28 March 2015
Love is coming. Love Saves the Day, that is, the small Bristol festival which has blossomed into one of the brightest lights on the Summer circuit. This year, the organisers have pulled out some trumps – in addition to the headliners Jessie Ware and Azealia Banks, Love Saves the Day will host firm Fix favourites Floating Points, Ghost Culture, Four Tet and Erol Alkan.
Luminaries such as David Rodigan and Grandmaster Flash will be gracing the May Bank Holiday festival at Eastville Park, but one act not to be missed is Bristol’s very own Dr Meaker. The drum and bass legends, whose latest single ‘Freaks’ has exploded the band’s profile, will play The Dance Off stage on the Sunday. Ahead of the Summer of Love, we caught up with Dr Meaker.
Your new single ‘Freaks’ has had a massive reception! You must be so pleased – were you expecting this kind of response?
Everyone is so hyped for ‘Freaks’ and that is a great feeling for us. We knew after our last single ‘Right Back’ that we had definitely stepped it up a level in terms of profile and status as a group so we knew we just had to follow up with an equally impressive and even more banging track. ‘Freaks’ has had over half a million plays on Soundcloud and we are still weeks off from release date, its really impressive and a really exciting time for us.
Can we expect similar tracks for an upcoming album?
Possibly…although we don’t want to give anything away just yet. We can tell you that we are extremely excited about our next album. Everything is coming together and it is definitely a huge step forward for us. We cannot wait to share it with the world.
You’ll be playing a Sunday spot for Love Saves the Day this year. have you played the festival before? Are you looking forward to playing this year?
This will be our first time at Love Saves the Day and we are definitely hyped to play. We have a DJ/PA set lined up especially for the festival, doing mix-offs with various live vocalists. We will make a wicked show of it, a proper sound system vibe.
Do you find you get an extra lift playing for a home crowd in Bristol? You were a highlight of the 2013 Brisfest.
Yeah, there is definitely a nice feeling when you see and play to your home crowd. You feel like they have your back. Our Brisfest crowd was huge and the gig was incredible. It really was one of our best gigs yet!
Love Saves the Day
We chatted recently with Simon from the fantastic Lund Quartet, who Ben and John from Dr Meaker have collaborated with. What do you make of the Bristol Music Scene at the moment?
Yes, Simon and the Lund quartet are doing great musical things! The music scene is always changing and moving forward in Bristol. Its the perfect city for freedom of creativity and this always shines through with the music that comes out.
Do you think its a good time for Drum and Bass?
Drum and Bass is a long standing music genre. Even if you do not hear it in the mainstream radio it is always there with its strong and dedicated following on the underground. There has definitely been a crossover in the last few years in a more commercial style which has opened doors for many artists but the scene will continue to move and change as time moves forward.
Do you find that you gain insights in to your music from playing live and seeing the reaction of the crowd?
Yes we do. Sometimes we may have a track that just won’t work in a live situation but on record it holds its own. There is always a time where you have to test new tracks when playing out live but you just have to do it with confidence, see how the crowd react and then discuss if its a set keeper or not.
The Dance Off at Love Saves the Day
What would be your absolute dream gig to play?
We have always said that Glastonbury West Holts Stage would be amazing to play. Its just got an amazing vibe about it and the sound system is sweet.
What would be your absolute dream festival line up?
That’s a tough one! I guess for us to play a gig and to be right in the middle of a line up full of all our musical legends would be incredible!
Conal Dougan
Don’t miss out on Love Saves the Day – you can pick up tickets for the festival here.
