Kraymon – Exclusive Mix and Interview for Brap.FM
Kraymon has been a stalwart of the Breaks scene for as long as there has been a Breaks scene. From his first release “Got To Get Busy” on Freakaboom waaaaay back in 2001 and his following catalogue on labels such as MBN, Streetwise, Dusted Breaks and En:Vision it was apparent that this man meant business. And he still does.
Not forgetting the long running Bristol night KINGPIN, Kraymon helped promote one of Bristols longest running and unquestionably superior club nights inviting Breaks and Techno legends ranging from Elite Force, Radioactive Man, Hardfloor & Octave One. Always one to support the local Bristol scene Kingpin was also home to local DJs playing Reggae, Dubstep and House.
So here at Brap.FM we were mad stoked that we had managed to ‘pin’ the ‘king’ of Bristol breaks down for an interview and a mix for you, dear reader, to download.
For people who might not have come across you or your sounds yet, tell us a little bit about who you are.
I am Kraymon – Pete who grew up in the countryside of south England. I currently reside in Bristol and I love it. I like all sorts of music and my productions are often centred around Breakbeat. I’d say my DJ sets are more eclectic.
Cheers for the mix, much appreciated, what was behind your thinking when choosing the tracks?
The pleasure is all mine. I wanted to include some new stuff I’ve been working on, some new bits I like, an old classic and some music that might not be considered the obvious. Hopefully it comes across in a coherent manner. It not, tuff titties!
Awesome, so what have you been up to musically over the past year and what’s on the horizon?
I recently ‘found myself’ while travelling….pfff. No, not really – I just went and saw some cool shit around the world with my lovely girlfriend Hannah. I highly recommend it. Most of my time was spent in S.E. Asia. I took a small netbook with me, loaded it up with Windows XP and some old software and managed to sketch out a few tracks. (‘Light of the World’ & ‘Needy’) When I returned to the UK at the end of May I took these sketches into my studio and polished them up. It was good to know I could keep the flow of music going while I was away and since then I’ve been working back in my normal studio doing all kinds of tracks.
One day I will have an album finished… I’m determined. It’s just figuring it all out. I’ve been doing some vocal tracks and really thinking hard about it but it’s still a long way off. I’ve been threatening to release an album for years so apologies if anyone has been waiting!! Every time I finish something I tend to send it to people and it gets signed up. Not something to complain about but a hindrance in the sense of finishing an album.
I’ve just finished a DJ Shadow remix (for his competition) here: http://soundcloud.com/kraymon/dj-shadow-scale-it-back
Making disco, remixing a classic track errrr – basically I’ve got a lot of stuff nearly finished which I plan to nail soon. I’ve just finished ‘The Whirled’ for Dusted Breaks (big ups!), which will be out just in time for NYE. Keep an eye on my Soundcloud for the latest stuff at http://soundcloud.com/kraymon
When it comes to producing, how do you divide your time between your real life and your studio life?
Creativity is a weird one. Sometimes you just don’t feel like doing it and it’s best not to force it. This often means that it comes exactly the wrong moments. I used to think that I could only do stuff late at night but I’ve realised that this idea was fabricated in my dopey head. Waking up on a Saturday without a hangover has been a revelation and I find I can get quite a lot done if I don’t go out as much. When I was doing KINGPIN (club night) weekends were consumed with the affects of my excesses so it was hard to get stuff done. I’m a bit more chilled out these days and more focused on making music. I have more time that I’ve ever had at the moment but I don’t always feel like producing. I always find time for friends and having a good time.
Who or what got you into doing what you do?
My mum pushed me to explore music when I was young which is cool seeing as neither her nor my dad play instruments or listen to ANY music really. My mum does a lot of whistling while hovering so I think shes got it in her! I think it was mainly my peers growing up and just having a natural love for all things audio. I like the tech side of things too so making electronic music goes hand in hand with those two elements. When I first saw my Atari ST play ‘the entertainer’ on my Casio keyboard via MIDI I was awe struck. And hooked!
If you could choose one person to perform with, who would it be?
I’ve been asked this before and I don’t really have a yearning for this. I’d like to be on the same bill as some people I respect but I’d rather watch them do their thing while I do mine. One day I would love to be in a band but I’ve not found myself in a situation where this may arise…yet. I’d like to start a band based around 4 people on laptops and some vocals. Each person taking care of their own specialised subject. I’d like to be the drummer.
Bigup 5 artists, DJs or labels that people might not have heard about.
I‘m not sure what you’ve heard about… But here goes. I have to plug my own label Louse Records and the artists on it – Wascal and Kloudbreak. I’m loving people like Four Tet, Apparat, Ramadanman, and Bristol based Julio Bashmore, Appleblim, Baobinga and ID. I recently fell in love with Zomby ‘Natalia’s Song’ and the Caribou Remix of Junior Boys is quite something. I love the modern take on acid and house / techno with big warm bass. I’m not into all this grindy wobbly stuff.
Has the supposed ‘international financial crisis’ affected the way you’re working or promoting yourself, your tunes or label?
In a word yes. I don’t have a day job at the moment (not through choice) so I have more time to make music. I’d love it if I could make a living from music but sadly it’s simply not happening for me at the moment. I love making music and always will so I would see it as a massive bonus if I could.
There’s lots of talk (as there always has been) about file sharing and how it affects producers and labels. What’s your stance?
You can’t fight it. I think technology needs to catch up and tag what’s actually being played, providing royalties to the artists that way. I’m not sure where these would come from – perhaps the devices that can play them?
As predicted by the Internet and relatives of David Icke, the lizards are coming. The military will only allow you to take one item from your studio. What do you choose?
These days it’s got to be my laptop. I can fit a while studio in there. I’d be sad to wave goodbye to my Sh101 and CS5 though… Damn lizards.
So there we have it. You can also catch Kraymon playing at Timbuk2 on New Years Eve this year alongside DJs such as Marco Bernardi (Soma/Clone/Creme), Lee Pattison (Deepgroove), Cheeba (Ninjatune/Solid steel), October (Tanstaafl) and a crap load more. If you’re going, get your tickets now because this WILL sell out. More info on the Timbuk2 Facebook page.
And not forgetting the mix, you can grab that here for a limited time (until we get the next interview and mix that is).
For more Kraymon goodness check these links:
http://www.facebook.com/KraymonMusic
Bosh!