Interviews

After their original album Favouritism was praised for its fusion of sounds, the British electronic duo Nightdubbing —comprised of Tim Robinson and Carl Emery —is back with a remix EP. The new project, featuring re-imaginings of their tracks from artists like Manu Archeo and Los Rojo, offers a fresh perspective on their distinct sound. We spoke with Tim and Carl about their collaborative process, their new project, and what's on the horizon.

Hello, great to speak with you today. Can you introduce yourself to our readers?

Tim Robinson: "I'm Tim - I play Bass, keyboards and samplers with Nightdubbing.“

Carl Emery: “I'm Carl and we've been DJ-ing since the early 90s, and working on different musical projects for over 30 years now”

Tim Robinson: “We go way back, Carl initially was managing bands I was in and put out my first record on his label, a 12” called 'Riot in Studio 54' in 1998 which actually has a nice connection with this EP – how about that for a title?!”

Your original album, Favouritism, was praised for its fusion of different sounds. How did you decide which tracks would work best for a remix project, and what was your overall vision for the EP?

Tim: “It was Phil Cooper's suggestion. I wanted it to be collaborative and let the mixers pick whatever track they wanted and give them as much of a free reign as possible - it’s always interesting to see what someone else does with your tune – seeing what they keep, drop and what they add to it. My only brief for any of the remixers was just make it entirely your own, go mad, have fun with it.”

Carl: “You can be too close to the music when you’re making it so it’s good to see their interpretations of it from a distance - and see what they do with the structure and feel of the songs.”

The remixers on this EP—Manu Archeo, Los Rojo, Skies Over Tokyo, and Apta—each have a distinct style. What was the process like for selecting these artists, and what made them the perfect fit for your music?

Tim: “Phil hooked us up with Manu, the rest is very much a ‘family and friends’ situation – in fact I wanted to call the EP ‘Nepotism’ but was over-ruled..”

Carl: “They could give the songs new identities and play with their own ideas - everyone has a different take on what we do which is great – Alex (Lost Rojo) we knew would add a real psychedelic feel, Manu Archeo brought that blissed out Balearic vibe that is very NuNorthern Soul… “

Tim: “We met Barry (Apta) through hanging out at Piccadilly Records in Manchester he’s been a great supporter – he and I often geek out over music kit or what we’re working on, so he was an obvious choice. Phil (Skies Over Tokyo) and I used to record together as Kids Indestructible in the early 00s and made the aforementioned ‘Riot in Studio 54’ 12” - and he’s recently got back into making music again and keeps sending me pics of his latest synth or sequencer, so he had to be in. Alex and Jess came about through our connection to Dig Vinyl Records in Liverpool. Record Shops have a lot to answer for in Nightdubbing world….”

The EP kicks off with Manu Archeo's Balearic-inspired take on "Nightdubbing." What elements of his sound do you feel captured the essence of the track while bringing something new to it?

Carl: “He managed to capture the deep, dubby, funk essence of Nightdubbing and stretch it out into that blissed out, sun kissed vibe. More cinematic, downtempo but he’s retained that kind of summer breeze melody that drives the whole track”

Tim: “It’s really interesting because he’s basically homed in on one or two elements of the original work and distilled it into something none-more Balearic – very polished and maybe tames some of my more wayward instincts but that’s why it’s cool to work with different collaborators. It’s gone down really well. Carl can’t stop playing it”

Carl: “Manu did such a great job.”

You also included two of your own alternative takes on the EP. What inspired you to revisit "Whatever It Is... It's Yours" and "Nightdubbing," and how did you approach these new versions differently from the originals?

Tim: “We extended ‘Whatever…’ because the feedback from the LP was listeners and DJs dug it but they wanted a longer cut – the LP has quite a brutal edit - with vinyl you end up making those kind of choices to fit the 18 min limit per side. I ended up doing a new mix from scratch with a bit more guitar and dialing that swampy vibe up a notch”

The final track is a surprise vocal version of "Nightdubbing" featuring Jess Edie. How did that collaboration come about, and how did adding her vocals transform the song?

Carl: “We always felt that within the ‘Nightdubbing’ track there was a real party banger and upfront Disco House tune waiting to come out and we’d always talked about doing some vocal tracks. Jess is great at just riffing over things - we’ve played live with her and she just picks up the mic and improvises – such a brilliant vocalist”

Tim: “Working with Jess was amazing – she picked a tune she liked and sent us a rough demo singing along to the track and she’d got a whole new top line and lyrics worked out, so we’ve rebuilt the song around that. It’s the closest thing to a pop song we’ve ever done and when she sent it over, I thought it was a cover version - it was that good. “

Carl: “It reminded me of Freeez – ‘Southern Freeez’ – that kind of understated but funky vocal – just riding on the track but not emoting too much “

Tim: “Definitely – it’s sweet sounding but there’s a bit of attitude and icy cool in the vocal.

