Fini Tribe - RANSOM NOTE INFLUENCES MIXTAPE

Music

Early adopters of the sampler Back in the mid-80s, Edinburgh's Fini Tribe released 12'"s on Wax Trax and their own label Finiflex. DesTestimony was recently re-released, celebrating it's 25 year anniversary. We had a little chat to Dave Miller about that a while back here

A love affair began… we then asked Dave to furnish us with a mixtape of influences that shaped his sound….

"The Three Crates – the bumps, the crackles and the wonderfully flawed….kind of like a cassette you would have made a girl when trying to be cool in 1979.

When you asked for an influences mix I thought how the hell am I going to do that . Would it be finitribe influences , my influences or a mixture of both. Then it was where do I start ?… I started buying records in 1973 – T-Rex 20th Century Boy and SLades Come on Feel the Noize were the first two records I bought in a little hifi shop in the town of Moffat in the Scottish Borders. My decision was made for me by the fact my records are mostly in storage as I am about to move house. I decided to play from vinyl as well so I picked the first 'three crates' from storage and made my choices from them . These crates were all unsorted so I had a wide wide choice in style and time frame. but it does somehow show our collected influences and music that I love . Its not exhaustive so I want to do another one ! 🙂 and perhaps more of mix mix." Dfa MIller

Let's get it on shall we…

And ask him a few Q's to go with…

Please introduce yourself…

Who are you:

I'm Dfa Miller of the electronic music act Fini Tribe

Where are you:

Right now I'm in a very wet Leith . Leith has been our base since about 1984

What are you:

Excited

Where was the mix recorded?

The mix was recorded at Finiflex Studio 2…

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

I'm going to say the first place that came into my head . On a motor launch off the almalfi coast

What should we be wearing

Flippers

What would be your dream setting to record a mix: Location/system/format.

It would have to be in Iceland . It is my favourite place and I think within the crator of Myvatan volcano

Which track in the mix is your current favourite?

I have always loved Arto Lyndsay . His band the Lounge Lizards were very cool in every way . Post-punk-jazz in cool threads.

If you could go back to back with any DJ from throughout history, who would it be and why?

It would be John Peel. We were lucky enough to play gigs with him very early on in our career . He was a huge inspiration and encouraged us so much . Our first time at the BBC in Maida Vale in 1998 was amazing. After playing with us in Edinburgh he called up John;s mum and asked us to do our first Peel Session. A huge honour!

If I was proficient at being a 'DJ' of course i would love to work the guv'nor Andrew Weatherall. Another huge inspiration and again we have been lucky enough to have played and worked with him …. both lovely lovely people too .

I'm seeing Andrew next week at No Strings Attached in a tiny venue in the Scottish borders and it will just go off.

What was your first DJ set up at home and what is it now?

Right not strictly a DJ set up but this is what I used to make mix tapes and then was also the first machine I used to record our early rehearsals its a Sharp GF – 555 . BOOM BOX magnificence

And now it is Technics decks and the Tracktor Kontrol S4 with MacBook Pro

What’s more important, the track you start on or the track you end on?

I think you must always want to start with something that pricks peoples ears up and then leave them wanting more. That's how we would work our live sets with finitribe . . All records are important and you have to respect their beauty,depth and ability to literally move people 🙂

What were the first and last records you bought?

The first record I bought was 20th Century Boy by T – Rex and the year was 1973, I remember the shop and the day i bought it . It was 40 years ago and i have been collecting records ever since . The last record I bought was Mogwai – Rave Tapes . Its a huge record . I went to see them play recently and i was blown away by the power and dynamics of their music.

If this mix was an edible thing, what would it taste like?

it would be a feast of many flavours and colours with corriander in the mix

If it was an animal what would it be?

Probably a kangaroo crossed with a zebra !

One record in your collection that is impossible to mix into anything…

Maybe some of the Throbbing Gristle records … I really can't think of anything that wouldn't work somehow somewhere

Upcoming in the world of…

In the world of Dfa miller and the finitribe….. I'm playing a wee set at The Bearded Theory Festival on the 25th May along with Mr C and my old friend Ege Bam Yasi. Hopefully there will be a few more booked through the summer . Camp Bestival is certainly on the cards.

We are working in the studio just now to sort out some of the old tracks for remastering and remixing. We will be releasing the classic 101 in October and there will be a live tour then as well. It will be myself as Finitribe and John as A Finiflex Production mixing things up reworking some of the old classics and some brand new mixes.