Lorin Cutts and his associate Raymond Franklyn have been DJing and producing for years. Representing the west coast of Ireland, these boys are going massive on Irish radio station 2FM, a first for breakbeat music on Irish national radio. Watch out world - Ireland is going strong and going out loud at 150 beats per minute.

Susan: Why do you dig breakbeats?

Lorin: I just got so bored of the solid 4:4 house beats. It feels like it has been done to death and there isn't much new to add.

Raymond: Breakbeat is less restrictive, there is more groove, more room for the music to move around the beats.

Lorin: It's a lot sexier.

Susan: What is your role in the breaks community in Ireland? Worldwide?

Lorin: What breaks community in Ireland?! Did I miss a meeting?

Raymond: We'd try to establish Ireland as the breaks capital of the world, but...

Lorin: A combination of weather and attitude would make that difficult. Rain and house music are too prevalent.

Susan: How long have you been into breaks? How long have you been making them?

Lorin: Since I first heard BT & Tsunami One's "Hip Hop Phenomenon". That was my first influential exposure to break beat, if you don't count the first release of "Papua New Guinea" [by Future Sound of London] in 1991. It completely changed my outlook on music.

Raymond: Yeah, "Hip Hop Phenomenon" was definitely the turning point. It seemed to open up so many possibilities for making dance music.

Susan: What projects are you working on right now? What do you hope to accomplish?

Lorin: An album's worth of breakbeat, and some tracks that are 4:4 but heavily influenced by break beat.

Raymond: We certainly don't want to abandon the 4:4 structure, but we are working on using break beat sounds and production in 4:4 tracks.

Susan: What is happening breakbeat-wise in Ireland right now?

Raymond: There are pockets of interest, but nothing major. None of the big clubs in Ireland seem to be picking up on it.

Lorin: I'll put it this way: My local Virgin got in 4 copies of ILS -"Next Level", arguably the breaks track of the year. We bought three of them.

Raymond: One for each of us, and one in case either of those wore out.

Lorin: The fourth one is still in Virgin.

Raymond: Is it still there? Maybe we should get it, just in case.

Susan: Where is the scene headed? What is your role in the future of Irish breaks?

Lorin: I'd like to see a regular breakbeat radio show to re-educate the Irish public, show people that there is more than 4:4.

Raymond: Here, people need to be introduced to breakbeat before the scene can head anywhere. It would be great to be a part of bringing breakbeat to a greater percentage of the population in Ireland. The superclubs and big-name DJs aren't bringing in the crowds here anymore, so maybe everyone is ready for something new.

Lorin: I think it's important to avoid being a purist and insisting on pure breakbeat. Changing people's attutudes, particularly here in Ireland, would be more easily accomplished by merging breaks and 4:4 - you have to educate people to get into it.

Susan: What is the sound coming out of Ireland? How does the sound compare to that in other countries?

Raymond: In Cork it's all deep, deeper and deepest house.

Lorin: Lots of flutes and sax on tracks, all played at -8, hard house and trance are also very popular in the rest of Ireland. Unfortunately, the very types of music I want to get away from. There is no edge, no rebellion, no punk attitude to any of it. But as Raymond has said, the superclubs here are emptier every week, so maybe Ireland is ready for breaks.

Susan: What is unique about what you are doing/trying to do?

Lorin: Two people and 25 grand worth of musical equipment, together with...

Raymond: Zero balance in the bank account?

Lorin: That's true, but I was going to say over a decade's worth of experience in making music. We both have lots of influences to draw from: Raymond was a drummer and comes from a drum 'n' bass background via progressive house, and I started out in punk bands before making house. We have somehow both found ourselves in the same place and wanting to make breaks our focus.

Raymond: We must be devoted, because neither of us have been put off by ten years of struggling!

Lorin: Is it devoted or misguided? Maybe just talentless! Whatever it is, I haven't felt this interested in dance music for years. It's like the scene has come full circle - the experimentation and newness of rave music, but with complex rhythms and high production values. I hope the superclubs and super DJs are on their way out, and we'll go back to smaller more intensive scenes.

Raymond: That is certainly the kind of scene we want to be a part of, and making music for small clubs full of people who have no interest in watered-down, commercial dance music. We have a way to go, but we've both been at it for so long, we might as well keep going.

Lorin: One breakbeat at a time.

For more info about Raymon Frankyn and Lorin Cutts, visit their Web site:
http://www.franklyncutts.com/