Latmun Interview

There are producers. Then there are producers who first make it as a seasoned DJ, finely tuning their ear, week in, week out, to the mechanics of what makes a dance floor banger – the kind of track that has everyone looking around in mutual appreciation, before hurriedly reaching for their phones to try and be the first to Shazam it.

Having honed his craft behind the decks as a resident at Nottingham's famous Stealth club, Latmun, aka Joe Bradley, channelled his own hard won knowledge into a series of productions that have seen him snatched up by Steve Lawler's VIVa label and Leftwing & Kody's Lost, as well as being asked to remix Green Velvet's seminal 'Flash'. With energy levels set to 11, tracks like 'Def' are a whirlwind of drums, bass and deftly combined samples, the perfect storm for floors from London to Ibiza.

Joining Jey Kurmis and GW Harrison at Egg presents on Friday 19th August (tickets and more info here), we delved deeper into the elements that make up Latmun's sound...

How did you get your residency at Stealth in Nottingham? Was it club that you went to growing up?

I have been going to Stealth since the day I turned 18, so it is very much the club that I went to growing up and also the one which played a large part in curating my music tastes. Years ago during a night there, I got talking to someone who turned out to be the person responsible for all the bookings at the venue; he gave me my first set at a dollop event in one of the small bar rooms where people went to chill out. After one of the sets there, I got a telling off for turning the chill out room into a room with people dancing on the tables, ha ha. I don’t know if that worked in my favour or not, but after that night I slowly got given more sets at better times in better rooms, ultimately evolving into my residency there.

How often were you playing there? What did you learn as a DJ commanding the dance floor at such an institution?

There was a point where I was playing at Stealth twice almost every week, sometimes even more during the busy parts of the year! I really learnt a lot from playing there as I had to play a wide variety of set times. All good DJs will testify, opening a room is a very different skill to playing a headline set; the same goes for playing an appropriate closing set to ensure that people leave the club with tingles throughout their body. Learning to play a good warm up, peak and closing set meant I had to have an expansive and diverse collection of music to draw from, especially as I was playing regularly and wanted to ensure each set was always different to keep the regulars excited by the music.

Having your track 'Who's That' on the ‘VIVa Warriors Season 4’ compilation seemed to give you a massive foot up and introduced the heavy, ravey bass sound that features in a lot of your tracks. How did you hook up with the label? Have you met Steve much?

I’m glad you mentioned ‘Who's That’ actually, as it was the track where I feel I sort of stumbled across ‘my sound’. Prior to that I didn’t really know exactly what I wanted to be making within the tech-house genre or how to make it, but when I made that track I really felt that it was a true reflection of what Latmun was all about.

The day I finished the track I happened to notice Detlef was running a competition to give away a few spaces for new producers on his VIVa Warriors Season 4 compilation mix. I sent the track in with absolutely no expectations and to my amazement I got a reply that day saying that he wanted to take the track. It was one of those right place, right time scenarios! I have met Steve on a few occasions and he is a great guy, I look forward to more parties with him in the future.

Your remix of Green Velvet's 'Flash' was another big moment in your career. Did the call to remix it come out of the blue? We read you only had five days to turn it around. It went straight into the Beatport top twenty, but did you get feedback from Curtis directly?

The 'Flash' remix really did come out of the blue! It made the whole thing even more exciting, but also daunting at first. I did only have five days to make the remix, and I was in Ibiza for two of those! A large proportion of the track was made while on the plane. Luckily it was a really nice clear day with no clouds so I had amazing scenery to look out onto throughout the journey for inspiration. Usually I find it really difficult to write music on planes… especially the Ibiza one because, as anyone who has been on it will know, the people on that plane journey are hardly quiet and relaxed, ha ha. I was fortunate enough to have direct feedback from Curtis throughout the process, it was a pleasure to work with him. I sent him the remix when it was about three quarters done to check that he liked the vibe and overall feel of the track and he did, which I was really happy about. I then mixed the track down when I got it home and then it was released the following week!

Green Velvet is one of your confessed inspirations. Who else has helped to push you toward doing what you do, either in the past or more recently?

Green Velvet. as you said, he has constantly pushed the boundaries of new music since before I even knew what house music was! Detlef has also been a big inspiration to me, he is a great guy and I absolutely love everything he has released.

Aside from other producers most of my inspiration for writing new tracks comes from nights out. You know the day after a big night when you can sort of remember a track but you can’t remember every detail? Well, those exact memories of certain sounds, and how the track made you feel, are what have inspired most of my tracks. I sit down and try to recreate what I think I heard (which is never anything like what it actually sounded like, ha ha) and then work with it until I have a track I’m happy with.

We see that you're playing Abode in Ibiza. How has the party been over there in its first season?

I played my first gig for Abode in Ibiza last Friday actually, and it was absolutely mega! The night is run by a great group of people, which makes the vibe great in the booth and with the DJs. That then reflects on the dance floor and everyone just has the best time. Max Chapman and I got so excited that we decided to play both of our sets B2B. It’s the first time we have played B2B and it worked really well, so that also added to the night being so much fun all round. I’m really looking forward to playing there again on September 16th.

What else do you have coming up on the release front?

Right now I’m sitting on a load of demos which I’m keeping secret, and I have some more really exciting remixes coming up that I can’t say anymore about yet. So keep an ear out for those and my unreleased tracks in my sets!

Can you tell us three tracks that sum up what you're likely to play at Egg?

My sets usually span a range of straight-up tech-house to minimal to trippy depending on the crowd and set times, so these three hopefully encompass that! I also make a conscious effort not to just play all the latest tracks, as I feel it is way more exciting and engaging to listen to a set where you don’t know most of the tracks. I particularly like to dig deep into the music that didn’t get big a few years ago (but should have done!) and pull them into my sets.

Hugo – 'Hip Bop'

These Days – 'Salvatore Bruno'

Green Velvet – 'Flash (Latmun Remix)'