Hard House Revolution chats with Defective Audio (April 1, 2007)
reported by Rahul NRG

For many years now we've witnessed and applauded many of the world's best DJs spinning the best hard house and hard NRG music. And they've become so popular that they've become household names to many Canadians. However, there is one more of the lot who has cut through the scenes of hard house and hard NRG music since the 90s with his exceptionally creative talents behind the decks as well as in his studio “Studio 404”. He owns and runs his own label “Spinball Records” and is one half of the great “OD404”, and co-founder of Kaktai Records (along with Superfast Oz). His productions and recent live PA for the 2nd birthday of INSEKT at the Fridge, London, UK have earned him the status with the Gods of hard house and hard NRG and rare critique from many legendry DJs and producers. For the 1st time, making his way from the UK to North America and here in Calgary for HARD HOUSE REVOLUTION 6 on May 4th 2007, I present to you, Dom Sweeten aka Defective Audio!

1st off, welcome 2 Calgary, Canada and thank you for taking the time.

Hi.

Dom, you are no stranger in the hard dance circuit. You’ve been DJing since the late 90s at many raves. Could you please give us all an insight on when and where u started off and how it lead you to teaming up with the infamous Superfast Oz to form OD404 and the label Kaktai Records and eventually running your own label Spinball Records?

In 1989 I was kidnapped by the evil that was the free party scene, and attended my first outdoor party in a small clearing near Oxford, UK. A group of travelers had set up a sound system from their double decker busses. Three days later I emerged with a smile on my face and the intention of getting myself some Technics.
I was already jamming with my best friend Phil at the time and we had been in a band together for a couple of years playing a cross between Hawkwind, Ozric Tentacles and Dub Reggae. We discovered the beauty of hooking up a TB303, a Roland SH-101 and an old Boss drum machine.

From there it was all downhill, we threw ourselves deep into the free party and rave scene, managing to get a few DJ sets along the way, the best of which was at a 10,000 strong party in Castle Morton. The sound systems were pounding out non stop rave and techno and it was places like this that I first heard early classics from Joey Beltram, FSOL, Moby and KLF.

In the mid ‘90’s I moved to Brighton to enjoy a residency at a local Techno night as well as regular sets on the beach with an underground sound system. It was here that I met Superfast Oz and built up a strong history of what we know as OD404.

We started collecting more gear together and crafting early tracks on an Atari and a single Kawai keyboard to play in our DJ sets. Soon we were lucky enough to be able to buy a Kurzweil K2000 (our pride and joy) which transformed our production into what is now the OD404 sound.

We started Kaktai Records soon after and managed to get our sound picked up by the Trade DJ’s. A string of remixes came in and gave us a firm footing to continue with Kaktai Records.

Oz then found his time increasingly taken up with Banging Tunes and while he built up the business I concentrated my efforts on production. This only left me with one option… let’s play!! The result was a string of Base Graffiti and Defective Audio material across many labels including Kaktai and of course the newly launched Spinball.

Many upcoming DJs and producers see and idolize u as an influential icon; who would you say has influenced you to become who you are today?

Musically I have been influenced by all that I have heard throughout my life. The rave scene from the early ‘90’s was the key time for me. Not just individual artists but the way that sounds and styles were all joined and used to create the vibe. I loved the way the free parties played every style of dance music. I don’t enjoy listening to one style all night. There is no dark without light.

What drives you to make the music we go absolutely nuts on so God damn good!?

Just a pure love for it and the realization that it is mostly just a collection of blips, blaps and techno zaps.

Now this might seem like a silly question to ask but, knowing how busy you are, other than DJing and producing, what else do you do to spend your time?

I have two young boys and a gorgeous wife which I devote my time to. When I am not soccer coaching, ferrying the eldest to Taekwon-Do or playing star wars I enjoy nice food, films and chilling.

We also have a 2yr old English Bull Terrier who is awesome so we enjoy taking her out for forest walks and shows.

Among many major cities in Canada, Calgary is also an up and coming rave destination and has a lot of budding talent. Most notably u played along side Calgary’s favorite Rodi Style who stirred up a huge storm in the UK in March. What do you think of the “NRG” from Canada?

It’s great to see other cities who are pioneering the sound. Hard House and NRG has taken some tuff knocks in the UK recently so it helps the scene to have DJ’s, producers and labels from other countries building the scene up a bit more.

Rahul NRG: Come May 4th, we will be as ever ready with our dancing shoes. What can we expect from your live PA set?

Some good quality pounding beats and a load of stupid noises.

As we are all looking forward to complete madness, how excited are you to be playing here for the 1st time and what are you looking forward to?

I’m very exited to be coming over. It will be my first visit to this part of the world. I’m looking forward to experiencing everything and meeting Rodi again. I see live gigs in the same way as the crowd does. I enjoy the music for what it is and see my set as a performance by the music, not me. I’m constantly changing my set so am also constantly surprised by it as well. Sometimes I feel like I am a punter as well.

You performed your 1st live PA for INSEKT’s 2nd birthday at The Fridge in London, UK. How was the feeling? Were you nervous and/or excited?

Nervous… no, exited… yes and just gagging to blast out some sonic madness. I don’t get nervous anymore, life is too short.

You’ve just started going through a different path with your production this year. Your newly formed alias “Freeflow45” and you’re going back to your roots of breaks music. I heard samples of your original productions such as “Peak Time and “Low Contour” which have been signed to “iBreaks”. Please take us through this little journey on how it came about.

The fact that many hard house labels have closed down or even stopped signing tracks meant that I needed an outlet for the funkier side of things. I have always loved all styles so it was only a matter of time before this happened. Breaks, Electro, Techno and House are soaking up my need to write all genres. Breaks was a massive part of the early rave scene for me and hold many of the keys to stuff we hear now.

Finally, what does the future hold for Defective Audio, Kaktai and the Spinball family?

Hopefully more of the same and some new things to boot.

Dom thanks once again for your time. We are eagerly waiting for the madness you are going to unleash, and I hope you enjoy your stay in Canada!

Thanks!