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COLIN KMAG
DOA: Thanks for sitting down with us, Colin. First, when did you first get into electronic music, and DnB specifically, as just a listener?
Colin KMag: Growing up in Glasgow I was a bit of an indie kid into bands like the Jesus & Mary Chain, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Smiths and Sonic Youth, but around 1987 I started getting into Hip-Hop through people like Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys, Eric B & Rakim and Schoolly D. I then started going to clubs and in 1988 acid house exploded and that’s when I really got unto electronic music in a big way. I used to go to gigs and clubs with my best friend from school, Markee Substance from Kosheen. I left to go to university in Liverpool in 1990, while Markee moved to Bristol. We stayed in contact and when I graduated in 1993 I also moved in with him and his friends in Bristol. They were all into jungle in a big way and had just started a club called Ruffneck Ting. I must admit that I didn't quite get it at first, but after going to clubs like AWOL at The Paradise Club it all made sense.
DOA: Had you ever DJed or tried your hand at production?
Colin: I've had many opportunities, and I have occasionally been tempted but I never have.
DOA: How did Knowledge first come about – were you writing previously and decided to start your own magazine?
Colin: I first got into writing in 1988 when I was working for a magazine in Glasgow called The List. After that I started freelancing for a few national magazines. One of my new flatmates in Bristol was Rachel Patey and she had a sales background, so I thought we could run a magazine together. I used to get Atmosphere when I went raving in London, but it was impossible to find in Bristol so I wanted to do something similar for the south west. This was as just a hobby, of course; it was never supposed to be a business.
DOA: What were some of the obstacles you encountered when you first got Knowledge up and running?
Colin: Distribution was a bit of a headache initially, as we would distribute it ourselves. We used to promote a club in Bristol called Ruffneck Ting and we would hand out mags after clubs; we were also flyering, as it was free. We used to put the mags in record shops in the south west when we were putting out Ruffneck Ting flyers. This was a lot of hard work, obviously, but eventually we got Vinyl Distribution to send them out to record shops nationally and internationally alongside the shop's orders. This made a big difference as we went from being a regional magazine to a national and we could concentrate on the magazine more.
DOA: Now, there were/are a bunch of DnB publications out there, but Knowledge always seemed to be part of the upper echelon. What do you think set apart KMag from the pack?
Colin: The quality of the writing has always been important but I think the design of the magazine really helped set it apart. We were very lucky to work with a talented graphic designer called Phil Rees at Deface between 1998 and 2003. His eye for details was amazing in itself but he also had contacts with Bristol based illustrators like Mr. Jago, and he would call in favours and get them to add illustrations to his designs.
DOA: Do you have a particular issue (or issues) that stand out as some of the best magazines you guys published?
Colin: There have been so many but the one that stands out for me was the tenth anniversary issue as it was twice the size (180 pages) and had lots of special features.
DOA: How did your life change, going from a DnB listener/fan solely to now being part of breaking talent and covering the scene?
Colin: Not very much to be honest, apart from the traveling. I've been very lucky and have been all over the world to do Knowledge events.
DOA: Now, in 2009, KMag closed shop, print-wise. Talk to the people about some of the reasons behind shutting down the print-end of KMag.
Colin: It was a case of if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, really! Our sales peaked around 2000/1 and they had been in gradual decline ever since. We just projected where we would be in, say, three years time, and it wasn’t going to get any better. The future is online and we want to be a part of it.
DOA: Was the idea to always re-start KMag as a larger website?
Colin: No, it was forced upon us, I would still love to publish a magazine. I wish we could do both.
DOA: What were some of the pros and cons about going from a print magazine to a website? Does the web help or hinder your overall goal with Knowledge?
Colin: The biggest pro is the speed you can information out. With the magazine we were working about two months in advance and if some news came in last minute you couldn't do anything. I also love the fact that you can interact more with your audience. Distribution was always a problem with magazine. You could only produce a certain amount and it was hard to find (and expensive abroad) so all those problems have gone as well.
DOA: KMag debuted officially very recently. How did it feel to finally let the public in on the next phase of KMag?
Colin: Getting it online took longer than we would have liked, so the main feeling was relief to be honest!
DOA: I see the blogs, podcasts and other bits on the site - what are some of your goals with KMag?
Colin: What is up now is phase one and hopefully we'll be ready to launch phase two in a few months time. We’ll be adding stuff like video features, a forum plus an events section.
DOA: Are there still plans to do your Knowledge club nights?
Colin: We'v been doing a regular event called BarKnowledge at Café 1001 for about four years now. It's a free event, and we book up-and-coming DJs. It’s great as there's no risk and we don’t have to work our asses off promoting it. I would like to do more events like this soon.
DOA: Where would you like to see KMag evolve to in the next, say, five years?
Colin: Hopefully we can evolve into an electronic music website like www.residentadvisor.net; I still love Drum & Bass and we’ll always cover it extensively but now I can cover more Hip-Hop, dubstep, breaks and electronica than I could in the magazine.
DOA: If someone came to you saying they wanted to get into the journalism side of Drum & Bass – be it starting their own magazine, or getting their own website going – what would be some pointers or advice that you’d give them?
Colin: The first piece of advice is don’t start a magazine as the production costs are too high! Any aspiring journalists should start doing a blog. It doesn't cost anything and it's a great way to learn your craft. After this, start contacting other websites and magazines and see if they will let you write for them. Offering to work for free always helps and so do original and interesting ideas. Pitching obvious ideas doesn't always work as they probably already have it covered with one of their regular writers.
DOA: What are some producers/tunes that you're feeling right now, and where do you think DnB will be heading in 2010?
Colin: I'm an old git these days, so I'm more into the minimal, slower side of Drum & Bass on a personal level, but I still remember raving so I can appreciate all good Drum & Bass in its many forms. The new Alix Perez album is amazing and hopefully will inspire producers to realize that less is more. I love what dBridge and Instra:mental are doing at the moment as well.
DOA: Got any shouts before we end this?
Colin: Yeah, I'd like to big up my business partner Rachel Patey and Kevin Youkhana, the developer who made the site possible.
Words: khal |
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Dogs On Acid > Comments > COLIN KMAG
09-30-2009 04:51 PM
