Mixmag’s final London party approaches at Egg on 29th August before they hit the road for their biggest nationwide Mixmag Tour ever. Ahead of this event, we grabbed a few minutes with the Finnish star Rico Tubbs for a good ol’ chin wag.
So Rico Tubbs, you’re spending the last weekend in August in the lovely city of London to play at Mixmag’s Bank Holiday special at the Egg Club, do you like playing to us Brits?
Definitely. One thing I especially like is that I think the Finns and Brits share a similar sense of humour, which in some other countries might lead to awkward moments of not the funny kind.
Are you a fan of the British dance scene?
For me it’s where the whole music thing started. I was still deep into metal and hip hop when I heard The Prodigy’s Out Of Space and shortly after that got my hands on to Orbital’s brown album. Since then following the UK dance scene has taken an increasingly bigger part of my life.
How does it compare to the Finnish dance scene?
Club wise, we are doing quite well. Helsinki - where most of it happens - is almost too busy with all the "names" from every possible genre playing the clubs all the time, but you get good club nights all the way up to the Arctic Circle.
Considering there are only 5 million people here, I think we’re doing pretty good production wise too with solid stuff coming from drum & bass to dubstep to club music.
Your current look is a cross between high school nerd and new age traveler – what is your true idea of style – are you a follower of fashion or a fashion faux pas?
Argh, my return to trash metal roots backfired then... I think if you follow new music you are bound to follow fashion as well and I’ve always had an interest to everything visual. I was pretty much only studying arts before music took over.
Then again style does not equal fashion - style is more the image of your personality than whatever happens to be the current trend.
Rico Tubbs is the name of the black detective from Miami Vice – are you a fan of the show or is just a nostalgic tip off to the 1980’s?
I am a bit of a fan. It was one of my favourites as a kid but now that I’ve been watching them again, I’ve noticed it’s a pretty well written series with a brilliant soundtrack to match. Nothing beats contemplating a sailboat deck scene with Crockets theme on the background. In general, I’m always championing the sidekicks.
What do your friends and family call you – does your mum call you Tubbs or Riku (your real name)
Detective Tubbs.
So, lets get down to music, for those that are not too familiar with your sounds, explain to us what we can expect from a DJ Rico Tubbs set
A big mess of bass driven club music and I always throw in a few classics as well. Occasionally sprinkled with some scratching and other party tricks.
To what direction the set takes the crowd plays a big part too - it can be more housey or more ravey etc.I never plan too much beforehand.
What musical influences do you bring into your music?
That’s a long list! 80's disco, hip hop, hip house, house, old skool rave, jungle tekno, drum & bass, breaks, speed garage, electro house, indie dance, fidget, Baltimore, dance hall, UK funky and dubstep. Hmm, I may have forgotten something...
There are so many types and styles of dance music out there – what is your favourite?
My favourite changes almost weekly. I spend a lot of time just diggin music - old and new. One week it can be old skool Chicago house and one week hip hop. Everything with fat bass always works though.
Where does your passion for music come from?
No idea! Some of it is running in the family, but I'm just addicted to hearing new stuff and can’t wait to hear it in a club and dance - be it played by me or someone else.
Are there any artist / producer / band / DJ that you would love to work with?
There are a lot of MCs I’d like to work with, but most - like say Missy Elliot - are way out of my league.
To step out of the private mind garden to reality I’m now working with Atomic Hooligan on our new label "Bass= Win" and there will be some collaborations coming both DJ and production wise.
You travel a lot, when you finally do manage to get a bit of time to relax what do you do?
I live in a city surrounded by two forest areas and two lakes, so that’s’ where I go to relax. Running, swimming or cross country skiing is a good way to clear my head and stay in shape as well.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years time, still hitting the decks or chilling on some beach somewhere living the easy life?
I hope I’ll still be hitting the decks in 20 years time like some of the biggest names already do who've been spinning since way back. A so called easy life is not of interest to me, not for a long while anyway - it sounds boring.
