MINDSET New Zealand’s State of Mind haven’t DJed as a duo in Australia for nearly five years. Ahead of their only Australian date, Matt O’Neill speaks to Stuart Maxwell about the drum’n’bass veterans increasingly sprawling empire. t’s surprising to learn of State of Mind’s origins. One of New Zealand’s most influential contemporary drum’n’bass outfits, State of Mind have helped catapult their country’s fertile drum’n’bass community to international recognition over the past nine years through not just their own releases but, via their label SOM Music, those of their countrymen. “We feel part of the drum’n’bass community down here,” Stuart Maxwell, one half of the duo, says. “Our label works hard to support the best of New Zealand’s producers. We’ve released artists like Dose, Borderline, Cern, Trei, Concord Dawn and the Upbeats. In fact, I’d hazard to say we are the most active New Zealand label in terms of drum’n’bass.”
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“Sometimes, it can be a pain. Organising releases, artwork, getting barcodes, dealing
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with PR people... That can all be a pain,” the producer laments. “But, having said that, it is very rewarding. With SOM Music, we really just wanted to put out music we liked. It was really that simple. Oh, and we got sick of dealing with other labels!” Since 2004, they’ve released three albums: 2006’s Take Control, 2009’s Faster Than Light and 2011’s Nil By Ear. In addition to their own label, they’ve released productions through respected international imprints Shogun Audio, Total Science’s CIA Recordings and, perhaps most prestigiously, Black Sun Empire’s BSE Recordings. Yet, their success has actually been somewhat incidental. The pair never actually harbored any serious ambitions of being producers. For all of their compelling work in the years since, their formation was largely predicated on the fact that the right person somehow accidentally heard their friendly experiments. “There were no plans whatsoever,” Maxwell explains. “We were just two mates making beats for fun. We never even gave our music to anyone. To be honest, I don’t know if we would have. The owner of Samurai Records, Geoff Presha, actually came across a misplaced CD with our music.” “He gave that to Total Science while they were over here,” the producer continues - inadvertently explaining how an unknown drum’n’bass act ended up with their debut release on Total Science’s label. “Then, they came up to us when they finished playing and basically said ‘Did you guys make this?’. We were pretty lucky.” It puts a different spin on the pair’s output. There’s a certain professionalism to State of Mind’s career that has made them something of an institution. From the high-polish sheen that decorates their own productions to their star-studded collaborations with legends like Black Sun Empire and Jade, they’re simply a world-class act. That origin story shifts that perception a little. While still a world-class act, State of Mind are recast somewhat. Seemingly hardline careerists, there’s nevertheless always been a cavalier attitude to the pair’s movements that hasn’t quite gelled. However, that beginning reveals a sense of freedom and humour. It helps contextualise the rest of the narrative. “We just thought it would be cool to record our set, headlining that festival, and then release it for everyone,” Stuart Maxwell says, for example, of the pair’s decision to spontaneously release a free live album last year. “People who went could listen back and think, ‘Fuck yeah, that was me gurning out in there’.” “There is a difference between State of Mind & State of Mind Live,” he clarifies. “When we DJ, we use a combination of CDJ, laptop and controllers. When we do live, it’s very much live, with all sorts of hardware and our mixing console. Since it was a live show, we thought it made sense to make it free. Besides, everyone would just share it anyway.” Once one sees that side of the duo, it’s hard to miss it. By way of example, their Facebook influences read “Venga Boys, David Hasselhoff, Yello & Speak (the Hungarian Rapper)”. Their music, meanwhile, has always had a playful bent to it. Potent and aggressive, their productions’ cascading synth lines have nevertheless always been quite colourful. “The album we’re currently working on is shaping up to be much harder than our last,” Maxwell counters. “There are still a few lighter moments by the looks of it, but it’s certainly not fluffy bunnies. Drum’n’bass has been really cheesed out recently, with certain labels pushing for chart success as opposed to what’s actually cool or genuine. I guess this is a response to that. We made some other types of music for our last record. That was fun, but we are a drum’n’bass group. You know, I don’t think there is anything wrong with staying to one genre for a band. Look at AC/DC or something. They never went through a synth pop or country phase.”
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“I think New Zealand has a sound,” the producer muses on the sound of State of Mind and their contemporaries. “It’s pretty dark, all things considered. There isn’t really anyone making that pop’n’bass sound. It’s weird because, on the whole, it’s a pretty nice sunny place. You’d think we would all be happy!” Perhaps their attitude is most evident in what they ultimately choose to value. It’s easy to glance over their CV and see drum’n’bass businessmen and network professionals. Except, their consistent live shows and album releases don’t actually fit into that mold at all. They’re expensive, labourintensive endeavours that the pair don’t have to do. Yet, they’re currently prepping their fourth album (“We have actually done enough music already, but we are just going to keep making tunes right up until the middle of the year,” Maxwell says. “I think we plan to release around November.”) They’re upcoming Australian DJ set will see both members of the group in the country for the first time since 2008. Put simply, State of Mind prioritise art over commerce. They’re smart about it. They’re conscious of the industry, but they’re ultimately not beholden to it. They began as two mates making beats for fun and, while their current incarnation may look different, it’s obvious that’s still their general mission. “There’s still a place for an album. It’s a nice way for fans to collect your music. It gives you a bit more space to release a weird tune or two you might not otherwise put out,” Maxwell reflects, then reconsiders with a laugh. “Whether or not people still sit down and listen to a whole album start to finish is another thing.” WHO: State of Mind
w w w. j u m p c l i m b . c o m
12 • For more interviews go to themusic.com.au/interviews
WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 9 March, Villa