A1 Bassline

A1 Bassline, AKA Christian Shank, is all over the place at the minute. Got a nice snippet of an interview for you:

Bassline was born in Sheffield, do you see a big difference between the Northern and Southern UK scenes?

When you say that, you mean like from the club niche? Well, yeah, I guess people from the north say it's their sound. But I have been listening to garage since I was a kid and yeah I think there is a gap now between bassline and grime as north to south goes.

Where do you most enjoy playing?

I don' really have a favorite places, as long as the people there mental and the sound system is good im happy. I do like playing in L.A or over them ends because its always so hot and I hate being cold. Also any clubs you can smoke in is a YES!

The likes of yourself, Dexplicit and Pirate Soundsystem are really pushing the envelope in terms of blurring the boundaries between bassline and electro. Are there any other UK artists honing this new brand of garage that we should know about?

Yeah people like heavy feet, some Andy George beats, Baobinga I guess have this electro, garage feel. I guess now when writing i just tend to write house music with the influence of garage/bassline music.

Laptops vs old school decks. Do you think it matters that people are using laptops to play DJ sets? Are they cheating or just pushing the medium forward?

Hmm... it's hard to say, only ever used to play off records and was anti CD, but now CD decks are much better and its rare ill play off 12"s. Its a touchy subject. Although vinyl sounds better than cds!

Do you have preferred software for your live sets?

If I were to play live its hard seeing everything I do is pre done in the studio, but Abelton live is really good.

Your music isn't just bassline house, it crosses over into a handful of other electronic genres. What do you make of this new 'Fidget House' genre. Is it really a genre? And is it possibly getting a little stale now, or are there enough people pushing it forward?

Ha im not to sure if it really counts as a genre, i thik the real fidget stuff is like early switch and jesse rose stuff but i think the term got out of hand, just like new rave ha. But yeah the stuff I write doesn't always have to fit into "fidget" or "bassline" genre. I still think people are playing it, but i can sense that something fresh is going to happen real soon!

Do you think mp3 blogs are a positive or negative phenomenon for the music industry? Are they stealing money from the artists and labels? Or are they indispensable in terms of promo?

I think they are great for new artists, and amazing for getting exposure, I remember when I first blogged Girl Thing, Palms Out gave me a feature which helped me alot. For bigger artists im not to sure, on one hand it makes tunes more dispensable, and everyone has them so it makes it less special to hear a song when everyone has it. But on the same hand its great that people have access to these songs. I like it the way blogs say buy this tune and give links, I just hate it when people dont and play a shit mp3 out, it makes it sound horrid and is bad all round!

Who are your favorite artists right now? Any tips for 2009?

I love nearly everything Jack Beats do and really feeling His Majesty Andre. Tips, err.. Sampled loops, cuts and filters ha. And Big basslines ha.

Could you list your current top five dancefloor bangers?

In no order:

Nadastrom - Pussy
Heavy feet - Killa
Destroy Disco - Fly Or Bounce
A1 Bassline vs Dean Tynan - We Love Pussy
TC - Wheres My Money (Jack Beats Re-edit)

You also produce under another name Partyshank with Howard – it's punky electro, fusing 8-bit sounds and dirty riffs, another favourite of this blog. Which project will most of your focus be on this year?

I'm not really to sure, they are really different sounds so its nice to have a break and switch from either projects. Recently i have been writing loads for both projects. Got 4 new partyshank tracks which are dirty electro tracks with a few vocal hooks.

Frank Music - 3 Little Words (A1 Bassline Remix)

The Qemists - Dem Na Like Me (A1 Bassline Remix)

A Girl & A Gun - Whomp That Sucka (A1 Bassline Remix)

A1 Bassline Vs Rusko - Cockney House

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