1. How did you get all this started?
Started DJing back in 1999/2000, as for production it has been on and off the last 3 years I would say. Production has a higher learning curve than DJing that’s for sure. But like all things, I believe if you put time into it, it will definitely be possible! Nothing is impossible!
2. Where do you get your inspiration?
Whether DJing / Production, I get most of my inspiration from listening to a lot of other music. Grime, Dubstep, UK Funky, hiphop, indie rock, metal, punk and hardcore etc. The beauty about Drum&Bass since I felt in love with it many years ago, is that it has always been able to take influences from outside of the scene or another genre, and made it uniquely d&b!
3. What makes you wanna have your own label?
A simple vision of pushing lesser known producers onto a global platform is what makes us do this. Plus I’ve always had the thought at the back of my head about doing a record label someday. Kiat asked me about it when I was back in Singapore around December 2008, and we thought why not! And here we are today, our 3rd release is out and many more to come!
4. What tasty stuff that your label carries? Any links to those tasty stuff?
We have basically producers from all over the world from Indonesia to Iceland, and of course Singapore. We recently released Izzak Stern’s debut EP, which has been one of the highlights of our label. It’s actually a non-drum&bass release as well, and we are really happy that it’s been getting rave reviews from a lot of press plus opening the ears of drum&bass heads. Check out our label website at http://www.qilinmusic.com for more info and how to buy the tracks. In March, you will also see 2 new singles dropping from Muted (Iceland) and Dakosa (UK), with some proper deep drum&bass tunes.
5. Where do you hope to see in 5 yrs time?
What if it don't turn out the way you want it, any alternative? With the label, we hope we will be able to get our artists the exposure which they deserve. Both me and Kiat, basically only want to put out music we believe in. We have our next 3 releases (Qilin 04 – 06) scheduled for March and April, so watch out for them. Plus we have signed a lot of other tracks all waiting to be scheduled in! We all have to take risks in life, so your question about ‘what if it don’t turn out the way you want it’ doesn’t bother us at all! If it did, we wouldn’t be here today doing what we do. In 5 years time, I personally hope that when someone sees Qilin Music, they will know they are getting quality music from us. That’s what we believe in and are working towards!
6. Any tips and tricks for those who wanna step into the same path as you having label?
Get a distributor, find your artists, and put the music out! Of course there are a lot of other small things in between all that like design, marketing, mastering, promotions etc. But that’s basically it!
7. Any last words? And thanks?
Big shouts to Kiat, Ken, Darren & all the dubwise fam, all the junglists in SG, all the old frontal boys, all my Drum&BassArena fam, Khal @ DogsOnAcid, all my friends worldwide from Asia to Europe (you know who you are), and generally just any opened-minded music lovers all around!
And remember, there’s only GOOD or BAD music!
DJ Set Recorded Live from D&BTV LIVE – Feb 2010 (http://www.breakbeat.co.uk)
