Bugged Out Interview: Dan Beaumont & Matt Tucker

Dan Beaumont is one fraction of the Disco Bloodbath collective and a major player in the East London DJ set, having played nights like Horse Meat Disco and Fabric. Plus, he’s the one to blame for a few too many late nights (or early mornings, more like) at the Dalston Superstore – he opened it three years ago now, would you believe. We spoke to him, along with Superstore co-founder Matt Tucker, after their takeover at the Bugged Out weekender. Here’s what they had to say.

What do you think it is about the dance music festival that makes it different to the regular festival?
Dan: It’s just a different culture, a different dynamic. The people who go to them are a bit younger and therefore more excitable. Having said that, there’s always been a dance music festival since Orbital played the main stage at Glastonbury in the ’90s. Dance music and acid house and everything that came afterwards has always been a really important part of festivals.

Would you agree that dance festivals have overtaken clubbing?
Matt: People want to go clubbing, but not in a club – hence  all the underground warehouse parties that go on everywhere now, and there’s definitely an attraction of just dancing in a field rather than in a club environment, don’t you think?
Dan: Definitely. The clubs generally aren’t as healthy as they once were and they’re much more focused on one-off events, monthly parties, less frequent stuff. Most ravers are focused on big events in the calendar like Bugged Out, where you have a huge line-up that appeals to lots of different types of people. The culture of going to a club every Saturday has pretty much gone.
Matt: People don’t want to go to the same place every week – they want to find some new crazy venue that no one has been to before. Now, it’s all about exploring, finding a new space and going abroad.
Dan: People want to escape – that’s what people want from dance music. Big events like this are more adventurous than your local disco night. Obviously, Dalston Superstore is the exception!

Indie discos aren’t really popular any more. Is rock music dead?
Matt: Definitely not.
Dan: Live music is still vibrant. Music as a whole is having a tough time at the moment, though. But that makes people more creative and you have to try a lot harder to create something that people want to go to or be a part of.

That’s true – 2011 was a weird year. Why do you think that is?
Matt: It all comes back to economics, really – people just don’t have as much money as they used to. Instead of going out two or three times a week, they’ll plan one big night every fortnight or so.
Dan: Also, people are less inclined to pay for music. People don’t even have music on their hard drive any more – they stream music on Spotify. There’s not the infrastructure to financially support new artists, producers or DJs because all of the money’s evaporated. People don’t value music enough to pay for it, or even own it.

How have you noticed the club scene change over the past ten years?
Matt: Compared to ten years ago there are so many more new sub-genres.
Dan: The thing that always stays the same in dance music is the fact that it always changes and evolves. At the moment, the major trend is for DJs to play older music – they have to flex their muscles by demonstrating their knowledge of music. It’s all about putting new tracks next to older ones.
Matt: It’s so easy to be a DJ now.
Dan: So it’s more important than ever to demonstrate your musical knowledge, to play records that people haven’t discovered yet, and things like that.

Are you DJ purists?
Matt: I’m not but Dan is.

Do you DJ with vinyl?
Dan: Yeah.

How many records do you own?
Dan: Oh God, I dunno. They’re all over my floor… a few thousand, definitely. There’s more good music coming out on vinyl than there has been for years – it’s incredible.

You know HMV are increasing the amount of vinyl they stock now? I saw a TwitPic from someone the other day and it was the new Maccabees record priced at £33.99.
Matt: That’s kind of insane, isn’t it? You’ve got to be pretty in love with a) The Maccabees, and b) Vinyl to buy that.
Dan: Bonkers. The problem is you can only press a few hundred copies now as opposed to a few thousand.
Matt: That’s the thing – you’re buying the whole package, the artwork and everything that goes with it.
Dan: And you’re showing how much of a fan you are, I suppose.

What have you got planned for 2012?
Dan: Lots of exciting things for Superstore, and we’re doing Stopmakingsense Festival in Croatia. We’re also working on something to do with Lovebox as well, which is really exciting.

-Bronya Francis