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Wideboys
Garage Jams - London, UK
Comprised of the dynamic duo of Eddie Craig (27, married, likes music, meditation, and martial arts) and Jim Sullivan (33, single but happily involved, likes music, gadgets, and going to the gym), the Wideboys have been topping garage play lists around the world with their bumping beats and b-boy mentality when not kicking ass in the dojo or driving hovercrafts.
Defining their own brand of UK Garage with electro-tinged breaks and marimba basslines, the Wideboys have supplied us with industry standards such as “Freek Like Me”, “Stand & Deliver”, and the Ayia Napa classic, “Sambuca” (Editor: Not to mention "Messin Around" and "Destination Weekend"). Continuing their string of successes, their most recently efforts include an absolutely stunning remix of Norris Da Boss and Rose Windross’ “Music Is My Life”, reworking of Delinquent’s “Ghetto Queen” and a collaboration with MJ Cole and Vula called “Body Language”, As if that wasn’t enough, the Wideboys have just released a double pack that is sure to find a permanent home in many a DJ’s crate called “Pirate Selectas”. Is there anything they can’t do?
DeepSix sits down in Ed’s massage chair and gets right to the business of finding out just how wide these boys have gotten...
D6 - Ed, this massage chair is worth every penny! And Jim, how’s the hovercraft holding up?
Ed - The massage chair is lovely - very relaxing.
Jim - Rally driving is my latest conquest and I’m burning up the courses!
D6 - For those who don’t know, what exactly does the term “Wideboys” mean?
Ed - A “Wideboy” is a cheeky chappy who is a little bit dodgy, for example - a Cockney car dealer… a little bit wooh a little bit whey.
Jim - We always have a laugh!
D6 - On to the music: What got you into production and remixing originally? I know Jim touched down on Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Power of Love” and “Two Tribes”. Can you tell us a little bit of your history in the industry?
Jim - I was working in a full time studio and Ed was working in a record shop. Through our joint passion for music, our paths were destined to cross. We had a lot of help from people within the scene. DJs such as TuffJam were supporting our early stuff on Union Jack and Social Circles from day one.
Ed - Eventually, word spread to Jimmy & Andy at Public Demand and it all went from there.
D6 - What tune signalled the entrance of the Wideboys into UK Garage? What do you feel was your “shining moment” tune wise?
Ed - ”All I Want To Do” on Union Jack was our first entry into the UK Garage scene in 1998. Before this came out, we had been working on a lot of different styles and had already loads of tracks out. But this was where we first found our “Garage feet”.
Jim - Our shining moment so far has been “Sambuca”, purely for the fun we had surrounding its release.
D6 - During you career, you have had the challenge of remixing tunes to fit the UKG mold and also provide a different take on other artists within the Garage scene, including Artful Dodger and Sticky. What artists have you been most honoured to remix?
Ed - We have been very thankful for all our remixes and its always an honour to be asked to remix someone else’s work. All Saints was a big honour because they were a real funky band. Remixing Shinichi Osiwa from Japan was also a big achievement for us.
D6 - Any remixing opportunities you’ve turned down… ?
Jim - We have turned down quite a lot of work - generally stuff where we felt we could not beat or match the original, or stuff we didn’t like musically.
Ed - Time and deadlines can also play a part.
D6 - Speaking of remixes, have you guys ever heard of the cheeky stuff on “Mind The Gap”? It’s great stuff isn’t it? Wonder who did those remixes…
Both - Yeah, not sure who it is… but them boys smash it!
D6 - You’ve been called you the “B-boys of UKG” and you can be heard scratching it up on many a set. Your electro and breaks mixes are without a doubt a different spin on things, but fit well into a standard UKG set. What are your musical influences?
Ed - We get influences from different aspects of music and by doing this we try to keep a fresh take on the scene. We love Electro too!
Jim - And both of us have a lot of love for the early Hip House and Hip Hop.
D6 - As afficianados of the “4-elements of Hip Hop”, I was wondering if either of you can breakdance? MC? Write graffiti?
Ed - Jim is the design man when it comes to graffiti and I’ve been known to spit a lyric or 2, but when it comes to breakdancing our friend Tony Floyd is the man!!!
D6 - Regarding the martial arts, what discipline(s) do you practice and does it help with keeping the punters away from your dubplates, perhaps?
Ed - I teach and train in traditional kung fu and kickboxing and study tai chi, wing chun and wu shu. Jim is a gym man and can often be seen taking his dogs, Murphy and Lex, for a run over the Pompey hills.
Jim - Luckily, we don’t attract trouble and people generally give us a wide birth!
D6 - What do each of you, individually, bring to the table? Who’s responsible for what during the creative process?
Ed - We share studio responsibilities and its only a real Wideboys production when we’re both in the studio together.
Jim - Ed normally brings the street vibe and I bring the classical musical vibe. When combined, anything can happen.
D6 - What are your favourite production tools?
Jim - Cubase, ReCycle and Sound Forge - essential purchases.
