Excision and Datsik Interview: SXSW 2010

After first hearing the punishing bass of the dubstep sound on ginormous outdoor festival speakers, DJ/producer Datsik was hooked like a junkie with his first hit. Ever since, Datsik has still been in search of that perfect high, playing with some of the top performers on the circuit, driven to create more and more boundary-pushing bass music.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Well, I guess you could call it dark and robotic, but I also like to try and keep it funky and gangster. For me, it's all about making the tunes people can go wild and skank out to, while keeping it dirty of course.

How did you start working with your partner Excision?

Basically, Jeff and I became friends through the music scene. He was playing dubstep before I even knew what it was. It took one festival, Shambhala, and 100,000 watts of PK sound madness for me to instantly convert to the dark side. Before that, I was making hip-hop and Jeff was doing the drum and bass thing. Once i made a few tracks Jeff was stoked on, the collabs started flying out! Him and I are really good friends now, so the work is starting to come more naturally. At first we were both a little stubborn, but in the end it's fun working with other people and sharing tricks and tips. We've both learned tons from each other and we both push each other, so it works out!

What are your musical influences?

I have a ridiculous amount of sources from which I get inspiration. The one main one that got me into this filth in the first place would have to have been golden era Wu-Tang. I'm talking about the old school Method Man 'Tical' album days. Just the way Meth flows over those ridiculously filthy RZA beats, it just did it for me. When I first started making music, that was the sound I really wanted to grasp, the dark and cold beats with a dash of funk. I was doing it in hip-hop for a while, but as soon as I heard dubstep I knew that was my calling. These days, I find myself wandering back over into the realms of hip-hop, though. I've been working on a few tracks, trying to add dubstep elements and production value into it. I wouldn't really call it glitch-hop, but more on the side of hype-hop.

How did you come up with your artist name?

Well, at heart I'm just a big nerd who loves his video games. I used to play a lot of Halo, and it [Datsik] used to be my Xbox gamer tag. I started making music, and I really didn't have a name until I made a few tracks already. I figured I would end up changing it from Datsik eventually, but everyone kind of convinced me otherwise so I just rolled with it!

What's your biggest challenge in making music?

I'd say the biggest challenge would probably have been trying to make a living in a country where the scene isn't necessarily thriving as much as the other parts of the world. Basically, if it weren't for the help from my mom, I wouldn't be at this point. She helped me get by until I got onto my feet and started making money from producing and DJing. Now it's all starting to come together, but even with a series of number one tunes, it's still difficult to pay the rent. I'm sure if you are a producer and you're reading this you fully understand where I'm coming from. It's a tough industry. I've just been lucky enough to get into the genre at a booming stage and finally get to the point where I can support myself fully from my hobby!

What's in your festival survival kit?

Hmm, a festival survival kit would probably consist of a ton of healthy vitamins [Usana], a bunch of fruit and healthy snacks, a massive case of water, and, right, a ton of booze [laughs].

Do you remember the first time you heard dubstep? What was your initial reaction to it?

Yeah, the first time I heard dubstep was at a festival in B.C. called Shambhala. My initial reaction to it was, "What is this beautiful creation? Is this a mash-up of hip-hop, drum and bass and breaks? There's so much bass. I must hear more!" And that's basically how it started. Mind you, I heard it on a massive, perfectly dialed PK sound system for my first time. It doesn't get any sweeter than that. After that, coming home to computer speakers just didn't do it any justice.

Do you have any musical guilty pleasures?

Well, I find myself listening to a lot of old rock, metal and some old school funk stuff. You'll find me beat-boxing over anything that has a beat, really.

What's the weirdest track you've dropped in a set?

Enya, 'Sail Away.' Hands down.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

Well, this one time I was brought out to a show in a different city and the venue I played at was owned by a biker gang, so I thought, "Whatever, I'll roll with it." I played for about half hour, then eventually got kicked off the decks by a bunch of angry bikers and sent out of the club for playing dubstep! it was horrible because it was one of my first real shows. Right after I was kicked out, the entire dance floor followed me outside, and completely cleared out the club and one of my mates threw on some of my tunes on his bumpin' car system and popped the hood. Everyone gathered around around the car and mobbed out for another half hour. The worst situation ever ended up turning into a night to remember!