Hi there, how you doing?

Simply spanking, thanks Sir. So, we've noticed how most artists use the Fabric Live series as a platform for a spot of self-promotion. Your compilation features one Spank Rock mix and no original Spank Rock material - was this a conscious move?
Well we've been touring for a year and a half so all of that stuff is really tired! You can go buy a Spank Rock record if you like...

So what kind of criteria did you guys use when compiling the mix?
We usually put a load more on a mix, and half of those tracks weren’t our first choice, but licensing is tough! We like to pick songs that sound good in a club, and ones that are good for re-editing, where they have breaks and raps or whatever.

Who do you imagine will be listening to the mix and when?
It's definitely for the dancefloor - I wouldn't want to cook dinner to that!

And did you create it with a Fabric crowd in mind?
Yeah, I think so. In Europe you can get away with straight up dance music and house shit; in the States it's weird and super eclectic.

The tunes you've selected are notable for their vocal element - are instrumentals right out of your remit and what do you think vocals bring?
I'm not a fan of straight up trance or hard techno. DFA (Records) had this party recently, James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and Marcus from Plant played: there wasn’t a single word all night, it was too druggy. I like something to hold onto!

Tell us about your Justin Timberlake styled reworking of The Contours' 'Do You Love Me...'
It started with the sample, 'Like I Love You,' but we couldn't get the license for it! It also started as a joke, but then we decided to get Tyler from !!! to play the guitar solo.

Floor-bound asses and 'funky dancing shoes' fill the record - which body part would you say Spank Rock's music is best married to?
I'd have to say feet or hands clapping; asses have been done before!

Have you ever been spanked?
Only as a kid! I’m not into that sort of thing.

Fair play. Rick Ross' 'Hustlin' is a throwback to your American rap roots - is hip hop still a core genre for Spank Rock?
It's one of them. We like rap and dance with a whole load of other shit thrown in. When we’re working with tracks we like to leave the song in, but kick it about as far as it is from the original and see how we can make it change.

The layer of strings you add at the beginning of Hot Chip's 'Over And Over' really push the tune into a new realm...
That was me fucking around a bit! I got the idea when I was working with M.I.A, she wanted to use this Enya sample, which was 150% to clear! Chris (Rockwell) walked into the studio when I was messing around with the strings and it was embarrassing! I just wanted to find something to express the sadness I heard in that Hot Chip tune, to make more of it.

Are there any white labels in the mix?
All the raps on there are unreleased. Pace’s is the best because of the really long verse, he’s freestyling it, and he fucks it up, groaning in perfect rhythm to the track.

It's also a very cosmopolitan mix, taking in France, the UK, the States and more... which country is really rocking it right now in your opinion?
The best music is coming from the gutter!

There’s a great variety of eras, too - recent stuff, 60s, 80s - if the mix had to take root in one decade, which would it be?
The 80s! I think it's special for everyone in our generation; nostalgic, it’s the songs we grew up with. I like finding the less obvious features about them, putting them in a new context and mixing the decades but so they make sense, not for the sake of variety.

Have you got any solo production projects lined up?
Yeah, with Amanda Blank and Pace (they're part of the Spank Rock family) and I've been working on the soundtrack for a video game for EA Games, it’s a skateboarding thing.