Alongside Pete Martin he’s the ground-breaking double act Coburn. But now Tim Healey is going it alone – sort of – with a series of collabs. And we’ve got a downloadable mix to show some of them off…
Back in 2006, Tim Healey turned house music on its head with the Coburn single We Interrupt This Program. The track was massive – it went on to score a Citroen advert, feature in TV series Heroes and become a club anthem. But now Tim’s giving the mighty Coburn a rest – and because he’s not one to rest on his laurels, he’s trying something new. In fact, he’s trying a lot of new things. With a bucketload of collaborations freshly recorded – with the likes of Steve Mac, Atomic Hooligan and Dylan Rhymes – Tim’s working on his debut solo album. And the first track to be taken from that is Out Of Control, a massive floor-filler that sees Tim team up with Bristol-based drum and bass giant TC. The result is destroying speakers around the world. So as Tim’s special brand of ghetto electro house kicks into gear, we caught up with the man for a chat – and managed to blag a rather tasty MP3 mix…
Tell us a bit about Out Of Control. How did that collaboration with TC come about?
I met TC in Russia, at a mega-rave in St Petersburg. He was just blowing up with his new tunes, and album about to hit the stores. I loved his sound, and so we planned a studio session.
The track might surprise a few people after your work with Pete on Coburn. Why the change of sound?
It’s not really a change – as Coburn we were pioneers… We energised the scene we now know as electro-house back in 2002 and turned house music on its head with We Interrupt This Programme. So like any musician, I don’t like to stay static and sit on my laurels – I like to play and make what I perceive to be a cutting-edge sound. The sound I’m doing now is more relevant, but the core elements – phat bass and a sexy groove – remain constant.
You've just completed a lot of collaborations with other artists. Tell us a bit about some of those?
My studio in Brighton has been like a revolving door these last few months with collaborations with Atomic Hooligan, Steve Mac, Deekline, Marc Adamo (Product 01), Dylan Rhymes, Tai Jason, Rich Kegg, MC Junior Red… I guess after working so consistently with someone as talented as Pete on Coburn, I needed to check out some of these guys and what they do in the studio. And its all been good – touch wood…
Are these all going to be part of the artist album next year?
Very much so. The concept is ‘Tim Healey vs’ so I’d take all these cats on at their own game in the studio.
Tell us a bit about the mix you’ve done for us. Have these tracks been big for you playing out?
This mix is a special 30-minute retrospective of my studio production this year. Only one of the tracks is out at the moment – the rest are forthcoming. So it’s super-exclusive, you lucky listeners.
How's the DJing going? There seems to be a really good buzz about your sets just now.
I’ve been championing this alternative house sound for years, bringing back the anarchy and a sense of punk-rock to the dancefloor. I’m a sucker for superbly produced futuristic sounds, so what I play is freestyle dance music with an edge, and I don’t really know anyone else who plays it like me.
You seem to be really busy just now. Is this normal for you or have you really upped the ante in the past few months?
As a DJ you endlessly tour, and I’ve been playing all over the globe for 12 years. But this new year is pretty special – I’ve the cliché of three gigs in one night in Brazil, with crowds ranging from 250,000 to 1,500 expected at different locations across the country. Oh, and a private jet has been booked to get me from A to B. Could be a bit of night out that one...
Any other bits and pieces in the pipeline we should know about?
There’s a new release on In Stereo, called Ghetto Blaster, which has already had support from Peter Hook and Meat Katie. There’s a single to follow on Menu Music called The Flow/Look At Me. I’ve also doing remixes for X Press 2 on Skint and Deekline & Wizard. And then there’s my imminent solo album coming in the new year. The more tech-minded will be interested to know that I have a sample CD out on Loopmasters in February. If you’re into the sound of my mix and want to have a go yourself at some production, you could do a lot worse than pick that up – it’s 900MB of loops, phat bass and sounds to inspire.
Tim Healey featuring TC – Out Of Control is out on Big & Dirty Records digitally on December 23 and physically on January 26. Visit www.myspace.com/djtimhealey and www.biganddirtyrecords.com
TRACKLISTING
1. INTRO
2. TIM HEALEY vs TAI JASON – The Mash Up Boys [CD-R]
3. TIM HEALEY feat TC – Out Of Control [Big & Dirty]
4. TIM HEALEY vs RICH KEGG – Turn Me On [Instereo]
5. TIM HEALEY vs MARC ADAMO – Ghetto Blaster [Instereo]
6. TIM HEALEY vs AUDIO DUCKER – The Flow [Menu]
7. DEEKLINE & WIZARD – The Bomb (Tim Healey's Ca$h 4 Chao$ mix) [Rat Records]
HAVE YOUR SAY
