Demonic Possession are very excited to bring you another EXCLUSIVE interview with a real gem of the UK darkside hardcore scene! This time we have one half of cult duo "Chaos & Julia Set" in the place!

These guys were responsible for several huge anthems during the notorious "Dark Summer" of 1993, and their tracks popped up in most of the celebrated sets of the era. Fear the Future? You should do! Eyes down. . .

DPR: What's your name, where are you from?

DF: Dom Fripp, from Yeovil, now living in Bristol.

DPR: How did you come up with the name Chaos & Julia set?

DF: From a poster in the Mathematics department of Warwick University. The title was "Chaos & Julia Sets". We dropped the final 's' to make it sound more like a double act. It wasn't, as Randall once said on Kiss, "Chaos & Juliette".

DPR: What inspired you to make music / Who were your early influences?

DF: I have always loved the ambience and atmosphere of electronic music so I started with easily accessible material from Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre. As I got towards my teens, this naturally progressed to things like electro and synth pop. Hearing acid house and Detroit techno for the first time was a real epiphany. You can definitely hear the Detroit influence in the Chaos & Julia Set tracks.

DPR: What equipment were you using back in 1992/1993, what do you use now?

DF: Mark (Pritchard - the other half of the duo) is your man for the full equipment rundown as it was his studio, but as I recall BITD there was a Roland SH-101, Jupiter 6, Juno 106, Korg 01/W, Kawai Q80 step sequencer, Atari ST with Cubase, Casio FZ1, Akai S950 sampler, Yamaha TX81, some rack multi-effects, 16 track desk and a serious biscuit selection.

These days, as a hobbyist producer, I work exclusively on a desktop computer. I use Ableton and Reason.

DPR: Tell us more about the 'Fear the Future' track - how/where did you put it together? Can you spill the beans on where the sounds come from?

DF: As collectors are probably aware, this track appears in a few different places. Originally, Mark was engineering the "Tecnoska EP" for Shaun (Agent Orange) and put together the track as a remix of "Getting Rougher". Shaun's material had a distinct hardcore vibe but Mark channelled a much darker, techy atmosphere which made it stand out. However, it was one of those tracks you had to stumble across so in terms of recognition, it was a slow burner. After a while, we noticed it getting played out a lot, appearing on radio shows and in key sets by big DJs in those jumbo cassette packs. In the end we figured that people didn't know where it had come from so we retitled it and reissued it on the "Fear The Future EP". Considering how the track has stood up over time, I'm glad we did.

The sounds? The beats were Roland 909 kit with a chopped Kool & The Gang "NT" break shuffling throughout. The infamous "brass" stab is probably from, ahem, Bad Manners.

DPR: What are your top 5 darkside tracks?

DF: Too many to mention and it's always changing but I'd be happy to hear any of these five right now. . .

Grooverider - "Sinister (The Influence Remix)"

Hardware - "X Amount of Shots"

Badd 102 - "All Crew"

Rufige Kru - "Fury (The Origin)"

FBD Project - "The Core"

DPR: Do you have any memorable moments in the scene you'd care to share?

DF: I recall hearing the "Atmosphere Remix" being played (by DJ Hype) at a big Universe do in 93. Watching 10,000 people going crazy to a track you've made is pretty special.

It is also entertaining to think that four lads from the back end of Somerset ended up being part of what was perceived to be an inner city sound. So a big shout to Mark & the Anthills: Yeovil mafia!

DPR: What's your opinion on the digital / vinyl debate?

DF: These days, vinyl seems to be used as a marketing gimmick, a lost leader to co-promote downloads. In terms of sound quality, the clarity of high-end digital stuff is undeniable. But I'm sure non-one loves music such as jungle because of clarity. Vinyl has its own sound and I love that sound. Digital is now a necessity though - if you want to play a footwork set, you can forget it unless you're using MP3s.

DPR: Who do you think is making good music at the moment? (any genre)

DF: It's not everyone's cup of tea but I really like footwork so big ups to the Teklife, Juke Underground, all the Japanese crews, Worldwide Juke and the whole #FWUK network.

DPR: What are you currently doing / any plans for the future / plugs for events / releases?

DF: Recording as Wellbelove, making footwork, future jungle and whatever else grabs me. There are forthcoming releases on Good Street Records and Cue Burn Digital in the near future with lots more coming up later in the year. I am a resident DJ on Bristol's www.flightstream.co.uk so I hope I can get out and play a couple of club sets this year for them. A UK footwork gig needs organising too. . .

DPR: Do you have any contact points for bookings / enquiries / websites / twitter etc?

DF:

email: harrywellbelove@gmail.com

Twitter: @HarryWellbelove

FB page: Facebook/HarryWellbelove

The UK Juke / Footwork Facebook group can be found >HERE<

Demonic Possession would like to say BIG UPS to Dom for taking time out of his busy schedule to do this interview! We're looking forward to hearing his forthcoming material, especially as there's a chance it could be back on the darkside tip. . . WATCH OUT!!:

Check out Chaos & Julia Set's classic darkside cuts >HERE<

Dom Fripp's "Wellbelove" Soundcloud Page - show some love! >HERE<