D.A.V.E. the Drummer: To The Beat of the Drum

We recently got the chance to interview D.A.V.E. the Drummer again on the back of a superb new mix compilation he’s just done for Elektrax Recordings, titled Seriously Techno – done, as he reports, “Using Traktor and a CD player in the studio” – and he has simple hopes for the release, a limited edition affair of 300 copies only, all individually numbered: “I hope people like it – and I hope they get into the tracks,” he says.

Of the tracks inserted into this scintillating mix, the man has a few personal favorites. “Well, mine of course, but from the others I liked Flag 75’s ‘Over Again’ track a lot – it’s very old school, kind of Fine Audio sounding.”

The last time we chatted was about 10 years ago, when he’d just released the ‘Barndance/Warehouse Rock’ 12-inch through Bionic Orange, as well as the first record of his own label Hydraulix. Bionic Orange seems to have folded in 2006, but Henry Cullen – the human entity behind D.A.V.E. the Drummer – is now up to #39 on his own imprint.

You get tired of asking the same questions, especially to the same people, no matter how interesting or inspiring they may happen to be – even after a decade has passed between words of wisdom – but sometimes it’s one of these dreary, mundane queries that’s necessary to get the ball rolling.

Thus it is when I ask Cullen what inspired him to start making music?
“Oh dear,” he instantly agrees, “that is a bit of a yawn question isn’t it? But to be brief, my musical parents and Kraftwerk inspired me at the beginning.”

There’s more to come: Where in the UK was he born, and what’s it famous for?
“(I was) born in Lewisham, South London – famous for being a shit-hole and not much else.”

Why does he continue to use the moniker D.A.V.E. the Drummer instead of just plain Henry Cullen? – especially given the fact that others like Luke Slater and Luke Vibert have eventually used their real names?
“I do use my real name too, for minimal techno, and D.A.V.E. the Drummer is reserved for acid and hard techno,” he advises. “People know me under that name so that’s what I use for gigs mainly.”

Any other aliases?
“I used to have some, but now it’s pretty much one of the names mentioned. I’ve had hundreds of collaborative ‘band’ names – Creeper, Kektex, Dynamo City, etc. – but these days I just keep it simple.”

Biggest influences on his own music?
“Alcohol.”

Cullen has been producing music and interacting within the music industry for quite a length of time now, so it would be enlightening to understand what keeps him motivated and what integral changes he may have noticed over that time period.
“It’s very hard to stay motivated at the moment,” the man shoots back. “The industry is a tough place and I’m not finding it easy to stay afloat but I’m doing a lot of studio work to pay the bills, and the music is inspiring me and the people I’m working with are too. A new guy in the studio is Tom Rox from Brighton – he’s making some cool minimal, and it’s really good fun for me to help put it together.”

In an interview with Jonty Skrufff, Cullen was quoted as saying “I think it all comes back to Julian Liberator; he was saying once ‘I’m sick of people calling our music acid trance, it’s not acid f**king trance, is it? Why don’t we call it acid techno?’ We all agreed and the phrase was born then.” Would he like to expand upon this debate?
“Well there’s not much to add really, we just didn’t want to be lumped in with commercial cheese at the time. Some of our music might sound cheesy now, but back then it was harder than most, and definitely not Euro trance, which was all strings and pianos.”

So – would this particular producer explain away his own music as simply acid techno? Or would he prefer to add a few more words to the description?
“I think acid techno is a great turn of phrase, but unfortunately many people tend to think it just means screaming 303s, which it can be, but it can also include quite dark, funky techno too. It’s more a term for the musical movement rather than the actual music in a way. If you listen to Cluster Records, for example, you won’t find many 303 tracks in there… but it’s still referred to as acid techno.”

What gear/software is he making most use of in the studio at the moment?
“Ableton Live 8 is superb! And I’m getting back into Logic now too, and my Virus C and some new Stillwell audio plug-ins I just got.”

Which parts of this studio set-up are the most vital facets?
“My Adam speakers, my chair, my Banksy pictures, my little fluffy bunny. I lie.”

Then what food and/or drinks keep him fueled throughout production time?
“Coffee.”

On a different level entirely, which current crop of artists and labels are grabbing Cullen’s attention?
“Joseph Capriati and Len Faki, making techno, techno again; they are fantastic producers. Dusty Kid and Pattrix are making some great new tunes too.”

