Manchester native Dom Hz has been around for a while, whether you knew it or not. Early days spent watching and subsequently MC-ing at Drum & Bass dances around the city provided a vital tutelage in how to make beats to make you bounce. Though mainly Dubstep centred these days, he also does a deep line in Garage, Bassline and his first love, Drum & Bass. We pinned him down for a quick chit chat…
PYC- Introduce yourself to anybody who might not know Dom Hz, who are you/what do you do on the daily?
Dom Hz- Well, my names Dom, I make tunes. People like some of them and I make a small amount of money every now an again. I DJ at any clubs willing to have me, I’m a resident at Hit and Run in York every Wednesday and the music I make is mostly Dubstep, Garage & Drum & Bass.
PYC- How did you get into the production game?
D- I played keyboard from a young age and taught myself basic chords. In high school I was a big fan of Rhazel and started beatboxing, which led to MC-ing to drum n bass. When I left school I went to Mancat music college and learned Cubase.
PYC- Has coming into production from an MC background affected your style?
D- Yes and no, yes because recently I’ve been doing tracks and remixes for MC’s and vocalists and it has helped me to understand their point of view, but at the same time I’ve always kept that aspect away from my production, and nowadays I don’t MC at all, but its definitely helped.
PYC- Who are your musical inspirations?
D- Too many to list! My first real music love was Drum & Bass so any early Pendulum, Hazard etc, but my inspiration for production comes mainly from UK Garage, producers like MJ Cole, Zed Bias and Todd Edwards. I used to love hip hop like AIM from Manchester and obviously Wu tang. Closer to home Synkro was obviously a huge inspiration to me, early Dubstep influences from Skream, Distance & Headhunter.
PYC-What software do you use to make tunes? I’ve heard that you sample your own voice, that true?
D- I’ve always used Cubase SX but recently I’ve upgraded to Cubase 5. I play around in Ableton and Reason occasionally and yes I have been known to use my voice in tracks, I hummed the intro to 'Don’t Stop' and I often use beatboxing underneath my drums.
PYC-What would be a dream collaboration for you?
D- I would love to make a tune with MJ Cole, with Luther Vandross on vocals!
PYC- Coming up in the Manchester scene, you've seen it grow at a rapid rate, what's the best thing about it?
D- Being a part of it I suppose!
PYC- Who is the best producer in Manchester at the moment?
Dom- Biome, also the most underrated.
PYC- Coming from Manchester, have you found it hard to get support from DJ's based in the south?
D- Yes at first, but I started getting plays from Jim Syte from Open Earz and then Beezy started playing my tracks on Rinse. My main label 'Subdepth' is based in Bristol so I get a lot of love down there. I think London’s a hard place to get heard because it’s so big and there’s so many people and producers there, but its early days yet.
PYC- Outside of Manchester, what producers are doing it for you right now?
D- Vandera, Phaeleh mainly, loads of others as well but those two stand out for me.
PYC- What releases have you got lined up?
D- Quite a few! I’ve got a digital release coming on Subdepth’s new imprint ‘Subdepth Hollow' which is a heavy one, ‘Soldierz’ and ‘Why Not’ we’re trying to sort out a remix for one of them. I’ve also got a 12" on Subdepth featuring my girlfriend Helen K called 'You' which features a bassline remix! ‘Pull up’ will be coming out on Open Earz Black with a flip from von Boyage, a few tracks on Subdepth’s first bass music compilation CD, a couple of dubby tracks on Bristol’s '2 Kings Records' and of course the Ministry Of Sound compilation (‘Adventures in Dubstep and Beyond’) is in the shops now.
PYC- Got any wise words to pass on before we go?
D- Fuck the politics and the money; it’s all about the music at the end of the day.
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