Hey Hannah, what a pleasure to be interviewing you. I've been raving to your beats at Trailer Trash, Bugged Out, Bastard Batty Bass and Fabric for a few years now so it'll be great to pick your brains, so to speak.
Wicked, thanks, a pleasure to be interviewed by you too!!!
OK, to start with, I've been listening to the latest release on your BBB label, Re-bokk Robot by POSH! The Prince, on repeat for nearly a month now, I love it, particularly how it mashes up hip-hop, techno and electro. How did you discover POSH! The Prince?
I met POSH! on the dance floor of Panarama Bar one Sunday afternoon. He is a mystical force of energy, just dancing with him makes you feel high. I loved his vibe from the start, got to know his music and saw his live performance, which blew me away. Re-Bokk Robot really stood out to me.
Will he be releasing more tracks with you?
We have a plan to do a sequel yes. [laughs] Do you have any collaboration’s planned? Not with POSH! At this stage. However, I plan to do more stuff with Mama, Mike Monday and dance performance genius Jonny Woo, plus who knows who else, I’m always open to collaborations.
Do you have any plans to release any LPs on the BBB label?
At some point yes. I have plans to work on an album this year, involving all the different Batty Bass artists and my own solo album.
Tell us what you've been up to of late. Can we expect more studio work from you in the near future?
Definitely! I’m working on more stuff for the label, Playtime and some remixes as we speak. The move to Berlin is all about working hard in the studio.
The London scene of the last few years, for me has been one which surpasses most in its eclecticism, it's unbridled hedonism and its innovation. Bastard Batty Bass has unequivocally been an intrinsic part of that. For you, what is it about BBB that sets it apart from other club nights?
The night is musically constructed in a unique way, taking the crowd on a journey through bass, designed to whip them into a frenzy. The crowd have been with us for 3 years and the passion for the music really turns people on. We have a amazing team behind the night, with our residents, Mama, Deboa, Miss Bailey, formally MC Chickaboo, myself and artist Alex Noble, who has designed a whole look for Batty Bass. People who come really feel apart of the night like a big family feeling the hedonistic rumblings. Now we have moved out of our former home The Star, we have moved to doing parties in Fabric, warehouses, and one coming up in T-BAR. This gives us even more scope with the music. Instead of me building through the genres, each DJ does. Last Fabric we had resident Deboa, warming up with afro house bassy beats, then Mama’s live show, which gets gets people hyped on her vibe, then Cooly G showcasing the new tribal UK funky sounds, then myself doing my deep bass tech bizness, then Hatcha whipping everyone up with some mad dubstep flavas at the end. It just builds and builds.
You recently made the move to Berlin to join the masses of electronic artists that have set up shop there. I understand the impetus to go: with so many talented artists in one place, creativity can do nothing but propagate unhindered. However, do you think that you will lose something without that London quintessence surrounding you? And how about the essence of London itself—you grew out of that scene so how will you fare now without it?
I still play here every month, so I really live between the two cities. It actually makes me appreciate London a lot more being away from it. London is in my blood and Berlin gives me a fresh perspective to create. My DJ sets are deep rooted in bass house and techno, so Berlin gives me what i need to be in that environment,. Berlin has taught me the groove in playing over the years. London has given me my bass roots.
Do you think that the epicenter of electronic music will migrate from Berlin in the near future?
Yes, when Berlin is over everyone will move to a small island just of the coast of India, where the rent is even cheaper!
Who is your favorite producer of the moment?
Jamie Jones, Martin Eyerer, Claude Vonstroke, Roska, Oliver Hunetmann
And DJ?
Dixon, Heidi, Justin Martin
Which is your favourite country you've played in to-date?
It’s still London for me. When you really know a crowd and vice versa it has a profound effect.
What has been your most memorable moment in a club and why?
There are so many, but properly one of the early Trailer Trash parties we did in a 19th century prison. It was a perfect location for a illegal party, a true insane experience. It really went off in there. People were dancing in the cells going bananas. And the connection between the DJ and crowd was perfect unison. Needless to say the police shut it down at 6am! Or properly dancing in Panarama Bar for 12 hrs on a Sunday because it makes me feel incredibly lucky to do what I do and inspires me no end. Or maybe being 14 and dancing my shoes off in Metalheadz which implanted clubland into my brain for life.
We are now at the beginning of a new decade. Electronic music has evolved so much over the last three decades. How do you think it will develop further in the next ten years?
I’m looking forward to more mutated music. It’s already happening so rapidly, cross-pollinating and so interesting, who knows what will happen? Maybe 3D music? London has of late been lamenting the loss of the weekly Trailer Trash parties at On the Rocks.
Do you think that any parties have emerged recently on the scene that will fill this Friday night hole?
I wouldn’t be able to tell you, as I haven’t been out in East London on a Fri for a while, but it will be a hard act to follow, it had special ingredients.
On a similar note, London has been hit hard over the last two years with a slew of closures on the club scene, the imminent first anniversary of The End's closure being a good example of this. Do you think that it has now entered a new era and is beginning to regenerate?
Definitely, new spaces are opening, people have new enthusiasm, clubs like Wet Yourself, Superfreak, T Bar, Bugged Out , Mulletover, Plastic People always have impeccable line ups. London still has amazing nightlife.
Club nights in general have a trend of becoming popularised (naturally) and are thus usually accompanied by a certain amount of bitching from purists who would rather that the masses didn't attend their favourite stomping grounds. I stand, I think, on both sides of the fence. On the one hand, I think it's great that what is too often dubbed “underground” music can become so well-liked and well-known. On the other hand, the atmosphere and crowd are integral to a good night and can make or ruin a night. What's your take on it?
I agree 100% about the atmosphere and the crowd, it’s so incredibly important. It’s only natural that it will happen to a successful night. i think it’s important to take it to a new crowd in bigger clubs but still keep it underground by doing more low-key events and reach the original crowd.
On more of a feminist note, I'm intrigued to know what your opinion is on being a female DJ in a male-dominated scene?
I always get encouragement and respect from other male DJs and I’ve also grown up on the scene surrounded by a lot of other female DJs, Heidi, Smokin Jo, Jojo De Freq, Miss Kitten, so I try not to think about it. However sometimes I look at line ups and it scares me that there isn’t one female DJ on the bill, and DJ magazines are filled with pictures of blokes, I find it a bit weird to be honest. At the end of the day I just get on with what I love doing and it tends to pay off!
Re-bokk Robot by POSH! The Prince is out now on Batty Records. Check out all things Batty Bass and Hannah Holland at www.battybass.com
www.myspace.com/hannahholland
Leo Pollock