Shane Hope, aka ‘Audiomission‘ is a dubwise jungle / drum & bass producer who has had releases on a number of labels including In Da Jungle, Delta9, Totally Dubwise, Jungle Clone and many more . He’s also involved in the underground UK free party scene as both DJ and organiser. His partner in crime is his cousin Seyms who shares a similar taste in music.
First of all for those who don’t know, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m Audiomission a 22-year-old DJ / producer from the South West of England. I belong to a Somerset based soundsystem and production collective called Gyro Sounds. Gyro stand Get Your Rig Out in case you’re wondering.
You began mixing at 15, when did you decide to dabble in production and how do you feel these two skills influence one another?
I started experimenting with production around 17/18 when I first managed to get a copy of Reason on my old PC. As soon as I got my Mac at 18/19 I was luckily given a copy of Logic 9 from Seyms which I found to be a much more comfortable DAW for myself. I also did a music technology A-Level which gave me the backbone of knowing the basics of using Logic.
I feel that both producing and mixing for me goes hand in hand. When mixing you learn a lot about how various crowds react to styles of tunes or stylistic qualities within the music. I believe that this helps to give a deeper insight when producing a tune on how it would be applicable when being played in a club venue or free party through a large sound system.
For me personally there is no greater feeling than mixing your own tunes together at an energetic club night or rave you have been booked for. It is a truly amazing feeling /experience.
Did mixing take you to free parties, or did the inspiration to mix come after attending them?
I started trying to mix before I attended any free parties with my partner at Gyro Sounds, Joe Bristow. We originally took over his brothers turntables and experimented mixing with vinyl and playing at house parties. We would organise them with a mix match of random speakers we could provide.
We then discovered free parties together and decided we wanted to buy our own vinyl and teach each other to mix properly, so we could try and play at these parties in the future. After managing to gain a couple sets together at free parties. 4bidden Soundsystem spotted us, along with other systems. Since then we got to play at much bigger events through bigger, better and louder speakers.
What can you tell us about Gyro Sounds and Subliminal Audio?
Gyro Sounds and Subliminal Audio are two closely linked Somerset based soundsystems. We both started up around similar times and ended up doing parties together and became close friends, they are essentially our partners in crime (fun)! Around 2011-2012 we both started up doing the odd free party, but in 2013 we decided to bring the local scene back to life as there weren’t many parties in the local area at the time.
This highlighted to the scene our joint ability to provide good drum & bass, jungle and breakbeat, through excellent quality soundsystems. No noise restrictions. No time restrictions. Since the start of this year Subliminal Audio have been hiring out their NCA (Noise Control Audio) for some big club events in the Bristol area.
Gyro Sounds have spent the last year upgrading their sound-system by building four new hog scoops and two new tops to add to the system. Due to this upgrade, Gyro have been hired out for Bris-Tek 4 on December 27 this year.
Linking up with us is another close soundsystem called Taffari who have also built four hog scoops together with us. There has also been some brainstorming about doing a Gyro and Subliminal club night together soon, so keep your eyes and ears open for that one!
In August you released your third EP, Shaolin Warrior. Itfeatures my personal favourite Audiomission track, Shaolin Stance. What provided the inspiration behind this oriental themed EP, and how were Basswave Recordings and yourself introduced?
The original inspiration for that track was quite funny. In mine and Seyms studio at the time we had an oriental poster and mask hung up on the walls. One day I came back from a university lecture and just decided to make a Shaolin style jungle / dnbtrack and it just developed from there.
A good fact about that song is that the bass sounds used in the second drop came from a recording of the sound of the sub flapping that oriental poster rattling the desk. This was a completely new method for me but gave some awesome results.
I was originally put in touch with Bass Wave Recordings by J2B. He produces a similar style of DnB that is like both Shaolin Stance and Warrior Gem. He’s good friends with the owner of the label and after hearing both tracks the contract was signed!
How have you progressed personally since your first release Born In The Ghetto?
That release was the start of it all for me about two years ago now. I have definitely come a long way since then, from mixing skills, production techniques, collaborations and bookings. My sound still has a similar vibe as Born In The Ghetto, but I feel the production value and technicalities of my work are much more advanced than they were.
I also feel that during these two years, I have developed a sound that is recognisable to me, and I will keep pushing this sound and experimenting with new ones. I would like to be an artist known for diversity. Even with this track being two years old I still play it out when the time is right and it goes off every time.
Gun to your head… jungle or drum & bass?
I think you are going to have to shoot me! Jungle and drum & bass are so closely linked and influence each other endlessly. Most of my music is a form of fusion between the two and I love mixing the two styles together. So you are going to have to pull the trigger!
Can you tell a little bit about your influences?
I first got into reggae influenced dnb and dubwise when I was 16/17. I started listening to artists like Benny Page, Mooncat and Marcus Visionary, which influenced me massively into what I am doing today. I have since then received support from artists such as Aries and the Serial Killaz, both of whom have been a huge inspiration to me in recent years.
