RETROSPECTIVE: BREAKAGE

Revisit my 2009 interview with British DJ and producer James Boyle, aka Breakage. Breakage, circa 2009. Selected Works is a weekly (usually) newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell, aka Yours Truly. Most weeks, Selected Works consists of a recap of what I’ve been doing lately and some of what I’ve been listening to and reading, paired with film photographs I’ve taken + some bonuses. All of that said, sometimes it takes completely different forms. BREAKAGE INTERVIEW (2009) This week, the British DJ and producer James Boyle, aka Breakage, is playing a series of New Zealand shows in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. For my money, Breakage has long been one of the more interesting and captivating figures in the breakbeat/drum chopping science side of jungle/drum & bass. Along the way, he’s turned his hand to dubstep and dance-pop, even cracking the UK Top 40 charts in 2011 with ‘Fighting Fire’ (feat. Jess Mills). Back in 2099, I was lucky enough to interview him while I was on a work trip in London. During that same work trip, I spent a revelatory night at Plastic People in Shoreditch,...