As a Londoner in the States, Durban is better placed than most to explore the relationships between the grime and jungle of his birth city and his adopted home's rap and footwork. The Lit City Trax producer makes music that is conscious of all—check his recent debut EP, Chimes, which is available to download on Lit City Trax's website. Having come up playing for J-Cush's NYC parties—and one of our own—it's about time he flexed his skills on a FADER Mix, and this one is a corker. It joins the dots between all the aforementioned musics, creating a sparky frisson that gets inside the joints. Listen below and scroll down for a quick catch-up with the man himself, not to mention that all-important tracklist, which pays more than tribute to Durban's fellow Lit City head and friend, DJ Rashad.
Where are you right now? Describe your surroundings. In my room in Brooklyn facing out onto Manhattan Ave. I've lived in every bedroom in this apartment; 3 years in and I'm in the room with space for a studio. Every track I've produced in the last few years I've made in one of these rooms, but probably the best in here. Note to my housemates who are both producers: not cussing your rooms, think I just got better.
What kind of vibe were you going for on this mix and what's on it? I try to keep the mixing fast and the blends long—I run through some rap and grime ending up at footwork and jungle with Lit City releases and my own dubs along the way. I try and mix between the tracks in a way that shows how I hear relationships between the genres, I want to try capture the energy I feel when they interact with each other.
Your Chimes EP is spot on. How did you get involved with Lit City Trax? Thanks, I met Jamie [J-Cush] in London, and I moved to New York about a year before he started the label. From that point the parties and the label kind of evolved together, I've been playing the parties for the last two and a half years. They became the first and main platform for me to expose my tracks and doing a release seemed to be the natural next step.
Coming from London, what excites you about the NYC club scene? Hard to talk about the club scene as a whole, especially to compare to London where for dance music the club scene feels like an institution. The first time I even thought of the NY club scene in the same light as London was going to GHE20G0TH1K in 2011. Since then I would say the GHE20G0TH1K and Lit City parties are the closest I've felt to a London rave. Those parties haven't really existed in the same kinds of clubs or on the same scale as the raves I went to in London but still have been the most exciting end of NY's club scene for me.
What's the last book you read that had a big impact on you? Peep Show. Season 4.
What's your favorite dish to cook and how do you make it? Iced coffee with a little bit of milk—trying to cut back on the sugar.
Tracklist:
Durban - Spirals
Gucci Mane & Peewee Longway - Call Yo Plug ft. OGD
DJ Marfox - Lucky Punch
Macabre Unit - Dem Na Ready Yet
Migos - Antidope
Durban - Trails (Instrumental Dub)
Dizzee Rascal - Round We Go
Mssingno - 124th
Gucci Mane & Migos - Send Me Pack ft. Young Dolph
Jon E Cash - Do It
Durban - Chimes
Gucci Mane & Peewee Longway - In the Way ft. MPA Duke
Nguzunguzu - Foam Feathers
Master D - The Flute
A1 The Supergroup - Turn Up Everywhere We Go (Helix Edit)
Brenmar - Hey Ladies ft. Uniique (Neana Remix)
Rapid - An Ting
Visionist - More Pain
DJ Deeon - Like It Raw
Durban - Renegade
DJ Rashad & Gant-Man - Juke Dat Juke Dat
Roni Size - Timestretch
Traxman - Lifeeeee Is Forever (Durban Remix)
DJ Rashad - Bout To Snap
Durban - Linear Pulse
DJ Rashad - We Leanin
Durban - Landor
DJ Rashad - Let It Go
