After serving up some real head-turners for Redlight’s Lobster Boy and Breach’s Naked Naked labels over the last 18 months, Leeds’ bass-heavy house producers Mak & Pasteman are readying the first release on their own Materials imprint.
Showcasing influences as varied as Detroit techno, early-90s jungle and, of course, modern-day house music, the three-track ‘Jam One’ EP is available to buy digitally on 11 August.
Ahead of the release, we managed to secure an exclusive free remix from the guys – a cheeky reworking of Kanye West’s ‘New Slaves’ that’s been doing some damage in raves nationwide.
Download the track using the player below, and read on for a quick interview with guys.
1. Who is Mak, and who is Pasteman? And where did you get your names?
Craig McNamara and Matt Bridgewater. Mak was always Craig’s nickname, whereas I used to run a sound-system called Cut & Paste in Leeds with my mate Tom and people started calling me the Pasteman from that.
2. It’s festival season right now, which is your favourite and why?
This year, Hideout was really special for us. Playing the mainstage to a huge audience for two hours and building through all of the music that’s inspired us over the years – as well as a lot of new music most people hadn’t heard yet – felt significant.
3. ‘Formation’ from your latest EP has a strong jungle/d&b influence. Who was your favourite jungle/d&b DJ and favourite MC?
M – Hype and MC GQ, 94-96…
P – I picked up Jungle from my brother’s tape packs like a lot of us did really. I used to love this old Brockie set that was from one of his Jungle Mania packs.
4. What did you dream being when you were kids?
M – A popstar of course.
P – I proper liked the ancient Egyptians when I was a kid; so probably wanted to be an archaeologist. When I got to about 11 or 12, though, I always knew I wanted to be involved in music. My Dad was a DJ and everything kind of revolved around music in one way or another.
5. If you could steal anyone’s record box (well, hard-drive or USB) whose would it be and why?
M – Mr Scruff. Was gonna say J.Dilla, but Scruff is a northerner, so I reckon he will have some music closer to home for me, that Dilla might not.
P – Very tough question! There are so many eras that have significance to my taste in music. I’d love Hatcha’s dubplates, but then there are also some serious 60s soul collectors whose records I’d love to have, too.
6. Your label Materials is moving along nicely – are you looking to sign other acts, or is it just for your own productions?
We definitely want it to grow into a family vibe. We were lucky enough to get picked up by Redlight at an early stage and he really put us through our paces to get the best music out of us at those times. I don’t think we would have come this far without that help, so big up Redlight!
We want to do that with other people whose music excites us, too. The next release on Materials is from Maison Sky – we’ve become good mates and really love their music, so it’s exciting to have them on the label with us.
7. If you could have been 18 during the prime of any musical period, which would it be and why?
M – I wish I’d kept playing the trumpet; I could have learnt jazz music and made it fit into electronic music. Those guys can riff on anything. Davis, Gillespie, Baker; they should show you that stuff when you’re at school. Teach you how to take something to the limit, not some school musical that gets you beat up if you keep doing past age 12!
P – I was at school when I first heard grime and will always cite that as the first music I really wanted to make. I have a real fascination with the 1960s, though – the cultural differences, the raw simplicity of the music, the emotion. If I could have been in Detroit when some of the first records that later became Northern Soul were being recorded, that would have been awesome.
8. What is the one thing that you really love about your job?
M – Living outside the daily grind.
P – The feeling of taking an idea to a complete track, playing it at a gig and it going off. I’ll never grow tired of that feeling.
9. And the one thing that really fucks you off?
M – People who scran crisps on the bus.
P – Broken equipment is probably the main thing, it’s generally a DJM-800 that looks like it went down with the titanic.
10. Where will Mak & Pasteman be this time in a year?
We’d both like to build on what we have so far with the music we’re releasing and the label we’re developing. It’s an opportunity for us to show more of our versatility and influence in our upcoming records, while maintaining the dancefloor edge people want to hear from us.