Exclusive Interview with Rob Sparx
Rob Sparx is a dubstep heavyweight hailing from Leicester and has been producing Drum and Bass since the 90s, he’s seen the rise of Dubstep and contributed heavily with such releases on Z-Audio as Bloodbath, The Funk and his newest tune Arcade. His tunes have been played by notable DJs such as Zane Lowe, Kissy Sellout, Skream, N-Type, Benga and Rusko, he has also been featured on Radio 1 & Radio 1XTRA. Known to play the Double Bass, Piano and the Guitar and also said to experiment with House, Electro and Breaks.
This week we’ve luckily had the chance to grab a short interview with Rob, so without further ado…
When did you start producing dubstep?
I wrote The Prayer in 1999, its deep dubby 2 step garage not really dubstep but Cyrus used to play it on radio a lot, the tune sat on a tape for 9 years gathering dust then finally got a release on Dubting (DUBTING007) in 2008 with remixes from Cyrus and Distance whichs they’d done in 2003 and 2006. The next 2 tunes I finished were The 2 Faced Rasta (2005) and Independent Life (2006) DNB kind of took over in the space between and the Prayer.
What’s your favourite bit of studio equipment?
Computer every time – I’ve got a Moog Prodigy, guitar and access to a pogo stick electric double bass but 99% of what I do is digital
Rob Sparx – Arcade
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What are your top 5 tracks to play right now?
Joker – Tron VIP (Dub)
Burial – Etched Headplate (My unofficial refix)
Tunnidge – Fear (Forthcoming Swamp81)
Rob Sparx vs John Maveric – Windscreen Sniper (Propatingz Rmx)
Bar9 – Piano Tune (Dub)
What have you been up to recently? Do you have anything exciting you can tell us about?
I’ve been to NYC and Puerto Rico, was in PR for 3 days its a beautiful country tropical weather, great food and lots of exotic coctails I didn’t know existed before like cucumber jalapeno Martini! Some real nice locations and bars actually next to the beach, I don’t think dubstep has really taken off there yet but hopefully it will catch on soon. In NYC I stayed in Harlem, the streets outside the block I was staying in is where they filmed Juice! Played Konkrete Jungle and started a collab with DNB producer DA (on Good Looking + owns Nexgen Recordings) in Brooklyn.
Rob Sparx – Cold Blooded
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Can you remember the first time you heard dubstep?
2004 I heard a cd with all the early DMZ and Loefah stuff thats what got me interested
What does 2010 hold for Rob Sparx?
I’ve just had 2 tunes on Getdarkers “This is Dubstep Vol 2″. Also I might be doing an album for Grid Recordings, a possible AUS/NZ tour in September and there’s a collab with NZ produce I’m putting out on Migration soon with a Collie Buddz vocal which I’m hoping will be a big hit
Rob Sparx vs Cocoa Tea – Go Home Soundbwoy (Sub Mix)
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What other things do you get up to other than producing, any hobbies?
DJing obviously but id like to get into beatjuggling and scratching soon, I’m pretty crap at both atm but I’ve learnt to play 3 musical instruments pretty good so I’m sure ill get the hang of it eventually. Also cooking, keeping fit (not done that for a while lol), reading, walking the dog and occassional use of psychadelics to preserve my sanity!
Dream line-up?
Can’t say I’m nearly as enthusiastic seeing other djs play as I was 10 years ago now that its my job but if I had to pick some acts it might be something eclectic like Trentemoller Live, Aba Shanti, High Contrast or Calibre, Mystikz b2b Loefah, Skream when he’s not too wasted to mix properly and Noisia. Also id be interested to see Mixmaster Mike doing some beatmatching and scratching to dubstep.
Roland – Clunka (Rob Sparx Remix)
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Finally, any shout outs?
Big shout out to my fiancee Vicky, soon to be Mrs Sparx! xxx
Also bigup Tunnidge & Cyrus (Origin Audio), Bar9, DJ Madd & Matt U, Propatingz, Numbernin6, Akira Kiteshi, Joker, Bulldogs, DFRNT & Shackles for supplying me with some tasty beats over the last few months!
Cheers to Rob Sparx for this wicked Interview!
Want more?
Rob Sparx on Chemical Records
Rob Sparx on MySpace
Rob Sparx on Facebook
Rob Sparx on GetDarker.com w/ Nero
Adam
About the Author (Adam)
Adam is the founder & creator of Dubsilo. He handles the design, development and maintenance of the website. He's been into dubstep since he first picked up FabricLive 37 and has been following the movement ever since. Whilst not working on Dubsilo he studies at the University of Plymouth and even dabbles in a bit of freelance Web Design.