Mushroom Mag talks to one of our artists, Dick Trevor AKA Dickster.
“I have been working with the likes of Ajja, Laughing Buddha, Groove Addict (a new Nano signing), Hopi and a few others as well as packing all my kit in the car and driving to remote parts of the UK to annoy the local wildlife and pensioners.”
Right, straight off the bat, what are you up to to right now? Musically and personally?
Well… this year it feels like I have been on the road non-stop which has been quite exciting ,playing all over the globe and not really having a permanent base. Right now I’m getting a new studio built for the first time in 16 years so it should be great new inspiration for me for the next decade at least! It’s also given me the opportunity to go and work with friends in their studios which is good discipline as I am so used to people coming to mine. I have been working with the likes of Ajja, Laughing Buddha, Groove Addict (a new Nano signing), Hopi and a few others as well as packing all my kit in the car and driving to remote parts of the UK to annoy the local wildlife and pensioners. I am also helping out with the upcoming Shpongle live shows which is always a blast.
Are we ever going to see a Dickster solo album?
Maybe… if I stop giving away tunes to compilations or people’s albums! Seriously I would love to get one done although nowadays an album doesn’t have the same effect as it used to because people don’t buy CD’s anymore, they just download individual tracks. I would also want to make it a bit diverse, not just 145 banging trance all the way through. Also I think you have to write a dance album reasonably quickly as by the time you have got to the end ,the first ones you wrote seem a bit old, but who knows once I get my new studio up and running there may be a flurry of inspiration!
Do you get a kick out of seeing the success of many of the artists you have helped along the way?
Yes of course I do, the more good music out there,the better for everyone! I love learning new tips and tricks so I feel it’s great to spread the love.
Is it true GMS wrote their first track in your studio back in the day?
No, not quite but I did get a teenage Riktam into the studio for his first time for a day to show him how it all worked. We were working on the Green Nuns track, Megallenic Cloud… hopefully I’ll be getting into their studio soon to return the favour 20 years later!
You are most well known for the different ‘groups’ you have been in (there is a long list that includes: The Green Nuns of the Revolution, AMD, Green Oms, Circuit Breakers, with Burn in Noise, and the list goes on) and you are now finally getting the kudos you deserve performing solo.What is it that you enjoy so much about working with others?
This kind of music is party music,it’s fun and it makes you want to dance and have a good time to it. So why not have a laugh with a friend when you are making it and that essence will come through in the music.On a more practical level it also means you have a deadline to finish it with that person with the time you have together otherwise on my own I’ll just go on for days umming and aaring about sounds!
Do you remember ever having looking around at the Psy Trance scene in general and shaking your head wondering ‘what the hell are these guys up to?
Well I’m always shaking my head but that’s due to my dodgy eyes, but no seriously the trance scene has its own life and people get critical about this sound or that sound but in the end it’s down to an individuals personal taste as to what they like,there is no right or wrong. It should be open to whatever you want, that’s why I got into this all those years ago.
Do you have any guesses as to what might be around the corner for Psy trance over the next 5 years?
Same same but different
Whats your biggest inspiration when writing music?
Some kinds of vegetation and of course my amazing wife (she’s right next to me)
What would the title of your biography be?
Bleeps, Tweaks and Tie-Dye
What would be the weirdest scene in your biography?
One day in Israel a few years back… involving gangsters and fridges.
Why do you think the UK/London still plays such an important role in the global Psy Trance scene?
It’s where it all came from…mostly! The scene goes up and down here but it is diverse and there are so many musical influences and to be frank we,as a nation,make fucking great music!