“Some of my personal experiences with vinyl have been very influential to me and to Ded Rabbit.”
“I remember very well as a teenager visiting my brother Tom in London when he worked for Tower Records. He was also a regular DJ in venues across the city. I went to a couple of his gigs with him and I was taken in and entranced by this world of bass and drums driven music. It was unlike the pop and indie I was used to and it was very exiting to me being a drummer.
I wanted to get involved in this music as much as possible. My brother played drum and bass, jungle, break beat, hip hop, and soul just to name a few genres he delved into. My interest in dance and electronic music had firmly begun and it was all thanks too my brother and vinyl. I discovered artists like Roni Size, Ganja Crew, The Wiseguys, Jurrassic Five, and Nas as well as record labels like Ram Records and Ninja Tune who just always seem to release the very best in smooth drum and bass and break beats.
There was more too—I discovered artists like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and The Temptations through vinyl when my brother used to gig at parties when I visited.
I always thought it was so cool when a white label used to arrive at my brother’s flat—they were very mysterious and I always thought they could be the best thing I’ve ever heard just waiting to be played. White labels were very attractive to me. The excitement over vinyl grew for me when my brother Tom moved to Scotland to live with us for a year or two and he brought his vinyl collection and decks with him, and this is when I started to DJ myself.
I truly discovered the full attraction of vinyl then. The records were so big and colourful with amazing artwork, they were more than just pieces of music and you felt more connected to them than any other format because, being a DJ, I was manipulating their sound and playing with their best bits.
When I lived in Aberdeen in my early twenties, I had my own decks and collected vinyl from artists such as The Chemical Brothers, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, Digitalism, Daft Punk, Jamie T, and the Klaxons. Vinyl made me fully appreciate electronic and hip hop music and shaped the way I drum and listen to music. Vinyl also has great sentimental value to me because it’s an art-form in itself and a vital connection to music.
These days I love it when a band has vinyl to sell or give away as it just feels like it connects me more to the band and I would love to release vinyl with Ded Rabbit. Now I collect vinyl of any genre as long as it sounds and looks cool to me. I’ve swapped the decks for a record player but recently have been craving the decks again.
I hope it won’t be long until I invest in some new ones.”
—Eoin Gaine, Drums
Ded Rabbit’s third EP of 2015, “Moving In Slow Motion” is released 15th July via Ded Rabbit Records.
