Interviews

Across the final phase of Nebraska and the emergence of Dubl Drat, there is a sense of an artist taking stock while stepping into something renewed. This conversation traces that shift, exploring the instincts that shaped the Nebraska era, the evolution toward a new identity and the creative freedoms that come with closing one chapter and opening another.

When you look back at the Nebraska catalogue, what instincts do you feel defined that era of your work?

Nebraska started with the impetus to take what I had learned from hip hop, trip hop and techno on to a more house flavoured journey. The core of it is the cut and paste sampling aesthetic, the vinyl diggers mentality, but at that house tempo.

The Alter Alter Ego EP is a bridge between identities. What was the moment you realised that Nebraska was going on a journey and coming back as Dubl Drat? Why the evolution?

Nebraska, for me, had run its course after 25 years or so. It was never intended as a long term project, it just happened that way, perhaps largely because of the attention the two reissue EPs on Rush Hour got around 2009 and 2010. Dubl Drat represents the next chapter, an evolution.

You have worked with labels across very different corners of the underground. How have those relationships shaped your approach to releasing music today?

I have been really lucky in who showed interest in my work over the years. And it is how these connections happen. For instance, I only met Dam Swindle when Jamie, also known as Jimpster, from Delusions of Grandeur put us on the same line up in 2013, leading to my releases on Heist, and back now to Delusions in 2026.

Your early work touched jazz inflected techno and trip hop. Do you see echoes of those roots in what you are making now as Dubl Drat?

Most definitely. I have been listening with fresh ears to music from the 90s, stuff I made as Headphonauts, music on Mo Wax and Ninja Tune. It is now long enough ago to sound fresh again.

What role does experimentation play in your process at this stage of your career, especially when shifting between structured grooves and more abstract forms?

Experimentation serves to keep the practice fresh and surprising, otherwise it is in danger of being just another day at the office. And experimentation is just a grown up word for play, right.

The EP moves between dancefloor energy and deep listening spaces. How do you decide which direction a track wants to go?

I do not, the track does. I mean this sincerely. I have to follow where the material is leading for it to feel good, and for the finished work to connect. I often try the same piece of music at different tempos to understand its effect on the outcome.

Friends and Relations has been running for a decade. How has running your own label influenced the way you think about identity, longevity and creative freedom?

That is a really good question. It actually speaks to the whole point of having an artist led label in the first place. As most people releasing music in the current context may tell you, it is rarely about a big pay day. So in the end, for me the point of Friends and Relations is identity, longevity and creative freedom.

When you revisit older Nebraska material, what stands out to you now that perhaps you did not notice at the time?

Taken as a whole, there is a consistency of tone and character, which is pleasing. Like anyone else, sometimes there is stuff you would go back and change, arrangements, levels. But on the whole, I am gratified to hear from peers that it seems to stand the test of time.

As you close the Nebraska chapter, what do you hope listeners understand about the journey that led from your earliest releases to this final EP?

That it is indeed, without resorting to cliche, a journey, an ongoing narrative with more spaces to explore and places to go.

What possibilities or freedoms does the Dubl Drat alias open up that you felt were harder to explore under Nebraska?

I think it is just good to rejuvenate and refocus. As it is me, in some ways nothing too drastic is changing, but I hope the shift to Dubl Drat embodies a maturing and development of what has been learned from 25 years of Nebraska.

Check out the latest release from Nebraska presents Dubl Drat.