DCDNB

For the very first Five For Friday Q&A session, we caught up with Alec / Quannum Logic, member of drum’n’bass juggernauts Headhunterz Inc., 1/3rd (or as we soon find out, 1/2) of dubstep production/DJ outfit Mob Barley, and the chief of operations for the current incarnation of Konkrete Jungle DC. The way this works is we contact someone from the local dnb scene, ask them five questions and then post the details.

So here’s what went down with Alec:

DCDNB: What came first for you, DJing or Producing? Was one a progression from the other?
Quannum Logic: Well like most other people I know, DJing preceded producing, though actually I started both within less than a year of each other. I was in high school, in like 1997, and was playing rhythm guitar and doing vocals in a hardcore band (nothing big, we mostly practiced, only ever played one real show). On a trip to Guitar Center to buy a couple of FX pedals, I saw a Numark DJ-In-A-Box setup, and ended up buying it instead of the pedals. I was big into hip-hop, and decided I was gonna start DJing.

The DJ-In-A-Box kit was comprised of two of the worst decks ever made and a mixer with no eq’s, all of which were this awful shade of blue, but I started trying to mix hip-hop (poorly, I might add) and really enjoyed myself. Close to a year later, I decided I wanted to make my own hip-hop beats, so I went and bought a Boss DR-770 drum machine and a Roland SP-202 sampler. I was hooked, insantly. Like to the point where I spent all my money saved from my after school job at a used CD store on production gear, and nothing else. I didn’t even upgrade those shitty tables to 1200’s until like 2004. James (Jukata) was the pro audio clerk at Guitar Center and refused to sell me any more studio gear until I bought a pair of used 1200’s he was holding for me!

DCDNB: What are your short term plans / goals for Konkrete Jungle DC over the next six months? Long term plans / goals over the next few years?
QL:In the short run, I’d like to keep doing the monthlies at Jimmy Valentine’s, and throw a couple of headliner nights here and there. I’m back in school now, so my income is tighter than when I was doing two headliners per month. Long run, I’d like to get back to doing monthly headliner nights and continuing to colab with other promoters, like I did with Tribalistix for the Halloween show.

DCDNB: What’s cooking in the studio lately? Any tempos jumping out to you lately? And any particular people you are collaborating with frequently or infrequently?
QL:140 BPM, for sure.

I’ve been writing almost nothing but dubstep for like a year now. I love it, it’s such a return to my hip-hop production roots, and unlike drum & bass, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I’ll get back to drum & bass eventually, but for now my snares land on the 3’s!

Aside from writing with Psykofly, I’ve definitely been doing some collabs, they really help me to keep fresh and think outside the Quannum Logic box. I just finished up a colab with MC Sharpness of Mental Sharp / Swarm fame, and I am working on another for Sharpness and Armanni to spit over. Those guys absolutely murder a track; such sick and talented MC’s. I’ve been doing various other collabs, got one I did with Chris Lycan, my crew mate in the Dubstep Legion Of Doom, which is a real departure for both our styles, very ethereal and ambient. I still do a little downtempo / trip-hop on the side as well. Check out myspace.com/QuannumLogicMusic for clips of that stuff.

Other than that, I’m constantly trying to improve my engineering skills and learn new techniques. Good mix down skills take constant practice and a lot of training of the ear, so I’m working away to get better each day. It’s tough, because I’m probably my harshest critic, so I keep pushing myself. Even if others tell me it sounds great, I’m thinking in the back of my head “…yea, but it can sound better!”

DCDNB: Want to tell us a little bit about Headhunterz Inc. and/or Mob Barley?
QL: Hmmm….What can be said about Headhunterz Inc. and Mob Barley that hasn’t already been said about a truck stop bathroom?

Heh, well for the most part, I let the music talk first for Headhunterz and Mob Barley, but Headhunterz Inc. is my drum & bass production crew consisting of myself, Psykofly, Feight, Jukata, Krazyglue, and a few others (Cam-One and M1C Ceeza are part of the crew, but are strictly hip-hop), though Psykofly & I are pretty much the only active members right now. Glue is in NYC, Feight is in Vegas, and Jukata has retired. Haven’t been producing much under the Headhunterz Inc. name lately since Brendan (Psykofly) and I have been focusing on Mob Barley, but we are still rocking live shows and may put out a tune here and there.

Mob Barley is the dubstep moniker for Me, Jukata, and Psykofly (though Jukata has retired from the scene), and is where the bulk of my production is focused. The name started as a small drunken joke between Jukata and I and has become a big drunken joke. We’ve (Psykofly and I) been hard at work cranking out tunes, working on a follow up for our debut EP, “City of Wolves” (which you can buy at most online music outlets, Beatport, iTunes, Juno, etc.), and playing quite a few shows too. Right now this is really where my heart is, ya know?

You can check out myspace.com/MobBarleySon and www.myspace.com/headhunterzinc for tunes and info!

DCNDB: Are you a fan of post party food runs, or next day brunch / late lunch? Any favorite spots to hit for either of those?
QL:Ohhhhh yea. I tend to drink alot at shows and parties, so late night food runs are key, though I perfer getting something to go or getting delivery late night. I had a bad habit of getting kicked out of Denny’s late night in college as a result of drunken shennanigans, so I try and steer clear of sit down late night meals when I’m hammered, because I’m not sure I’ve matured much since then.

As for morning after food, weither or not I leave the house is dependent on several variables including hangover level and if it’s football season or not (Sundays during football season, my ass is glued to the couch!); favorite hangover food is definitely Ledo’s chicken tenders. At my old apartment in Georgetown, they would deliver in like 15 minutes, and had 32oz gatorades too. So bye bye hangover! If I’m up and around I love to hit either Rocklands BBQ in Georgetown or Cactus Cantina on Wisconsin Ave. by the cathedral. I also just found a new spot in Tenleytown called Crisp n’ Juicy. It’s Peruvian charbroiled chicken, and it’s completely addictive. I’m pretty sure they marinate the chicken in coke and heroin, because I can’t get enough!

Thanks Alec for participating, and everyone checking this out today (December 11, 2009), be sure to check out Konkrete Jungle DC tonight, at Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Hearts Club. Be sure to check back next Friday for the next installment of Five For Friday, featuring a Q&A with local production upstart CJ Weaver!