I was asked if I’d like to chat to a guy going by the name JOE UNKNOWN who was performing on the main stage at this year’s NASS Festival. Obviously the answer was yes from me so off we trotted to his compound to the artist area where we sat down on a table full of cakes to get down to it….

MM - Nice to meet you Joe, where have you come from today?

JU - Nice to be here, I travelled down from Heathrow today they used to refer to me as ‘Heathrow Joe’

MM - Are you a NASS virgin?

JU - As a performer, yes but I have been here before as a ‘consumer’ which is a completely different gig altogether, I have to behave myself today and stay composed as I’m performing at 2pm!

MM - Your performances look very ‘lively’, how does Joe Unknown relax after a show?

JU - To be honest, life is always 100mph for me so I just do what I always do, there’s no such thing as downtime when you’re in this game!

MM - Your latest album (mixtape) ‘For Better For Worse’ is out now, congratulations on that, how have your fans taken to it?

JU - I’ve had a great response to it, as soon as it was released, I was getting feedback from people saying that it’s something you can listen to on the way to the party AND at 6am the next morning, it’s a roller coaster ride with up’s and down’s but all good!

MM - On the subject of ‘Ride’ that track from the mixtape has amassed over 682k streams on Spotify, pretty impressive!

JU - Thanks, yeah, it’s funny how that track has really taken off as my algorithms are really complex and I just don’t understand why that has done so well as it has had no industry backing at all so it’s great to see it up there and I’d like to thank every one of those 682k people for streaming it!

MM - NASS is obviously a main festival on the UK circuit, where else are you playing this year?

JU - I have actually taken time out of my European dates to come and play at NASS so as soon as I’m done here, I’ll be back over there to carry on where I left off.

MM - Do you tend to play more DnB styled festivals or are they a mixed bag?

JU - Not DnB festivals as such, I think that the places I get invited to play are a bit of a mixed bag but who doesn’t love a bit of DnB in their lives?

MM - If you could create a signature fragrance based on your music, what would it smell like?

JU - I think it would have base notes of TOM FORD as his fragrances are really classic and everyone likes them.

MM - I asked someone else the same question recently and they replied with ‘sweat and leather’….

JU - Jesus, really? sounds like the way I smell after a long haul flight!

MM - Enjoy your main stage slot this afternoon Joe, pleasure to meet you

JU - I will, thanks for chatting

I’d like to wish Joe all the very best for the remainder of his European dates and whatever the future holds….P.S. no cakes were consumed during the interview (though they were very tempting!)

Interview & Photography - Steve Muscutt