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  Sober & Dribbla Interview
interview 0592 added 07.06.09 words:
SafeSoul
technical:
Spoon
Sober and Dribbla have been producing and writing Hip Hop for over five years now, creating a unique industrial sound infusing various genres to create something distinctively theirs. The Butchers Ball is their most recent release to date which explores everyday life and the struggles it brings. If you want ‘boom-bap’ Hip Hop then these guys are definitely not for you; expect dark lyrics and even darker beats from Sober and Dribbla.
So, who are Sober and Dribbla?
A Hip Hop juggernaut!
How and when did you get together?
 In Bristol about six years ago we spoke about making tunes and then just started hanging about. We just got on well which has always been the platform for our tunes. I had a car and he needed a lift.
Who or what are your influences and inspiration?
Human relationships and people leaving without ever getting to know them properly influence the writing. Just everyday living and the small bizarre details that make up our existence; the need for love, the regrets we have, the hope we have for the future, women, music, clothes and books. Nick Cave is the biggest influence musically along with people like El-P, Joy Division, Nine Inch Nails, Outkast, Rusko and a lot of other Dubstep, and all the Hip Hop people everyone else likes! Reading as much as possible to improve ideas and imagination, it also forces you to sit in a quiet place by yourself which is a struggle to do these days.
The type of Hip Hop you make is very heavy with a kind of industrial sound, how did this unique sound come about?
We like heavy music and different sounds and noises. It developed really after we stopped using samples. We like that sound and it comes out like it does so that’s what we make; it’s just our style. With regards to the rapping I just hammer it home because I am not intricate enough to flow nicely! I write raps in long sentences so I am always fighting to make it fit hence why it comes out how it does. It’s not a smooth flow and they aren’t exactly summer time beats but then again I’m not smooth and it’s not always summer!
What has been your biggest success to date?
 The fact that no one else sounds like us, it’s good when you make something that is substantial enough that no matter what happens in your life you can crawl back to it and despite whatever disaster you have just been through it still gives you something to believe in on many occasions our music has dragged us through problems and pit falls. It’s mainly that we have maintained a very good friendship and haven’t given up despite being told regularly that we are weird; I think it has built us into more resilient people. We have no real career successes because our music can’t really be called a career but there have been a lot of life lessons learnt.
Bristol has a massive musical culture, what artists do you rate and why?
That’s a very big long list of names but anyone who makes music and is not afraid to show their flaws in their music; the artists that put themselves on the line and the music that makes you feel something. We want soundtracks to our moods. I rate any musician from any genre and any place that gives you that. UK music is always exciting just because it’s such a mash up of different influences and Bristol has played a massive part in that. A lot of Sirplus’ tunes mix it up and come with a different sound; his tracks are always exciting. You can then hear Awkward’s music and it goes in another direction again. They’re all still making Hip Hop music but it’s being pushed into other territories as well and that’s what gets us two excited. Despite all that though you can get the more traditional sounding Hip Hop here and it’s done to the highest level like with The Swamps, Fat Club, B’tol, Kelz and a lot of the MC’s in Bristol can jump on most styles because the nights aren’t so genre specific which is wicked and it means the MC’s from here are better for it.
What UK/US artists do you rate?
It changes a lot but at the moment we’ve been listening to TV On The Radio, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bat For Lashes and DJ Rogue.
 Tell us about your new album? What has been the main inspiration for the record?
The Butcher’s Ball is really just about being in your mid-twenties and knowing you need to get serious and it may not be going to plan; it’s the sound of panic! A lot of the lyrics are just a conflict between doing what you should be doing and what you want to be doing. It’s all about normal everyday things and questioning the more mundane aspects of existence and trying to make sense of certain relationships. It’s just us soaking up environments and situations and describing them with our music. If you’re after more straight up boom bap you may not be so into it but if you like slightly noisier music it may be up your street.
What's next for Sober and Dribbla?
We have a new album we are working on pretty much consisting of love songs; we are doing it in our way but it should be interesting what we come up with. It probably won’t be the sort of thing you romance a lady to it will be more of the thing you put on when you have just been dumped. Other than that just trying to do more shows and see what happens....
The Butcher’s Ball is out now, available to download from the website: soberanddribbla.co.uk
For the Myspace peeps: myspace.com/soberanddribbla
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SafeSoul
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