Endor Interview

Endor, aka Dan Harrington, wasn't even born when Feral is Kinky, aka MC Kinky, who provided vocals on his last single, 'Fever', was rocking the main stages of acid house raves. Yet the Brighton-based producer is already making huge waves of his own, from official remixes of Leona Lewis to Radio 1 supported reworks of La Roux (or at least the Skream remix of 'In For The Kill') and Groove Armada.

Raised on speed garage, 4x4 and niche, his distinctive sound mixes various derivatives of bassline for maximum dance floor impact. But as the Michael Jackson sampling 'Kiss Me Baby' and Adina Howard covering 'Freaky Secret' show, he's got an ear for a poppy vocal hook too. Before he joins Jerome Price and Felon at Selected Live this Friday 12^th August (tickets here), we spoke to him to find out a little more of his history and what he has coming in the near future...

First up, is your name a tribute to the home planet of the Ewoks? If so, have you had an email from George Lucas (or Disney now)? He wasn't very pleased when the Jedi Knights or Lando Kal paid tribute in similar fashion...

I went through a stack of names before settling on one, Endor is just one of the names that made the l​i​st. It ​​is loosely based on Star Wars, but it seems to have become its own thing now. It could be short for endorphin or it could be a fictional planet. It’s up for interpretation.

Can you tell us a little about your history. Where are you from in London and when did you start producing? What was it that drew you into electronic music?

I’m currently living in Brighton. I started making music in secondary school with some mates on a pirated copy of FL Studio. Eight years down the line I’m still making music with some mates on a pirated copy of FL Studio. I not sure what led me to try and make my own music, but I know that if I hadn’t started I’d probably be flipping burgers right now.

You remixed Skream's remix of La Roux's 'In For The Kill' and somehow made a big track even bigger. Did you know what Oli thought of it? We saw he's been supporting it. Can we assume from the vibe that you're a speed garage fan?

There are rumours that he’s playing it out himself ,which is crazy! I used to rinse Skream’s old dubstep stuff when I was a bit younger, so it’s really cool to have his props nowadays. I thought he’d want to break my jaw when he heard it.

I'm definitely a speed garage fan... 4x4 Niche vibes and the old Jamie Duggan mixes had me hooked when I was a kid. Now I get to hang out with Jamie and other influential bassline dudes which is sweet.

Another massive remix you've done was of Groove Armada's 'Superstylin'. Is that another track that lies at the root of your sound? Have you had any kind of official blessing from them? What other support has the track had? 

My dad used to bump 'Superstylin'' in the car when I was nine years old! I guess I owe him a lot for introducing me to tracks that I’ve eventually gone on to bootleg. Groove Armada have heard my version and luckily, they dig it too. We were going through the hoops of sorting an official release for my version but it never came good. It’ll stay in the clubs though and that’s all that matters to me.

What's the story behind your Leona Lewis remix? With 1.5 million listens on SoundCloud, it's obviously one of the biggest things that you've done and she's a huge British artist to get involved with.

I got really lucky with the Leona mix... Island Records gave me a shot before any other label did. I think I made the song in one day. Fast forward three months and my family are gathered round the radio in the kitchen to hear Mista Jam give it a premiere. It was a great moment for me and it’s cool to have affiliations with someone like Leona who stays so humble and real.

How did you end up working with rave pioneer Feral Is Kinky (aka MC Kinky) on your latest release 'Fever'? Did you know before how involved she was in the birth of the UK dance scene?

It was really cool to work with Kinky. She was hustling the music game before I was born! In 1989 she had her single banned by the BBC, which just adds to the excitement of working with her. You know a track is too hot to handle when the authorities want to shut it down! I sent her the track and after a couple of phone calls she was down to let me use the vocal. Since the release we’ve stayed in touch... we share a lot of similar philosophies and even political views, we’re both die​hard lefties haha.

We loved your recent mix on Oneman's Rinse show. Is he someone you're tight with? Who are some of the other DJs that you have an affinity with?

Getting the call up to do a Rinse mix was dope, especially for a credible dude like Oneman. I’d seen videos of Oneman playing 'Fever' in sets so I was delighted to do a mix for him. It also gave me a chance to play some tracks I’m really feeling.
As far as DJs I’m tight with... I roll in a little crew with people like Kideko, Kokiri, Lushington, Midnight City, Linier, Cloonee, Litek, DJOKO and a load more talented producers. We all live so far apart but from time to time get put on the same line-ups, so it’s a good opportunity to hang out.

What's next on your horizon?

I’m about to make an omelette for my lunch! I’m also working on a second single to follow up 'Fever', plus a few official remixes and a bootleg collabo with my pal Cloonee. As far as gigs go, I’ve got Ibiza, Amsterdam and Dublin later this month. Not forgetting Egg London for Selected Live, which is going to be wicked! Egg is always one of my favourite spots.

What are three tracks that represent what you're currently playing?

This bangs...

So does this...