Greg G: Hi D1, could you present yourself to the french massive?
D1: Well hello I’m D1, a Dubstep producer from London, I’m signed to Tempa records.

GG: Which part of London are you living?
D1: West London, Fulham.

GG: How did you come to Dubstep?
D1: I stopped playing the piano at 14 having got to grade 8 and I started Djing. I met Youngsta at Blackmarket Soho and he started showing me this other style of music which at the time was Dark Garage but which is now evolved into Dubstep.

GG: What are your main influences, musically and in your life, for your music?
D1: My parents are a massive influence. My dad made Jungle, Drum&Bass, House, under a couple of aliases: Nishki, Sonartribe, Loop 82… and he played the guitar. My mum was a singer so music has been a heavy influence on my life. I played the piano and the tenor sax. I draw influences from everywhere from other producers in the scene and from just listening to other styles of music and understanding and appreciating what they do. I cant pinpoint 1 solid influence though there are so many.

GG: And are you working with other Dubstep producers sometimes, and in the Dubstep scene, who are your favorites ones?
D1: Not at the minute… I would like to though maybe one day. I cant say I have a favourite producer there’s a lot of producers but people like Mala, Skream, Benga, those people always seem to excite me.

GG: How could you present your musical style in the global Dubstep sound?
D1: I don’t know it’s weird. I’m more about the music. My music isn’t predominately beatz + bass. I’m classically trained at piano so I wanna incorporate melodies and harmonies in tunes. Sometimes I go a bit overboard but it’s finding the balance between the two. Mala does it perfectly in my opinion.

GG: Yeah I agree personally I feel your style very 'musical' and 'melodic', and the production level is always on top. How are you working concerning production, and did you study it?
D1: Well, when I first started making tunes my dad helped me a lot but once I begun to understand what I was doing I started finding my own way of doing things. I’ve never studied it.

GG: Harware and software stuff?
D1: My dad used hardware and I did for a little but now I’m on software all the way.

GG: Which age did you start to produce music, and which style of music?
D1: 15. It was Dubstep or I was trying to make Dubstep. It took me about a year of making tunes before I started to make things that I was happy with.

GG: How old are you now?
D1: I just turned 20.

GG: Do you produce other beats than Dubstep?
D1: Yeah I muck about a bit of House and stuff, if I made dubstep 24/7 I would get bored (lol).

GG: Any tunes out concerning House?
D1: Yeah I have just had an official remix accepted by Defected Records, a Dubstep remix though. From a tune called ‘The Way You Love Me’. The singer is Marc Evans I think and the guys who made the tune are called The Muthafunkaz.

GG: And are you working on an album?
D1: 2008 most probably. I haven’t started anything yet but 2008 looks good.

GG: Any tunes coming out soon?
D1: I just had the double pack out on Tempa and should have another one coming mid September. It will have the official remix of the Defected tune on there as well.

GG: You’re known as D1 the producer, are you also DJing?
D1: Yeah I love to DJ. I’ll play at FWD>> next week.

GG: Have you ever played in France?
D1: Na I would like to I have never been to France.

GG: Can we here you on the radio sometimes?
D1: Sometimes Rinse if I do a guest show with Youngsta or something.

GG: You seem very closed to Youngsta and you've been signed on his label Road Records, what about your relationship?
D1: Yeah we’re cool. He’s easily one of the reasons why I’m where I am today. I’ve known him for about 5 years.

GG: What about the future for D1?
D1: Well hopefully it’s bright! Just gonna keep doing what I’m doing I wanna do some songs vocals with Dubstep tunes.

GG: Wish you all the best. Last word? Football team supporting?
D1: Fulham Football Club.

Thanks to D1 for this discussion.

Discography:

Links: D1 myspace | Tempa Recordings

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