Cambridge-hailing duo Commix have officially announced that they are to exist as a duo no longer.
The Metalheadz act—a duo of Guy Brewer and George Levings since 2005—is perhaps most well-known for its 2007 album Call To Mind, which not only received acclaim but an entire remix album with contributions from Burial, Kassem Mosse and Marcel Dettmann among others. They've also released a string of singles on labels like Shogun Audio, Subtitles, Looking Good and Hospital. The two have mostly kept quiet since Call To Mind, releasing only a few tracks here and there, just this month released Dusted a new compilation of unreleased Commix tracks dating from 2003-2008. Levings will continue making music under the Commix name, with an album forthcoming on Metalheadz this year, as well as his Endian project with a release forthcoming on NonPlus+. We spoke with Brewer and Levings via email to discuss the split and what it means for the future.
What facilitated the split? (e.g. was it amicable or not, and when did you decide?)
Yes, we'd certainly like to clarify that there is absolutely no bad blood between us, we've worked together for eight or nine years, and beyond that we've both been good friends since our early teens. As for what facilitated the split, we began serious work on the second LP a little while ago, and it soon became apparent that things would work out better if we made this decision. We've both grown musically over the years, but to a certain extent we've pulled in different directions. We have definite plans to record together again later down the line, but not under the name Commix, and not writing drum & bass. When you work as a partnership for a long time, you have to allow for the individuals within the group to follow different paths, and unfortunately at this time there's no room for it to continue as it was before.
Is it hard for you, Guy, to let go of the Commix name, and how does George feel about forging on it with alone? Is there any pressure there?
Guy Brewer: Obviously after such a long time being part of the duo this has been a hard decision, but what is most important for me is that the project continues in the most positive way possible. For a while now my own solo project has been taking up more and more of my time, and so I didn't feel like it was right for me to continue with Commix if I wasn't willing to give it the time and dedication it deserves. I have complete faith in George's ability to continue in a way that respects what we built together over the last decade, and I'll also be continuing to have an input as far as helping George decide on what to release, and being a second pair of ears should he feel he needs it.
George, you also have other projects going on, why do you want to continue the Commix brand?
George Levings: Basically I feel there is more to be done with Commix. I've given it my all for the past eight years or so and it doesn't feel like the right time to put it to bed yet. There has been a follow-up album in the pipeline for too long now, and I really want to achieve that before I make any other plans musically. I am keen to take Commix in new and different direction, and that is what I will be concentrating on this year. I have a 12-inch scheduled for May, another around August time, followed by an LP towards the end of the year. My side project as Endian is there for my explorations into 4/4 music and my more experimental stuff.