Photo by Jonangelo MolinariOm Unit was on the buttons when most of you were still getting puréed broccoli on your bibs. Dabbling in hip-hop, drum & bass, and Chicago footwork rhythms, the British producer—originally known as hip-hop producer 2tall—has been floating just below the surface for two decades with releases on All City, Terrorhythm, and even the mighty Metalheadz. Last month he came up for air, delivering a 15-track debut album, Threads. The record is full of hypnotizing pattern shifts, often flipping from a driving double-speed to a nonchalant half-time gait. With his icy, eyes-down subs and a keen ear for conjuring space, the dude makes stark minimalism look tough as nails.Cutting his teeth on jungle and hardcore in the early '90s, Om Unit now stands at the fringes of drum & bass, dubstep, and future-gazing bass music with a hybrid style that should inspire fellow producers to reconsider their rigid genre allegiances. With only a handful of brief interviews circulating the blogosophere, we wanted to know a bit more about the OG producer and DJ so we tracked him down and made him answer some questions. He also gave us a stylish non-album cut "Back at Plastic" for you to download now. Make sure to catch him on his US tour dates in late November/early December.Threads is out now on Civil Music. Buy it here.THUMP: Can you tell us a bit about growing up in the UK, and how you stumbled into the world of electronic music? Were you a 'ardcore junglist? Did you have dreadlocks and camo pants and yell "Boh boh boh" at the DJ?
Om Unit: I grew up in the Maidenhead area—strictly speaking in a small town called Cookham. I often wondered if they cooked hams there. It was the kind of place where you have a village fête in the summer… meaning it was a void for a teenager. Jungle and hardcore got me early on for sure. I was actually a laughing gas [nitrous oxide] mule at 12 years old for a rave posse called "The Jellyhead Massive." I used to sell Yellow Bentines [cheap street amphetamines] at Carter's Steam Fair. Also, most of this is a lie.Can you talk about your background in hip-hop?
I dabbled. I made a fair few tracks for rappers, but most of that work was intstrumental stuff around that hip-hop tempo. Some of it was good.Some of the writing about you refers to your music as "shaking up the drum & bass scene."
If all it takes is to program drums differently, then "the scene" should think harder about their priorities. I'm consciously on the fringe and have very little interest in getting too involved. I'm making music that draws from the style without trying to please anyone in particular, but the gratitude from some has been very welcome! I'd put my style down to pretty much having stopped listening to drum & bass in about '98 or '99 when shit got very stagnant.While we're on the subject, do you consider there to be a drum & bass revival taking place right now?
I have no idea what's going on in terms of a revival really—I don't really know enough about it all!Who are your good mates and frequent collaborators in dance music right now?
My Cosmic Bridge label crew: Sam Binga, Kromestar. I hope to do more collabs in future too.What's the feeling like in London right now in terms of electronic music?
I think London has always been a melting pot. It's a place where people come to get what they want out of life, like any big city. With that, people bring all their stories and somewhere they get mixed up. The best synthesis of styles comes about naturally that way, and I'd say London has been at the forefront of a lot of music for this very reason.Is Chicago footwork the future of music?
Ask the originators. I merely pay respects from afar.What's the best party you've ever played?
One recent one was at 1015 Folsom in San Francisco earlier this year. I was in the small room up top and people seemed to be having way more fun than in the crammed big room with the trendy trap hybrid shit. It was very cool to be able to play a Slipmatt tune from '94 to 21-year-olds in California in 2013—they loved it!Do you ever miss Myspace?
Totally. The way you could customise your page has been unsurpassed.You must have a huge record collection, since you've been DJing since the early' 90s. Any rare ones or real highlights?