Besides, I’ve already got just a 5 minute walk to the lake shore - working on the sailboat and alligator.
So Rico Tubbs, you’re spending the last weekend in August in the lovely city of London to play at Mixmag’s Bank Holiday special at the Egg Club, do you like playing to us Brits?
Definitely. One thing I especially like is that I think the Finns and Brits share a similar sense of humour, which in some other countries might lead to awkward moments of not the funny kind.
Are you a fan of the British dance scene?
For me it’s where the whole music thing started. I was still deep into metal and hip hop when I heard The Prodigy’s Out Of Space and shortly after that got my hands on to Orbital’s brown album. Since then following the UK dance scene has taken an increasingly bigger part of my life.
How does it compare to the Finnish dance scene?
Club wise, we are doing quite well. Helsinki - where most of it happens - is almost too busy with all the "names" from every possible genre playing the clubs all the time, but you get good club nights all the way up to the Arctic Circle.
Considering there are only 5 million people here, I think we’re doing pretty good production wise too with solid stuff coming from drum & bass to dubstep to club music.
Your current look is a cross between high school nerd and new age traveler – what is your true idea of style – are you a follower of fashion or a fashion faux pas?
Argh, my return to trash metal roots backfired then... I think if you follow new music you are bound to follow fashion as well and I’ve always had an interest to everything visual. I was pretty much only studying arts before music took over.
Then again style does not equal fashion - style is more the image of your personality than whatever happens to be the current trend.
Rico Tubbs is the name of the black detective from Miami Vice – are you a fan of the show or is just a nostalgic tip off to the 1980’s?
I am a bit of a fan. It was one of my favourites as a kid but now that I’ve been watching them again, I’ve noticed it’s a pretty well written series with a brilliant soundtrack to match. Nothing beats contemplating a sailboat deck scene with Crockets theme on the background. In general, I’m always championing the sidekicks.
What do your friends and family call you – does your mum call you Tubbs or Riku (your real name)
Detective Tubbs.
So, lets get down to music, for those that are not too familiar with your sounds, explain to us what we can expect from a DJ Rico Tubbs set
A big mess of bass driven club music and I always throw in a few classics as well. Occasionally sprinkled with some scratching and other party tricks.
To what direction the set takes the crowd plays a big part too - it can be more housey or more ravey etc.I never plan too much beforehand.
What musical influences do you bring into your music?
That’s a long list! 80's disco, hip hop, hip house, house, old skool rave, jungle tekno, drum & bass, breaks, speed garage, electro house, indie dance, fidget, Baltimore, dance hall, UK funky and dubstep. Hmm, I may have forgotten something...
There are so many types and styles of dance music out there – what is your favourite?
My favourite changes almost weekly. I spend a lot of time just diggin music - old and new. One week it can be old skool Chicago house and one week hip hop. Everything with fat bass always works though.
Where does your passion for music come from?
No idea! Some of it is running in the family, but I'm just addicted to hearing new stuff and can’t wait to hear it in a club and dance - be it played by me or someone else.
Are there any artist / producer / band / DJ that you would love to work with?
There are a lot of MCs I’d like to work with, but most - like say Missy Elliot - are way out of my league.
To step out of the private mind garden to reality I’m now working with Atomic Hooligan on our new label "Bass= Win" and there will be some collaborations coming both DJ and production wise.
You travel a lot, when you finally do manage to get a bit of time to relax what do you do?
I live in a city surrounded by two forest areas and two lakes, so that’s’ where I go to relax. Running, swimming or cross country skiing is a good way to clear my head and stay in shape as well.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years time, still hitting the decks or chilling on some beach somewhere living the easy life?
I hope I’ll still be hitting the decks in 20 years time like some of the biggest names already do who've been spinning since way back. A so called easy life is not of interest to me, not for a long while anyway - it sounds boring.
Besides, I’ve already got just a 5 minute walk to the lake shore - working on the sailboat and alligator.
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