Murdock stopped by to chat about his recent album release, the evolution of the scene throughout the years, and what to expect from Rampage Weekend.
While the conversation around drum and bass on this side of the pond often revolves around whether or not Americans have embraced the genre, much of Europe has no doubt about that thanks to legendary figures like Murdock. As a longtime connoisseur of the style, he has maintained a respected career by advocating for it over the last two decades. From DJing underground raves to producing legendary tracks like “Can’t Keep Me Down” to founding the world’s biggest dubstep and drum and bass music festival, no one has drum and bass coursing through their veins like Murdock does.
Earlier this month, Murdock released his sophomore album, X-Ray. The album featured 13 fantastic drum and bass tracks, among them collaborations with Ruth Royall, INVOLVER, Omar Perry, and others. Along with his album release, Murdock has also been hard at work behind the scenes of Rampage Music Festival. Set to celebrate its 15-year anniversary later this month, Murdock and the Rampage team are getting ready to mark the occasion in style with Rampage Weekend at the Sportpaleis concert hall in Antwerp.
Along with Rampage Weekend and Rampage Open Air coming up in Europe, Murdock has big plans coming up soon for the festival. Next on the docket is Rampage USA, which was announced just last year. American drum and bass fans await more details impatiently, but in the meantime, we caught up with Murdock to chat about everything from Rampage Festival, his thoughts on the scene, and what fans can expect next from Rampage Weekend. Check out X-Ray, and continue reading for our chat with the legend!
Stream Murdock – X-Ray on Spotify:
Hi Murdock! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today, and congratulations on the release of your album X-Ray. It’s your sophomore album and a solid follow-up to Stronger. What was your approach when creating this LP compared to your previous one? Did you find the process to be a bit easier this time around?
X-Ray is primarily a product of the COVID lockdown. I found myself making a lot of music and certainly quite a bit that wasn’t specifically designed for the dancefloor. Rather quickly, it started to feel like a varied body of work that would make perfect sense as an album. And because of the different vibes of these tracks, the name X-Ray very quickly came to mind as well.
I created more music in this certain space of time as opposed to spread out over time, which makes the entire thing feel more coherent. And after I decided to only release on Rampage Recordings and was basically in charge of everything myself, it also meant a lot more work, up to and including handwriting the track listing, all the credits, putting together the artwork, and so much more. I don’t think it generally gets easier, especially when your expectations grow and you have to put in the work to match them.
While your solo tracks shine brightly, we loved your work with Sena Dagadu, Ruth Royall, and others who provided stunning vocals. How do you go about finding proper vocalists for your tracks? Do you build them around the vocals, or are they layered in during the process?
I met Sena in the backstage of Balaton Festival. I had just seen her perform with her band Irie Maffia and I was very impressed. We hit it off, I sent the instrumental for her to write the main bits for “Can’t Keep Me Down,” and we stayed in touch ever since. It was high time we started another track together and “Reign” is her at her best again.
I have always been very impressed with Ruth Royall. She is an amazing singer and songstress, and when I got in touch with her, she turned out to be lots of fun, too. The process with her was super fast and easy as she is so talented and she can work fast without sounding generic at all. I had been working on that Latin DnB track for a long time and had a few singers try their hand at it, but Ruth was the first one to really nail it.
Omar Perry is the son of Lee “Scratch” Perry, the (in)famous reggae and dub producer from Jamaica, so it was a real honor for me to be working with him. I actually wrote the chorus that he does, and he added the verses, where he’s toasting like he’s been doing it his whole life. In actuality, it’s not his usual style at all!
Emilie Rachel started following me on Instagram. I checked out some of her music, and I loved how distinct her voice sounded. Her bio said “I sing and write a little bit,” so I sent her a message asking if she’d like to sing and write a little bit to one of my tracks, and things very quickly came together after that. On this album, all the tracks were pretty much done before I sent them off to the singers. In some cases, I tweaked the structure or mix a bit to accommodate the verses or chorus or make the vocals stand out more.
On top of being a renowned DJ and producer, you are also the founder of the Rampage brand and festival, which is celebrating its 15 years later this month at Rampage Weekender in Antwerp. How are you feeling about reaching such a milestone?
It feels a bit surreal to tell you the truth. Every year I’m astonished at how much bigger it gets, how the vibe is spreading… To see this happen from starting small parties 20, even 30 years ago is brilliant. See you next year for the 10th anniversary of the biggest DnB and dubstep party in the world!
After that, Rampage Open Air is set to take place in Lommel for three days this summer. What can attendees expect from the Rampage Open Air 2024 experience?
Bigger, better, badder, brighter, bolder… always! We look for standout acts to make sure you get to see the very best in drum and bass, dubstep and beyond, but we also focus on bringing in acts you can’t see anywhere else. Bringing Fred V & Grafix back together again is a big one for me. Finally being able to get Andy C to play an exclusive three-hour festival set, which he never does anywhere else, is a milestone. Bringing in VOYD, who’ll be doing his only EU show with us this year — we just try to make it special.
Production of the stages is going to be more impressive, onsite comfort is going to be better, and we are heavily extending the theme park rides, with an actual rollercoaster this year, as well as bunch of other new bits, and they are still all free for everyone attending. It will be really special!
Beyond Europe, you also set your sights on bringing Rampage to the US. Do you have any updates you can share about its debut on American soil?
Well, not much I can unveil at the moment, except that things are moving and we’ll have a big announcement quite soon.
Your career has spanned over two decades, and I’m sure you’ve seen a lot during that time. Can you share your thoughts on the scene and how it has changed throughout the years?
When I started DJing, there was no electronic music industry at all. It was just a bunch of people throwing parties all over the world, sometimes connecting but most times not. So we were all just doing our thing and it felt very organic and from the heart. Fast forward to 2024 and social media is the determining factor in an actor’s career or a festival being successful. So that is surely a big change. It means that image is now more important than actual music, but also that it’s easier to reach and attract new people.
Let’s talk about who’s currently on your radar. Who are some artists who you believe are pushing dance music forward?
I enjoy pushing local talent, first and foremost, as should anyone who’s outside of the main DnB hub (the UK), I think. We have a ton of artists carving out their own lane: Used, Primate, Andromedik, Basstripper, Maze, Atmos, Captain Bass, Midas Touch, Shawiya Tribe… But I’m also constantly touring and I come across sick producers everywhere, like CPTL PNSHMNT from Puerto Rico and Wraith from Los Angeles. And as far as pushing the envelope goes, I think Camo & Krooked are very much at the forefront of the music.
As a seasoned veteran, what is the best advice you can share with someone who might want to enter the world of drum and bass as an artist?
Do what you love, do what comes naturally, make it personal and genuine, and it’ll strike a chord with someone at some point. And maybe even with a huge crowd of people. But even if that doesn’t happen, at least you will have done something that fills your soul with pleasure and good vibes.
Finally, what else can fans expect from Murdock in 2024?
I have a number of tracks in the works — bits that didn’t make the album and are still 80-90% finished, plus a couple of collabs with artists I meet on the road. So even when the X-Ray run is over, there’s still more music to come.
Follow Murdock:
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