Liam Black, Dan Arnold and Leon Harris are The Qemists, the production outfit that shook up the drum & bass scene in 2009 with their rock-infused debut album Join The Q. Since then they have toured around the world and earned themselves a reputation as a truly unique live act.The trio are now back with their much anticipated follow up Spirit In The System to be released on August 16th, as well as an exclusive mix for Knowledge. We caught up with Dan from the group to find out what they have in store for us...
First off, I know I'm not the only one eagerly awaiting the new album. How is it going to differ from Join The Q?
In a few ways. I think the new album is a little more grown up. We've learnt a lot in the last 18 months through touring the last album and I think we've learned what works well and what doesn't.
We wanted to create bigger effects, by adding a bit more rock for the rock parts and a bit more drum & bass for the drum & bass parts. Hopefully we've created a more cohesive body of work.
Enter Shikari, Invasion and The Automatic all make appearances on the album. What attracts you to working with vocalists?
Different reasons really. With Enter Shikari we'd toured with them in Japan last year and we became quite good friends. We really wanted to get them on the album and lay down some vocals and guitar and we were really pleased with the result.
In terms of the singer from The Automatic, that was Liam's choice. It was just a case of phoning him up and asking if he'd like to do it. He'd never done any guesting before so it was quite interesting for him.
With The Invasion it was kind of a link through our manager. They're a death metal band and he's got this amazing voice.
You've mentioned recently that the new album is designed to provoke an emotional response in the listener. Do you find vocalists help to add this emotional depth?
Yeah definitely. We kept telling them we didn't want stories or self-narratives. We wanted feelings and emotional content. We worked closely with the artists on the lyrical content and Jenna G's track in particular is really quite deep. I'd say emotion is very important for our records at the moment.
Iron Shirt is one of my all time favourite drum & bass tracks, based around a really recognisable sample. With a background in live performance, do you prefer working with samples or creating your own sounds from scratch?
More and more we prefer creating our sounds from scratch, and in fact there aren't any riff or hook samples on the new album. I find it harder to find wicked samples these days, partly because as the years go by more get used. We try and make tunes that allow us to use our knowledge of playing music. Having said that if the right sample comes along I'd still use it.
Certainly the new single (Your Revolution) has quite a live feel. Is that deliberate or does it come naturally?
It did come quite naturally. We were always trying to keep the sound almost half rock and half dance. After touring around Europe for six months last year it was always at the back of our minds that we were going to be doing it again this year, so we were thinking about what would work well live. But we're also careful that we don't let that hold us back.
How do you find working with three of you in the studio? Do you have many musical differences or arguments?
A little bit, but we've been working with each other for so long that we're all on a similar level. The tracks will often start off as an idea from one individual who might go off on their own and craft it, and then we'll come together to finish it. We do normally agree and I think we know how each other thinks and know each other's styles.
You've been signed to Ninja Tune for five years now. As a drum & bass act, have you found it to be a benefit or a hindrance being signed to such an eclectic label?
Well it's a bit of both. Part of the thing is that there is no-one else on the label making similar music to us, which can be hard. But on the other hand we like the freedom and their infrastructure is great. Everyone is very helpful and there's a real collectiveness.
I wouldn't change it, although it's a shame there isn't another dancefloor orientated act on the label. To some people it might be more of a problem but we're kind of used to it now.
I'd love to hear The Qemists make a contribution to their Solid Steel mix compilation series. Are there any plans for this in the near future?
It's funny you should say that because someone asked me that the other day. It's completely up to the label. There are no firm plans, but Ninja Tune have got their twentieth birthday coming up in October so they're busy with that at the moment. Maybe next year.
You were all originally in a rock band together and now perform live. What are your thoughts on the age old debate: live performances versus DJ sets?
I love mixing and I love DJing. I've been DJing for the last ten years and they are both very different things. With a DJ set you're slamming one track into another, but when you're playing live you can take one of those tunes and play it in its entirety for five minutes. The crowd reaction and the intensity is amplified with a live set, but I couldn't say which I prefer as they both have great points.
Aside from rock and drum & bass, are there any other major influences on your sound?
We've been listening to a lot more 140bpm music, like dubstep, and that's definitely had an influence on the album. But between us we listen to almost everything, from classical to hip hop to grunge. It's all about reigning in those influences around a beat-driven track.
And finally, what can we expect from your guest mix?
It's similar to what we've been doing in our DJ sets at the moment, using four decks and three mixers. It's across the board, working in some electro sounds and recent drum & bass along with tracks from the new album. Basically it's all our favourite tunes at the moment.
Words: James Waldron
Words: James Waldron
