DJ Friction Article by me
DJ Friction
By Nina Khachatourian
DJ Friction has a solid support system back in the UK but when we sat down with him after a recent gig in Dallas TX with MC SP, he explained that he is pushing himself to make more of a presence in North America. This is somewhat uncharted territory for 29 year old Friction, and there is a lot of opportunity to make an impact.
“I’m going to start working on coming out to the states a lot more. I don’t really tour that much here. I have a decent profile in the UK and Europe but I want to build more of a fan base and really put an effort into things here. I’ve got a few cities that I’ve been to more than once but I want to do more.”
Some of the venues he plays in North America are much smaller than across the pond. Friction explains the kind of magic that can happen in a smaller setting, like when we saw him DJ at Club Wax in Dallas.
“Last night was mad because the monitor blew for most of my set and it was like, a few guys in the front saw it happen, and they saw that I was trying to do my best. There was a great vibe from that moment and because the club was small, I was able to make that connection with the crowd.”
Friction is in the midst of preparing for a tour to promote his forthcoming mix album, “The Next Level Part 2”. Part 1 came out on Valve; part two will be his own label, Shogun Audio. The first cd will be more bangin’ dancefloor type stuff and disk two will have more proper listening music with music from artists like Makoto, Total Science and D-Bridge.
On the production tip, Friction has a track coming out called “Lazy Dayz” that he made with drum and bass veteran, K-Tee
“Now and again I go around K-Tee’s house and we make a beat. It’s very casual, just a friends thing. Lazy Daze is a summertime thing that came to us naturally. Tunes like Robocop and Altitude are big club tunes and you kind of feel pressure to keep making tunes like that. But really I just make tunes and if people like it, they like it….”
This kind of attitude is what has allowed DJ Friction not to pigeonhole himself into only pushing one style of drum and bass. “I got into this music for the bass lines, because well, I love bass”, he says chuckling. “But I also got into it because of the different influences that are incorporated in the music as well. Why shut any of them out?”
He’s even testing the waters and doing a breaks thing on Supercharged. Friction says, “It’s a hobby, I’m just messing around. It’s all dance music, I think the scene is liberated enough to where I can do that”
Aside from the touring and production work, DJ Friction is heavily focused on pushing his label, Shogun Audio. He started the label about a year and a half ago and its really taking off. T.C’s remix of Let Loose was extremely well received as were releases from Noisia, and Commix to name a few. Friction is treating the label like his baby and its starting to snowball. The label’s AIM handle gets 20 to 25 demos on a daily basis. The label’s most recent release, “Shogun Assassin's EP (Vol 2)” features tracks from, D-Bridge, Friction & K-Tee, Blu Mar Ten, and Break’s remix of Nosia's Brainstich.
DJ Friction will spend October and November on a European tour but will be back in North America again shortly after the beginning of the year.
Sources: http://www.shogunaudio.co.uk/
By Nina Khachatourian
DJ Friction has a solid support system back in the UK but when we sat down with him after a recent gig in Dallas TX with MC SP, he explained that he is pushing himself to make more of a presence in North America. This is somewhat uncharted territory for 29 year old Friction, and there is a lot of opportunity to make an impact.
“I’m going to start working on coming out to the states a lot more. I don’t really tour that much here. I have a decent profile in the UK and Europe but I want to build more of a fan base and really put an effort into things here. I’ve got a few cities that I’ve been to more than once but I want to do more.”
Some of the venues he plays in North America are much smaller than across the pond. Friction explains the kind of magic that can happen in a smaller setting, like when we saw him DJ at Club Wax in Dallas.
“Last night was mad because the monitor blew for most of my set and it was like, a few guys in the front saw it happen, and they saw that I was trying to do my best. There was a great vibe from that moment and because the club was small, I was able to make that connection with the crowd.”
Friction is in the midst of preparing for a tour to promote his forthcoming mix album, “The Next Level Part 2”. Part 1 came out on Valve; part two will be his own label, Shogun Audio. The first cd will be more bangin’ dancefloor type stuff and disk two will have more proper listening music with music from artists like Makoto, Total Science and D-Bridge.
On the production tip, Friction has a track coming out called “Lazy Dayz” that he made with drum and bass veteran, K-Tee
“Now and again I go around K-Tee’s house and we make a beat. It’s very casual, just a friends thing. Lazy Daze is a summertime thing that came to us naturally. Tunes like Robocop and Altitude are big club tunes and you kind of feel pressure to keep making tunes like that. But really I just make tunes and if people like it, they like it….”
This kind of attitude is what has allowed DJ Friction not to pigeonhole himself into only pushing one style of drum and bass. “I got into this music for the bass lines, because well, I love bass”, he says chuckling. “But I also got into it because of the different influences that are incorporated in the music as well. Why shut any of them out?”
He’s even testing the waters and doing a breaks thing on Supercharged. Friction says, “It’s a hobby, I’m just messing around. It’s all dance music, I think the scene is liberated enough to where I can do that”
Aside from the touring and production work, DJ Friction is heavily focused on pushing his label, Shogun Audio. He started the label about a year and a half ago and its really taking off. T.C’s remix of Let Loose was extremely well received as were releases from Noisia, and Commix to name a few. Friction is treating the label like his baby and its starting to snowball. The label’s AIM handle gets 20 to 25 demos on a daily basis. The label’s most recent release, “Shogun Assassin's EP (Vol 2)” features tracks from, D-Bridge, Friction & K-Tee, Blu Mar Ten, and Break’s remix of Nosia's Brainstich.
DJ Friction will spend October and November on a European tour but will be back in North America again shortly after the beginning of the year.
Sources: http://www.shogunaudio.co.uk/