D.A.V.E. the Drummer’s name has often been associated with the anarchist squatters scene in the UK. Would he lump himself with them now, has his personal mentality changed – or has it always been different?
“I don’t like being lumped in with anyone much, never have. I’ve been on the squat scene for years, that’s true, but essentially there’s much more to me than that. I love ambient music and folk and reggae and all sorts of music. The squat scene can be a bit stifling in certain ways. But as far as being a bit of an anarchist, I haven’t changed much.”

What was Back To The Planet all about when he formed it in 1989? – also how long did the concept last, and do the people involved feel it achieved its goals?
“BTTP are still going actually, we reformed a couple of years ago and play a handful of gigs in the summers. It’s fun and we’re hoping to write some new material soon too. We never achieved our full potential in any recordings we did years ago… Maybe my experience now will help us do that.”

Over the years Henry has released stuff through Hydraulix, Yolk, Infectious Records, TeC and Smitten – so what’s the relationship been like with these integral labels?
“I run Hydraulix, which is still going OK. We are up to release number 39 now. All the others are now defunct for various reasons, but Smitten was very important for me in the beginning, and TeC too.”

What new D.A.V.E. the Drummer releases can we look out for?
“Hydraulix 13.8 is coming out soon and #39 is out now on 12-inch; new tracks with A.P. will be out sometime soon too. My Tekno Toolbox sample CD is out now [www.loopmasters.com], and Mutate To Survive 7 is about to be released: a killer track called ‘It Distorts’ by me and Pattrix. Also Stay Up Forever are starting a download webstore called www.london909.co.uk and it’ll be up and running soon. Hydraulix will be releasing exclusive digital tracks through it.”

A fair amount of people are cutting back on vinyl production these days because they say it just doesn’t make back the money invested, and CDs have almost disappeared…
“I did release a Hydraulix mix CD a couple of years ago, it took a few days to put together and I don’t think I got much out of it money-wise, bit of a waste of time in that respect,” Cullen muses. “I think physical CDs were never that nice as a product anyway, so now as downloads have come along everyone does that instead. Store it on your iPod or whatever and away you go – artwork and everything, simple. Vinyl is much more collectible and even though as a new format it’s pretty hopeless, it does sell secondhand and that can be good money. And records are just nice things to own, aren’t they? CDs look crap in comparison.”

Is vinyl dead?
“It’s on its last legs as an option for small record labels – larger labels who can afford to lose a bit may press a few for the collectors, but smaller dance labels are running out of money. So vinyl will probably get the chop at some point.”

Then do DJs really need to continue to use vinyl, or instead construct entire sets out of stuff they’ve downloaded off the Internet?
“I play CDs now, most people do, vinyl is too expensive and not up-to-date enough, especially for the current techno market. There are still records coming out, though, and good ones too. It’s not completely dead, but it’s certainly not the only option any more.”

Has this particular DJ/producer heard any of the music coming out of Australia?
“Yeah, bits and pieces, Men At Work, things like that.” He laughs. “I used to get Simon Digby’s stuff on Wetmusik, that was cool, and there’re a few guys in Oz who have always impressed me like Steve Syndrome from Virus in Melbourne and Vic from Swarm in Sydney.”

How about Japanese producers like Captain Funk, Toshiyuki Yasuda, DJ Wada (Co-Fusion), HIFANA, DJ Warp, Shufflemaster, Merzbow, Alone Together, Gadget Cassette, M-Koda, Polygon Prompt, et al?
“I love Co-Fusion, I got their Beetroot EP on Reel Musiq and a few others a few years ago, I used to play them a lot. Shufflemaster is another great one, and DJ Warp’s tracks have been turning up here and there. Japanese music is always really different to European music; it just seems to have no rules at all. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don’t get it, but it’s always an interesting experience. The first Japanese producer I bought was Ken Ishii – he made some really abstract but very melodic techno. I love his sound.”

Lastly, and drifting back to the vapid beginnings of the interview, how does Cullen like his mushrooms cooked?
“Sauteed with garlic, on wholemeal toast with a cup of tea – one sugar. It’s 11:00 pm on Sunday and I’m going to bed. I hope I didn’t waffle too much.”

- Interview by Andrez Bergen