Temple Interview

We managed to take a moment out of Temple's free time to get a sneaky interview, making waves from Brighton that have now taken him to London Pro-active is one word to describe him! Stick on his brilliant High Emotions mix and have a read!

Deerbrains Hi Temple, can you tell us about yourself?

Temple Hello. My name is Simon and I live in London

DB Can you tell us what got you interested in Ding and how long have you been doing it?

Temple I’ve been DJ'ing for just over 8 years now. I first caught interest when I heard some scratching near the end of Massive Attack’s ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ and was like, wow that sounds sick. I want to do that. I was about 14 at the time. I borrowed some decks from Dad’s work and learnt to beat match pretty quickly at the age of 19 and got my first set of decks shortly after that. 2 SL1210’s with a Pioneer DJM300, not bad for a first setup! 

DB What’s the best thing about DJ'ing?

Temple Expressing myself. I want to share the music that I love with as many people as I possibly can. I’ve been known to have a boogie in the booth whilst playing, I just can’t help it! 

DB As an ex Brighton local and resident at AKA AKA ROAR night, what’s the bass music scene like in Brighton? Brighton’s music scene generally speaking is seen as quite indie and alternative, has there been a move away from this perception with the growth of bass music within the UK?

Temple It’s come on leaps and bounds over the last couple of years, the scene in Brighton is really strong at the moment with the likes of Lorca, Leon Vynehall, Greymatter, Ital Tek, Guy Andrews and Murder He Wrote all emerging from the seaside city. Also man like Donga, who is also an incredible DJ, runs one of the best labels in the country, Well Rounded Records. In terms of club nights, AKA AKA ROAR! is the best night in Brighton by far. End of.

DB You recently become a broadcast assistant at Rinse FM, pretty sweet place to be around! How did this come about, has it influenced your DJ'ing at all? 

Temple I have actually had to quid my Saturday shift at Rinse due to my new full-time job. Kinda sucks as I only did it for 5 weeks and had such an amazing time working there. In terms of influencing my DJ'ing, it didn’t really. What it did do is expose me brand new unheard/unreleased material, which is always a good thing. And yes it’s a pretty cool place to be, live and direct from Rinse FM’s headquarters.

DB Whats your view on the Post-Dubstep Future-Garage movement that’s in full swing right now, is it the natural progression of Dubstep and UK bass music? 

Temple I don’t have one. These terms don’t really mean anything to me or anybody else. What I do like is that the underground scene that is happening right now has become more open-minded about dance music. 

DB  You seem to have good ties with the guys at Night Slugs, what’s it like interning with them? 

Temple I actually know L-Vis 1990 from school so they were happy to have me intern with them, as they already know me. Just like the Rinse job it’s been great working with them. Alex (Bok Bok) has been really supportive of me as well; answering any questions I may have regarding the label, promotion, record pressing costs, things like that. It’s interesting to hear their views on the underground music scene today.

DB Have you ever considered a cross over to producing?

Temple Yes, I’ve tried, and failed miserably. I don’t have any studio equipment up in London at the moment so I’m going to put the whole production thing on hold until September time. By then I would of saved up enough money to buy a Roland Juno 106, some decent monitors and possibly a Roland TR-707. Only then I will crack on with my productions. For now I’m just going to concentrate on my DJ'ing cus that’s what I enjoy the most.

DB Vinyl or digital?

Temple Both. I use Serato most of the time, but I still buy records on the regular. My latest purchase was New York Transit Authority ‘Off The Traxx’. There is no better feeling than buying a record, whatever it may be.

DB What does the rest of 2012 have lined up for Temple?

Temple This year is looking pretty exciting. Playing at various nights in a round London and am also going to be playing at Dimensions festival in Croatia with my beloved AKA fam, so excited about that! Also I am looking to start a small night somewhere in London with AKA co-founder Nick who also recently moved to the big smoke. I have no idea where or when just yet; I feel I need to establish myself as a London resident before I start making plans. By the end of the year I’ll hopefully have a couple of half-decent tracks under my belt, which will lead me into 2013 nicely.

You can catch Temple on Facebook, Twitter & Soundcloud! He also has a blog which is full of some solid content, check it out Here!