Introducing: Dam Mantle

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Dam Mantle finds himself riding the wave of promising British electronica acts along with Seams and Gold Panda (in fact, they’re heading out on tour together next month). It’s about time for a revival, of sorts, of something anti-guitar. Mantle’s glitchy “poems” seem to want to bridge the gap between the usual alienation of electronic music and the mainstream pop music of yore – y’know, when pop songs actually MEANT something. Anyway, we got to ask him some questions about what makes him tick…

For people out there that have never heard of you. Give us three reasons why they should…
It might make you cry
It might make you dance erratically
It might make happy
I hope all of the above at the same time with your eyes closed.

Can you recall the moment when you first decided you wanted to become a musician?
Sitting in school learning Maths, and then realising that not making music makes me unhappy.

Where do your songs come from? What’s your inspiration?
The similarities and differences between different Cultures and the distortion and merging of them.
I’ll wake up to my housemate playing reggae then ill have coffee and listen to Classic FM. Maybe cycle to Uni with Dilla and then play Gamelan while I paint or make stuff. By the time I’m back home I have heard music from four corners of the world and the combination of this and the space you can get into when making music at night on your own creates a refraction of experience that i hope is both unique to me and interesting to other people.

Name your Top 5 records.
Dimlite – “Runbox Weathers”
Mount Kimbie – “Maybes”
Do Make Say Think – “Winter Hymn, Country Hymn, Secret Hymn”
Don Caballero – “American Don”
Dirty Projectors – “The Getty Address”

What was the first gig you ever played and was it a success?
As ‘Dam Mantle’ it was ‘Upset the Rhythm’ about a month or so ago, it was as good as i could have hoped for a first gig.

What one piece of criticism has stuck in your mind and was it justified?
Nothing that’s really stuck in my mind. I’m quite a harsh critic on what i do, that’s all that matters.

What one thing has caused you to waste your free time in the past 6 months?
I don’t feel like I’ve had much free time, anytime that I’m not at Uni or ‘out’ I’m making music.

If you weren’t making music, what do you think you’d be doing?
Spending more time making Videos.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
I’ve mainly worked in kitchens doing the chefs’ dirty work, there tends to be a fair amount of misogyny and ego-warring going down when in the company of chefs.

We’d like you to make us a mix-tape. Pick five tracks with a theme of your choice.
“Grey” mixtape – download here.
Gonjasufi – “Ancestors”
ZX Spectrum Orchestra – “X+X=0″
Secret Mommy – “The tale of a Bird hit by Lightning”
Gold Panda – “Long Vacation”
Dimlite – “Back to the Universe pt.1″