[Laughs] Nah, I was always too broke. As soon as Soulseek and Napster came out I was hooked though. I did buy a fair few, though I won't go into numbers because it makes a person seem competitive. I downsized to personal faves only now. Most of them are in good nick; some of the older ones obviously saw some mileage but that just adds more soul. Rare ones? Not especially—probably some rare jungle and dubstep stuff. As for highlights, I have loads of Tangerine Dream records. Those guys are sick.Catch Om Unit on his 2013 US tour at one of the following locations:11.26 Whistler, BC - Maxx Fish
11.27 Calgary, AB - Hi-Fi Club
11.28 Edmonton, AB - Twist Ultra Lounge
11.29 Vancouver, BC - Red Gate
11.30 Portland, OR - The Rose Bar
12.03 Baltimore. MD - Red Maple
12.05 Boston, MA - Phoenix Landing
12.07 New York, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ Machinedrum)
12.08 Austin, TX - Barcelona
12.09 Orlando, FL - Bullit Bar
12.10 Denver, CO - Cervantes Other Side
12.11 New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa
12.12 San Francisco, CA - 1015 Folsom
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Om Unit: I grew up in the Maidenhead area—strictly speaking in a small town called Cookham. I often wondered if they cooked hams there. It was the kind of place where you have a village fête in the summer… meaning it was a void for a teenager. Jungle and hardcore got me early on for sure. I was actually a laughing gas [nitrous oxide] mule at 12 years old for a rave posse called "The Jellyhead Massive." I used to sell Yellow Bentines [cheap street amphetamines] at Carter's Steam Fair. Also, most of this is a lie.Can you talk about your background in hip-hop?
I dabbled. I made a fair few tracks for rappers, but most of that work was intstrumental stuff around that hip-hop tempo. Some of it was good.
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If all it takes is to program drums differently, then "the scene" should think harder about their priorities. I'm consciously on the fringe and have very little interest in getting too involved. I'm making music that draws from the style without trying to please anyone in particular, but the gratitude from some has been very welcome! I'd put my style down to pretty much having stopped listening to drum & bass in about '98 or '99 when shit got very stagnant.While we're on the subject, do you consider there to be a drum & bass revival taking place right now?
I have no idea what's going on in terms of a revival really—I don't really know enough about it all!Who are your good mates and frequent collaborators in dance music right now?
My Cosmic Bridge label crew: Sam Binga, Kromestar. I hope to do more collabs in future too.What's the feeling like in London right now in terms of electronic music?
I think London has always been a melting pot. It's a place where people come to get what they want out of life, like any big city. With that, people bring all their stories and somewhere they get mixed up. The best synthesis of styles comes about naturally that way, and I'd say London has been at the forefront of a lot of music for this very reason.Is Chicago footwork the future of music?
Ask the originators. I merely pay respects from afar.
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One recent one was at 1015 Folsom in San Francisco earlier this year. I was in the small room up top and people seemed to be having way more fun than in the crammed big room with the trendy trap hybrid shit. It was very cool to be able to play a Slipmatt tune from '94 to 21-year-olds in California in 2013—they loved it!Do you ever miss Myspace?
Totally. The way you could customise your page has been unsurpassed.You must have a huge record collection, since you've been DJing since the early' 90s. Any rare ones or real highlights?
[Laughs] Nah, I was always too broke. As soon as Soulseek and Napster came out I was hooked though. I did buy a fair few, though I won't go into numbers because it makes a person seem competitive. I downsized to personal faves only now. Most of them are in good nick; some of the older ones obviously saw some mileage but that just adds more soul. Rare ones? Not especially—probably some rare jungle and dubstep stuff. As for highlights, I have loads of Tangerine Dream records. Those guys are sick.Catch Om Unit on his 2013 US tour at one of the following locations:11.26 Whistler, BC - Maxx Fish
11.27 Calgary, AB - Hi-Fi Club
11.28 Edmonton, AB - Twist Ultra Lounge
11.29 Vancouver, BC - Red Gate
11.30 Portland, OR - The Rose Bar
12.03 Baltimore. MD - Red Maple
12.05 Boston, MA - Phoenix Landing
12.07 New York, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ Machinedrum)
12.08 Austin, TX - Barcelona
12.09 Orlando, FL - Bullit Bar
12.10 Denver, CO - Cervantes Other Side
12.11 New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa
12.12 San Francisco, CA - 1015 Folsom