Music / Bass
Dubstep pioneer Pinch talks SWU FM
After the success of a month-long trial in May last year and rallying enough support on an online petition, Bristol witnessed the inception of a new, fully licenced radio station early this year. SWU.FM will go live on the radio-waves from September this year, and will be showcasing some of Bristol’s finest urban and electronic talents, ranging from drum & bass, dubstep, reggae, house, techno acting as a hub for Bristol’s music scene, with the likes of Roni Size & Krust, Joker and My Nu Leng having all participated in its trial run.
One of Bristol’s most iconic musicians, dubstep producer and record label owner Pinch, also played during SWU.FM month long trial. Owner of imprints Tectonic Recordings and Cold Recordings, Rob Ellis has been instrumental in evolving dubstep whilst promoting young, local talent. Dylan Browne-Wilkinson asked him a few questions on Bristol’s musical background and what he thought about SWU.FM.
To many people who live/have lived in Bristol, they will understand that it has its own unique pace of life compared with other cities in the UK. Robert Del Naja (Massive Attack) once said that ‘Bristol is a town masquerading as a city’, do you agree with him? If so, why?
He’s forgotten about the cathedral then! I do know what he’s referring to but I think Bristol has a great balance between offering lots to do and it not feeling too over crowded.
They city has always been a melting pot of diverse races, cultures and ethnicities. Is it true to say that Bristol has always been a place which has always cultivated a counter-culture mentality?
In the 20 years I’ve lived here, Bristol has always been somewhere that has tended towards a fairly open minded attitude – towards most things really. It’s one of the things that makes it an attractive place to live in my opinion.
Which music genre do you think has defined the city to form the ‘Bristol sound’?
I suppose trip-hop was the first genre to coin that phrase in the early 90s but frankly I think the idea of a specific Bristol sound is a bit of a dated concept now. I prefer to think of a Bristol attitude rather than a definitive sound that represents the city as a whole.
Bristol has just witnessed the birth of a new, fully licensed radio station which aims to represent the city’s underground music scene – SWU.FM. How excited were you when you heard this news?
I think it’s great that Bristol has a new outlet for its diverse musical communities to engage with.
Can you tell us about the range of music genres the station be airing?
You’d probably need to speak to the station manager about that!
You have said before that UK dance music is experiencing a period of decreasing Tribalism. Can you elaborate on this, and do you think SWU.FM will address these problems?
It’s to do with an observation about the nature of developing dance music cultures and how sonically and culturally it feels like dance music is homogenising more so than mutating into new branches of culture. I’ve no idea if SWU.FM will be addressing that directly but by offering specialised shows for emerging genres – it would certainly be playing a positive role in that sense.
Being such a pivotal figure in Bristol’s underground scene, will you have a regularly residency on the radio station?
No plans for anything regular at the moment but I’d certainly be open to doing another Tectonic take over.
In celebration of the licencing for SWU.FM, the station is holding a takeover night at Motion, Easter Sunday, April 16. The line-up is heavy with Bristol legends and second release tickets are currently selling at £12.50.
Find out more information at www.swu.fm
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