TCU's super-intense head coach doubles as a guitar player

Name: DIRTY CHRONIC 

Location: BRISTOL

Mission: MAKE NOISE, STRANGE ART, THROW PARTIES, HAVE FUN AND DESTROY SONGS

At Glade 2008 I was fortunate to meet a massive group of people by accidentally passing out at their campsite after a very late night of partying! When I woke up in the morning there were loads of people standing over me I didn’t know! Luckily they were all really lovely and it was the start of many beautiful friendships. This was when I first met Weve. We didn’t really properly get to know each other though until Boomtown 2011 where we ran around listening to Gabba, drinking tea and eating epic amounts of cake!

Music has always been a big part of Weve’s life “I don’t think I’ve ever been in silence. I always remember music playing in my house when I was young, I also used to sneak a headphone in one ear at school.” Weve listens to pretty much any music from Blues, Grunge, Gypsy to Electronica and Metal, and he takes inspiration from all genres to create his mixes.

He started mixing at house parties and raves because he loves “playing music to crowds of people with huge speakers! When playing out under the name I mostly play an eclectic mix of Breakcore, Gabba, Jungle, Hardtek, Mash-up, Gypsycore really anything silly heavy and fast!” Weve started putting his own nights on at The Hobbit in Southampton called Clinophobia and Gorecore. On one of these nights “the cdj’s never turned up and I started the night mixing with a phone and a cd player! All of this was a great learning experience, and despite the odd technical hiccup these nights were always a crazy amount of fun and left a smile on my face for ages.” It was at Gorecore 2011 that he met Tom. They both moved to Bristol at around the same time and “started playing and producing like minded twisting tunes together. Most people wouldn’t expect to mix these songs but we create a mangled medley of mash-up madness!”

Tom has been producing for over 10 years and DJing for about 5. He started when he was in college doing a Music Production degree. Since then he has spent time promoting nights in both Brighton and Bristol and plays under the name . He performs “because there is no better feeling than seeing a crowd of people dancing to my music. I enjoy making music and playing out is a great way to reach an audience and have myself heard.” When I asked him who inspired him he mentioned the crew “as they paved the way for Gypsycore, Mutant Jungle and Ragga Hardtek, which I take a lot of my style from.”

In maths terms DirtyRatChild Tom Chronic = and this is the name that the pair now DJ under. They take their inspiration from a whole variety of places including “strange films to all kinds of music ranging from Hellfish & Producer, Shitmat, Venetian Snares, Mr Bad Monkey, Fexomat and bands like The Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Blur, Sublime, Dirty Dyke.” They take samples from all of these things and use them for “the silly things we make and play!” This type of music is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. “It’s lots of songs mashed up and bashed up! We’re a bit like marmite, you’ll either love us or hate us. Or just have a chuckle and wonder why!”

To date the pairs biggest achievement was putting on Gorecore 2013. “It was an amazing experience. We all worked so hard and it really paid off. The acts were awesome, the decor looked incredible and the crowd was huge and filled with zombies! It went as good as it could have.”

Dirty Chronic are “getting better each time we play,” said Tom. “It’s a constant learning process with production and digital DJing. The technology is constantly advancing, opening new ways to produce and play, so we’re always learning new techniques.” When I asked Weve what the biggest thing he had to overcome was he said “working out what song to break next hehe! But really the main problem is always equipment f*cking up!”

Aside from his music, Weve has recently started getting more involved in the art world. “I love to draw and write. I’ve been learning to draw by doodling daily and am drawing lots of weird psychedelic mountain monsters at the moment. Also I have been outlining the story for a comic I would love to write.”

The pair are busy putting together an album and planning some upcoming events for the start of next year. “We want to make more tunes, do more mixes and play out more. We’re hoping to throw a messy Valentines party so keep your eyes peeled! And there will be Gorecore 2015!”

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