Dark Sky’s stock rose quicker than a cynic’s eyebrow in 2010, with both their original productions and quirky edits getting major airplay on the biggest, bass friendly radio stations. The South London trio, whose interest in creating bass driven electronica stemmed from a teenage appreciation of UK garage, has carved a unique and experimental sound mixing meandering tech-synth with propelling snares, Night Slugs-esque neon bright melodies and the underground’s favourite 808s.

Today sees the much awaited release of Dark Sky’s Nelly Furtado edit, ‘Promiscuous Gyal’; a vinyl only, 140BPM smasher with all the sexy vocals and a reinterpretation of the Timberland production that’ll get your toes a-tapping. We had a quick chat with the Dark Sky boys ahead of their set this Friday at Stop.Drop.Roll alongside Chef and Doc Daneeka. The interview below is peppered with sonic treats from the boys to get you in the mood for this weekend, enjoy!

The Nest: Hello Dark Sky! What’s it like when your trio of creative minds gets in the studio? What is the group dynamic like when it comes to production? Do you all have different strengths?

Dark Sky: Definitely, all of us try and bring our personal life experiences and skills to the table so the beats are always changing. Arguing and compromising is basically how we come up with the music! Sadly there are lots of tunes that will never get released because we can’t all agree on them.

TN: Are you currently working on any solo projects? If so, how do they differ from the Dark Sky sound?

DS: No solo projects at the moment.

TN: Can we expect a Dark Sky LP in 2011?

DS: No plans for an album as of yet. For 2011 we intend to release at least two four track EPs, one of which will be coming soon on Black Acre, a split 12” with Sbtrkt for Modeselektor’s 50 Weapons, two tracks on Blunted Robots, a remix for Ninja Tune and hopefully more.

TN: It’s often the case that DJ duos/trios like the same tracks but do you find that completely different aspects of certain beats attract you as individuals?

DS: Definitely, with the three of us combined, we end up listening to a massive spectrum of different stuff leading to lots of inspiration from different places.

TN: You’ve mentioned pirate radio as being an important catalyst that sparked your interest in garage. Do you play on radio now and how do you see platforms such as Rinse and the Boiler Room in terms of their impact on the UK scene?

DS: They play a massive part in pushing things forward for the UK and the rest of the world. These are the places where you will often hear the newest material by new artists, which in turn go on to inspire the next wave of artists creating a global but quite intimate community of like-minded people. It also acts as a platform for pushing sound into unknown territories which people may be inclined to follow or not.

TN: You’re on the brink of dropping a vinyl-only, previously unreleased edit that’s been making big waves. Tell us a bit more about ‘Promiscuous Girl’ and why you’ve opted for a physical-only release.

DS: Legal issues in terms of copyright and ownership is the simple answer. We are very happy that it will see the light of day and a vinyl only release makes it that bit more special.
Dark Sky – Promiscuous Gyal by Dark Sky

TN: How did the Giles Peterson mix come about?

DS: Gilles had been playing our track Reflex on a few of his shows, then his producer got in contact with us about doing a mix, which we were more than happy to do.  We are all big fans of the show so it meant a lot to be asked.
Giles Peterson Worldwide Mix DL: sendspace.com/file/s56t20 by Dark Sky

TN: Much of your production work sounds specifically created for night time; perhaps the neon-esque synths and fuzzy interference adds to this effect (or your artist name, of course). Is night time a conscious theme in your production work?

DS: Kind of, the music we make is often heard, played, and made at night, so it kind of ties everything in.

Kelis – Brave (DS Remix) by Dark Sky

TN: Are you looking forward to playing at The Nest for the next Stop.Drop.Roll? What can we expect from your set on the night?

DS: Yes! We are very much looking forward to playing at the Nest, it’s a great venue with a top sound system…hyped.

Advance tickets for this Friday’s Stop.Drop.Roll are available here