llumiNaughty get Bad Tango'd
Bad Tango is the Psychedelic Tech-Funk project of Cambridge based producer Will Railton. In a considerably short amount of time, Will has made a tremendous impact on the Psychedelic, Breakbeat and Tech-Funk scenes! Making a name for himself both nationally and internationally, Bad Tango has been going down a storm at festivals such as Glade, Life, Waveform and Symmetry, smashing renowned events like Tribe of Frog and Sunrise as well as rocking crowds all over Europe.
We couldn’t ignore the unique squelchy sounds of Bad Tango for a moment longer, and he’ll be sharing his psy-tech-funk-fused wizardry in the illumiNasty room at the Bank Holiday Extravaganza! We caught up with Will to pick his brains about all things music…
Hello hello Bad Tango aka Will Railton and let us say how psyched we are to be having you play in the IllumiNasty room on the 4th of May! What is the essential information we should have about Bad Tango?
Really looking forward to it dude, I've heard great things! Hmmm… kicks and snares, bass squiggles and low value orange squash mixed with cider.
Have you ever had a Bad Tango? Scarred by the dance style or a can of Tango with a finger in to or something?
Haha, yes I've had many! As you might have gathered from the previous answer, Bad Tango is a beautifully crafted cocktail fit for kings and possibly west country gypsies. Comprised of low value orange squash and low value cider (traditionally Sainsbury's own brand), Bad Tango is the result of my mate Toby's questionable drinking methods.
It has to be said that you have literally exploded on the psybreaks scene, with your first release only in 2011. How has it been becoming so quickly one of the artists whose tunes are in every DJ in the scene’s collection?
Its been totally surreal to say the least. I've been to a lot of places over the last two years and had some of the best experiences I've had in my entire life. Its been such a crazy journey so far, I have no idea where it'l take me next but i'm seriously hyped about things to come!
What came first, production or DJing? Or were you big on both of them from the beginning?
DJing came first. I was heavily into turntablism, scratching and beat juggling. I did that for a few years before developing an interest in music production. At first I integrated the two, but as my interests towards alternative styles of dance music grew, my interest in turntables began to take a back seat to synthesis.
What does the word psychedelic mean to you? Simply a word that helps define the genre that you’re involved in or something more?
It means a lot of different things to me, but its primary meaning (Mind Manifesting) is the one I think I relate to most.
Where would we find you at a party when you’re off duty? Down the front or grooving at the back!
I'll be smack bang in the centre of the dance floor having a good old swim in the waves of sound.
You have previously mentioned that you lived with Mouldy Soul, and were sort of recruited to the Broken Robot team by Hedflux. Is the alternative psychedelic music scene in the UK quite a close nit community of producers and DJs?
Without a doubt man, certainly as far as the psy breaks scene is concerned anyhow.
You’ve just been over to Russia to play a gig. How was it? How well do you find that psybreaks/alternative psychedelic music is going down in Europe, such as at the major festivals?
Russia is AWESOME! I've been to both St Petersburg and Moscow in the last two months, such a good vibe to their parties. I can't tell you a vast amount about the popularity of psychedelic music over there, but the energy is electric and the people are totally hyped about this style of music.
Everywhere I go has its own energy and atmosphere, and the way in which this music is received on the dance floor has exceeded my wildest expectations on many occasions. Theres something special about this particular style of dance music that I can't quite put my finger on, but I've felt its presence at almost every psy event i've been to over the past few years. I think its becoming more and more popular in various parts of europe, places like France, Prague, Russia, Croatia and Finland seem to be loving it at the moment!
Do you have a standout memory in your musical career, be it playing alongside someone or seeing something at a gig you maybe shouldn’t have been privy too!
I opened the psy trance stage at Ireland's 'Life' festival last year, right before Ace Ventura. That was a totally awesome gig! Massive open air stage, a super responsive crowd and by far the biggest sound system I've ever played on!
And finally Bad Tango, just a few words on what we can expect from your set at IllumiNaughty.
I've got loads of new tunes that I can't wait to drop, plus one or two which will be getting their debut spin on the night, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing how they go down! So I hope you enjoy my set, big ups!
http://broken-robot-records.com/https://soundcloud.com/badtangohttps://www.facebook.com/BadTango