Tony Thorpe is one of the many names in UK dance music history that deserves far more recognition than he's received. As one half of Moody Boyz, together with Jimmy Cauty, Thorpe produced the pioneering Journey to Dubland, released on XL in 1990. The EP was one of the first to explore how the sonics of dub and dance music were interconnected, way before the dub techno of Basic Channel's Rhythm & Sound and the emergence of the dubstep scene in the early 2000s. However, Cauty and Thorpe are more widely known for their remixes of The KLF, transforming the originals into powerful, politically charged, statements of their own.Before Moody Boyz, Thorpe was a member of post-punk duo 400 Blows, later going on to produce his own acid tracks in the 80s. He's since focused on his own label, Language, as well as periodically releasing records on Guerilla. Thorpe has also made his own contribution to dubstep, in the form of a series of remixes, effectively completing the feedback loop he started with his experiments in the 90s. As he told music journalist Joe Muggs back in 2010 "dubstep just feels to me like what I was doing twenty years ago… When I did Journey To Dubland people thought I was mad, mixing reggae, dub, electronics, acid, everything I could find and the kitchen sink, it just seemed like some novelty one-off record."Earlier this month, the Moody Boyz returned with a brand new single, "Slave 2 Technology", featuring Sa Janset (the MC half of dubstep duo, Stinkahbell), with an EP due out December 1st. In advance of the release, THUMP spoke to Thorpe about his new record, the dubstep scene, and his underrated status. In addition, Thorpe has also given us an exclusive mix featuring some rare 90s breakbeat.
Tony Thorpe: I called it the 'Moody Boyz Present Broken' mix for a few reasons. I had been playing a few festivals this summer and dusted down some broken beat classics for my DJ sets, it did the trick and kept the dancefloors rocking. It was enjoyable listening to some of that west London production again, looking for old tracks that would work with all the current UK bass and beats music. Broken beat is as relevant now as it was then.
There are some classic broken beat tracks here. Why do you think the genre never became widely popular?
It was popular but for a different crowd, an older and mature crowd of music lovers who still wanted to get out to dance and rave. At the time (around 2000) garage was at the peak of its popularity. In this constant musical exchange drum and bass had almost become a formula, while dubstep was still in its infancy. Broken beat was something for serious producers, musicians. People who were coming from hip hop, drum and bass, techno, house, soul music and felt that this was the music with which they could experiment, mix their influences and take the whole scene forward. Goya Music Distribution was the company/label which was pushing out this genre. It was literally the heart of the scene. With their own Co-Op nights at Plastic People, respect is well over due.
'Journey to Dubland' was pioneering in its mixing of dub and techno, anticipating both Basic Channel's Rhythm & Sound and dubstep. Do you feel like the contribution Moody Boyz made is often unacknowledged?
I have never made music for recognition, I have always made music for the love and to be creative and try out ideas. I find it nice when certain artists that I like tell you that some of the records you produced in the past inspired them in their productions. It's also cool when members of the public tell you that they bought your record. That to me is rewarding. Never been bothered about being unacknowledged. I don't really care about being accepted or recognized I have always done my own thing and if you really know your UK bass and beats history you will be able to join the dots.What prompted you to make a return to producing as Moody Boyz?I thought that after seven years it was the time to release something as Moody Boyz. I was inspired by footwork, juke and trap, DJ Rashad in particular, and wanted to work on something at 160 BPM. It was cool to team up with the talented MC and producer Janset on "Slave 2 Technology".I have always had time off from working on my own productions because I spend loads of time doing A&R for Studio Rockers, making sure that the artists are coming up with the goods, but I felt that the time was right to try and do something fresh in the studio. I haven't been completely out of the loop, I did some remixes for Lee "Scratch" Perry for ON U SOUND, worked on a project called 'Globe Stepping' for the 2NX label Imagem Music and made a Moody Boyz production sample CD for Loopmasters.
Do you have any further releases planned for Moody Boyz's reboot?
I am thinking about what direction to take next but whatever it is I am always going to try and do something fresh. I feel interested in going back to my post-punk roots, bringing more live aspects into my music because I miss that interaction with other musicians. It's definitely going to be a mixture of live and electronic music, a melting pot of influences. I'm not sure what genre it's going to be. Just call it music from the heart.Slave 2 Technology is out December 1st.
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THUMP: Was the inspiration for this mix?
Tony Thorpe: I called it the 'Moody Boyz Present Broken' mix for a few reasons. I had been playing a few festivals this summer and dusted down some broken beat classics for my DJ sets, it did the trick and kept the dancefloors rocking. It was enjoyable listening to some of that west London production again, looking for old tracks that would work with all the current UK bass and beats music. Broken beat is as relevant now as it was then.
There are some classic broken beat tracks here. Why do you think the genre never became widely popular?
It was popular but for a different crowd, an older and mature crowd of music lovers who still wanted to get out to dance and rave. At the time (around 2000) garage was at the peak of its popularity. In this constant musical exchange drum and bass had almost become a formula, while dubstep was still in its infancy. Broken beat was something for serious producers, musicians. People who were coming from hip hop, drum and bass, techno, house, soul music and felt that this was the music with which they could experiment, mix their influences and take the whole scene forward. Goya Music Distribution was the company/label which was pushing out this genre. It was literally the heart of the scene. With their own Co-Op nights at Plastic People, respect is well over due.
'Journey to Dubland' was pioneering in its mixing of dub and techno, anticipating both Basic Channel's Rhythm & Sound and dubstep. Do you feel like the contribution Moody Boyz made is often unacknowledged?
I have never made music for recognition, I have always made music for the love and to be creative and try out ideas. I find it nice when certain artists that I like tell you that some of the records you produced in the past inspired them in their productions. It's also cool when members of the public tell you that they bought your record. That to me is rewarding. Never been bothered about being unacknowledged. I don't really care about being accepted or recognized I have always done my own thing and if you really know your UK bass and beats history you will be able to join the dots.What prompted you to make a return to producing as Moody Boyz?I thought that after seven years it was the time to release something as Moody Boyz. I was inspired by footwork, juke and trap, DJ Rashad in particular, and wanted to work on something at 160 BPM. It was cool to team up with the talented MC and producer Janset on "Slave 2 Technology".I have always had time off from working on my own productions because I spend loads of time doing A&R for Studio Rockers, making sure that the artists are coming up with the goods, but I felt that the time was right to try and do something fresh in the studio. I haven't been completely out of the loop, I did some remixes for Lee "Scratch" Perry for ON U SOUND, worked on a project called 'Globe Stepping' for the 2NX label Imagem Music and made a Moody Boyz production sample CD for Loopmasters.
Do you have any further releases planned for Moody Boyz's reboot?
I am thinking about what direction to take next but whatever it is I am always going to try and do something fresh. I feel interested in going back to my post-punk roots, bringing more live aspects into my music because I miss that interaction with other musicians. It's definitely going to be a mixture of live and electronic music, a melting pot of influences. I'm not sure what genre it's going to be. Just call it music from the heart.Slave 2 Technology is out December 1st.