D/R/U/G/S - Don't work but his music does

D/R/U/G/S is the mysterious name of a Manchester based artist whos music sit's somewhere in between house and techno. His rapid rise this year has seen stand-out productions, International gigs, and festivals including the mighty Glastonbury. James Reynolds caught up with him to discuss his live show, his highlights of 2011 and what the new year holds.

Where in the world are you right now and what are you upto? Right now, chilling in my sick student gaff in Fallowfield, Manchester. We've got a 'house inspection' later on so were tidying up. 23 and getting a house inspection, whats gone wrong with my life?

Tell us how you first became involved in dance music, was there a eureka moment? Yeah definitely, a couple of tracks really spiked my interest. The Sky Was Pink (James Holden Remix) and Superpitcher - The Difference It Makes. Before that i thought dance music only consisted of Swedish House Mafia pretending to perform.

What's the thinking behind your artist name and its unusual spelling? Can't remember like.

How would you describe your music behind this moniker? I always struggle to define my sound as I fit somewhere between House and Techno yet my songs are quite hard to dj with as theyre not really built for that. I produce with my own live set in mind first and foremost. Someone labelled the sound 'Atmospheric Dance' the other day which i quite liked. 

Where do you make your music, and how do you like to work? Over the past few months ive had choice but to write on the road as ive been touring since september really, thats not been ideal as I like to write in the same space at home usually in the early hours of the morning. Needs must though. My style of writing is quite unique for dance music I think as I dont rely on computer software for much, I have huge folders full of my own recorded sounds which I build tracks from. I hope that naturalness shines through.

You've played live at a number of festivals this year, what does your live set up consist of? It's expanding all the time, right now the core of the set is built from my Roland SP404's and Drum Performance Pad. Sometimes I'll throw some live guitar in there depending on the show and if I can be bothered to carry the gear. I'm a lot happier if we've got a projection screen too, the bigger the better. The guy who does my visuals is a real talent.

2011 is coming to a close, how has the year panned out for you? what were your highlights? Its been unreal, the way we've continued to push forward has been so organic yet it hasn't stalled. Performing abroad for the first time in February, the Glastonbury show and the whole Digitalism tour really stand out as big points in the year. Next week at the Warehouse Project is probably the show ive been most hyped about, it's gonna mean so much doing such a big show in my hometown. 

What is your goal in 2012? Definitely more releases, Ive only released 2 12" singles so were looking at stepping that up pretty quickly in the new year and working towards a mini album before the summer. Im also really excited to start djing more, a lot of the stuff I play out is the more atmospheric stuff that I just dont hear much of in clubs and I've had a great time the few shows ive done.

Listen to D/R/U/G/S on Pulse Radio