House is Not a Dirty Word

Don't let the name fool you, there's nothing ghoulish or camp about Zombie Disco Squad, and there's only two of them. Hailing from London, Lucas Hunter and Nat Self releasing on Jesse Rosse's Made to Play label are banging out the club tunes with wonky basslines and jaunty rhythms.

With fans in Brodinski, Booka Shade, and Claude VonStroke (having had a single on his DirtyBird label), they've helped shape the London house music scene, skillfully jumping through Baile funk to Bmore, taking influences from hip hop to fidget. Alongside remixing Hess is More, Daniel Haaksman, Mumdance, and VV Brown, they've been known for breaking the Annie Mac minimix record by cramming in the most songs in five minutes, a whopping 155 records. Phew.

DD: Tell us about your mix for Made To Play? Is this more representative of your music to come?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: It was very important for us to present the music in a language we understand, we wanted our style to come out through the way we re-edited and reworked most of the tracks. Most of our sets follow the same pattern of bouncy house generally progressing to a harder, techno sound. With some of the tracks, we reworked build-ups and breakdowns and even re-arranged the drum patterns to suit our influenced style. Hopefully it comes across in the music! I wouldn’t necessarily say this mix represents what's to come in the future but it is a definite accurate representation of how we approach our music.
 
DD: In the midst of the whole Tropical/Post-wobble stuff in the London house scene, how would you describe your sound being producers based there?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: Post-Wobble?? Wow, that’s a new one!  We feel that the internet has really changed the way scenes work, the guys we are working with and who are probably closest to our sound are based in many different countries, from Finland to Brazil. Whilst we tend to call our music ’House’, we do so for the simple reason that we find the current genre labels a bit vague and don't really feel comfortable being labeled with them. The stuff that most influences us (outside of DirtyBird and Made to Play) is not really house music, things like juke, Baile funk, hip hop, Miami bass and so called ‘ghetto house’ are all on steady rotation.
 
DD: Do you feel part of that or looking at your mixes like for Fabric that maybe you're pioneering something else more in line with the Style of Eye/Riva Starr-esque wonky tech-house?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: We would hope so- What we have always said is that we hope to make music that has the attitude of hip hop and the energy of house. We enjoy making music that it is fun but at the same time have a love for a lot more ‘serious’ stuff. We hold a residency at Panorama Bar (arguably the most ‘serious’ and credible house and techno club about) and are as comfortable doing that as playing Fabric on a friday.
 
DD: What kind of process (creative / software / technique) does one use to mash 155 songs into a five minute Annie Mac mix?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: Ableton live, hours of sweat, a lot of coffee and a whip.
 
DD: How did you get involved with such legendary labels like Dirtybird/Made to Play?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: We met Christian Martin and he told us that Barclay (Claude VonStroke) and Justin Martin were playing a remix we did for a Danish band call When Saints Go Machine - So we started keeping them up to date with tracks we had finished and luckily DirtyBird decided to put one out. With Made to Play it was a similar story- It really has been a honor to work with both the labels since they both have been so influential on what we do. Alongside Man Recordings, we can't think of any other labels we would rather work with…
 
DD: Where did you get your name?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: Many moons ago when we were doing parties in Herne Hill, a journalist described what was at that time more of a collective as a 'Zombie Disco Squad' and it stuck. We get asked this question a billion times and maybe it's about time we came up with a more creative and entertaining answer!
 
DD: Having remixed a wide range of artists from Brodinski & Mumdance to The Ghost Frequency, who do you want to collaborate with but haven't yet so far?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: DJ Funk, DJ Assault, and Gant Man are high up on the list, we are big fans of Booty and Juke Music, the energy is raw and fun… it would be a dream to get them to lay down some vocals. Jamie Principles, Green Velvet and Dajae represent our old school love… we are working on a time machine to take us back to 1980, and another to make us Black and Gay so we fit right in.

DD: Can you recommend any upcoming artists?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: Our Jackmode family- Renaissance Man, Mowgli and Roundtable Knights. Mentions should also go to J. Phlip - a producer doing a lot of great stuff on DirtyBird, Tom Flynn is doing some nice tracks on Anabatic, Dan M, Tomboy and Fredski are doing good things out of Copenhagen. There's also a whole bunch we love but are keeping secret for now.
 
DD: Where are the best places to hang out in London?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: We come from south London - so Battersea Park is banging in the sunshine, Brixton Market for voodoo supplies and amazing Colombian food. Check the Ritzy Cinema for earth mothers, bongo beaters and fake jazz beatniks. Go to Olleys for the best (and most expensive) fish and chips in the world, that’s no lie.
 
DD: What's your worst vice?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: Cocaine and midget hookers are a lethal combination.
 
DD: And your plans for the future?
Lucas Hunter and Nat Self: We have recently won a competition with Virgin to be the first DJs in space, we have a couple of US tours coming up, plans for a live show and album are being talked about. We also plan to visit Timbuktu to study tribal drumming and take a course in Voodoo medicine, in the hope that it effects our musical output.

The Zombie Disco Squad-mixed CD1 of the double CD Compilation “Playing Around Again” is available now on Made to Play