonica, many different styles but they always have a cosmic vibe to them. Even listening back to our early tracks, they still have a deep rooted cosmic vibe, so that's the Astrophonica sound, hence the name.
What’s the ethos behind Astrophonica
F+N: The ethos behind Astrophonica is very much classic and forgotten production techniques. We still use an Emu sampler and a Mackie desk with various FX and compressors and stuff. It's all integral to our sound. For us, a massive part of the sonic quality of dance music, not just drum and bass, died with the big change over from hardware to software in the late-‘90s. Software is great; we love it and we use it but we learned on hardware so we still use it and apply the same techniques to software. There isn't really an ethos in the type of music we want to release on Astrophonica, but the production ethos runs deep.
Can you tell us a bit about the releases you’ve put out so far on Astrophonica?
F+N: 001 was Clissold / Killerwhat? which was scheduled for Play Musik as mentioned earlier. Clissold uses loads of crusty vinyl samples and a dirty Emu bass line with a kind of summertime in the park vibe. Killerwhat? is just straight up '90s dirt. Then 002 is more Emu sampler action with Hull Breach / Tape Fog. Hull Breach was named after a hummus wrap incident during an Atsrophonica studio session. The anger from the incident resulted in the naughtiness of Hull Breach's bass. Tape Fog has a Droppin' Science-inspired 808 bassline along with drums that were recorded through an old tape player.
What’s coming up next from Astrophonica?
F+N: Next up we've got Dust Ball and The Trunk on APHA003 which is out end of April, maybe first week in May. Then we've got 004 due out in June / July. We're really excited about this release as we're going to be working with Martin Fieber on lap steel guitar again. It worked so well last time so if it comes out anything like that we'll be over the moon. Then we'll take a break for the summer and return in September for 005 which is going to be featured on Zero T's FABRICLIVE 52 mix. It's an absolute killer so keep 'em peeled for that!
Is there anything else you would like to mention to our readers?
F+N: We would like to say big up to anyone who has bought Astrophonica releases. We run the label totally by ourselves and it's hard work! So thanks so much for your support and for making it possible.