Tristan da Cunha: We still froth at the mouth talking about house music

We grab our chance to chat with Back to Basics resident and founder of The Garage (DJ mag’s best small venue of 2012 no less) - Tristan Da Cunha, to find out where he got his name from, more about his new relationship with My Love Is Underground, what he's got in the pipleine, and how he keeps his hair so damn fine..

First of all, we’re intrigued.. How did you arrive at the name Tristan Da Cunha!? 

I first came across the name when I was about 11 years old. It was when I pened my first bank account... My uncle who is in the construction / architecture business said he would design me a signature to sign on my new cheque book. In the signature he incorporated a Volcano and told me that it represented Tristan da Cunha a volcanic island. From that point I became intrigued by this place and thought if ever I go on stage I would use that name. When I started to get gigs when I was 18 / 19 it just felt natural to use it as my alias as I was actually called Tristan.

Tell us about your recent relationship with Jeremy Underground Paris’ Label...

Like many of my really good friends we met through music and the mutual common ground that you find so often when meeting other people who are as passionate about music as yourself. When My Love Is Underground started I got the first Nathaniel X EP and contacted Jeremy congratulating him on a fine release. Then he followed up with the killer Paris Underground trax vol 1. I was all over it and got in touch again saying how much I loved his his new EP. He swiftly got back in touch with me to inform me that the EP wasn't by him but was in fact by someone else whose identity was being kept secret. I said cool, I like a bit of mystery behind my music. A day or so later I got an email from the guy who'd actually made the EP It's a funny story as the man behind it was Brawther... years before he started to make music or DJ he was living in England on an exchange and he came to Back To Basics, saw me play and contacted me on myspace to say how much he'd enjoyed my set and to ask what a certain track was.... I thought nothing more of it until later when i got this email saying 'hey it's me from years ago , the guy from myspace'. I was like FUCK RIGHT OOOOOFFFF, dude your new EP is killing me , it's awesome!

From that point sparks started to fly and we got on like a house on fire and realised we had a much deeper connection than just music. Fast forward a little and MLIU were doing their first ever UK party which they organised themselves at CAMP in London. I went with a team of mates to go check it out and that was the first time i met Jeremy and Brawther in person. Not long after I booked them for Back To Basics, they smashed it and from there the relationship with both began to flourish even more.

We would (and still do) froth at the mouth talking about house music, the scene in general, food, travel & culture etc etc ... they are both old souls way ahead of their years so have a lot of knowledge on all of those subjects. We started to play together and soon i was being asked to come and play at the MLIU parties with them which are always amazing. It's a big honour to be part of the MLIU family and the relation continues to grow and strengthen all the time ... these guys are family to me.

Myself and Brawther have been doing some tracks together and are starting a new project / label called Dungeon Meat. Jeremy has signed one of our first tracks we made which will be forthcoming on My Love Is Underground in October hopefully accompanied by the 3rd part of their basics residency that same month which will be off the chain as usual. The Dungeon Meat label will also lift off round the same time with a release by Blunt Instrument called Holdback EP... It's a biggie, Jeremy even got a dub plate of it cut so he could play it in his sets... We've all been hammering it. 2nd release will be from Myself and Sammy and it's already been detonating dancefloors in Ibiza at DC10 & Space and at BacktoBasics. It's just simple club music for DJ abuse only.

Your recent recent Alex Arnout remix has blown up all over the place! How did it come about and how has its success been for you?

I'm really close friends with Adam Shelton the brains and brawn behind One records. He mentioned he had Tyree Cooper featuring on one of the new releases... I was excited about it for him as Tyree is a legend that has influenced us both with his early output. When I heard the vocals I asked him to chuck 'em over so i could have a go at making my own version.

Obviously having my recent obsession with our Dungeon Meat sound I decided to do a really beefy club version, veering away from old school chicago vibe which I also love but felt would have been a bit obvious. For the remix I only used the vocals and cut them to shreds so they said totally different things to the original. It was a real pleasure doing the remix but i still wasn't sure about it.... so i gave it first to Brawther who road tested it that weekend. I saw a text the next morning from him which basically said ‘Dude it's a BOMB’. That was all the feedback I needed to hear to reassure me about it . Adam and Alex loved it too so it was a job well done... as for the success i haven't really been measuring it. Of course it's created ripples and got me some good exposure with people getting firmly behind it like Jamie Jones, David Squillace, DJ Sneak and Mark Farina to name a few. At one point I was getting 3-4 remix requests a week off the back of it but I didn't accept any of them because I want to concentrate on my own music and labels. I suppose if anything it's just encouraged me to get some more music finished and released.

