What do you get if you mix a scruffy, skinny northerner with a big smile, some acid house, some disco type music, other house in varying forms and a smattering of techno”….read on and he’ll tell you!

…..PLUS, the perfect Red Thai Curry paste courtesy of GDG!

Hi Paul, how are you today?

I’m not too bad thanks. Looking forward to my eldest daughters dance show tonight and pondering on venturing out in the cold with my lil lad to get some Christmas prezzies sorted.

Been up to much?

Just been getting on with everyday life really. A few trips to the dentists, shopping, entertaining my 18 month old lad, nothing exciting really but it’s been good to just plod on.

You’re about to release Cottam 4 (November 29th)….. How much time has it been in the making? What did you set out to make this time around?

I never set out to make a particular thing, I wasn’t thinking ‘let’s make something for Cottam4′,  I just have a play (when I get chance) and try making grooves. I had a track sort of ready for Cottam4 ages ago, can’t even remember when to be honest. Originally I wanted to stick my 1st version of Afro Edit 3 on there. I got asked to redo it a bit, take the main vocal out etc etc… The b side was done not too long ago, again my memory isn’t the best hehehe, it was just one of them things that has been in my head for ages and ages and I finally had a bit of time to get it down.

So, when you start the production process, do you ever have a defined idea of where you want the track to go? Or does it just develop as you go along?

Sometimes I have a firm idea sometimes I don’t. Even if I have a firm idea of where I want it to go it doesn’t always work out that way. I’m a novice on production so I lack the skills to be able to realise my ideas. I’m just learning as I go along and hopefully, when time is easier to come by and I can get more involved, I’ll learn and get better.

Your musical background is fairly eclectic; hip-hop, jungle, soul…why settle on house?

Not sure to be honest. I love all sorts of music but I’d been mainly playing techno untill maybe 18months ago. Just realised thats the time my lil lad came along. Maybe I just mellowed that little bit, or maybe it’s a midlife crisis LOL.

You’re love for techno is well documented, so why the decision to produce and play at such a slow tempo, which surely makes playing ‘traditional’ techno records quite difficult?

I’m probably just slowing down as I get older.  I was played some slower stuff by a friend of mine and it just got me hooked, I loved the vibe. Yeah it does make it difficult to play techno along with the mid tempo kinda stuff, but hey, why not try it. A lot of stuff won’t slow enough but there’s always some stuff that works a treat so why not, nothing ventured nothing gained. I do play and make stuff thats quicker, most people don’t see that side of me.

You’ve said you have little time to indulge yourself in production due to family commitments, that must leave very little time to trawl through record stores. We see you pop up on Soundcloud quite often; does this play a big part now too?

I tend to see things I’m interested in and stick them in my wish list for later listening… I also just bring up all the new releases for the day and listen while I’m playing with the lil lad. Soundcloud is great, I try not to go on too often as I can spend hours listening to stuff on there (usually when I’m supposed to be washing up or preparing a meal). My best mate Paul Watson (who got me back into the housier side of things) gives me tips on stuff he thinks is hot, and he’s rarely wrong. I don’t find getting the music or finding the music a problem, it’s the finding time to spin it that’s frustrating.

Just how big is the Cottam vinyl collection anyway?

Not that big. It would have been huge but I’ve had moments when I’ve sold loads of stuff. Either complete musical changes or just to make ends meet. I’m not sure how many slabs of wax I have today, quite a lot. I have reached the point where I have to stick boxes of vinyl up in the loft.

We noticed Ben Watt was selling of all his vinyl, what a thing to part with, do you think you will ever decide you need the space?

I would never sell ALL my vinyl, not even if we needed the space (I’d ask my mum very nicely if I could store some there). I do have a load of records I’m never gonna play again and don’t really like so I’ll defo get rid of them.  If I sell records though,  I always use the money to buy new ones!…. recycle recycle recycle. ;0)

How do you feel about the demise of the technics turntable?

Gutted. I love them. I’ve had mine for 17 years, fallen down stairs with them, walked into walls with them, done fantastic (and not so fantastic) parties with them, and they still work without a service or even a proper clean. Ah well, it’s been on the cards for a while now, saying that my 1200′s will probably outlast me! ;0)

If you could buy yourself a present – price no limit – in the musical production / DJing realm, what would it be?

That’s easy. Another room for my house. My own music room/man den. The corner of our living room isn’t the best place to have my decks and gear. I haven’t enough room to set a lot of my gear up and with a family of 5 it’s nigh on impossible to get uninterrupted time to spend on music. I know it’s not technically a bit of kit but I think it would be the most beneficial to me and my music.

GetDownGood will be your first London gig for a while…what have you got in store for us?

A scruffy, skinny northerner with a big smile, some acid house, disco type music, house in varying forms and a smattering of techno. Not played for a month so I think I’m gonna be super excited, it’s just great to get the opportunaty to play music to people! ;0)

Now, ask us something if you want….

My new fav meal is red thai curry and though I make it every weekend I use a ready made paste, so my question is….How do you make a “Red Thai Curry Paste” from scratch?

As great lovers of eastern fare, we can point you in the right direction!  Absolutely swear by Rick’s Stein’s ‘Far Eastern Odyssey’. It’s addictive, sometimes I just read it, no intention of cooking. This is a decent curry paste (tip : why not make a load and fridge some in Tupperware, that way you can make one big trip to the Thai superstore and get some proper spices in!)

8 long red chillies, seeds removed, flesh roughly chopped
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp chopped garlic
2 stalks lemongrass, tough outer leaves removed, finely chopped
3 fresh coriander roots
1 tsp shredded kaffir lime leaves
2.5cm/1in piece galangal, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tsp shrimp paste
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

Check out Cottam 4 below. Cottam will be joining GetDownGood residents this Saturday (4th December 2010) for an evening of, well….come see.

http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?203462