Showing Their Mettle - Mettle Music Interview

After the release of several well-received 12" in the last three years, Mettle Music at last bring their warm, orgaNic sound to LP format. In "Honeycomb Lounge", Nic Concef and Mark Wadsworth have produced an album of rare consistency, variety and style (see review). With some of Manchester's finest musicians at their disposal, the album is a snapshot of a group comfortable with their sound and direction. Deep House Network caught up with Nic and Mark recently to discuss their expectations for the new album, the influence of Toko records on their careers, and the amazing Mettle Music live show...

DHN - Nic, you've pretty much seen everything from the initial phases of the UK house scene in 1988- when, in your opinion, was the high point of the scene and has the music itself gotten generally better with each year?

Nic: I don't think there is one particular 'general' high point, each individual or groups have their own, several that stand out for me club wise revolve around the Hacienda between 88 & 92. Some of the music initially passed me by it was more about the club itself & the atmosphere. The real appreciation of the music only came later. Having said that the ones that became classics stood out right from the start; Your Love, Voodoo Ray, Pacific State, Strings of Life. I would say there was a peak in late 89 and then another in 92/93? The memory's a bit fuzzy but it was a really fantastic era for Garage with your Steve 'Silk' Hurley's, C & C Music Factory, Morales, Knuckles, Roger Sanchez, and Marc Kitchen. Some of these references maybe don't sound too cool now, but if you were there then no explanation is necessary. Things started to click for me more professionally in about 95, 96. This is when the new breed of UK producers & labels like Paper, Nuphonic & of course Toko started making waves with a more musical soundtrack and we got the likes of MAW teaching us a few things about the past & the future.

DHN - Mark, you already have a background in live music before Mettle Music. What kind of stuff were you involved in before teaming up with Nic?

Mark: I played in various Funk, Jazz, Latin and Reggae bands around the Manc [Manchester] scene for about 5 years which was a really good laugh. Got to play lots of gigs, festivals and also travel a bit as well. Was also in a band called Yennah playing experimental electronica, which was also really good to play out with. This gave me the taste for playing at clubs (played at the Hacienda amongst others).

DHN - What made you decide to make the switch?

Mark: I just got a bit fed up with having to lug the drum kit about everywhere and on occasions dealing with unreliable people. On the whole it was a great experience but I've always really been into working in relaxed environments so the switch to the studio came as a natural progression.

DHN - Do you think it would have come sooner if there were the same level and availability of music production technology there is today?

Mark: Absolutely. When I were a lad I had a 4 track, an Atari and a few analogue drum machines and analogue synths. I'm really glad it was that way, I think too much reliance on equipment makes you lazy. At the end of the day the ideas still have to come from within and you can't buy that. Aw, who am I kidding, I wish I had all the kit then that Kids can get hold of today, It would have made life a lot easier!

DHN - What qualities and characteristics do you feel that music shares with what you're doing now?

Mark: Coming from a musical background means I'm less inclined to opt for the thumping option and more inclined to go for something more subtle and melodic and hopefully avoiding that noodling Jazz waffle.

DHN - How do you feel that your music has developed since your first releases?

Nic: I think mainly on the production side of things, the overall sound has improved. It's difficult to quantify really without being negative about the earlier stuff, which I can't bring myself to do, sure we'd do things differently now, but I still think those first two releases on Toko are crackin' but maybe I'm being sentimental. More significant changes are likely to come over the next two years. Everything we've learnt over the past couple of years is just coming into fruition now.

Mark: I agree with Nic for once! It's a big learning curve but that's what's great about having records out. You can listen and watch as you progress and hopefully the sound will get deeper and funkier and the production will really start to have a sound of its own. I definitely think it's going in the right direction and I'm really buzzin about the new tracks we've got in the pipeline.

DHN - Completing your first album must be pretty exciting. How long did it take to complete, and what were the best and worst aspects of the whole process?

Nic: Not much gets me excited these days...

Mark: Other than watching me dance.

Nic: Yeah right. It's strange though in a way it just seems natural there's nothing extraordinary about it. It's meant to be. The most exciting fun & rewarding part of the process is the initial creation of a good idea, which accounts for about 5% of your time. After that it's all about hard work, bringing it to fruition in a way that at the end of it you can sit back and say 'Nice one'. After the music's actually finished though your faced with a whole new set of headaches which are too boring to go into here. But let's just say that whoever said Dance music is an instant medium never tried to get an album released in the 21st Century.

