[Britain (UK)]Poppa Mint

 

[Poppa Mint] Alex & Conor/ Britain (UK) These two are on their way to becoming Big House headliners

HUH? POPPA MINT?
- a 20 year old ghetto kid, from Cape Town
- an 18 year old potato peeler, from the farmlands of Ireland
All your enquiries, be it gig bookings/remix requests/co-lab's etc, can be made to poppamint@gmail.com

Poppa-Mint @ FB
poppamint @ YOUTUBE

We asked these a guys a few question

[IF]When did you first start listening to EDM? 

[Poppa Mint] We first started listening to dance music during our primary school days. We got given an old euphoria cd, filled with 90's Ibiza cheese, and got hooked straight away. Luckily our interest in dance music didnt stop there, as we slowly educated ourselves on the techno, house and drum n bass scenes.

 [IF]What was your first event as a attendee?

[Poppa Mint]For some strange reason Wolfgang Gartner got booked to do a gig in a small hick village beside our hometown of Dundalk. We had scored some VIP passes for doing a bit of promo work. That gig really opened our eyes to the world of Djing and getting to meet Wolfgang was fun. We seemed to be the only people who knew who he was, and we think he knew that!

[IF]Who was your first favorite artist/group?

[Poppa Mint] Alex: First favourite artist would have to be Jamiroquai, thats probably where any of our acid jazzy tendencies come from.

Conor: This is a really tough question. Back in our primary school days we were big hip hop fans, that changed to rock and that soon progressed to dance. Id have to say my earliest influence would have been, Jay Z, NAS, Nirvana and Guns and Roses. As regards to dance music, Paul Van Dyke would have been the it thing at that stage.

[IF]When did you first start producing?
[Poppa Mint] We got our first copy of fruity loops around late 2009. Only dabbled with a few amateur mash ups for the following few months. Then mid 2010, we free'd up our time, and started getting a bit more serious with our productions.

[IF]When did you start DJing?How did you learn? 

[Poppa Mint] Conor : I started DJing in or around 2005/06. A friend of the family done a lot of DJing and I would have tagged along with him to gigs and doing the occasional scrappy set. It was mainly to get chicks, but now its all about the music, and chicks!. In 2007 I bought myself some decks and havent looked back since. I tought myself everything through 'trial By error'!

Alex: I started djing around late 2009, bought myself 2 turntables, 1 laidback luke record, 1 digitalism record, and a mixer. Stayed away from computer software for as long as possible through fear of the "sync" button. It's funny though, the transition from that setup to our current 1, which is almost completely digital, seemed transparent and organic.

[IF] First setup and current set up(including comps, software,drum-pads, etc)

[Poppa Mint]Our first set up as a duo, 2 cdj 400's, and 2 stanton turntables, with a 4 channel behringer mixer inbetween. We then gradually progressed to a more digital set up. Today we have a whole bundle of toys: a Midi Fighter, Novation Launchpad and Nocturn, an old banged up Casio Keyboard, audio 4 with timecoded vinyls. We mix and match depending on what sort of gig we're booked for. Our software set up is always the same, Traktor routed into a channel in Ableton, then we riff from there!

[IF]When was your first Gig/Performance?

[Poppa Mint]Alex: My first gig was a 40th Birthday Party. I'd highlight that as the best moment of my career so far haha

Conor: Yeh, I started out as a mobile dj. My first gig was a mates 21st. Glad I've been able to pack up the mobile DJ business, playing chart toppers every week is soul depleting. Still trying to regain my sanity

[IF]Who has been a major influence to your productions?

[Poppa Mint]Woah, we've been influenced by almost every artist we've ever listened to, in some way shape or form. Ones that stand out for us though: Eric Prydz, for the pure quality of his productions and his versatility as an artist (Cirez D, Pryda). The Martinez Brothers. Armand Van Helden for his ability to whip out commercial classics. Kanye West for his unapologetic brilliance! Also, a little more recently, we've been following the round table knights, who are heading for greatness! Wehbba is also releasing some genre bending stuff, which is influencing the way we look at music production for sure!

[IF]What are your future goals for performances and productions?

[Poppa Mint]We are scheduling the release of an album by the end of 2011, and planning a European tour to follow!

[IF]Do you collaborate with anyone?If so who?

[Poppa Mint] Depends on how you define collaborating. If you include singers from the late 1960's, then yes, we've collaborated with quite a few artists. Otherwise nah, we've been keeping everything in the box for the time being.

[IF]What is your Favorite or preferred performing equipment?(;Turntables(maker)/CDJ's/Drum-pads/Keyboards/Controllers)

[Poppa Mint]Our favorite bit of kit would have to be the Midi Fighter, from the guys at DJTechtools. The feel and repsonse of the arcade buttons are second to none!

[IF]What is the biggest event you wish to perform at?

[Poppa Mint] We hope to be rocking the main Stage in Glastonbury!

TRACKS:
  James Blake - To Care (Like You)(Poppa Mint Remix) by Poppa Mint

  Poppa Mint - Adroit Swagger (Demo) (poppamint@gmail.com) by Poppa Mint

TO LISTEN DIRECTLY VISIT
  Latest tracks by Poppa Mint