At Skiddle we appreciate the art involved with a warmup set. With you being in such high demand for headlines slots in the past few years, will it be unusual playing the opening slot at Love Dose?

No is the answer to that.... I have been schooled in the art of warm up during my 13 year residency at BacktoBasics and think it's one of my favourite sets to play... I get to start where I want at whatever tempo and get to build it up and leave the party rocking which is always very satisfying for a DJ. It is a bit unusual to do the first slot as a guest but I feel quite at home playing for the Love Dose crew. We always have a great time when we get together and i'm sure their 1st birthday will be no exception.

What’s a track you can enjoy playing in a warmup set that you otherwise wouldn’t at a peak time?

Hmmmmm, a million things could go here but something that I was listening to in Waxwerks whilst writing this would be a good example... it's on Mark Seven's Parkwest Label by some dudes called Librah... the track is called 2BWU and is a classy piece of deep house business that captures the essence of the old school New Jersey vibe and does it with style. You don't get much new music coming out these days like this... I have a lot of respect for Mark Seven, the guys got some great ears.

Librah - 2BWU (Librah's In Love Mix)

Can you name a track that shows off your eclectic tastes?

Again I could include a million titles here and I always find these questions difficult to pinpoint one kind of thing... so i think i am going to take the opportunity to big up my mate and fellow basics resident James Holroyd and man about Manchester for his amazing music under his BEGIN guise. This is perfect for sitting back and relaxing, casting your mind away on the musical waves or floating about in the cosmos. The music should come with a hammock basically. Impressively all the instruments are played by James as well as all the production . I just love the cottage industry approach he's taken with it... putting out the music himself on vinyl only . I'm a HUGE fan and now an avid collector of all his releases and remixes . Just press play, kick ya feet up and listen to this amazing music.

In your lengthy career, what has been the highlight so far?

I think it's more a case of plural than singular with this question really ...There is so many and way too many to mention. Plus the fact that after years and years passing by of weekend in weekend out of party party party things can get a little hazy to say the least. Each year I have new highlights, they never stop really, i'm always realising dreams and aspirations. I know it's not music related but becoming a father to my beautiful daughter Pepa has easily got to be one of my greatest hits. On the music front though gigs at Basics, Panorama Bar and Glastonbury for Block9 in the NYC Downlow have always been close to my heart and filled me with nothing but pure excitement... and I suppose playing DC10 in July is a great box to tick too.

How was the idea for The Garage and Waxwerks born?

It was born out of me and my partners wanting to combine all the things we love under one roof ... all the various facets of it came together to create a really strong concept that is like nothing else i've seen or experienced. We are so proud of what we have created and are looking forward to the next few months... we have some really exciting things happening from great parties to amazing in store appearances from some serious players.

How did it feel to win DJ mag’s best small venue last year? What do you think the success has been down to?

As you can imagine getting the award was the ultimate reward for the hard work and great for us to be recognised on a global scale next to stalwarts like Fabric etc . I think it was all just great timing, a fresh concept with good vision backed up with solid bookings and great parties. It was a public vote so everyone that came to the club and had a good time voted for us. We had a lot of support from the people and that for me gave the award even more credence.

Can we look forward to any forthcoming productions from yourself?

Yes there is some juicy stuff in the pipeline... As I said before the MLIU v Dungeon Meat release will be out in October followed by the launch of the Dungeon Meat label. Then I have to do a couple remixes of Elbee Bad and am waiting to receive the parts for Mike Dunn's Phreaky MF which I can't wait to do. I have also been working on a solo EP for MLIU but I keep wiping the slate and starting again, constantly trying to make something that i'll be happy to offer as my first ever solo release . I want it to be something i'm proud of when i look back in years to come so am taking a bit more time with it. There's no rush really, it just has to be right for me and the label. I want to do us all proud.

And finally, you have a wonderful barnet!! What’s your secret?

 Hahahahahaha, well hair just grows, I don't have to do anything on that front... It's a wild curly bush so I do have to tame it. I never put a brush in it and never use a hair dryer, towel dry only... I suppose the real secret is nice conditioner and this stuff... it ain't cheap though... but i buy it because i'm worth it!

Thank you Tristan! Catch the man himself in action at Manchester's 2022NQ on Sunday 25th August.

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