Mark: It was a great experience. It was the second album I've done and since that's completed I've produced another one for Freerange Records under my own moniker 'Square One'. The Mettle Music Album was so different because we didn't really have a direction in mind before we started it. We knew what we liked and sat about and played some tracks to each other and then the album tracks kind of wrote themselves. When we actually finished them all off and heard them in the right order it was great because we'd done it! Very satisfying. But Nic's right, it is hard work. Good but hard.

DHN - Where do you see the music of "Honeycomb Lounge" is best suited to - the dancefloor or the stereo?

Nic: Hopefully it crosses over. As an album we did want it to work on the stereo as well. Individually there are plenty of tracks on the album that will work in a club but we're not really happy making disposable music. A track can have a lifespan of months coming into fruition just to be dead in the water a month after release, it's almost as if once a record is released it's old news, that's the DJ's mentality I suppose and I'm guilty of it myself. But I think an album should be able to stand the test of time- otherwise, what's the point?

Mark: I agree, if you think about the number of albums you own that you play year after year there would be loads. The same can't always be said for singles. I really like the format of the album, it allows you to do things that an EP doesn't with downtempo snippets and little interludes. I'm also a real home bird so music has to work on the sofa.

DHN - The album seems to build up from the mellower side of your sound to a slightly tech-tinged second half. Do you think it will appeal to a wide cross-section of DJs in the same way that, say, Circulation have, and have you been happy with the response from DJs so far?

Nic: Well we certainly hope it will, but of course as we've said it's not just aimed at DJ's. I think this is an album that has appeal across the board, because it's not like it's purely a house album either, there's some Nice variations of shade but it works together as a whole too.

Mark: None of the tracks are tools, they all stand up on their own and it works really well in bars at home in the bath and driving down the M56.

DHN - Around how much music on the album would you say is played live? Do you always include live instruments where possible, and if not, what factors do you consider when deciding?

Nic: Almost all the tracks have got some live playing; sax, guitar, flute, keys, percussion or bass. We've got a fantastic group of musicians who you can check out when we play live. Deciding is a no-brainer really, we don't force it and think oh we need something live on this, you just naturally get a feel for it, this track would work with a sax or whatever. I guess that because we've got the access to the musicians we do think differently than if we were looking for sounds on a sound module or synth. But the way it developed I think may have been down to the fact that initially we had very little access to decent equipment and sound sources, so we kinda made up for that with the live elements so now it's kind of ingrained. It's just what we do.

Mark: Plus you can't really beat real music played by real musicians who really know what they're doing. We've been privileged because the musicians we use are amongst the best in Manchester and that's saying something.

DHN - My personal favourite track on the album is 'Silence'. Who's the vocalist on that one? Did anything in particular inspire it, and what made you decide on that one as the first release?

Nic: The vocalist is Doreen Edwards she had a major deal with a soul/jazz band in the 80's who's name escapes me and we made contact through Jersey Street. Ollie Collins our bass player also plays for them and Doreen does backing vocals. Finding the right vocalist is a nightmare. It's so important because the vocals are so exposed in the mix, there's no disguising a weak performance. It's got to absolutely perfect but if anyone out there thinks they're up to the job we'd love to hear from you!
As for inspiration, well, bit of a role reversal maybe putting yourself (as a bloke) into the position of every woman you've ever treated badly. I guess we were looking for a soulful delivery through a bit of pain and heartache, she's basically saying 'Yes I love you and yet despite everything I'm still there for you - you bastard!'

Mark: Nic, are you some kind of love rat?

Nic: With this face?

DHN - Of course you have worked with other labels, but Toko seems to be a tailor made for Mettle Music. How do you feel Toko has helped take you to the stage you are at today?
Do you consciously tailor different productions with labels in mind?

Nic: Well Toko released our first record they had faith in us from the start, we sent out six demo tracks to quite a few labels initially, but although the content was there the production wasn't up to scratch at that point. Luckily they had the foresight to see past that and were willing to help us get that first release up to scratch with the help of Si Brad. After that we knew what we had to do, so we just worked at it until we got it right. In the end those first six tracks all ended up on the first two Mettle Music Collective EP's on Toko. Them showing that faith in us got us over a big psychological hurdle. We'd like to think we've returned the faith by turning in an album worthy of such a well-respected label.

Mark: Yep I agree big time. Toko are so well respected and releasing records on the label is great. I'm really into their sound and they're really Nice guys as well, which always helps. As far as tailoring tracks with labels in mind, that doesn't really happen. We write the tracks and then think about which label(s) would be most suitable.