In terms of drum & bass, a few of my influences are Bladerunner, DLR, Maztek, Dose, Prolix, Jinx, Serum & many more. It’s hard to name them all as I even get influenced by tunes I hear on nights out. Many of which I don’t know the name of, but I hope that gives a rough idea on where my sound comes from!
Billy Bunter recently featured a triage of your tunes in one of his mixes, how did it feel to be recognised by one of the scene’s godfathers?
The feeling is indescribable, to have someone who has been in the scene for so many years to like my music enough to play it out is absolutely incredible! He has been featuring a lot of my work in his radio sets on Kool London which adds to the feeling as it is one of the most legendary jungle / drum & bass radio stations in the UK.
You’ve recently graduated from De Montfort University with a BA Hons in Music Technology and Innovation. What do you see as a more valuable asset to your success… your time at University? Or the work you put in with Gyro Sounds and making a name for yourself DJing in the underground party scene?
I personally believe the work I have done out of university has been a more valuable asset to my success. However, without attending uni I would not have had the time to really work on music and experiment with my production.
It may have not taught me to produce underground music as such. But it aided me in applying new principles from what I learnt to my own work and helped me experiment with styles of music I never would have explored.
You’ve recently been working on a number of projects with the Pull Up Collective including the very popular remix of Reggae Shark. What can you tell me about the Pull Up Collective and what can we expect from future collaborations?
Pull Up Collective are a Bristol based collective comprised of Nick Wright and Sam Quinlan who make jungle/ drum & bass. Their music is very uplifting and they have a similar taste in jungle and dubwise as myself. Plus, they love to provide some humour to their music. This is what brought us to remix Reggae Shark. We believe there is not enough music that makes you laugh, and we want to start providing some jokes to the underground party scene.
You’re always booked to play a number of events with those in Bristol taking centre stage. Could you pick a favourite venue?
It’s going to have to be the Dutty Duck, aka The Black Swan. This venue has to be the most underground in Bristol and for me personally has the best nights. If you want to experience a truly underground night out in Bristol, then you have to hit The Black Swan.
How did it feel when you were first asked to play an overseas gig?
The best way to describe it is it feels like you’re living the dream you’ve always wanted to live. For me, when I first started to DJ my dream was to get asked to play in another country. This first happened in Spain, it was a feeling of joy and satisfaction which filled me to the brim. Since then I have had a few other gigs abroad and they have been absolutely amazing experiences.
You’ve recently had a release on Dubwise Station, a remix of Blackout JA’s Waa Si We Dead. What can you tell me about both this project and Dubwise Station?
Dubwise Station is a record label owned by a DJ and friend of mine Doumpa. The label specialises in jungle and dubwise style music yet also explores various other styles all with a reggae or dancehall influence. I got asked to do the remix by Doumpa early this year and as soon as I heard the vocal I immediately wanted to crack on and put my own twist on it.
The track starts with quite a dubwise style intro and first drop, but then develops into a more old skool style climbing bass-line. Which I felt suited the vocals very well. When playing this track it always smashes the dancefloor and I am very happy with the outcome and hope people enjoy it and support it!
What’s next for Audiomission?
There are lots of big projects in the pipeline with some big labels in the scene, including various collaboration projects. However, for the time being I can’t say too much about them as you will have to wait and see! Bookings have been flying in this winter and it seems to be a very good season for both Seyms and myself. I will be keeping everyone up to date on my Soundcloud and Facebook page for updates with all my work.
Download Audiomission’s Kmag guest mix here
Tracklist
- Audiomission – Jamaican – [Dubplate]
- Seyms – Chemical Reaction – [Dubplate]
- The Dream Team – Stamina – (Aries, Stivs & Kelvin 373 Remix) – [Asbo Records]
- Macka B- Warrior Style – (Seyms Remix) – [Dubplate]
- Ed Rush – Scarabs – [Piranha Pool Recordings]
- Tony Roots – Hail Jah – (Seyms Remix) – [Dubplate]
- Jinx – Who Goes There (Sterling Sound Remix) – [Asbo Records]
- Bob Marley – Lively Up Yourself (Audiomission Remix) – [Dubplate]
- DJ Westy – Lost Pain – [Asbo Records]
- Seyms & Audiomission – Told Me – [Asbo Records]
- DJ Westy – The Way – [Asbo Records]
- Keith & Tex – Tonight (Seyms Remix) – [Dubplate]
- Sterling Sound – Ladies Ting (Jinx Rmx) – [Asbo Records]
- Seyms – Blue Chedda (fliptrix) – [Dubplate]
- Audiomission – Didgeridoo – [Dubplate]
- Seyms & Audiomission – The Flow – [Dubplate]
- J2B – The Cold – [Plush Records]
- Survival – Dub Soldier – [Dispatch Recordings]
- Key Of Awesome – Reggae Shark (Pull Up Collective & Audiomission Remix) – [Dubplate]
- Savage Rehab – Space Dock – (Saxxon Remix) – [Fed Nation]
- Shiver – Crossover – [Flexout Audio]
- Serum & Paul T – Want You Back – [Mac 2 Records]
- Mixamatosis – Deep Roots – [Dubplate]