Interview: Sigma

Interview: Sigma

OUSA Orientation Afterparty

Drum and bass duo, Sigma, is made up of British talents Joe Lenzie and Cameron Edwards. Critic caught up with them just before their bombastic set at the Orientation Afterparty, to talk about dubstep, e-cigarettes and Karl Pilkington.

Critic: Firstly, I’ve got to ask — what flavor vape are you smoking?

Joe: Blueberry. But it’s not that nice, though.

Critic: Mmm. I think the more tea and herbal flavours are nicer than the fake fruit ones.

Cameron: Oh, right. Are there vape shops here?

Critic: Yeah, it’s really big in New Zealand actually. Cosmic’s good, on the main street.

Cameron: We’ll have to go there tomorrow, then.

Critic: What do you guys think about the current electronic music landscape? Is drum and bass having a comeback, is it in a bit of a lull?

Cameron: I definitely wouldn’t say it’s in a lull. It’s probably the biggest it’s ever been, I think. In England at the moment there’s been probably about four Number One drum and bass records? Which is just unheard of, really. The kids are into it more these days. Obviously the music has changed as well; it’s a bit more commercial, more accessible.

Joe: I think what has really helped in the UK … it’s been around for so long, and the people who actually control what’s getting played on the radio grew up listening to it. It’s not so alien to them to be playing stuff at that tempo in the daytime. So that’s really good. It’s a part of British culture, really.

Critic: Do you ever think the UK grime scene could become as big as drum and bass has?

Joe: I’m not sure. No disrespect to those guys, they’re talented … but because it’s such a UK thing, I think a lot of the stuff that they talk about is related to UK stuff, UK slang. I think a lot of the time in other parts of the world people don’t understand what they’re talking about.

Cameron: But then a lot of the beats sound like a lot of the new American tracks. Maybe it’s more of a case that the production might move over, but not necessarily the vocals.

Joe: The track that Kanye performed at the Brit Awards did sound like a grime track. How is it out here? Is it big out here?

Critic: Not quite. Very quintessentially British, I think. What are your thoughts on the UK at the moment? Culturally, politically …

Cameron: That’s a deep question … it’s shit. Politically, it’s shit.

Critic: David Cameron …

Cameron: He’s a cock. But most politicians are cocks.

Joe: (laughs) Such a cultured response! “It’s shit, David Cameron’s a cock! All politicians are cocks!”

Cameron: Boris Johnson, he’s the only one I’d actually pay any attention to. ‘Cos he’s fucking hilarious. He’s a mumbling fool, but he seems nice.

Critic: What’s the musical buzz in the UK like? Now that Britpop’s well and truly dead, dubstep’s become more of an international thing …

Joe: Dubstep’s dead in the UK now. It’s really harsh to say it, but there’s no dubstep nutters anywhere.

Critic: Burnt itself out?

Cameron: All very quickly … it grew too fast. No foundation.

Joe: That’s it. And that’s the thing with drum and bass — it goes in peaks and drifts and stuff, but it always has that core following in the underground. Which is really important for a scene to maintain.

Critic: Speaking of deep house … is Kiesza an artist you guys are into?

Cameron: Definitely! We keep bumping into her everywhere. We bumped into her first at Radio One [not the Dunedin station], when she had “Hideaway” out at a similar time to when we had “Nobody to Love”. We’ve been meaning to get on a tune together, but obviously she’s so busy and we’re so busy, it’s been hard to lock it down. We’ve written a tune we think would be good for her.

Joe: I think in terms of working with big feature vocalists, a lot of it is down to just whether it works with their schedule and yours. But you have to have the right track for the right vocal as well. For example, [Sigma’s new single] “Higher” with Labrinth. Labrinth was probably the ideal choice for us, but we got about fifteen different demos from different people! Cee Lo Green did one, loads of people.

Critic: If you could have a pint with any one person — living, fictional or dead — who would it be?

Cameron: … Peter Griffin. It’d just be hilarious, wouldn’t it? Who would you pick?

Joe: David Brent, from The Office. Or Karl Pilkington!

Cameron: I don’t think he would be up for it. He’d just be fucking annoying with his bald head.

Critic: Head like a fucking orange. What can we expect from you guys in the future?

Cameron: We’re working with some really exciting artists, actually … a guy called DJ Limited, a guy called Nick Da Silva. Some really cool music.
This article first appeared in Issue 3, 2015.
Posted 5:30pm Sunday 8th March 2015 by Basti Menkes and Daniel Munro.