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DRUM & BASS What was your first thought this morning? It was what am I gonna start my set with at Moondance on Sunday! Big decision! Any you've decided on? I'm toying with about three, I'm just going through my Marcus stuff because they asked my if I could dedicate my set to Marcus. It's been really tough to listen to his tunes, I know this sounds a bit odd but, now it's actually quite nice as you realise what a genius he was. Yeah, it came as such a surprise. Absolutely, it came from nowhere - no one could have predicted it, thought it - even imagined it. He's someone who's been in the scene for a very long time, who never changed who they were. He was always the same and it was a joy to know him. You must have some fond memo- ries of Marcus? The last time I played with him was in Berlin last November and it was back to back - that's really gonna be my happiest memory. I was playing vinyl on one side and he was on his USB's on the other and I'd been asked to cover Metalheadz and him Soul:R. Half way through he starting mixing in my mix and he was like 'Yeah, we're like Orbital!'. You're the first lady of drum & bass and you've never fallen way- side, how have you managed this? I think once Kemistry and Storm as an act departed the scene I be- came the first lady. I try to support the ladies as much as I can and I'm aware being one of the top female DJs in our scene that I have to use my power carefully. I support anyone with good music but I am conscious of trying to support the ladies because if I won't do it, who will? What female artists are hot right now and who should we be look- ing out for? Always be looking out for Flight, she's a great DJ. DJ Gin, she's a new upcoming DJ. She's been around for a while, but again always be looking at her. The label Ruffneck Ting is rolling out really nicely. I've got big love for Dee- izm, she's working on an album at the moment and obviously, Riya. There's lots more ladies that seem to be coming to it. I've worked with Ms Melody not so long ago and that was fantastic, what a great MC who can cover anything. Any help that I can give the ladies, it's just nice to see women just en- joying themselves. They do it with integrity - it's a lot harder so when we get there we feel it's much more important. That's one true thing that DJ Rap said a few years ago - and that's if she did a bad set she weren't getting booked for six months. You've gotta be on your game all the time. You're a very resilient person, is there anything that you have to grin and bear at the moment? Politics and all the things that go on in the scene will always be there but as you get older you get wiser. At the beginning of Metalheadz we had to be quite tough because people weren't sure and we had a lot of flack. If you're gonna be a fe- male in a prominently male scene, you need to get a really strong back bone. A lot of people thought I'd leave the scene after Kemi, but I had to think to myself - she'll come back and haunt me if I don't carry on because we worked so hard to get here. I'd have records flying at me in the night! You and Kemistry were always together, do you mind sharing a fond memory? I found an old birthday card from her the other day and she was always saying that I was Patsie and she was Edina but it was the other way round really because I'm more the scatty one she put something like you are actually an Edina and I will say I'm a Patsie, just without the alcohol but with the spliffs! It's so nice that you still have the cards and that. I've got everything, I moved with Kemi over the years and the last flat I lived in was hers. That was our base for Metalheadz, we lived there together for years. I'd have the fax by my head and I'd pretty answer the phone from the bed. I think people thought we had some kind of office but we didn't. It took me 14 years to set up the Facebook page for her and to look through her things. We've got ev- erything, birthday cards, flyers, and it's lovely to have that now. I've got all her interviews on DVD now so if I feel a bit down, it's always lovely to see her and hear her voice. It sounds such a clique but time is a great healer and there's a point where you start to feel all the hap- piness you had and me and Kemi were incredibly happy. It's a hard job [DJing] and you get to know these people and hear their story and I love that. Me and Kemi thought that was just a bonus of the job, seeing different parts of the world. I know lots of DJs who take all the photos but for me, it's all inside. These moments are special that I share with you on the decks. I'm not sure I want everyone to know them because tonight, it's between us. How would you describe Rage? For me it was the first time I got to study Fabio & Grooverider. It was such a subliminal club, it had lights, it had sound, it had strobes, it had smoke machines and these amaz- ing two DJs that gave you two totally different styles and it was pure education. At that point, you were either techno DJ or house DJ and certain DJs were saying to Fabio & Grooverider, you can't mix the two styles. It's amazing to have been there and to watch the begins of drum & bass forming out of all the different musics. What was Herbal? It's a nice little club and it gave drum & bass the kind of middle ground. Not too big not too small, but I have to say it was a nightmare to mix in there! It looked really easy but at the end of the day, drum & bass DJs are very resilient. We came through with nothing, we had our own media in the end because real over ground media didn't wanna know really until Goldie, Roni Size & Adam F. What makes you so passionate about drum & bass? I love the music. It does something to me. Kemi just used to bombard me with pirate radio stations and we found this guy, Randall. Then the next minute I was infected, I went to Rage, I was buying all the vinyl and me and Kemi wondered why we're buying all this vinyl with nothing to play it on. We were at this rave and Lea Valley Ice Rink and Ratpack were playing and I was thinking, I've got these two tunes. I went up to the decks and was watching them play. I said to this guy what is that and he was like they're Technics. I asked what was he doing and he said matching the beats and as I look across the other side Kemi was doing exactly the same. That night we said we wanna be with this thing 24/7, we were hardly bothering with the other world we just seem to be obsessed with this music. I love all of it and it's never changed. I'm always striv- ing to make sure that the scene is protected and it would be nice if this country would be prouder of it because we've created careers all over the world. What did you want to protect it from? From outside influences, so that it doesn't change. To a certain extent, there are certain sounds that have been adulterated over the years. You can see a lot more commer- cialness going on with the sound with lots more vocals being intro- duced. I'm not worried about an overground drum & bass scene but I always want to protect the under- ground, to make sure it's doing the right thing and that we're not giv- ing into an overground culture. What are you most in love with right now? Total Control by Digital, can't stop being in love with it! It's just a tune! And my brand headphones, they're Technics and I'm a Technics girl. I've been Technics since day one so I kinda feel like I know them. If you could fill a swimming pool with anything, what would that be? Dubplates, a whole pool of dub- plates. If drum & bass artists had resumes, her's would be one of the most impressive. Packed with achievements which have all been driven by a lifetime of dedication to drum & bass and a genuine passion for the music. We jumped at the opportunity to talk to Storm and managed to chill with her as she takes us on a trip down memory lane. "YOU'VE GOTTA BE ON YOUR GAME ALL THE TIME" 43 2017 / ISSUE 103 Arren Haynes | Guestlist follow @djstormdnb