Anthony Crook (who is no doubt better known to you as Ant TC1) has by his own admission been playing the drum and bass game for a fair while. However, when looking back at what first inspired him to make moves in a musical direction, Crook concedes his initial inspiration was not sourced in drum & bass but rather its predecessors.
He continues, “Grooverider first hooked me in. His set at Fantazia, Castle Donnington in 1992 is still my favourite set ever, there was no looking back after raving away to that tape as a young teen in my bedroom!”
Having been caught by a passion for the sound, it did not take long for the young Crook to move from music fanatic to compelling creator. Describing his real drive as simply “hearing what could be done with some of the early records I bought,” he explains his shameful transition as follows, “I started buying some more obvious / commercial rave tunes before I heard some of the DJ’s really. In fact I’ll even go as far as to say some of my first records came from the covers of smash hits aged 12 – really floppy seven inch cheap bendy plastic lo-fi cuts – stuff like Mel & Kim and New Kids On The Block were smashing it for me back then before rave hooked me in – please forgive me I was only 12!”
While his 12 year old self may not have really pre-empted the musical maestro he grew up to be, he does recall very clearly a marked change as he reached the age at which in many cultures a boy becomes a man. “Then at 13 I became ‘cool’ and got into this rave music everyone’s parents hated on. I got into N-Joi / Dream Frequency etc then I just delved even deeper into what was dance/rave culture back then and started buying more underground vinyl.”
Having made the transition from pop head to dance head, he found that not only his musical interest had altered but also his life ambition. “Hearing Grooverider mix some of this stuff live absolutely made me think no I don’t wanna be a butcher or fireman or anything else, I wanna be a DJ.” Having made his mind up about his new career goal, Crook could have not asked for a better support network, finding that within his parents there was a shared passion and drive. Thinking about what keeps him fired up today, Crook immediately picks out one key person, “My mother from above, she always did and always will. She used to drop me off at Pirate Radio aged 14 every week and picked me up at 12 am on a Sunday night even though she had work first thing on a Monday morning. The pirate signal only ran about one mile circular and I had probably 20 listeners tops back then but even when I felt like it was all pointless she still kept supporting me through everything I did with my music even though being a Bowie and Rod Stewart fan she hated drum and bass!”
After a brief moment of personal insight, the performer in Crook automatically picks up the tone of proceedings. Noticing that to date the interview has veered towards the retrospective, he jokes, “I know Octane and DLR will probably cry at the fact I haven’t cited them as an inspiration as they tend to think everybody on the planet is inspired by them and wants to be just like them but nah not me!”
Having made his name not only as an artist in his own right, but through his work with the label Dispatch, Crook is perfectly situated to comment on the progression of the sound. He reveals, “I’ve seen drum and bass go full circle a number of times but refreshed in a different way, each talented producer brings their own take on the tempo, I guess. I see drum and bass as possibly the most diverse style of dance music out there.” With the sound constantly evolving, he admits that he is never surprised by the way an old tune can still sound fresh and new. “I can drop something from 94 in my set and still get people coming up asking, ‘What was that tune, when is it coming out?’”
“Something that pricks my ears, sounds individual and is spankingly well put together. I always wanna see that extra bit of effort in a track.” His work at the label means he is at the forefront of new sounds, so before he heads off, I ask for a quick recommendation or two.. “November should see our Octane & DLR Dispatch sample pack winner Arkaik have his track released as 005 possibly with a blinder of a track I’ve signed from Safire & Borderline on the A-side.”
BY DAVID HUNTER
