Once a month in Richmond all hell breaks loose for an event known as Brain Drain. These monthly parties have been happening for a few years and have had to change venues several times to accommodate the rapidly growing head count. Over the past few months, resident DJs audioammo have brought in some heavy hitters to help get the parties started right. DC natives Nadastrom, Richmond-raised Cobra Krames, and Trouble & Bass Label heavy hitters Deathface and Drop The Lime have all graced the stage. Prior to his special Brain Drain performance last week, I thought it would be appropriate to sit down and pick the brain of two-time Brain Drain headliner Luca Venezia aka Drop The Lime.
And as those who attended learned, “special” does a poor job of summing up the madness that occurred on this memorable evening.
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ALEX: The Hot As Hell Tour kicked off a few weeks ago, how has it been going?
DTL: Fantastic!
ALEX: Everything you ever dreamed of?
DTL: And more.
ALEX: How’s the crowd feeling the new stuff?
DTL: Real good. It’s a twist. I got the rockabilly, the western-infused house music and the bass madness.
ALEX: Sounds like it’s never been done. Youíre an innovator man.
DTL: I don’t think it has been done. Maybe it has. It probably has, but no one has put it out there. These kids should put it out. BRING IT OUT!
ALEX: You have the “Hot as Hell” single coming out soon as well as your debut LP entitled Into The Night. When should we expect to see these?
DTL: The single, “Hot As Hell,” just got pushed back. It was supposed to come out in November but now itís coming out in January. The album is set for release on January 30th. We have some major labels that I canít talk about that signed the album and single.
ALEX: Is the music video timed to release with the single?
DTL: Yeah, same time. Crazy video. We shot it in London. We got some models, we got some girls from Agent Provocateur. We were rockabillying out. Getting wiggly-n-wild.
ALEX: Last year/earlier this year youíve been travelling the world. How was that for you?
DTL: Unglaublich!
ALEX: I have no idea what you just said.
DTL: Haha, it means unbelievable in German.
ALEX: What are some standout cities?
DTL: Sydney, Australia. Hong Kong. Bangkok. These places are insane.
ALEX: Jumping back to your Hot as Hell tour, is it going worldwide?
DTL: It’s going worldwide. The November leg is UK/Europe. I do them all again.
ALEX: I’ve been seeing a little more about it lately, but when it first came out, people didn’t really catch onto it. I’m talking about your FabricLive mix. It had to have been an honor to be asked to prepare a mix for them.
DTL: It was a huge honor. I’ve always looked up to those mixes. I’ve always looked up to Fabric. When I got a residency there first, it was always my dream to hopefully do a mix. And when I did the mix... it was difficult because everything had to be cleared. I had a mix that was a lot different.
ALEX: I want to say I read somewhere that when you first sent in your mix, you were unsure how they would accept some of the tracks.
DTL: I had really weird/obscure rockabilly and a lot of weird, asian-infused house.
ALEX: How much do you think they edited out?
DTL: At least 70%. Just because you can’t clear it. A lot of record labels are like, “No, we won’t clear it.”
ALEX: The latest release I saw with you doing some guest vocals was the AC & Dell release. Prior to that, I saw that Crookers had you on a track. Are there any tracks with your vocals coming out in the future that you can talk about?
DTL: I did a song with Arthur Baker. Thatís coming out next year. I did a song on the Cubic Zirconia album. I did a song with Para One and I’m thinking that’s about it. Oh, and I did a song with Mowgli! Been doing a lot of guest vocals.
ALEX: Sounds like you’ve kind of been branching off into a few different genres.
DTL: Yea it’s fun. Real fun. I actually did a song with Spank Rock too. He’s finishing up his new album here soon.
ALEX: Going back to your album. What did you want to accomplish. Did you want more vocals/less vocals? What were your intentions.
DTL: I wasn’t thinking. It kind of happened naturally. Because I was DJ-ing rockabilly in my sets and mixing with dance music, I just started to produce that way. Next thing I know, that’s what the sound was. I had an album I thought was done 2 years ago. All of those songs are done. The only song that is on the album that has lasted is “Devil’s Eyes.”
ALEX: Trouble & Bass just had their 4th year Anniversary. Congratulations! Did you see yourself and the label here 4 years ago?
DTL: Yes. Of course.
ALEX: Such confidence, got to love it. How does it feel knowing that at any given time, there are Trouble & Bass artists DJ-ing all over the world?
DTL: It’s real good. It’s a good international family. It’s a gang. We’re like a mafia. We’re not a record label. We are not a party. We are a fucking gang. It’s a gang that makes people dance.
ALEX: You did a few shows as the Trouble & Bass Crew over the summer. Do you have any more plans to do any of these types of shows?
DTL: We’re doing a big tour. We’re doing San Diego and Los Angeles. We’re taking over Avalon in December. On the 18th I believe. It’s a whole Trouble & Bass night. It’s all 4 of us with Samo Sound Boy. Me, AC Slater, Star Eyes and the Captain.
ALEX: What should we be expecting from T & B in the coming months? Anyone catching your eye in the hopes of bringing into the family?
DTL: Deathface is doing a new EP with us. He’s doing a live band, has female singers, it’s real next level music. We have a new Supra1 EP coming out, real cool sounding. I produced a bunch of stuff for Little Jinder. We have a new song that I produced that’s a dubstep tune thatíll come out called “Without You.” A lot of new stuff... Zombies for Money has some new stuff. As far as new people weíre taking on, weíre working with Canblaster and Manta Ray. I’m doing a collab with Bart B More. It has cow moo-ing samples and some other unusual sounds. Cowabunga! That’s what we should call it, haha.
ALEX: Last time you were in Richmond, you played a much smaller club. It was insanity. It was probably one of the most memorable times I’ve had here. Do you feel like you have to one-up your last set?
DTL: Right now, what I’m doing is so different and crazier. Let’s just say it’s going to be fun. We’re here to have fun and I’m going to make sure we’re going to have fun.
ALEX: If you could produce/work with any artist/group from any time period, who would it be?
DTL: KLF. KLF and Tom Waits.
ALEX: Who’s your favorite producer now?
DTL: I’d say Canblaster is really nailing it now. This new wave of French kids are really killing it.
ALEX: In your down time, what are some new music releases you have on repeat?
DTL: In my downtime, let’s see. Emeralds, from Cleveland they’re amazing. Reporter, another amazing band. Altered States. I listen to lot of bands, I don’t really listen to dance music. Oh, and the new Skream album sticks out.
ALEX: I saw on your blog that when you’re travelling all over, you like to post pictures of all the food! What’s some of the craziest shit that stands out when you look back?
DTL: We like eating, AC Slater and I. We like cocktails and fancy foods. When I played with Classixx in Beijing, we ate a live fish. Check it on youtube. A fish, a whole carp, still breathing. You see the gills moving, everything. It’s cooked! It was the most delicious fish I’ve had in my entire life.
(misc talk amongst the people in the room about how the fuck this was possible)
DTL: Ok basically what they do--I asked--they take a blanket and suffocate the fish, fry the body, pull it out quickly and then take the blanket off so it’s still breathing. That was the weirdest thing. It was an unbelievable experience. Would I do it again? Yes. (laughs)
ALEX: Final question: three things you cannot go on tour without.
DTL: Pomade, Sweet Georgia Brown to be exact. A comb. Those should be together. And my lucky number 7’s.
He then pulled out a pair of dice and rolled a 7, first try nonetheless. At that point, my interview with the heavy bass champion was over.
by Alex Rose
photos by Erik Fox of DopeOnPlastic