Burns
There’s no getting away from it: Burns AKA Matt Burns is a superstar DJ/producer. He’s just been signed to Sony’s Deconstruction imprint by Calvin Harris, joining a roster that includes Beth Ditto, Retro/Grade, Jack Beats, Axwell and more. He thinks nothing of jetting to San Diego for a monthly residency, counts the likes of Kelis among his friends, and is the very model of the 21st century dance music success story whose tunes soundtrack the biggest parties from here to Kuala Lumpur.
Despite a ton of remixes for the likes of Kasabian, Dizzee Rascal, Gossip, Missy Elliot, Hurts, Wolfmother, White Lies and club hits like ‘So Many Nights’, ‘Teknique’ and ‘You Stopped Loving Me’ (with Fred Falke), his main focus is making his own album, which is now taking shape with everything from Neptunes-style hip hop to deep and emotional instrumentals, and, he hints, some guest spots from famous friends and even a spot on the mic himself.
This year has already seen ‘Midknight/Skeezer’ drop to a typically warm response, a production credit on the new Tinchy Stryder single and Kelis’ album, and the imminent release of his ‘Iced Out’ track for Harris’ Fly Eye label. He’s also about to launch a monthly club night with Arveene, ESM, at Dalston’s The Nest.
So what went right? Well, we all love a story of miraculous good fortune, and certainly Burns has had his share: as has already been well-documented, he was discovered on MySpace by an aspiring manager who had also just picked up the also-unknown Calvin Harris, and helped both young men to the global success they enjoy today.
But this sort of success doesn’t happen by accident, and he has been nothing if not well-prepared at each step of his journey. Beginning in childhood, his parents raised him to pursue whatever he chose to do wholeheartedly. His father – a “gentle giant” – was a Scottish heavyweight boxing champion before he retired from the sport and retrained as an engineer in Stafford. “He taught me that if you’re going to do something you should put everything into it,” says Burns, “but he was also artistic, like my mum, and so I got the idea from both of them that being creative was important.”
As a teenager, he studied other approaches to the music he’d been surrounded by, learning how they could operate for more than just the dancefloor rush. “I was obsessed with Basement Jaxx,” he recalls, “and Daft Punk, especially when they did Discovery. That was amazing because they’d gone from this really pounding disco-techno they’d done before into making an album that was complete and covered all bases. From listening to them and Basement Jaxx I worked out it was possible to do dance music but make it work anywhere.”
All of this maybe explains how he was so ready for success when it did come. Where others hustle and hype, looking for the big break, his concern was with getting his music right above all else. So when opportunity did come knocking, he didn’t flinch and nor did he leap in both feet first – he just went about each task with the confidence that he knew what he was doing.
When Calvin Harris had his first hits, Burns was invited to be his tour DJ; he had to take time off from the mobile phone shop to go, but took to it like a duck to water. He’d not even released a record by this point and never played to more than a couple of hundred people, either, yet his very first set in Nottingham Rock City had ten times that number in the palm of his hand.
And that’s how it’s been since then. Touring the States with Deadmau5 saw him playing not to thousands, but tens of thousands of eager ravers – but this, too he took in his stride. “Yes it’s daunting,” he admits, “but you just have to go and do it, and you get buoyed up by the enthusiasm of the crowds over there.”
The underground singles mentioned above and his highly acclaimed compilation, ‘European Sex Music’ won the committed approval of Mixmag and DJ mag, then the NME, then the national papers like The Guardian and The Times. Meeting and being accepted into the big league of international DJs and producers – all of which has been nice, but for him it’s not been about ego-boost but just further steps forward in the development of Burns.
It’s been a low-key rise to success in some ways. Neither troubled nor belligerently ambitious, Burns has quietly taken his place at the top table – but it’s a place nobody would deny his right to. However, if he’s become something of a stealth superstar, that seems likely to change very soon. There’s no sign of his well-earned successes stopping, and as he prepares to take a few steps further into the limelight, the possibilities are endless. Don’t doubt that he’s ready for it, though; he’s been ready for a long time
Go to Burn’s Myspace
