In the constantly evolving world of breaks music, Meat Katie is firmly established as one of the big names, a reputation further enhanced by the release of his new Bedrock Breaks double CD. Meat Katie, aka Mark Pember, is a seriously hard working man but managed nonetheless to fit in a slot for RA.

So it was time to give one of the nice guys in dance music a light grilling – starting off with his approach to the latest mixes. Pember says he began by “listening to lots of other mixes. I’ve never done a double comp before, only a single. It’s more exciting, more to play with. And for Bedrock I felt the need to do a deeper kind of mix on CD1 than for CD2 – the last thing I wanted was the same style on both so I dropped in more vocals to the second one and made it more funky, a jumped-up party sort of vibe. There’s a load of exclusives on both CDs, but not for the sake of it – they’ve all been road tested to make sure there’s no weak links.”

Throughout the mix Pember successfully blurs the lines between breaks and house, especially in CD2 where the “drums aren’t quite so busy, not so breaky, a bit more chunky and funky. I’ve done it the best I can do, but sometimes that combination of house and breaks makes me public enemy number one at gigs. A lot can’t distinguish whether it’s one or the other – the house crowd like it cos you can mix it. I keep the drums minimal so it’s not a kind of cut & paste style. The real breaky breakers say “Oh it’s boring, progressive breaks” but it’s not that at all.”

Meat Katie is currently working on a new album, although recently he’s been diverted by such projects as Mixcon, so for a while he plans not to release so much, get his head down and make the new album. In the meantime, he’s enjoying (if that’s the right word!) being reintroduced to fatherhood. Having done a lot of collaborations with the likes of Elite Force, Lee Coombs and Christian J, I’m intrigued to know why this format has proved so successful. “I love doing collaborations” says Pember. “It’s a bit of a learning process as I come from a live background, getting off on playing out. When I signed my deal with Kingsize I was free to use the name ‘Meat Katie And... whoever’ for any label, but I can only use Meat Katie for them. They’ve just taken me on at the management level, they’ve been very patient with me. I need to make a kick arse album for them now! As for forthcoming stuff there’s work in the pipeline with Lee Coombs, Dylan Rhymes, Rennie Pilgrem – I like working with mates basically.”

meat katie

Does he hold any clues to breakbeat’s success, thinking of Australia in particular?
“Well Australia’s been a bit of a hard nut to crack, they knew who I was but not what I was. I’ve been there five times now, the audience is getting busier – last time we sold out four of the five venues. Australia is primed for it, it will happen. Eastern Europe’s massive too – Budapest last week for instance. As for my own style, the house I play is rougher than the breaks to be honest. Funky breaks is massive – the Plump DJs, Fingerlickin’ – they’re accessible, funky, good club music. I’m back in Australia with Lee Coombs at the end of December (27th), we’re doing back-to-back festivals.

I ask Pember if he can pinpoint a particular moment when he thought breaks were going to be massive. “I’ve always thought it playing Bedrock in London, they lose it and it’s a fantastic feeling to have them do that. People always come up and say if they like the music, the crowds are responsive, loads of cheering. I banged out a set before John Digweed in Portsmouth recently, then he asked me to finish after him in Brighton, and I was talking to a few people who said he never asks anyone to finish, so I was a bit nervous! It was a special moment though, it really took off. Also recently I supported the Chemical Brothers in Athens, in front of 8,000 people on a Wednesday night – a great experience as well.”

So where does he see the main growth area for breaks music?
“For me personally, the tech-funk style. It’s massive in Europe – I was in Russia recently. But then people don’t tend to listen to the drum pattern – if it’s good they’ll dance, if it’s shit they won’t. Warsaw’s big, I played at a night called Import there. Budapest, Bucharest, I’m going to Norway in September. It’s getting better, not that there was much wrong in the first place! A lot of people are moving in from the drum and bass style as well.”

Pember’s own nights are big too.
Technique in Leeds he describes as originally having a 200 strong following but now catering for 900 at least. “They’ve got some stunning resident DJs there, and there’s loads of interesting acts coming up – Anthony Rosser, Plump DJs, Rolando, Si Begg and Photek”. There’s also the Hum night with Rennie Pilgrem, which is reopening in July on the second Saturday of each month. It’s at Canvas in Bagleys, Kings Cross. With free admission and the likes of Meat Katie, Elite Force, Pilgrem and Ty it’s a tempting proposition. As if that wasn’t enough, Pember’s Lot 49 label is dropping its first release from Dylan Rhymes. It’s onwards and upwards for the well-traveled DJ, who’s clearly doing a lot to keep breaks moving onwards and upwards!