Plump DJs

Written on the 30th of July 2008 by Ch 99

Plump DJs spearheaded the nu-skool breaks movement with their distinctive brand of funk-fuelled break beat madness. The UK duo have been shaking clubs to their foundations for close to a decade, and are getting set to visit our country for the massive Parklife Festival. It’s their second trip to Australia this year, only this time they’re armed with an arsenal of bass bin destroying tunes and a new artist album, ‘Headthrash’. MK ULTRA caught up with Lee Rous to talk all things bottom heavy.

Speaking from his London apartment, Lee seems more than enthusiastic about escaping a fairly-grim English summer to perform for some very “up for it'” Aussie festival goers. "I think the good weather and good food really counts for a lot in Australia. The Aussie attitude is really good compared to cold places where the food is rubbish. People get pretty pessimistic."

The tracks on ‘Headthrash’ sound tailor made for bigger, festival-sized crowds. Lee agrees, revealing the duo’s larger shows had an impact on the album’s sound. "We make dance music primarily and we get inspired by the environments we DJ in. We've been playing to bigger dance floors recently,” he says, adding, “We still play some smaller venues in the UK - it’s really important to play those more intimate shows."

Conversely, Lee says the crowd size plays a major role in determining what songs will get aired on any particular night. "We still try to play the tunes that you're digging at any time, but it’s the way you deliver those tracks when you're playing to a big floor as opposed to a smaller one. When you play to a smaller dance floor the change in music style is going to be a lot quicker. Whereas if you're playing to a big dance floor you find the changes need to be orchestrated a bit slower because the energy gets out slower."

Lee says the creative ideas for ‘Headthrash’s vocal tracks came from several external sources. "We get inspiration by hearing another tune, or playing old records, or maybe we get inspiration from an event that’s happened when we've been touring around the world,” he explains.

“The way we choose vocalists and the way we weave a vocalist into a mix is different in every case. Sometimes we'll make a track and we'll say, 'It’s just missing a vocal'. So we'll go through whether we want to write something ourselves, call a vocalist in, or look for an a’capella". When that fails, Lee says it’s always worth calling up one of your musical idols - like Gary Numan.

"I was shaking like a leaf when I spoke to him on the phone. I wish we'd had a bit more experience before that opportunity came up. We were just a bit over excited. I do really like that Gary Numan tune we did, but I don’t think we nailed it. I would like to work with him again and have another go to be honest," he says. At this point I hear Lee chomping away down the phone, so thinking it wise not to get in the way of a Plump DJ and his breakfast, I quickly make my exit.

‘Headthrash’ is out now on Finger Lickin via Inertia.

Plump DJs play Parklife on Saturday October 4 at the City Botanic Gardens & Riverstage, Brisbane.