HERNY – SumMix 013
It’s been a while since we last had a SumMix. Over 2 years in fact. I guess time flies when you’re going through a pandemic! Now things have settled down, and we have a shiny new website, the time feels right to kick the series off again. Expanding on how we did things previously, we’ll also now be catching up with the DJs behind the mix, giving you an insight into how the mix was put together, what makes them tick and more.
For this instalment , we caught up with HERNY, a Cambridge-based DJ and Vandelay Radio resident. HERNY was due to play for us at one of our parties back in March. Unfortunately that party had to be cancelled and was understandably gutting for all involved. However, determined to still showcase HERNY’s DJ skills, we thought it’d be a great idea to get him in to reboot the SumMix series. Spanning everything from bumping UKG, head-nodding dubstep to club gems and ruff-neck jungle, trust us when we say the mix is a goodie!
Giddy: Hey HERNY, thanks for providing the mix. Would you like to introduce yourself?
Herny: Hey Alex – I’m HERNY, which is just my name misspelt. I’m from Cambridge originally, lived in a few other UK cities since, where my taste for dance music started to take shape… and now I’ve found myself back here for a job I got about 3 years ago.
G: I really enjoyed the mix. The blend of styles and tempos is great, exactly what I like to hear in a good set. How did you record the mix and was there an idea behind it?
H: Thanks man! Yeah, I always like to change up electronic genres as much as I can to keep things interesting. I guess for this mix I wanted to keep things fun first half and get more bass wise and hard as it progresses. I usually record mixes for the web with a controller and Rekordbox (can’t afford Pioneer XDJs atm, they’re so spenny), and I usually mix vinyl at home. I also like to overdub FX, and put audio stamps for online mixes. Nice to polish it up for online playback – playing a set at a club or house party is a different kettle of fish IMO.
G: You’ve got your monthly ‘Who Shot Mr Herns’ show on Vandelay. How did that come about and how do you prepare for each show? The artwork for the shows is brilliant by the way!
H: Yeah so when I came back to Cambridge I made a post on a Facebook group called the ITT group, where often people ask for club recommendations in countries and cities they’re about to visit. I posted one for Cambridge when I returned for work, just to see if there was something going on, and Boeing replied to it. We ended up making friends and mixing together, and it turned out he had a show on Vandelay Radio that I ended up doing a couple of guest mixes for, and Who Shot Mr Herns emerged from that. Always worth putting yourself out there! Don’t ask, ya don’t get. My prep for WSMH usually is as soon as the previous show is done, start (well, continue) listening loads, work out what sounds I’m enjoying at the time, start a long-list, file that down to a shortlist, buy those tunes and organise them a bit, then use that as a basis. I’ve started having guests on now though, so often it’s what they’ve done in their mix that I use as a basis, rather than just purely what I’m into at the time.
G: What producers and labels are you feeling right now?
H: Oh god, so yeah Pressure Dome comes to mind first for sure, and other UK Bass labels like Manuka, Circular Jaw and Glome Sound. Bought some real nice Yoofee, Atrice and releases recently, along with Toma Kami’s Dali Bear EP. Wetman is my fave jungle producer atm, who I discovered via his 140 release on eatmybeat. For the leftfield of UK Bass, Genus – Delay Grounds is an incredible, forward thinking release. I’m a big Future Times fan as well – Will DiMaggio has a beautifully gentle summery jazz house release on that label. Maxmillion Dunbar also has a few great releases on Future Times too. My fave ambient always comes from Khotin/Area 3, if that’s your bag. If you’re into house, I highly recommend Frits Wentink for some lofi hip hop infused stuff, and Rutilance Records for the deep, big room crew. Some nice, clean, fun garage house coming from Altered Feast. Got a few Time Is Now records to satiate the UKG side – Blocked by Soul Mass Transit System gets a spin every time I’m doing a mix, and Kylin Tyce’s Thinkin’ on Tesselate also always gets played. Another big shout for UKG: Ease Up George, over various labels. Also, just check out Flørist, Adam Pits, Tom Place, Priori, Stones Taro, Etch, J. Albert, Proc Fiskal… Oh and Desert Sound Colony + Harry Wills on Sock It To Me + Holding Hands. Loefah has been on my rotation quite a bit too, revitalised by attending a recent HVYWGHT birthday night at Brixton Electric powered by Sinai Soundsystem – Disko Rekah is such a tune, especially out of a virtually perfect sound system. I could keep going haha, there’s just so much good stuff. Puts a big grin on my face.
G: Outside of music, what keeps you interested?
H: Honestly, very little hah. I’m a music obsessive, so it tends to take over my time. Big comedy fan though, I’m a sucker for panel shows, huge Bob Mortimer fan, and when Sean Lock died that was literally the only time I’ve cried when a celeb died. It’s kinda all in same vein really, the arts, music, comedy – expressing, interpreting and commenting on the human experience, and laughing at it feels particularly great. Lots of time for the silly and absurd interpretation of life, so that brand of comedy satisfies that need pretty well.
Big thanks to HERNY for having a chat with us and providing the mix. Also nice one for being so patient with us whilst we got the site ready! Check the mix below and make sure you go give him a follow.
HERNY:
Tracklist:
30/70 – Slangin’ (Neue Grafik Rework)
Billy 2 Chips – Like U
Ease Up George – Corner Solution
JONGPADAWAN – Breath Me In
b0n – bOnanna
Nicolas Duque – 2You
Kylin Tyce – Thinkin’
Farsight – Renegade
ETRA – BAK
Tom Place – left of center
King Monday – Choco Dub
Dubamine – Redeye
Yoofee – Calibration
DASEPLATE – Fat Tony
L U C Y – NIGHTS
Commodo Vs Lurka – Airtight
Will Ortiz – Chi Town
Arma – Wray & Ting
Young Muscle – Slipstream
PHYLISS JAXSON – Snap & Roll
Sideswipe – Luv Ya Baby
Sully – Sliding