We caught up with the Baselogic boys in the midst of preparations for the Bloc Weekend (23-25 March 2007) to chat about the festival, electro and their beloved Norfolk homeland…
D9: You’ve been DJing/making music for a while, you’ve built up some successful nights and got a nice little label. What made you want to risk your savings, not to mention sanity, and put on a festival?
BLOC: Because festivals are excellent. We went to Exit festival in Serbia (it’s wicked – do it) and realised there wasn’t anything in the UK that ran all night properly and catered for underground dance music. Now there is. Plus, we were unemployed and needed a something to do.
D9: You’ve been to Dedbeat and obviously been inspired by what they’ve achieved, how are you going to set Bloc apart from what’s been done before?
BLOC: In a word, TECHNO. In a few words, we attended every dedbeat and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. Since dedbeat, music has changed a little our lineup reflects this and also how much we particularly like underground dance music in all its forms.
D9: What’s happened to the London electro scene?
BLOC: Well, people still go out dancing. I guess it’s just diversified and got mixed up with all this minimal and dubstep and all that jazz. It’s good news, electro was getting well boring.
D9: Are you worried about going for a mostly electro/electronic focused lineup? Were you tempted to book more dubstep to get the kids down with it?
BLOC: We found it so tempting that we succumbed and booked Digital Mystikz, Loefah, Plastician, MRK1+Virus and Vex’d.
D9: Has being based outside London affected what you do?
BLOC: Yes. It’s the best possible thing for us because we’re totally removed from all the hype that surrounds clubs and music in London. Also, it means we’re just as keen to attract people from other cities – particularly the north of England, the scene’s much bigger there.
D9: Who are you most looking forward to seeing?
BLOC: CJ fucking Bolland, not that we’ll get to see any of it.
D9: Who was the most difficult act to book
BLOC: Ed Chamberlain.
D9: Do you think you’ll make any money from it?
BLOC: That would be nice. Any money is a bonus. A welcome bonus.
D9: Have you got any tips for surviving the festival?
BLOC: Wear a helmet, shin pads, flippers, and armbands. Don’t talk to strangers, carry a personal attack alarm and affix stabilizers firmly to the rear of your bike. Be safe, be on the scene and know your enemy. Attack is the best form of defence and to claim you were drunk at the time is no defence whatsoever, as any judge will tell you. Most importantly try not to be kidnapped and taken to a prisoner of war camp. If in doubt, bring a beekeepers outfit for the whole weekend just to be on the safe side.
D9: What have you been listing to and playing out lately?
BLOC: At the moment I’m listening to ‘Bridge Over troubled water’ by Simon and Garfunkel. I think it’s so nice how those guys managed to patch things up. Drop that badboy at any party and I guarantee you will be asked to leave. Mental shit. Also, we’ve been listening to The Police and Klaus Nomi.
D9: What’s coming up on Baselogic records?
BLOC: Ed Chamberlain: Fixxy EP2 on Jan 15 07. It’s not rubbish, honest.
D9: Finally, list 10 good things about Norfolk!
BLOC:
- Our Caravan/office
- Abbot Ale
- Outdoor raves
- Christmas (Jesus is from Norwich)
- The food, particularly the pheasant
- Drink driving
- The hunt
- The sea
- The BLOC weekend
- Horatio Nelson
