Bedford boy and dubstepforum regular who now goes by the name of CASKI has kindly taken some time away from his keyboard to answer a few questions and give us a little insight to what he's all about. Not many people can say that they used to be in both N.A.S.T.Y and Macabre Unit so this guy must be doing something right...
First things first, how did you become CASKI?
My mates started calling me it on a random, kinda evolved from CaoS, was time for a change so decided to go with it
How long have you been producing for?
5 years in January... I started when I was 15
That's pretty young, what were you making back then?
I started off making grime, loved the way it sounded and I grew up listening to garage so shortly after I started making that too
Has Grime gone downhill for you?
Not necessarily downhill, but the sound has changed so much from what it used to be. I was more into it when it was darker, more underground..."rave music"
MAC or PC?
(Laughs) The thing is, I wouldn't say no to a Mac... but I currently have a PC. Although I've made music on Macs I'm happy using whatever provided the programs I use are on there!
What Programs do you use?
Reason & Acid Pro
You used to be a member of N.A.S.T.Y. back in your Grime days, what was that like?
It was good for getting my music out there definitely! Marcus & Mak10 supported a lot and being 16/17 at the time was mad because up till then I'd always seen them as some of the biggest people in the scene. Not being from London meant I couldn't do much hands on work with the crew but being able to make tracks as part of it was sick!
For anyone who doesn't know, what are some of the beats you produced for them?
Ermmmmmmmm some of the tracks I made whilst in N.A.S.T.Y. would have been "This is a riddle" (which actually still seems to get the odd play, caught a little video with it on Westwood's show a couple of months ago which is alright considering I made it in 2007), I also did a remix of "Take 'em out" in 07, "Evil Empire" which there's a little video floating on Youtube with Fumin & Diesle Powerboy on it, "Bassment" which Logan Sama hammered out for ages on Kiss (big up Logan)...there's a load more (Laughs)
Did your time with Macabre Unit make you switch to Dubstep?
I was actually in Macabre Unit at the same time I was in N.A.S.T.Y. Can't remember which I was in first but I made grime for both. Dubstep just drew me in when I realised it had everything I wanted grime to have - bass driven rave music! Made the switch slowly whilst making last grime tunes, when I was happy enough to start sending tunes to DJs, I just went with it fully.
Were you around a Ragga sound when you were younger?
my old man used to play it alot, i liked alot of music, but the sounds n the drum patterns in ragga music always kept me listening, id always listen out for the bits of ragga influence in other tunes, even in grime, the ragga style mc's were always my fav...cant beat the ragga sound!
Which one of your own releases stands out for you?
My 1st Dubstep release. It was a track called "Bun Cat" (I have no idea where the name came from... it has nothing to do with the tune). It was on the A side of a release with Monstr "Hey" on the B side. Came out on Resofantom Recordings 6th march 2009 and it's still being played by a few DJs that I'm a fan of as well so that's cool
Which producer/s are you feeling at the moment?
It's a big list, I'll try to keep it short... Kalbata, Kromestar, Tes la rok, Skream, Bar9, Luke Envoy, Kutz & loads more... imagine that was a lineup!?
Do you have any releases in the pipeline?
Yeah got a few releases on the way just finalising a few things with a couple of labels. If I had more info I'd say but nothings definite in regards to which tracks are being used etc right now so cant say too much yet!
Where can we buy your releases from?
All my releases previous to name change will be under "CaoS"
Any shouts or links to give out?
Yeah man, big up Macabre Unit - still smashing it, N.A.S.T.Y. crew, Kalbata, Tes la rok, Darkside and anyone that supports my music!
Myspace.com/caskimusic - for anyone that wants to get in touch or just listen to some Bassweight Ragga!
P.S. big up you for the interview.
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Here's a download for ya. This is what the transition from Caos to Caski sounds like in 20 instrumentals from 05-09.
Mitchie.
