Having recently received an award at the DJ Mag awards, as well as them smashing the techno scene with their DJ sets along with their own productions, time was due to see what else the British duo Slam have been up to.

‘Slam Present Transmissions: Glasgow’ was the compilation that lead you to glory at the DJ Mag Awards. Describe to us what this compilation consists of?

Again – The album was a chance for us to showcase the plethora of talent that exists in our home town – the tracks move from ambient soundscapes, through to moody downbeat journeys and then build into rhythmical electronica culminating in peak time industrial distortion.

What was it like to win an award at last years DJ Mag ceremony? 

Wining the Best Compilation Award was a fantastic recognition for all the artists that contributed tracks to this project “Slam present Transmissions: Glasgow” as well as the whole scene, clubs, promoters and clubbers that support us all – also had a great night out at Heaven in London for the ceremony meeting a lot of old friends.

Your compilation pays tribute to your home city Glasgow’s electronic scene. How is the Glasgow’s electronic scene different compared to London’s electronic scene?

We feel the Glasgow scene is far less fragmented and not as “fad and style” driven. Allowing artists and DJs to develop their own sound within a more stable support network. But that said there are some great London based Electronic Artists and Clubs.

What has been your biggest highlight along your music career to today?

Probably Soma reaching it 25th anniversary – something we never envisaged at its inception – when you produce and release music without any commercial considerations you always resist planning too far into the future.

In two words, describe the genre ’Techno’ to us.

Dark and Deep

What was our favourite venue to play at in 2015?

Has to be SWG3 in Glasgow – the new home of our Pressure nights – we had to move from the Arches when it closed down – but to find such a fantastic replacement venue was a god send. The nights have been epic, great line-ups and great crowds.

What does your music production set up consist of?

We both have home studios with a collection of old hardware that has been amassed over the years – but at the moment we tend to pre-produce on Ableton with various software sound sources and effects, the Sequentix Cirklon Sequencer and our Modular rig (which is continually growing). Then we tend to move to Logic to produce the final mix downs.

Your track ‘Make You Move’ is making crowds go crazy amongst the Techno scene. With established artist ‘Ben Klock’ picking this track up early, how does this make you feel?

It’s great that DJs and crowds are responding to “Make You Move” – but you’re always looking over the brow of the hill – to the next release on the new Soma Track Series – “Take You There” and then the next and next.

How did you two meet in the first place and did you know that years later you were to be a DJ and production duo?

We met working in a bar in Glasgow and used to tussle with each other to put our music / mixes on the sound system. Its been quite bizarre that we’ve both followed the same musical timeline over the last 25 years, with very little divergence in choice or taste – as with most of our endeavors we’ve never had any grand master plan – just take it day by day.

How did you decide on calling yourselves ‘Slam’? Is there a story behind this?…

The name “Slam” came from an old record by Phuture on the Chicago label called Traxx, which was a big favourite of ours at the time.

When you complete a track in the studio, what do you do next with it?

Once a track is finished we usually road test it that weekend. Playing it in a club is a priceless testing environment – for levels and arrangement.
If we feel its good to go it’s sent to our man Conor at Calyx in Berlin for mastering – always best to have someone else to do the final masters – fresh ears. If something needs changing, we go back into the studio on Monday to re-edit and then re-test the following weekend – that’s the release cycle.

What do you both get up to in your free time?

S – Make Music

O – Studio , Swimming and Cycling

What can we expect for your record label ‘Soma Records’ as well as your own music in 2016?

As we said earlier Soma has reached its 25th year – so this year we have a number of fantastic celebratory releases and events – all under wraps at the moment – so watch this space…