Getting to know Dark Sky

dark sky check in with disconnected

Dark Sky are set for big things over the next year so we got in touch to find out what makes them and their music tick.

Tell us about Dark Sky… How did you guys come together, what’s your history?

Dark sky consists of 3 producers; Carlo Anderson, Matthew Benyayer and Thomas Edwards. Carlo met Tom whilst doing a diploma in audio engineering but Matt already knew Tom from school.

Who have been your major influences?

Tom: Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, Bonobo, Quantic, 4hero, Diplo and many others.
Carlo: The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, New Order, Noisia, Guido, Joker, Fat Boy Slim, Jay Electronica, Ludachris, Logistics and Zinc.
Matt: George Morel, Roy Davis, Armand Van Helden, Aphex Twin, Roy Ayers, Bonobo, El-B, Jaylib, Quincy Jones and Burial.

Why Dark Sky?

We just liked the combination of the two words, no puns intended.

What philosophy drives your music?

Diversity, melodies and bass.

You’ve been getting some good support of late, how did the remix for The XX come about?

We managed to get hold of the stems from ‘Pictures Music’ label owners Alex and Matt. We never thought it would ever get released, but we sent it to The XX and they really liked it, which was amazing.

We love the Frames EP, what’s your production set up?

Thanks, glad you like it. The setup is quite basic… Mac Pro, a pair of Samson Rubicon R5a Monitors, Ableton, a midi controller and a load of plugins and samples.

There’s some big genre busting going on, is that something you set out to do?

Yes and no. We do consciously whilst writing music think about if it sounds like anything that has come before but then sometimes we end up treading water in the deep sea of ‘originality’. What is inspiring is when you think that all avenues have already been explored and then suddenly groundbreaking artists such as burial come along and totally change your perspective on originality.

We hear you’re on Ninja Tunes 20th Anniversary release, have you got something special lined up for that?

It is probably collectively our favourite track to date. The track is called ‘Leave’ and will be out on vinyl as part of the release. Plus, we are very happy to be playing the Ninja XX party in London next month.

What should we expect from you guys when you play a DJ set?

Energy and diversity are probably the two words that some up our sets best. With 3 selectors in the booth this often leads to a very varied set. You never know what you might get!

What do you think about the current UK music scene?

Amazing. So much is happening so fast, its hard to keep up but we like this energy. It propels sound forward in general.

What music are you listening to at the moment… Anyone getting you excited?

Throwing Snow, Greymatter, Nicholas Jaar, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Exept, Actress, Theo Parrish, Floating Points, Lorn, Shed, Seiji, Blawan, Joe, Untold and Moodyman.

What are you looking forward to for the rest of 2010, anything on the horizon?

Playing abroad together for the first time. Getting our hands on the Ninja XX 6 CD box set! Putting together a live show. Completing our Black Acre EP.

For more information take a look at Dark Sky’s MySpace page, or their DJ chart on Phonica Records.

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