You were already well established as a DJ when you began releasing your own music. How did you first get into music, and eventually into the drum & bass scene as a DJ?

I first really got into music when I was around ten years old, my sister got me a birthday present on the advice of an older neighbor and that happened to be Metallica Master of Puppets on a cassette. Needless to say I had my head well and truly taken off of my shoulders. After that Nirvana happened and then I was totally, irreversibly hooked.

After 1994 things got momentarily stale for me in the wake of grunge and I was drawn into drum & bass music because of its eclectic nature.

What is the story behind the first track you ever released?

My first release came together pretty quickly through quite a lot of panic over the fact I had just spent £5,000 on loads of outboard equipment that I didn't know how to work!

How did your production develop from there?

Over the years I have been lucky in that I have had friends who have helped, in the most part Q-Project from Total Science. He has shed light on many a production problem I have fallen on. I was able to repay the favor when everything went digital, as I sussed that out pretty quick.

So, you helped Total Science get a handle on computer-based production?

Yeah exactly that, when it went digital they struggled a little so I helped them out considerably.

Soon you were releasing originals and remixes on some of drum & bass' biggest labels …

Things progressed steadily throughout 2002 and into 2003. Then I remixed "Nosher" for Total Science, followed by the 12' single "The Way It Was/Redhead" for Virus, then I signed a deal with Breakbeat Kaos, which saw me collaborate with Fresh and Pendulum. That's when things got crazy!

You keep very busy with your touring schedule, producing your own music, and other projects. Was there a defining moment that you decided, "I can do this for a living?"

Probably just when my income from my music overtook what i was getting paid from my very s***y job (which wasn't much). It kind of just happened. As soon as I realized that, I was out of there!

Dare I ask what that job was?

I used to be a telephone debt collector! People used to phone me up and go crazy about legal letters we had sent them for outstanding cell phone bills.

Any advice for DJ/producers that want to make music their full time career?

Serious hard work will get you through, and attention to detail.

You've had repeated success on the UK dance charts. "At the Drive In" hit number 1 in January of last year, and in November "Drive In, Drive By" hit the number 1 spot. Do you feel that your most successful tracks on the charts have also been your best moments as a producer?

Well funnily enough, yes. "At The Drive In" and "Drive in, Drive By," I think were my best pieces of work to that point and strongly think that they represented exactly where I am with regards to how I want my music to sound. I am heavily influenced by rock music, particularly the melancholic side of it, and to incorporate that into a drum and bass track was and is my ultimate goal.

Some of our readers might not realize this, but new drum & bass releases still come out primarily on vinyl. There is a lot of tension and debate in the DJ community right now about vinyl, CDs, and computer-based solutions like M-Audio Torq. Are vinyl's days numbered?

To be totally honest with you, I love vinyl, I really do, but when you start traveling every weekend and with the new security measures in all the British airports it's almost impossible to guarantee that your records will arrive at the destination you are traveling to.

Digital DJ equipment is the future, no question. I think vinyl will outlast CD though, it has seen off every other format.

On the production side, once you have an idea going do you tend to bang out tunes quickly, or spend months agonizing over every detail?

I try to work fast to not lose the vibe, but it can sometimes work against you. I will usually sit on a track for a month or so, from the initial idea, so I can try it on a few club systems when I DJ, and make sure it's not missing anything. I like to have at least five or six tracks on the go at one time.

When you're working on your music, how do your tracks normally develop? Is there a common starting point?

For the most part I will start with drums. In anything electronica-related, the beats play such an important part in the overall dynamics of the track that you have to get them right, otherwise mixing becomes a total nightmare.

Do you still work with a lot of hardware, or are you doing most of your work ‘in the box?'

I am mainly software. I have 6 guitars, a bass, lots of pedals and a Universal Audio 610 preamp, but basically it's all plug-ins. I just record the guitars straight into my Pro Tools | HD 7.3 rig. I use a mixture of that and Logic 7, using the Digidesign Core Audio Driver and my 96 I/O to run in Core Audio if needed.

We hear you're digging Trash and Radius (for Logic). How have you been using them?

Trash is sick, you can morph sounds into the craziest things. You can make a straight sine wave with reverb sound like a twisted pad or string with 3 clicks of the thing—it's easily the best distortion plug I have used. Radius is a very, very good time stretching tool and essential in my eyes for anyone who is serious about using Logic 7 in a professional way.

You've mentioned you would like to produce bands in the future. Why is this appealing to you? Who would you most like to produce?

Producing other people is my ultimate goal in terms of really trying to branch out as far as I can go. This holds a lot of appeal to me, because of the wider range of genres you can potentially work on.

Specifically though, my first love would be to work with electronica-tinged rock.

Tell us about the (still top secret) skateboard film you recently finished scoring. How did that project come about?

The skateboard film project came about through my friendship with Geoff Rowley. It was a huge project, it took me the whole of 2006. It will be dropping in the fall. It was the hardest thing I have ever been involved in, but it was also the most enjoyable, I am very proud of the finished product.

Sub question: so how are you on the halfpipe?

When I am in the USA I sometimes skate with Geoff [Rowley] and Arto [Saari]. They go off, I roll around near the car!

Your first full length artist album is in the works right now. What can we expect from it?

For fans of my music, fear not, I will not be going all experimental. I will however be taking my sound a little deeper in places and probably a little harder in others. The album should be out at the end of the year. Expect some new singles up on myspace.com/baronproductions in the very near future.

For more information about Baron, visit www.myspace.com/baronproductions.