You’ll know Mutiny from their upbeat, jacking-house numbers like Yaself or the ragga-tastic Dem Girls. You might have caught them playing an excellent party set at Pacha in Ibiza or at Underwater in their beloved London town…

Often dubbed Brixton’s other dance duo, ie. not Basement Jaxx, they’re quick to point out they don’t actually live there – Rob’s from Birmingham and Dylan’s from Suffolk. “The Brixton sound is actually a London sound - that’s the vibe. It’s such a cultural melting pot, it still influences us more than anything else in the world. There’s something special about our studio, it’s a little haven in the middle of this mad, rough area in Camberwell, and outside it’s all going off…”

I meet them before their album launch at label boss Darren Emerson’s night, Underwater at The End in London. They’re lovely guys, outgoing and chatty, and happily posing for photos: (Dylan gets spotted)

We settle down and talk about the album first, the follow-up to their 2001 debut In The Now. Called Yada Yada after an expression they always used, “this and that, yada yada yada…it’s so Mutiny, if you know us as people”, they later discovered it means ‘No No’ in Japanese, though being positive guys, they’d rather it meant the opposite! They say it’s moved on because they’ve travelled and DJed a lot of the past few years, and welcome new technology which means they can road test tracks much more easily.

The album’s varied without straying into concept territory or borrowing too many raaawk stylings like some other dance artists who seem worried their disco roots lack credibility. There’s light and shade with the bouncy numbers we already know and love, plus more downbeat numbers like the mournful Another Day. There are contributions from Sweetie Irie, Lorraine Cato, Natasha Brice, Amrit and Robert Owens’ soulful tones on closing track, My Life.

Rob: “People need to understand, certain things don’t have to be taken so seriously. People are trying to back off from dance, ’cos there’s supposed to be this little slump”. Dylan: “Why do people feel they have to be one thing or another? That’s record company bullshit. It comes across false, we’re not gonna change anything. If we wanna write classical music in a month’s time, we will. Major labels are great ’cos they’ve got money which is important to everybody, but at some point they put pressure on you. Sometimes we’re lazy bastards, but we’d rather be in a position where we’re in control of our destiny than have someone else tell us what to do. We had majors telling us to change lyrics on tracks, and we’re never gonna have that again!”

Savoir Faire which features Rob’s own laidback vocals is one of their favourite tracks on the album. Rob: “It’s got that real funk groove, it sort of creeps up on you”. Dylan: “That track’s very self-indulgent, recorded all in our own environment; we didn’t have to get any session players in. I play guitar, Rob plays bits of bass. It’s very pleasing to do it all on your own, so pure and natural, it encapsulates our essence. Right back to basics and we love it”.

So it must have been rubbish working with Robert 'house legend' Owens then?!
Dylan: “Robert Owens was amazing, he came in and went (adopts Yank accent), ‘I’ve always wanted to work with you guys’, that’s the first thing he said to me!” Rob: “He’s so pleasant and so real. If one of us tried to pull off those lyrics that he wrote, we’d be ostracized, but for him it’s the total truth, he really means it, the sentiment, the vibe. Such a lovely guy.” Dylan: When he talks about (both sing), ‘Some people can’t find no peace’, me saying that sounds really Emmental, but he sits there, closes his eyes and it comes out of him, on the spot. That was a pleasure, bloody hard work, but it was an absolute pleasure”.

The next single, Holding On featuring Lorraine Cato, is another favourite says Rob: “It just blazes out on the dancefloor, an instant pleaser – one for radio”, he adds pointedly! Dylan: “It started off as a DJ tool called Piano Thing on Azuli a couple of years ago, and we got such a great reaction, we wanted to do something with it. We gave it to Lorraine and she came up with great, simple vocals. It’s very simple, but it works in every sense”.

And the remix by man-of the moment, Erick Prydz? Just a commercial decision? Rob: “He begged to do it… It’s okay, could have done a lot better personally”, he jokes. “It does work..” Dylan interrupts, “I’ll jump in here. The bottom line is: It don’t matter even if it’s a nursery rhyme. You hit the nail on the head about this. The whole essence of getting remixes done is about business. The original music is about us. You don’t get remixes done ’cos you want to make it more beautiful, you do it ’cos you think it’s gonna help you sell records. We couldn’t have chosen the timing any better with Eric Prydz, cos - rightfully so - he’s got a really big record at the mo, Number One, good luck to him, and we’re lucky enough to have him done a remix for us, and it’ll shift units, simple as that.”

There's talk of Ibiza going downhill, how was it for you?
Rob: “They’re talking crap ’cos they’ll be back next year anyway.” Dylan gets animated: “Who’s saying that? If it’s DJs, they’re the people who aren’t getting booked, if punters are saying that, they’re the people who’re getting old! I don’t get all this doom and gloom. Things change, we’re all getting older, you don’t have to say it’s getting rubbish. Let other people think it’s great, things move on! I don’t think we’ll be...” Rob interrupts: “I’ll be there! Salinas beach, no kit on!” Dylan: “Nah, I’ll be in a helicopter overlooking, DJing! We’ve got a bit of a reputation... If this is what we set our stall out to do, we’re gonna do it with a smile on our faces, and enjoy it, what’s the point otherwise? We’re not hellraisers, but we are certainly gonna party!”

What do you know about the situation at Bora Bora / DC10?
Rob: “In Ibiza at the moment, you’re not allowed to have a club without a roof, that’s probably the only reason why.” Dylan: “There is another thing involved: The time those clubs go on, the after-party thing, so when you get there at the start of the day, it’s a real spannered crowd, right. Now in the end, that’s not the essence of why people go to Ibiza - people get this wrong, they think people go there to get off their nuts - it’s about going to beautiful environments and listening to music and dancing, and everything else is to enhance it. So if that everything else is all about THAT, say there’s a downturn in that side of it, then ’course some of these clubs are gonna suffer. The ones that are gonna survive forever are the ones like Pacha, which give you a good environment. Simple as that.”

At this point, I try to ask where else they enjoy playing around the world or in UK, but they’re still vex about people knocking the White Isle…
Rob: “If people decide to go to Brazil or Prague, if there’s a vibe, then great. I mean it’s probably how Ibiza started”, Dylan: “In the Seventies, people like ‘ding dong’ Leslie Philips and Terry Thomas and Denham Elliot and all these stalwart old English actors used to live in Ibiza and get wankered… Ibiza is the only place that’ll have that vibe, ’cos of three things: one - they’re very lenient with lots of things that go on, and we know that, they always will be; two - the weather, which is a major part; and three – it’s an easy place for people to launder money, so people have massive clubs there. Long may it continue, so what? That’s great!"

But despite waxing lyrical about Eivissa, they’ve no plans to re-locate just yet. Dylan: “We’re thinking about working in other parts of the world… We discussed a few months in New York, Ibiza, Australia. But you know what, I’ll always come back to London, I miss it too much when I’m away”.

And we’d miss them too! They’re planning on promoting the album by taking their own club night on the road under the Yada Yada banner. I suggest you try to catch them – but don’t just take my word for it, check the photos, comments and review on the link: http://www.dontstayin.com/-1-349-K-3215.aspx

Yada Yada is out now.

www.underwaterrecords.com