Submitted By: David_M

Genre: Jungle / Drum and Bass

Date of Set: Unknown

Filesize: 58.90 MB

Total Downloads: 27

Concord Dawn are one of New Zealands highest selling electronic artists, and have been in the New Zealand University b-net radio charts top 10 for longer than any act in history. In 2001 the boys picked up the 'Best Electronic Release' and 'Best Independent Album', at the b-net music awards. Accolades such as these are evidence to prove they have earned a reputation as one of the most devastating live acts in New Zealand, creating a unique vibe on the dance floor that leaves everybody wet and smiling.

Auckland based Concord Dawn are currently setting alight the bFM top ten with their dark n' nasty drum and bass infestations and preparing for the release of their self-titled debut album on July 15. Helene Ravlich met the duo between takes in a last minute studio session at Kog Transmissions headquarters.

Concord Dawn are Matthew G. Harvey and Evan Short, two very different boys who get together to create hard sounds for the drum n' bass masses. Matthew is the religious d Ôn' b freak with an all consuming passion for the sound and a lifestyle surrounding it. 'I'm unemployed right now says Harvey by way of introduction. Or rather I'm a professional trainspotter. I spend most of my time on the net, checking out drum n' bass and chatting to people about music. I also like hanging out with my girlfriend and writing music'. Evan Short is the metal freak; 'I'm in Day One as well, a hardcore band. When I go home I listen to Pantera, Sick Of It All, stuff like that. I work fulltime in the Guru Lounge (dj equipment specialists) at Mainline Music, dealing with high tech stuff, samplers and computers. It's great'.

The name Concord Dawn is an obscure Star Wars reference, courtesy of SW freak Harvey, and it refers to the planet where Boba Fett (the bounty hunter) originated from. The planet of the Mandylorians. Not many people know that!. Harvey was using the name to write his own, self-described terrible' drum n' bass, and it stuck when he teamed up with Short. It seems to stay in people's heads, and 'it's not boring like DJ blah blah blah and Someone Else'.

The kind of drum n' bass they create is the sort of sound they want to hear, rather than an attempt at emulating what's already out there. 'We're not really full spectrum, more on the dark and nasty side, the techie rather than the jazzy side,' says Harvey. Their own musical sidelines don't enter into the equation when they create music together. 'I keep jazz for my jazz band. We don't try to mingle our sounds. We don't make all of our bands sound the same'. Short: 'Just because I play in a metal band doesn't mean I'm going to try and put guitar riffs in a Dn'B track'. Having said that, he did admit that if Pantera were requested during one of their sets, he'd play it if he had a copy in his pocket...

The boys are being cared for by Kog Transmissions, who are distributing and helping market their album. 'Kog have been nothing but good to us' says Harvey. 'They are smart boys who think well. Guys like Chris Chetland, who is Big Daddy Kog, are smart in that they can write a master's thesis as well as hook us up a gig'.

Many have accused the New Zealand (and particularly Auckland) Dn'B scene of being so far up its own arse it's almost turning inside out. People seem to want to keep it all underground thinking that'll mean it stays 'cool'. What do the boys think of that? 'There is no harm in taking your sound to the mainstream' says Short, but it has to be in a good way that will still keep the integrity there. That's what music should be about and one of the reasons I write music. You get to express sonically different ideas, moods and atmospheres to other people'. We both agree that when musicians get popular they're still the same people making the same music. 'If lots of people like something and the integrity's there them that's cool. In reality, anyone who thinks they're underground would be overground given half a chance and a bagful of money'.

The key thing about drum n' bass is its element of transition, its existence as a kind of bastard genre. Five years ago it was jungle, in five years time it'll be something else. Evan agrees, 'It's important to experiment with it and not get precious or elitist with it. The further you push the sound, the more interesting it's going to get'.

Matthew adds one final, mystical analogy, 'It's like you're making Chinese food, but using parmesan cheese. It tastes a little bit Italian but it's still Chinese food! Making different marriages is where you discover something new and fresh'.

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