Renowned as the most exciting duo to hit drum n bass dancefloors since Chase & Status and Nero, UK bass act Delta Heavy have had a stellar 2016. With a stacked year ahead, Ben and Simon took five minutes to chat with OZ EDM to reflect back on this past year and discuss their Australian and New Zealand tour – set to kick-off very shortly.
Hi Ben, Hi Simon – how are you both?
Fantastic thanks. We just played two massive sold out shows for NYE in Seattle and London which was the perfect way to start 2017 and we can’t wait to get stuck into the year.
2016 has been a huge year for you guys, with the release of your first LP, a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix under your belt and tours around the world– what has been your highlight?
It’s so hard to pick between the highlights, especially from the things you mention. It would have to be the release of debut album for obvious reasons – we poured our heart and souls into it and it represented a huge amount of hard work and ups and downs over the previous two and a half years. Also, hearing Pete Tong do the intro to our Essential Mix was a special a moment which I had been dreaming about since I was 15 years old.
What do you think about the current drum n bass scene? Do you think it’s time for it to come back into the forefront of the wider electronic music scene?
It’s as healthy as ever. Different territories seem to be in to different sounds and styles more than others but that’s generally always been the case. It’s frustratingly underexposed in America but it’s huge in Australia which is always exciting.
You’re lucky enough to have travelled all over the world on tour, what has been s standout destination for you in 2016 and why?
Standout shows across the globe in 2016 would have to include London, New York, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, Amsterdam, Auckland and Perth.
This year you’ve played a number of festivals, including the legendary Glastonbury Festival, how was that? How do you find playing to a festival audience compared to one at a DJ gig of yours?
We’d been waiting to play Glastonbury our whole careers and as we’d both never been to the festival before it was an amazing experience (and it was one of the muddiest years ever!). The main difference between club and festival sets is that you get to play longer sets in clubs so we get to play more music than we can include in the festival sets. It also gives the opportunity to experiment a little more with the set.
Your new tracks Bar Fight and Kill Room are huge, what has the reaction and feedback been like when playing these tracks on tour?
Many thanks! The feedback and live reaction has been pretty incredible actually, better than we could have hoped for.
You have played in Australia in the past, what are you most looking forward to about playing here again?
Australia really is one of, if not our favourite, place to tour. The type of sets we play throwing in lots of different bass genres always seem to go down great there, and the crowds are some of the rowdiest we ever get to play to. Combine that with friendly people, hot weather and amazing coffee and you’re on to a winner.
Finally, can you tell us anything about your plans for 2017?
More music, more styles, more shows, more collabs.
Thanks for the quick chat guys, can’t wait to see you rock in Brisbane!
Thanks for having us!
Tour Dates
WED – 18th January: Fat Angel, Wellington
THU – 19th January: World Bar, Queenstown
FRI – 20th January: Empire, Christchurch
SAT – 21st January: Neck of the Woods, Auckland
WED – 25th January: The Met, Brisbane
THU – 26th January: HQ Complex, Adelaide
FRI – 27h January: Chinese Laundry, Sydney
SAT – 28th January: Hidden Festival, Perth