D6 - What are essential items to have in your studio?
Ed - A screw driver, soldering iron and torch [Editor: flashlight] for fixing broken computer problems!!!
D6 - With the whole change in the scene, what are your views on UKG going underground again?
Jim - It’s great! The people involved in the scene are the one’s that love it rather than those who are trying to making a quick buck by jumping on the bandwagon.
D6 - Let’s talk trends. What about the “death of 2-Step”? Will we see more of that style from you or are you fairly firmly planted in 4/4 soil?
Ed - We always experiment with our tunes and love 2-Step. We’re not really fashion followers and always try to experiment in the studio. Just because 2-Step isn’t flavour of the month, that wont stop us from releasing it. We were still releasing 4x4 when most people had stopped making it!
D6 - Can you tell us anything about the "Up North" Speed Garage / Organ House / Bassline House scene? Have you been involved with that sound at all?
Jim - The Bassline scene is really bubbling at the moment and quite diverse. A lot of our tunes are getting played up north at the moment and a lot of our older stuff like “Westside” and “Stand and Deliver” have been played there for a long time. We are getting great feedback from the DJs. The scene is vibrant there and is very similar to the vibe we get at our nights on the Southcoast.
Ed - A lot of our tunes work both up north and in London, We must be kinda lucky or something!
D6 - Another current trend is producer collaborations. Tell us about some of your recent and future collabos that you’re involved in.
Ed - When the scene became more underground, we made a conscious decision to pull our resources together and collaborate with other producers and artists to help push the scene forward. We were lucky enough to work with people we really respect. On Garage Jams we currently have collaborations with MOBO Award winners DJ Luck and MC Neat, MOBO Award winner MJ Cole, old school legends Norris “Da Boss” Windross and Rose Windross and we have artists MC Rusty, Dennis G, Vula, Errol Reid and Kenny Thomas on vocals.
Jim - We are currently working with Delinquent and Qualifide and have forthcoming releases involving them.
D6 - What are your thoughts on Grime and Dubstep - any plans on venturing into them?
Ed - We have experimented with Grime and Dubstep for our own pleasure and have not released anything as of yet - but watch this space!
Jim - And check out some of our early tracks and remixes to hear some pre-Grime beats and bass lines!
D6 - Where are you playing regularly now?
Ed - Club-wise, we regularly play at UK Shakedown, Prolific, Sweet & Sexy (Switzerland), Snap Under 18’s tour and various gigs up and down the country.
JIM - We also play regularly on various national and pirate radio shows.
D6 - When are your next club dates?
ED - The next UK Shakedown event is on October 8, 2005 at the Mud Club, Bognor Regis, with Norris “Da Boss” Windross, Dj Domino, Bela En, and more!
D6 - Other than Switzerland, where have you played abroad?
Jim - We have played all over the world including holding a bi-monthly residency at Eden in Ibiza. Munich, Amsterdam and Prague have real up-for-it crowds, too!
D6 - Any hopes of seeing the Wideboys in Canada or the US? I need to see the “Eddy Wideboy Shuffle” live and in person sometime in the near future.
Ed - We would love to come over to the USA and Canada, and hopefully this will happen soon!!!! A tour would be wicked because my sister lives in the USA and, whenever she’s is in the UK, she always comes raving with us!
D6 - What are your thoughts on pushing the vibe outside of the UK? Any ideas on how it can be done better?
Ed - We love to spread the Garage vibe wherever we can. If people like the music, the sound spreads and this is clearly starting to show with brilliant non-UK producers really coming through with tight production and fresh ideas from lots of different places,
Jim - This bodes well for us all. You can’t hold a good thing back.
D6 - So, until you set foot on North American soil, where can fans and DJs pick up your records and mixes?
Jim - All our tracks can be bought directly from our online store at WWW.GARAGEJAMS.CO.UK. We also do a monthly radio show that can be downloaded for free from our website. It showcases all the new tunes that we are feeling from different producers from around the world.
D6 - What are your next release dates?
ED - Be on the look out for our next releases - Wideboys & Vula- "Naughty by Nature" with a Delinquent mix and Wideboys & Dennis G -" If You Wanna Party (Boogie Down)". Both will be available exclusively on our site at the beginning of October.
D6 - And seeing as it’s just around the corner, what do you both want for Christmas this year?
Both - Peace, love, gadgets and a big fat turkey!
D6 - Any last shout outs?
Both - To all our family/pets, friends, DJs, promoters, records shops and ravers who have supported us in any way shape or form, we are truly grateful. You are the reason why we keep making beats!
Thanks to the Wideboys for the great interview. Remember to check out the
HTTP://WWW.GARAGEJAMS.CO.UK and
HTTP://WWW.GARAGEJAMS.CO.UK/WIDEBOYS for up-to-date info on the boys, their free mixes, and the online record shop.
Also, be sure to look out for work under these names - Medieval Hooligans, Once Waz Nice, Scintilator, and Bodie & Doyle - if you know what’s up.
And finally, for your own safety - please mind the gap.