Dan Guidance Interview: "I work on music most days and I rarely get writer’s block"

Back in the ’90s, the dance music scene was as fast changing as it was exciting. Genres seemed to come and go and to change with dizzying speed. One of the many new genres that sprang up was Jungle, or Drum & Bass. This new music was lauded as an exciting new direction for dance music and one that, so we were told, made techno seem instantly old fashioned.

For whatever reason, probably more than a little techno purism, Drum & Bass never really clicked with me. It had its moments, I vividly remember seeing Springheel Jack live at Phoenix Festival and getting carried away with their rolling rhythms, but it never grabbed me as a movement or a scene.

Fast forward a few years and a friend played me The Trip by Hospital Records act Logistics. I was instantly attracted top what I heard and bought the Weapons of Mass Creation compilation album it came from. What I heard there was fresh, tuneful and catchy as hell. I quickly bought the rest of this compilation series and soon, Drum & Bass was pretty much all I was listening to.

This has continued for the over a decade and I have since had a Drum & Bass show on Louder Than War Radio and run a YouTube channel, The Drum & Bass Sessions, where I upload regular mixes of the latest Liquid Drum & Bass releases.

Drum & Bass is like that, it gets under your skin.

It is an incredibly vibrant and fertile scene, with new releases constantly being made available and events happening all over the world.

One of the Drum & Bass scene’s most prolific proponents is Dan Guidance, who releases a seemingly endless stream of new Eps on various labels. The frequency of his releases does not mean that the quality control slips for even a second, with all tracks being indispensable examples of the best Drum & Bass can offer. This means that. Over the course of a year, Dan Guidance releases hours of essential, wonderful music.

I will go one step further than this and nail my colours to the mast by saying that Dan Guidance is the greatest artist making music in the world today. This might sound like a bold claim, but check out some of his releases on Bandcamp and you may well find yourself coming round to my way of thinking.

My admiration of his music led me to requesting an interview, a request he answered quickly and in a friendly way. It seems as well as being an incredible talent, he is also a nice guy. Don’t you love it when things work out.

So, read on to find out more about not being a perfectionist, free parties and the pros and cons of MCs.

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Sun 13: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. How are things going with you?

Dan Guidance: “Thanks for the invite. I’m doing good thanks. Very busy with work, music stuff and family life, but I like it that way.”

S13: You’re a very prolific artist. How do you manage to write so many songs?

DG: “I work on music most days and I rarely get writer’s block.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, and often, after I’ve got the initial ideas and musical parts down / the creative bit ,which is my favourite part of the process, I generally know how to structure it and ultimately finish it. Although I still struggle with mixdowns and the more technical side of things, I am getting better every day (slowly!!)

“I’m also not a complete perfectionist. I try and capture the vibe I’m going for, then move on. If I spend too long on a track I lose interest, so try and wrap them up in a few sessions. This is something that I’m working on, and I do try and push myself to spend more time on a track to get better result. Sometimes this has the opposite effect though, and I end up ruining the original vibe in search of perfection. It’s a tricky balancing act, which I guess will get easier as I progress.”

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S13: How do you record these songs. What equipment do you use?

DG: “Apart from my MIDI keyboard and a mic, all the work is done within my DAW Ableton. I use plugins like Serum, Omnisphere 2, Massive and Hive for a lot of the sounds in my productions, as well sampling of course.”

S13: Do you have any plans to release an album rather than EPs?

DG: “Funny you should say that… I have an LP out my own Portal Recordings imprint, which will be dropping in October. It features a whopping 18 tracks. Expect DnB from Liquid to Neuro, plus genres I don’t often release like Garage, Electro and Ambient. I experimented a lot with the LP and had a lot of fun making it.”

S13: You’re also a very prolific collaborator. Is the Liquid Drum & Bass scene very supportive and friendly?

DG: “In my experience, yes. I can’t speak about the Liquid scene as a whole, but the people I’ve met through the music and collaborated with, have all been really cool and supportive. I’ve made some good friends. People that I can bounce ideas off, help me with technical issues or just chat about life with.

“I really love collaborating. It’s so inspiring, gives me a different perspective and it’s something I learn a lot from.”

S13: What other artists do you rate?

DG: “One of my favourite producers for some time now is Low:r. I love his playful style, his layering of bass sounds and this clean production style.

“I really love Askel and Elere’s sound too. It has a distinctive vibe which I like. Obviously, Calibre. Who doesn’t love Calibre?

“Outside of DnB, Vince Watson has always been one of go to Techno producers, producing some great melodic, atmospheric and emotive, yet banging 4×4.

“Tycho is another producer I listen to a lot when I’m at work or relaxing. I love that nostalgic quality that he brings.”

S13: Liquid Drum & Bass seems really healthy to me at the moment, with so many good songs being released each and every week. What are your views on how the scene is progressing?

DG: “Yes, it seems pretty healthy from where I’m standing. There are loads of great tracks being released every week. It’s hard to keep up! Plenty of new producers and labels popping up too which is encouraging.”

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S13: How did you get into Drum & Bass?

DG: “I started going to free parties / DIY raves, in the hills of my homeland, Wales in the mid-90s. A friend would be play Atmospheric Jungle such as Moving Shadow and Good Looking stuff. I started to DJ soon after. The Storm From The East compilations released on Moving Shadow got rinsed so much I had to buy another copy! The E-Z Rollers LP Weekend World was also a very inspirational.”

S13: What other music do you listen to?

DG: “I listen to all sorts. If it’s good I play it! Today I’ve been listening to a Shoegaze playlist, a great Columbian band called Sidestepper, Shpongle‘s band Younger Brother and the great Anarcho-Folk band Firepit Collective. Recently I’ve been listening to the Senegalese band Orchestra Baobab a lot.”

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S13: What do you get up to when you’re not writing and recording?

DG: “I’ve got three kids that keep me pretty busy, in the best way possible. I love hanging out and laughing with my wife Jo too.

“During the day, I work for an arts and education charity, which an amazing organisation offering inclusive arts to our community.

“I live in The Forest of Dean in the UK, and love to get out amongst the trees, plants and animals and breathe in the fresh air.”

S13: Are you pro or anti MCs at Drum & Bass shows?

DG: “Pro. It’s part of the fabric and culture of Jungle / DnB. There are MCs I like and some that aren’t to my taste, same other musicians. DRS is one of my favourites. I also really love the MC / rapper Salem Focus, who I’ve just made a 4 track EP with, which has been some of my favourite tunes so far.”

S13: You release your songs on many different labels. What’s the reason for that?

DG: “I’ve made many connections with many labels and the people behind them over the years. Labels that have been really supportive of my sound that I like to return to for personal reasons as well as musical.

“They all have different sounds and styles so it means I get to release varying sounding stuff. I also make a lot of tunes so it’s good to spread them out.

“The labels I release on are from all over the world, and I like the fact they’re getting heard in a number of different worldwide local scenes that these labels are part of.”

S13: Thanks again for taking the time to answer our questions. Is there anything else you would like to add?

DG: “Thanks again for inviting me on for an interview and thanks to each and every listener out there.

“A quick mention (plug!) that I will be releasing a huge collaboration compilation featuring tracks I’ve made with a number of long-time music partners and also some brand-new alliances, which will be out on my label Portal Recordings towards the end of the year.”