Interview: Techy tearout duo Guerilla Tech on their new EP (free mix inside!)

As up and coming UK producers Guerilla Tech get ready for the release of their new eight track EP The Thump of Science on Downbeat Records, they took a few minutes out to have a chat with our man Steve Clotho

1. You guys have only been producing together as Guerilla Tech for about a year, how'd you meet and what made you decide to start making tunes together?

We met through a string of local club nights that we both played at. Shane played breaks at a night called All things Dirty, and I ran a house night called In House We Trust. We attended both nights and eventually crossed paths. Discovering we had similar interests in music, we started hanging out for a few years then eventually decided to hit the studio together and 'GT' was born.

2. What were you up to before Guerilla Tech?

(Dean A) I had been producing for a few years but nothing serious until the end of '08, beginning of '09. I eventually got a good sounding room to make tracks in and decided that I wanted to pursue it further so I knuckled down and put all my free time into improving my skills. I had already worked in a recording studio as a recording engineer so had a pretty good ear, just needed to lay down my own material. I was handed a CD with remix parts by a friend, who said the label wanted a house mix done. I loaded the track up and had finished the remix in about three hours. The label loved it and it went out a few months after. That was really when I thought, "Damn, this just got real. If i put more effort in this I could go somewhere!"

Shane took piano and guitar lessons from his early teens. He also developed a talent for singing/song writing skills. After school and a few talent competitions he obtained the taste for production via Fruity Loops 3. This led him to a music technology course at St Albans College. He then hooked up with long term friend Jimmy and they started producing hip hop together, until they discovered breakbeat after a few nights out in London and Brighton. They hit the studio and began producing breaks under the Duel Calibre alias

3. Tell us a little about the release - what was your thought process in creating the tunes?

Haha, well we'd like to tell you something genius, but most of what we do is made off the cuff, although this release is a little different because it is quite a big release. We wanted to put down a lot of different flavours, from dubstep to tech breaks, and something a bit wonky, just to show that we're pretty versatile with our production skills. We had fun making these tracks as we knew each one had to be different and interesting.

4. What does your studio consist of? Any equipment or software you can't live without?

We branch between two studios, but here's a list of kit that we couldn't live without.

Apple mac G5
custom built quad core pc
Ableton live 8
Logic Pro
HHb Circle 5 passive monitors
500 watt linear reference amp
Fostex active monitors
Beyerdynamic DT 990 pro headphones
Rode NT1 condensor mic
M-Audio Oxygen keys

vst's:
Massive
Albino
Sylenth 1
Predator
Poi-zone
Izotope ozone 4
Oxford plugin pack
Blue
Trilogy
Atmosphere
Mini Moog
Nordlead
Glitch

5. This release is a bit of a change in sound for Downbeat. How'd your relationship with them come about?

When our first release, Black Out and We Try, came out, they hit us up saying they liked our work. We had already heard they were a great label to work with and we wanted to spread our seeds as such with a label Stateside. A while later we had a couple of tracks ready, so we sent them over to DB and it all went from there.

6. Any big plans for 2010 - tours, other releases, etc?

We'd like to start getting more regular DJ sets. It would be a great way to road test new material too. We already have a few more tracks that are nearly ready to be shown to the world. Watch this space.

• Click here to download Guerilla Tech's mix or here to stream the EP.

• Guerilla Tech's Thump of Science EP is out on March 16th. You can find them on MySpace here or Facebook here.

Tracklist:

Freeland - Under Control
Guerilla Tech - What We Do
Guerilla Tech - Dance floor Pressure
Ellite Force & Meat Katie - Believe
Guerilla Tech - Trippy Bitch
White Papoo - stop Pollution
General midi - Get it down feat: Whiskey Pete
BSD - Peace
Guerilla Tech - Shiva
Breakzhead - Wired Wasted wanted - Guerilla tech remix feat MC Gav Star
The Streets - Blinded By The Lights - Nero Remix
Unkown
Guerilla Tech - Wot Dat Wiff Feat MC Gav Star
Tony Anthem & Axl Ender Ft Darry Dee - Life
Guerilla Tech - Lost in the Universe