Kiwi drum and bass production and DJ twosome State of Mind are on fire. Hot off the heels of releasing their second album “Faster than Light”, along with juggling a record label, touring and hosting drum and bass radio show 'Next Level' (Saturday 9-11pm NZ time, at www.95bfm.com), Patrick Hawkins and Stu Maxwell still manage to fit in a quick chat with Angela King on the eve of their Australian tour.

Loaded Dice are bringing you back to Perth again as a part of “All Black”. How do the Australian audiences compare to those at home, and what can we expect from you this year?
Every time we come over to oz it’s always a pleasure. Oz crowds are normally really up for it so it’s good for us DJ’s. I think to be fair, NZ crowds and oz crowds are pretty similar but it depends on the gig and where you are. What can you expect from us this time? Hopefully a good set with loads of new tunes and plenty from ourselves! We've just done a new album Faster than Light, so we had better play some of that...

The name "State of Mind" has been used for films, albums, even a fashion label -what made you guys choose it?
I don't actually know of any films or fashion labels called State of Mind. We would have used IMDB to check but I don't think we had the internet back in those days in NZ. There is a Billy Joel song called “New York State of Mind” so I'm told. I've never heard it.

New Zealand is a melting pot of top quality music, despite its isolation from the rest of the world. Do you feel being based in NZ is an advantage or disadvantage?
I think its an advantage in some respects, you get mad support from NZ'ers all over the world and it helps make it viable to be in the music business. The NZ government gets behind it too, giving out grants for videos and stuff if you're lucky and talented. On the other hand, not being from the UK is a major draw-back. I hate to say it but there is still a very strong “if it ain’t from the UK it’s not as good” attitude within DnB. That makes it a bit tougher to get a following over there.

What have been some highlights of your career so far?
Playing some of the big festivals I guess, like the Big Day Out or R N V in NZ. We did a Pirate Station in Moscow too.  That was pretty mad.

You have had tracks signed to CIA and Technique’ Recordings and now have your own label, SOM MUSIC. How much of an asset is it to have your own label to release music on?
Yeh it’s great. It gives you creative control over when and what you release. There's nothing stopping us releasing on other labels so we get the best of both worlds.

Clearly drum and bass is your passion, has there been any thoughts to make the, dare I say it, move to Dubstep or other genres?
We just finished a new house track today actually. We are working on an alias doing electro house sorta stuff but I don't really wanna give away too much. I doubt we will ever make Dubstep.  We are making breaks sorta stuff as State of Mind, in addition to DnB.

What does the future hold for State of Mind?
Another album in 2010 or early 2011. We are doing some EPs soon as well on our label with a bunch of artists.  Plus plenty more touring. I'm off to Japan in a few weeks, then back over to Europe again, and America towards the end of the year. We are also building a live show which will be launched over the New Years festivals in NZ. Hopefully we can bring it your way!

Catch State of Mind with MC LOWQUI at The Rosemount Hotel on Friday 26th July from 8pm