She sent us some more BVs and harmony vocals to fly into the mix and they were stunning – almost a Lovers Rock vibe.

She’s now working with Steve Levine, the 80s pop production legend, on his Baltic Jazz label but we’d love to do some more tunes with her and other vocalists in the future. “

This is your second release with NuNorthern Soul. What is it about the label that makes it such a great home for your music?

Tim: “The music biz is a real closed shop. It’s never been easier to make tracks and release music, never been harder to get anyone to listen, let alone publish them and give you a bit of a push. NNS feels like an inclusive label –the Balearic thing aligns with what we do but there’s room to expand within that”

Carl: “Yeah the whole Balearic thing, you know there are roots in Jazz, Folk and we’re really influenced by Grace Jones and the whole Compass Point thing which is part of that mix. We take in Disco, 80s Boogie, Britfunk, Dub, Drum & Bass….”

Tim: “These days there are no genre boundaries and you don’t need to be pigeonholed into a specific thing– what’s interesting about the late 80s Balearic beats thing was the DJs were playing industrial tracks like Finitribe or breezy indie pop like Woodentops cos there weren’t enough House records - so by accident they had to cross over into lots of different styles– anything goes as long as it’s got that certain something…NNS are looking for ‘that certain something’ I guess.”

After releasing the original album and now the remixes, what's next for Nightdubbing? Are there any new projects or live performances on the horizon?

Carl: “I’ve been working on a project with my partner Sandra, which is an urban exploration/psychogeography walk tracing the footpaths around the M60 motorway in Manchester. We took photos as we walked and recorded sounds which we’ll be exhibiting and Nightdubbing have created a soundtrack to go with it – it’s still got that Nightdubbing groove to it in places but a real cinematic, spacey feel – not like anything we’ve done before.”

Tim: “It turned out really well – the obvious thing, given the theme of tracing forgotten paths and memories would be to go for that ‘Hauntology/reimagined past’ thing which has been done to death and become a massive cliché now - so we worked hard to avoid that - and in trying to push against that we’ve got something really original I think. There is a dub version too so you can have the music without all the field recordings”

(follow @beyondthebramblesm60 to find out more)

Tim: “I’ve also got a solo project called That Fast which is a home all the noisy, banging stuff that doesn’t fit Nightdubbing. It’s the tracks that Carl gives me a certain look when I bring them into his music room – “ah another one for the solo album! “…

What have you been listening to lately that has inspired you? Any favorite artists, albums, or tracks you'd recommend to your fans?

Tim: “Constantly changes but currently enjoying Special Guest DJ aka DJ Shy– especially their ambient stuff like ‘Superbath’. Love a bit of minimal but musical techno like Rod Modell – ‘Captagon’ is mad, twice the speed of his usual stuff but not in a jarring way once you get used to the tempo, and his ‘Music for Bus Stations’ is a good gag on the Eno thing. Also check out Foans – he’s got a 100 track release on Bandcamp and every tune is ridiculously good - deep, melodic House. At the more extreme end, always interested in what Kevin Martin is up to (aka The Bug) – seriously heavy bass tonnage – check out ‘Machines I-V’ but then he can also do something really moving like ‘Black’, his Amy Winehouse tribute. I’m hoovering up all the Seefeel reissues, they’re still unmatched for me in blurring the line between live instruments and electronics. Also Ultramarine – huge formative influence (very Balearic!) and they’ve been quietly putting out some excellent stuff – check out ‘Routine’ which is unreleased 90s tracks. I’m also excited beyond belief about going to see Cabaret Voltaire live next month! “

Carl: “Really digging into early 80s Lovers Rock, always crate-digging on the lookout for Soul, Funk, 80s Boogie – dipping into the well of UK Garage, House and Drum and Bass. There’s so much late 80s to mid 90s pre-internet stuff that maybe only got a short run press for DJs and you won’t find on streaming anywhere - there’s always something to uncover.

On a hazy, freaky tip check out Yung Luv - Mumble Soul – a tape I picked up from Groove Attack in Cologne. I listen to a lot more radio than Tim so always checking what Gilles Peterson and Sherelle are spinning - I’d also tip Flevans – ‘The Only Time’..beautiful blissed-out downtempo ambient house and Qendresa - brilliant UK street soul boogie”

Tim: “We both listen to totally different stuff when we’re not collaborating, but that’s key to Nightdubbing - we can join the dots between all those styles and make something cohesive – and you think of someone like Weatherall who is really influential on our approach (and of course a huge figure in that late 80s Balearic Beats scene) – he was into early Cabs, 23 Skidoo, heavy dub stuff, rockabilly, but then making really uplifting, soulful dance music. It’s about certain elements you can bring out which aren’t always the obvious ones. For us it’s all about the bass, the groove, a feel and a strong melody…”

Check out the latest release from Nightdubbing.