My first project of 2008 was Chris Purnell’s ‘Don’t Look At Me (I’m Ugly in the Morning)’, which was also my first feature length project. It is a drama with elements of black comedy, focusing on three siblings suffering after the death of their abusive Father. Here I had a really defined sound, with more experimental sound design pieces for the intimate scenes, and more pop/rock orientated pieces for the rest, including two original songs. With a great cast including stand up comic Ed Byrne, as well as the very capable Chris Condie, this was one of my best projects to date.

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Dez is currently wrapping up the scores to two films. Firstly there is the feature film ‘Don’t Look At Me (I’m Ugly In the Morning)’, a superbly dark but emotional drama and Dez’s first feature length production. The film follows the lives of 3 siblings as they cope with the aftermath of their father’s death and features Irish stand-up comic Ed Byrne. Secondly there is the romantic short “On Friendship and Fidelity”, a beautifully shot piece exploring the boundaries between friendship and romance as the characters question their lives and morality. Both films feature Dez playing to his strengths, with intimate use of piano, guitar and solo strings, through to electronic ambiences and dark sound design pieces.

This track became the closing piece for the 2008 film ‘Don’t Look at Me (I’m Ugly in the Morning)’ by Chris Purnell. Originally this started out with dark ska influences, and evolved in to the funky and slightly sinister rock track you can hear below. I was particularly proud of the lyrics, with which I tried to capture the emotions and self-image of characters who had suffered abuse from their family. I also performed the vocal on both tracks in this film.

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This track was one of two songs written for the 2008 film by Chris Purnell ‘Don’t Look at Me (I’m Ugly in the Morning)’. The scene accompanies a contemplative car journey following Sarah’s self-harm. The song itself, influenced by 60s soul, is actually just one verse long written to fit the length of the scene. You can see a section of this scene currently in the 2009 film showreel.

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‘On Friendship and Fidelity’ (Directed by Tania Andrade) is a beautifully shot romantic short that I worked on in Spring 2008. Again I used my favoured combination of strings (cello in this case), piano and guitar to accompany the blossoming of a romantic relationship between the two main characters. This was a really competent effort from the production team, who themselves were a lovely group to work with, but it also encouraged me by showing further to myself the higher calibre of project I was now attracting.

Miss Jasmine was my first electro single under the pseudonym ‘Slavedriver’ and was also the first release on Whoop! Digital. This driving, distorted dancefloor hit combined my love of overdriven synthesizers with the vocal of pornstar Jasmine Byrne.  It went on to play all over the world and led on to my work with Ministry of Sound.

Reviews:
Inspired by the fusion of Guitars and electronics Slavedriver aka Dez Kirkup has turned out a loud, brash stormer well worth tracking down. Hard-hitting and relentless ‘Miss Jasmine’ kinda fits in between Vitalic and Soulwax nite versions only with an extra gothy zest of sleaze”.
JERRY BOUTHIER – FIVE STARS – UPDATE SONG OF THE WEEK

‘This track could depict a bondage scene with Soulwax double-dropping on kick drums, a lampshade shaking bassline and all the while Miss Jasmine calling the shots, snapping a whip close to the flesh. Naturally it goes down a treat with the grandparents and indie-kids alike – just suck it and see.’

Stuart Millar – Deviant DJs / Time Out Mag Northern Ireland

“Wicked tune, nice intense production, gonna play this to death!”
CHAD JACKSON
World DJ Mixing Champion

“Miss Jasmine is a stand out! Killa Choon!”
STREETLIFE DJs

“This track is awesome”
OUTMODE

“Loving Miss Jasmine! Looking forward to dropping it at Ibiza rocks over the summer!”
CASSETTE JAM

“Very cool Punk rockey house track!”
THE FLASH BROTHERS

“WOW!!!! Miss Jasmine is WICKED!!”
LIZ CIRELLI (House FM)

“What a cracker for the first release…this is relentless late night fodder not for the faint hearted..really going to be smashing this everywhere I play…10/10″
CHRIS WILSON (Family, Aus)

“Lovin Slavedriver – Miss Jasmine, Rockin, defo support!”
DAN MCKIE (1980 Recordings)“Slavedriver – Miss Jasmine is slamming and chunky enough to make it in to my set this weekend. Wicked”
MARTY LEAMA

“MISS JASMINE.. 9/10 !!!”
DJ OBSERVER

“Nice track!!”
KEVIN ATKINSON – AVA Recordings

“Really like this. Very rocked out!”
ZIGMUND SLEZAK – Benchmarc Records

“I love the production and mix.. Great skills.. Keep it up!”
PROFESSOR STRETCH AND THE UNDERWOLVES

“Miss Jasmine is the s**t! Lovin it! Whats up with the w**kers up your way? Why hasnt it been signed yet?!”
DJ BRIAN LINDSAY

“Very pumpin’ bassline, indeed an upcoming dance floor anthem.”
DJ WIM WAUMANS

“Heavy rocky edged housey chunky dance style. The vocals a little bit of a teaser as you’d probably already guessed. Nice bass used and has a feeling of good sound and energy to it throughout. Quite catchy. Will definately play out!”
GREG ZIZIQUE

Airplay:

• Ibiza Rocks!
• Dance rocks
• Amnesia, Ibiza
• Es Paradis, Ibiza
• Scala, Kings Cross
• Nolan Kane – “I’ll be playing it on our mix show next weekend.”
• Hangar 31 – Belgium
• Boombox – London
• The Hottest Vinyl
• Tastemakers
• Clapham North – London
• Bar Mambo – Guildford

A Headline Romance (directed by The Fdz / Produced by Cracked Lens Productions) was my second non-animated short and presented me with an opportunity to put together a very eclectic sound. The story addressed the issues of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict through the telling of a romance story between a Jewish male and Muslim woman. The score that I put together combined elements of sound design, along with intimate instrumentation and programmed rhythms, culminating in the final credits piece, which I feel is still one of my best works.

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Umbillicalripcord (directed by Adam Goodwin) is an action-packed animated short from 2007. Unashamedly clichéd both visually and musically, it is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a resistance fighter tries to steal what is known as ‘The Prophecy’ from the base of the Empire. Although I consider the music to be very ‘Bondesque’, this was a great opportunity for me to practice a large orchestration synchronised to specific hit points. This was a fun film to work on, but marks my last venture in to animation, favouring live-action work since then. Unfortunately the version below was a re-edited update, so not all the music synchronizes as originally intended, but it’s still pretty close!

A Dog’s Life, directed by Victor Throe, was my first ever film project, and though I completed the music back in 2005, the film itself was not completed until 2007.  The film is a brilliant and charming animation following the exploits of a bored dog in the Australian outback. Musically I wrote a slapstick but light hearted soundtrack, and though I have come so far from this sound now, (perhaps unrecognizingly so!), I owe it to this project and subsequent collaborations with Victor for really getting my career rolling.

‘Light Echoes from a Supernova’ (directed by Gary Mackridge), was my first non-animated film project and a brilliant experiment for me. The film consisted of three dream sequences amongst other scenes, and it was these scenes in particular where I pushed myself well outside my comfort zone to create some truly original sound design. The production style I created here went on to influence many of my future projects, and I feel it marked the beginning of my journey to find my own unique sound rather than simply copying the greats. The film was bookended by a grand and uplifting theme that I arranged for string quartet.

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