Dark Tantrums
FatKidOnFire Presents #22
Of all of the artists I’ve been trying to lock down for a FatKidOnFire Presents feature, the following producer, DJ and all-round top dude has been on my list for as long as I can remember. He’s responsible for some of the best material released across some of the finest imprints in dubstep — as well as sitting on vaults and vaults of unreleased material (some of which you’ll find in his mix).
It’s finally time for Dark Tantrums x FKOF.
As always, when an artist submits a mix that is >90% comprised of their own music (and the majority of that material is dub), you know you’re in for a treat. Anthony’s addition to the FKOF Presents series comes correct with almost as many audial treats you can fit into an hours’ mix. There’s also the backstory to how he got into 140bpm, what happened in 2016 and what we can all expect from the ‘Tantrums’ studio in the next twelve months. So, without further ado, here’s FatKidOnFire Presents #22…
Yes yes. Mighty Dark Tantrums! How are you, dude? Yoooooo!! Haha thanks for the kind intro, I’m all good thanks mate; just enjoying the festive period at the moment!
Starting at the beginning. What came first — DJing or production? For me, DJing came first at the age of 14 — when I finally managed to persuade my Mum and saved up some money (while doing a part time job delivering potatoes)!
You got into production on the Playstation yeah? Yeah man! I remember my older brother getting Music 2000 on the Playstation — I was instantly hooked after playing around on it. What a great game that was though aye! I bet it introduced music production to a lot of producers that moved on.
How did you first meet Kromestar? King Krome was the one who put you onto dubstep? I first met Krome through a mutual friend called Wisper (who is also a producer; if you like your UK rap/ hip-hop, I’d definitely recommend checking out his stuff). After meeting Krome, we just clicked straight away and started hanging out. He then showed me his music (and dubstep in general) and I was blown away by this indescribable sound! I mean it just had it all: strong basses like I’d never heard before, crazy synths, dark or nice and chilled ones. I was like “WTF is this?!”. He then took me out to my first ever show where he was playing and that’s where I first felt the music…
I was NEVER the same after that — blowing both my ear drums and body crumbling from the bass!
‘Dark Tantrums dubstep’ is an incredible mix of the synthier stuff and the deeper basslines. How would you describe your material? Just like that really haha!
I’m not sure about the incredible part though, but I do try and — for me — I love to keep things versatile by covering all aspects of music incorporated into dubstep. I think growing up listening to most of my older brother’s music really helped me appreciate all styles: from The Prodigy to Metallica to hip-hop/ DnB etc. The lot, really!
You’ve released music with Nebula, GetDarker, Deep Medi, Origin Audio and a few other labels. What was your processing for getting stuff signed? After meeting Krome and sampling the dream life of a DJ (and discovering this whole new genre of music), I began experimenting in my lab at every opportunity I had, until I had my first batch of 10 dubstep tunes. After that, I sent Mala Unborn, along with a few other tunes, and got positive feedback (which I was amazed by, considering this was my first ever try at dubstep and sending any of my material to anyone)! After that, I began to meet more and more people in the scene.
Of your releases, which are you most proud of and why? For me, it’s got to be my album — which I really enjoyed making. That was definitely a tick off of my dream list; I had the chance to show people what I’m about kind of thing and not just sticking to a certain sound or style, although Unborn will always be very special to me as well.
You’ve had a bit of time off from the releases last year, was there any particular reason? Ahhh man. You’ve probably seen my Facebook post (rant) from a few months back explaining what’s going on with Dark Tantrums? If not check it out, it’s still on there.
Your FKOF mix (more on that later) is an incredible blend of almost 100% DT material. How many tunes are you sat on at the moment? Thanks so much (again) for your kind words! I wanted to showcase a lot of my new material as this is the first 60 minute or so mix I’ve done in a long time.
It’s also my first mix since a lot of people thought I had quit. I’ve always been addicted to making music and never stopped. That’s also one of my biggest problems with producing, rather than finishing stuff I love making new music so always have about 5 tunes on the go at one time — where I just jump in and out of them depending on my mood at the time.
I do have a big folder of tunes waiting to get mixed with my new complete stuff as well. I’d say I have about 40 plus unreleased tunes at the minute (and that number’s growing at a rapid pace)!
I’ve heard on the grapevine that you’re in the process of launching (or have just launched!) your own imprint. What can you tell us about Beyond Time Recordings? Yeah man. It’s called Beyond Time Recordings and the first release was Realisation, which came out on the 25th of November. I’m really excited about it! Starting a label was always a dream too and after completing the process of designs, label name, distribution etc it’s finally ready! Time to get this music out there!
Is the label just for your own music or will you be releasing other musicians’ work? I’m just concentrating on getting my own stuff out there at the moment. Saying that, I am in contact with some great artists with some great music too so watch this space. I’ve got a few ideas for 2017 and am really looking forward to hopefully watching Beyond Time Recordings grow and building into a solid team!
Right, your FKOF mix. Tell us about that! Like I said earlier, really I’ve had my head down writing a lot of new music and really wanted to showcase a lot of it through this mix taking the listener on a Dark Tantrums journey.
What have been the highs and lows of 2016? I’d say my highs for 2016 were definitely starting the label and pushing myself again. As for the lows music-wise it’s probably not pushing myself at the beginning of the year and re-evaluating everything. But, then again, that could have been a good thing? I guess I’ll find out in the near future!
What’s next for DT — what can we expect from you next year? Right this year, Tantrums is bbaaaaaccckkk. Taking no prisoners! Seriously, though, I’m just focusing on getting a lot of music out there and have my first release Ever Lost dropping on 10/02/17 via my good friend RDG’s Circle Vision! I’m also excited for future shows and am in the process of some very nice collabs which will be revealed ASAP!
Any final words or shoutouts? Thanks for your time — and it’s a pleasure to have chatted with you! Well, first off, I’d really like to thank you guys for this interview/mix. It’s been a long time coming! I’d also really like to big up my family, music friends and supporters for sticking by me when I decided to close a few doors and go down my own road. You know this music game, along with other things in life, becomes a lot more different when you get into the scene and you won’t understand certain things until you do — but nevertheless it’s also very exciting!
Click to DOWNLOAD (400MB)
Track list:
- Dark Tantrums — Intro
- Dark Tantrums — Twisted [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Hellraiser [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — CE-5 [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Time Warp [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Darkside [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Space Age [Duploc]
- Dark Tantrums — Lift Off [Beyond Time Recordings]
- Dark Tantrums — Elsewhere [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Cybertronic [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Hero [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Rewind [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Enchanted [Beyond Time Recordings]
- Dark Tantrums — Existence [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Jungle Fever [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Maniac [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Gutta [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Realisation [Beyond Time Recordings]
- RDG — Galaxy Run[dub]
- Dark Tantrums — 31 Seconds [Duploc]
- Dark Tantrums — Reconstruct [dub]
- Dark Tantrums — Special Place [dub]
Dark Tantrums
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