MADE Festival celebrates its 10-year milestone this weekend as the West Midlands’ premier music and arts festival. On Saturday, August 3rd, MADE takes over a host of venues and outdoor spaces at Digbeth Triangle in Birmingham, including popular clubbing hotspot XOYO for an all-day-into-night party featuring a stellar lineup across multiple genres, including drum & bass, UK rap, garage, house, and disco. Notable acts include Bru-C, Dizzee Rascal, Bou, and many more. Last-minute tickets are still available via www.made-festival.co.uk.
As festival-goers gear up for Birmingham’s biggest summer event, we sit with the legendary Utah Saints to discuss their upcoming performance. The English electronic music duo, comprised of Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt, is renowned for its pioneering use of sampling technology and has achieved multiple top-ten hits on the UK Singles Chart. Known for their dynamic live performances and influential club nights, Utah Saints continue producing music, DJing at festivals, and curating stages, making them a must-see at MADE Festival’s 10th-anniversary celebration.
Can you share a bit about your musical journey and how Utah Saints came to be? What key influences shaped your sound over the years?
Utah Saints is a musical meeting of Jez, who was in an Industrial Electronic band and a Surf band as well as DJing 70s disco and funk, and Tim, a former DMC scratch finalist at 17 who DJed House and Hip Hop.
Key influences would be Public Enemy, Giorgio Moroder, Philip Glass, Front 242, Young Gods, Chicago and Detroit House, and pop music.
Looking back at your career, what achievements are you most proud of, and how have they influenced your current work?
Still being here and understanding the electronic music scene! It’s tricky to navigate the business over the years, and we are most proud of the fact we can still connect with people through music.
We were lucky enough to be involved DJing and promoting right through the beginning of rave. When Utah Saints started, we were promoting 4 nights a week, booking loads of DJs, making music with computers and samplers every day, playing at raves all over the UK and had Pete Tong as our A&R record company person – these things shaped everything for us.
The proudest moments are usually when someone tells us that our music had a positive effect on them.
What can attendees expect from your performance at the 10th MADE Festival? Do you have any special elements or surprises planned for the audience?
We are really looking forward to MADE festival. They always put on quality events, and the audience are proper music lovers.
We never prepare an exact set - we have a rough plan, but we try to get in the same zone as the audience and bring over 1000 tracks with us so we can adapt as the set develops. We’ll be bringing exclusive edits of tracks we all know, as well as adding some effects and looping tricks. We always say that we bring the music, and the crowd brings the vibe :)
How does your upcoming performance at MADE fit into your current tour or album cycle? Are you showcasing any new material or remixes during the festival?
We will have some edits of tracks with us. We’re very selective when releasing music, so we only put things out when they are ready. Official releases will hopefully be later this year or next.
Can you describe your creative process for songwriting and production? How has your approach evolved over the years?
We always start with the bass and drums, then work out what that groove needs. We tend to throw every idea at a track and it is very chaotic until we go through and start leaving just the strongest parts, finally ending up with the track we need. We think like DJs and work like musicians.
Your sound has evolved significantly over time. What inspires this evolution, and how do you incorporate new influences into your music?
We listen to at least 4 hours of other people’s music every day, more in the lead-up to a gig like MADE. Tim usually listens to all the new releases he can, and Jez goes deep crate digging to find samples that no one else has used yet.
We keep up with all the tech progress and are always up for trying new ways of creating noise!
Over the past decade, how have you observed the growth and significance of electronic/dance music festivals like MADE? What role do you think these events play in supporting the genre?
Festivals like MADE are such an important part of the electronic dance music scene. Passionate curators who are always booking the best of existing and up-and-coming talent they can find.
MADE has a real authenticity, and that’s what we all need now: real, relatable moments that lift the soul - MADE provides plenty of those!
Over the years, we’ve played a huge number of festivals. The ones that have longevity, like MADE, are driven by real personalities who see their festival as more than just a business.
How do you engage with your audience during live performances? Are there specific moments or interactions that you find particularly memorable?
Through the music. We don’t talk and usually don’t have an MC, and we prefer to be in the dark with a lot of strobes and smoke, as that is how we started. After that, we play the best combination of tracks we can and bring the audience along with the musical moments.
Are you working on any new projects, collaborations, or releases? What can fans look forward to soon?
Yes, we are, but it’s all secret at the moment. The plan is to start announcing towards the end of the year. In the meantime, we are enjoying DJing out and learning from audiences.
As pioneers in the electronic music scene, what legacy do you hope to leave behind, and how do you see your impact on future generations of artists?
That’s very kind of you to call us pioneers…. We’re about music first and ideas. Whatever the situation, there is always an idea.
If we do have any legacy or impact (and we’re always a bit freaked out when people tell us we do) then ideally it would be that people stay in love with music and the joy it brings, that all the arts, including music, are properly valued, not seen as “not proper jobs”, and that people aren’t scared of creativity - new ideas are ace, and what the world needs more than ever right now.
Catch Utah Saints and many more, including Bru-C, Dizzee Rascal, and Bou, Ewan McVicar, K Motionz, Holy Goof B2B TS7, Jaguar Skills, Skepsis, A Little Sound, Window Kid, 24hr Garage Girls, 4AM Kru, Serum, La La, General Levy, Issey Cross and DJ Q at MADE Festival this weekend!
MADE Festival
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