Gimme "More": Working Out with Resin Dogs
With new album More on the shelves and a massive tour about to get underway, you’d be right in thinking that the Resin Dogs are working like… well, dogs. Yet despite their hectic schedule, and intensive pre-tour training routine, Katch took a minute to sit down and talk touring, collaborating, performing and virgin sacrifice.
Dwarf: So you’re about to embark on an epic tour from April to June, is there a particular training regime to get in shape, callisthenics or some squat thrusts maybe?
Katch: (Laughing) There has been actually, but more along the lines of getting the band in shape and setting up sets and stuff.
D: So you’re in peak physical fitness?
K: Yep, match fit.
D: You’ve toured around the world and have played some of the biggest festival and clubs in the UK and Europe; do you find there is much of a difference between overseas and local crowds?
K: They’re pretty much the same man. They’re all there to get down to the music, music being the universal language and that. Especially when you go to places like Hungary and The Czech Republic, and people are still going off and getting down it becomes obvious that music is a universal language in the end.
D: Speaking of touring, you guys are famous for your energetic live shows, can we expect any surprises this tour?
K: The only surprise really is that there probably won’t be any breakers, unless people are willing to bust out a move on the dance floor. But yeah, more guests, a bit of a newer band, the band we’re with now toured Europe with us, so it’s a bit of a new line-up for local crowds. Otherwise there’ll be a few guest MCs and of course DNO will be there.
D: You’ve just released your third album More, and you’ve collaborated with a lot of distinguished MCs and producers, such as Aceyalone and The Pharcyde. What is it about collaborating that appeals to you?
K: I just love working with people who inspire me and who I like to work with. Everyone who’s on the record is someone we were fans of and whose records we’ve owned in the first place and who we’ve been luck enough to convince them to collaborate, and get on the new record.
D: Aside from collaborating, you’ve also toured with legends like the Beastie Boys and Grandmaster Flash. Is it ever intimidating playing with artists you grew up with?
K: At first, when you think about it yes but then you just get out there and do your job. Sometimes you intimidate them, you know. It’s nice to be recognised, we’ve had people like Crush come up to us and shake our hands and give us big hugs on stage, and then we’ve had people like Flash come up to us and say,“hey, a friend of mine gave us your record” and it’s a bit of spin. To meet those people who you’ve always admired, and to get a chance to show them what you do, if they even bother to see you, just being on the same bill is an inspiration.
D: Do you find that working with people who you respect and admire brings a certain energy or enthusiasm to the music?
K: Definitely, but it also makes it hard to do the shows. But we work our way around it and when they actually come and do some shows they really vibe off the band, where a lot of other acts just use two turntables and mic, so it can bring a different vibe, a whole new sort of energy to their music and the songs they play.
D: Gives you a new look at some old material?
K: It definitely does in that sort of sense.
D: When you’re going into to studio to work on new material with new people, is there any sort of ritual you go through, burn some incense and sacrifice a virgin or something like that?
K: No, nothing like that, but if we get a chance, once we’ve found the beats, we try and sit down and talk about daily situations, things going on in their neighbourhood, or ours, you know talk about world issues and bits and pieces like that.
D: So you try and connect on a personal level before moving into the musical side of things?
K: Yeah if we can but if they’re overseas and we send them the beat they just write what the beats saying to them at the time.
D: You and Dave are heading over to the US soon to work with J.T Meskiel who’s worked with massive artists like Britney Spears and Lauryn Hill. Have you been preparing a lot of material for when you go over?
K: Yeah, we have been working on a lot of stuff, trying to do as much as we can, get some ideas, so we can go over there and have stuff to work on. But you never know, we might get over there and he’ll say “ok we’re going to write something new.” He’s worked with so many different people and he’s got so many connections and an incredible studio and I don’t really know what to expect. Dave’s had a word with him over the phone and he seems keen to do stuff and maybe extend the stay a bit longer, so we’re just hoping.
You know it’s not just walking away with a new record, you could get a production deal out of it, or get the chance to write for some artists or do something live, but who knows there are so many avenues that could come out of it.
D: More seems to be a very up-beat and funky album, is this a reflection of what you’re doing with the live show?
K: Definitely, especially touring overseas, seeing different cultures and meeting new people. It really comes down to putting in the time digging in the crates and vibing with the right people that end up inspiring us.
D: Do you find that you actively go out and explore the local music scenes to try and find inspiration?
K: Sometimes, I’ll go out to clubs and stuff like that, or try and see what you can if you’re at a festival, but it comes down to digging through record stores, or if you vibe with some people over there hanging out with them at their studio, you can get inspired that way.
D: So your inspiration and music stem from personal connections with people?
K: Yeah. If the connections not there it’s not really worth trying to force it.
D: Now as you said before, a lot of hip hop acts nowadays use a basic turntable and mic set-up, what made you want to take on this almost menagerie approach to performing?
K: Well my background is from turntables and being on radio and DJing, whereas Dave’s background is from the live music scene, being Jazz percussionist, rock drummer, funk drummer, he’s done the lot and obviously he’s brought a lot of that into it. When we first met, we were just vibing off that whole hip-hop funk aspect, and I knew his brother through break dancing, and he asked me to come and scratch for a band of his and we just made that connection. He’s showed me a lot of stuff with playing live and vice-versa with DJing. It’s just that vibe and we connected on that and brought it through, and tried to find the best players and people that fit the band.
D: Do you find then that the longer you work together the more you lean towards this sort of instrumental hip hop?
K: It’s always been there, we’ve done various different bands before this one. It’s more about taking what we’ve learnt in the past and refining it down into a more solidified thing. We had our co-producer Brad Baloo from Nextmen really helped us with that he’d sort of weed the garden with what we had and help us out. Him and Dave did a lot of co-writing on this album, and Brad really helped to get this album to where it is now.
D: You guys have a habit of working with predominantly underground artists, is this intentional or is just that you vibe with these people?
K: It’s just people we like really, it comes from listening to their records, being fans of their records or the approachability, either meeting them at gigs or putting on gigs and inviting them, seeing if they want to come up and play. But just being fans of their music in the first place and asking, “hey, do you want to do this, yay or nay?” It’s always worked in our favour for the yes part that’s for sure.
