Distance: When hype fades, things become a lot clearer

Photo: Distance

As an integral part of the dubstep scene from its very early years, Greg Sanders AKA Distance has time and again proven himself as one of the most consistently intriguing producers in his field.

His love of the heavier side of rock saw him bring a grittier, darker edge to the genre, creating an instantly recognisable sound demonstrated beautifully in his two LPs for Mike Paradinas' trailblazing Planet Mu imprint (check 'My Demons' below).

When dubstep blew up and became the backdrop for a wealth of mainstream pop music, Distance maintained a carefully considered, measured approach that refused to get caught up in the furore surrounding the genre, whilst his label Chestplate continued to champion some of the scene's most gifted and consistent underground producers, two of which he will appear alongside at Just Skank in Manchester on Friday February 27th.

Mike Warburton caught up with one of dubstep's most singular entities to find out more about his unique approach to his craft, how he dealt with dubstep's mainstream explosion, and where he will be taking his sound in future.

We hear you're spending A LOT of time in the studio at the minute, can you give us a brief insight as to what you're cooking in there? It's been a while since your double header of albums for Planet Mu, is that maybe what you’re working on?

Yes I'm in the studio pretty much everyday. I'm doing a lot of production for other artists right now, so I'm currently producing a band plus two solo singers.

I've just finished producing an album with Rizwan Ahmed and that project is a collaboration between us called "Halflife", you'll be hearing more from that very soon.

I'm still writing loads of Distance material. In regards to a third album, it is coming but it'll be quite different from the first two. Aside from that I have also been doing a lot of work as a mixing engineer which I really enjoy. Its much more enjoyable to mix someone else music for some reason [laughs].

We know your background was largely in guitar lead, rock, metal, being a fan of Pantera and Sepultura for instance, so how did your love or appreciation of electronic music begin?

When I first heard Prodigy and Aphex Twin around 1996! A long time ago. I was a big Fear Factory fan and they used quite a lot of synths and samples in their music which triggered my interest in creating electronic music.

You've been right in the middle of the dubstep scene since the beginning. How did you weather the experience of the scene blowing up and being hijacked by the mainstream before going back to its underground roots? Has that galvanized the dubstep world, and how do you rate its health now?

I've always tried to stay focused on what I'm doing, I think as soon as you start watching what other producers and DJs are doing and trying to accommodate current trends you'll always end up in trouble.

I think dubstep blowing up exposed it to a whole new audience and maybe we wouldn't have the people coming out to shows now if it didn't get that mainstream exposure. Some people lost their way a little bit during that time but I don't blame them. It was a very confusing time for a lot of DJs in the scene because the audiences were so varied!

The scene is really healthy right now, slightly scaled back but I think that's part of any scene's evolution. When hype fades, things become a lot clearer.

You'll be heading up a Chestplate label night at Just Skank at the end of the month alongside Tunnidge and Cyrus. Are you looking forward to it? Have you enjoyed playing Manchester in the past?

Yes I can't wait. Anytime I'm with them lot we have a laugh and they are both sick selectas. Manchester always has great crowds and great vibes (relive Cyrus and Distance's brutal 'Violate' below).

Chestplate has been right at the forefront of the darker dubstep sound for years now, housing an awful lot of anthems from yourself and others. What have been some highlights of running the label?

Getting a residency at Fabric was a very big deal for me plus hosting a stage at Outlook Festival. But I'm proud of every artist on my label they are all amazing creative individuals and genuinely decent people too. 

Your Chestcast podcast (listen to the latest episode above) does an awful lot to promote the work of unheard of, up and coming dubstep producers. Which new producers have really stood out to you?

There are loads but I cant remember all their names! There seems to be a lot of talent coming from France right now.

One of our favourite projects of yours was Deleted Scenes with Pinch. Is there more to come from you both? 

Yes we are planning an album. We have both been tied up with other projects but we spoke the other day and plan to make a start very soon.

We've only heard clips of 'Passive' (below), but it's a serious beast! When will that be getting a release and do you have any more like it in the pipeline?

The next Chestplate will include three tracks from me and I will be announcing the tracks very soon. As for 'Passive', that's quite a new track so it wont be out for a while I'm afraid.

What's the rest of your year looking like? Have you any other gigs you’re pretty excited about?

I'm back at Outlook again this year so definitely looking forward to that. Me and Tunnidge are playing a back to back set in The Hague, Holland on the 7th of March which is going to be heavy. I'm hoping to make it back to The States sometime this year also. And keep your eyes open because I've got some surprising projects coming!

Catch Distance him in action for Just Skank at Joshua Brooks this Friday. Get your Distance tickets here.

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