After almost a year of trying to seal the pair of you for a Freeformation party we’ve finally done it! We always have an awesome crowd turn out to party at our London events and I can tell you that they can’t wait to rock out to your special b2b on May the 3rd.

When was the last back to back set you performed in London?

B&H: From memory, I think our last back to back set in London was a HTID night at Ministry Of Sound back in 2006. Prior to that we can’t even remember!

Ham, I’ve seen you rip up the dancefloors at your famous Next Generation rooms at the Tidy Weekender. Your sets are always tight and full of a great selection with a mixture of very fresh music as well as some very well known classics. Due to your studio and family commitments, you don’t hit the clubs as much as Brisk so is playing out a good road test for your material?

H: Of course! It’s always the best way to test out your ideas by playing them to an up for it dance floor.

Have you ever played a track out and gone straight back home to work on it?

H: Not straight home as such but I have made tweaks on tracks after trying them out for first time which has resulted in a better production overall.

Would you like more DJ action or are you cool keeping up with your sleep at the weekends?

B: I’m always up for more DJ action! I have 2 young children so sleep isn’t relevant these days anyway!!

Brisk, you play out on a more frequent basis. How does playing alongside your sidekick Ham affect your sets?

B: I think it’s fair to say that we each represent a different side to both Next Generation and Blatant Beats. I tend to go for the harder, faster side of the labels whilst Ham leans towards the slightly less aggressive sound (but still banging!). When we play back to back we tend to bring the whole spectrum of sounds from our labels and artists and this generally means that most mainfloor Hardcore styles are represented in the set. Hopefully there is something for everyone!

What have been some of your highlight sets this year?

B: Domestically our recent back to back at Slammin Vinyl at the Bournemouth International Centre was awesome and my solo tour of Australia was off the hook. Phoenix, Arizona kicked off at the start of the year too with great results!

The pair of you have been very consistent with your releases and your general release schedule on your Next Generation and Blatant Beats labels. Have the recent troubles with Amato Distribution closing down affected you?

As a label that manufactures its own product and releases constantly and consistently each month we’ve been hit pretty hard with the demise of Amato & Resist. The unfortunate thing for everyone was that there was nothing that could be done about it. In the space of 2 weeks thousands and thousands of pounds were lost and many of our colleagues have subsequently gone out of business. A truly dark time for Hardcore and dance music.

What is your plan to push forward?

Our new website is about to launch any day now complete with the highly anticipated MP3 store and of course we are beavering away in the studio working on a string of exciting new releases for the masses. Hopefully everyone who took heavy losses can rebuild this year as there is still very much a buzz attached to Hardcore with plenty of strong events bringing in the crowds.

Your in house compilation albums have a heavy fan base. Can we expect another album from you in 2008?

We had originally planned to release NGV4 early in 2008 however, we have had to postpone that as a result of the Amato & Resist losses we have put in on the shelf with a view to releasing it later in the year. We are talking to a company about another interesting project at the moment though but we can’t say any more than that at this time unfortunately… sorry to be such teases!

Seeing as it’s your first visit to Freeformation, you have a back log of ‘Wise Up Get Stupid’ action to catch up on. Our theme for the current party is a school ‘You’ve Been Cained’ vibe. Will you be getting involved in any of the action?

I don’t know, maybe we will bring our canes along and reprimand anyone who deserves it!

Well… we can’t wait for your hour of audio bliss in our main hardcore arena on May the 3rd and our crowd will give you a very warm welcome. Is there anything you’d like them to know in the mean time?

B: Mine’s a vodka & coke
H: Red Bull for me
B&H: See you there!

We will see you on the dancefloor. Thanks

Freeformation: You've Been Cained! 03/05/08 @ Hidden, Vauxhall

www.freeformation.co.uk