DHN - You guys seem to be the restless types musically (not a bad thing!). You seem to manage the transition to producing as tech-house alter ego M-Trax with some ease. What are your main motivations for producing a range of different musical styles?

Nic: Well variety is the spice of life, definitely keeps things interesting for us. We've varied tastes in music so I guess it represents that plus a low boredom threshold. I guess it comes back to that whole thing about making an album you'd want to listen to right the way through. The M Trax stuff definitely gives us an outlet for more dancefloor action which means we don't necessarily have to compromise the Mettle Music stuff to achieve that.

DHN - Your live show sounds exciting. Tell us a little about that.

Mark: We use most of the musicians that appeared on the album so there's live bass, sax, flute, guitar, keyboards and percussion and Nic DJs. It's great to play out and get that instant reaction from the crowd. It pushes us to play well and put on a real show. Six gurning Mancs on a stage dancing and swinging their pants has to seen to be believed!

DHN - Where do you plan to take the tour? I think it could be well suited to festivals, any plans there?

Mark: Anywhere abroad would be cool. We seem to get a lot more respect & are appreciated away from home, but its not really financially viable all the musicians have to be paid. So after we've got ourselves an agent you can add a sponsor to the list. There's a Gig coming up at Cargo (London) in March. If it's anything like the last one, it will be excellent.

DHN - Any scandalous tour stories for us?

Mark: The only scandal is what Nic wears in the studio. No need mate, NO NEED!

Nic: At least I keep my sartorial experiments to the privacy of the studio!

DHN - What do you look for in an original when you are offered to remix it?

Nic: When we do a production we put everything into it whether it's a remix or our own work, so we can't generally justify the time to work on every remix were offered. So we tend to be very selective. Having said that we'd never say never, and if we were to get excited by an original track we'd be right on it regardless.

DHN - Who are your favourite DJs and producers at the moment? Anyone you'd like to work with?

Nic: I'm quite happy where I am. I work with some great people besides Mark. There's Christoph who's a studio legend in Manchester who I work with on the 'techier' Trailer Trash stuff. Also as part of the Collective there's Dave Tracey who had productions on our first 2 releases and more recently Sam Kynaston our Flute Player who also used to work with Mark as Yennah on Freerange. I admire the stuff the guys from Crazy Penis are coming out with & also the productions coming out of Moulton, so yeah maybe taking a 'trip' to San Francisco with Phil Oaken from the Human league might be interesting.

Mark: I'd really like to work with some of the old school jazz and latin guys. Not to do a Nuyorican thing but a really deep, jazzy, film score type thing. Also Morrissey might be quite interesting to work with as a lyricist.

DHN - What are your plans for the future, both individually and as Mettle Music?

Mark: We've got a load of new tracks in the pipeline, enough another album, in fact. So it's time to get creative and knock some new tracks into shape. We are looking to work with some vocalists but as Nic said that' easier said
than done. I've got an EP called "Takin' You Underground" and an album coming out on Freerange records called "Round One" by Square One. It's really mad having two albums coming out so close to each other. All in all it should be a good year.

DHN - You guys certainly seem to have paid you dues to get to this stage- any advice for our visitors who are starting to produce their own music?

Nic: Take your time to get it right, don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't release anything until your 100% happy with it & then ask yourself if you can improve on it. There's just far two much inferior or average material out there at the end of the day it's survival of the fittest.

Mark: Have fun, do it your own way and enjoy it.

DHN - Finally Mark, you're a percussionist, but you bio says that you're not a good dancer. That's a strange one...

Nic: That's just me winding him up, I can't have people thinking he's good at everything!

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Take a listen ...

Album - Honeycomb Lounge
Track	Stream
Moodswing
Silence
Tranquility 2001
Falling
Payday
The Lowdown
Slinky Minx
Catch Yourself
The Backroom
Swell
Swell 2
The album is available to buy direct from the Mettle Music Website: http://www.mettlemusic.co.uk/pages/indexdhn.html
Honeycomb Remixes (Toko 32)
Track	Stream
The Lowdown (Si Brad remix)
Catch Yourself (Aruba remix)
Moodswing (Sean Dimitrie's Viagra mix)
Tranquility 2001 (Ambient mix)
Silence (Toko 35)
Track	Stream
Silence
M Trax Remix

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Interview by Ken Rooney [ken@deephousenetwork.com]

For more info on Mettle Music, check out www.mettlemusic.co.uk or www.tokorecords.com