SIMONE: Now, the first question, the big question, I mean, where have you been? After the "Gotta Have Your Love" periods, you kind of vanished for a while. So, what's happened?

KURTIS: Basically what happened about 5 - 6 years ago, Music took a turn, for what I considered not to be very good, and then it was also a turning point in my life. I mean, I started making records when I was 17 - 18 years of age and it got to a point where things were changing. So I decided to use that time to take a break and do other things.

SIMONE: Like what? Still stuff involved with music?

KURTIS: No, not really, just lead a normal life. No more two, three days at a time being in a studio, no more dealing with singers. most of my adolescent life, I was always in the studio, so this was my time for me.

SIMONE: What happened to MC T?

KURTIS: MC T left the group because he wanted to further his education. And just I think dealing with the politics of the business, he just wasn't cut out for that. And it kind of got him a little frustrated.

SIMONE: Now what exactly happened, because you changed the name from Mantronix to Mantronik. An obvious reason for that?

KURTIS: No the name hasn't really changed, there's just no Mantronix with an "X" write now. There's just me, singular Mantronik right now with a "K". The group will be put back together in the coming year, it's going to be more R&B based.

SIMONE: Now, last year, you kind of came back into the limelight with the remix you did for like, Fluke and the Future Sound of London. Did these people approach you or...?

KURTIS: Well, um..see, I've been out of the scene for a little bit of a time and from what I understand, people, they liked a lot of my old stuff and they wanted to incorporate some of that stuff into some of the things that they're doing now and they basically got in touch with me through my manager.

SIMONE: they say that you've got this piece of hardware and I don't know if someone is trippin' who made this up saying that, if you've got an idea that someone's sampled something off you, you can play it as a bit of music and even if you can't really hear whether something of yours has been sampled, it'll pick it up.

KURTIS: Oh, I know what you're talking about, it's something that is used in Photography, it's called a Digital Watermark, and it's basically incoded material and if your stuff has been sampled, you play it and it will decode and you can basically tell. There's no audible difference that you can tell.

SIMONE: So what about with your music because in the past you've always used a lot of like, live drum patterns or loops do you still use that? You didn't use a lot of drum machines did you?

KURTIS: Well, I use a drum machine. I've always used drum machines. I incorporate drum machine programming with live drums. I dissect the stuff and put it back together. But I've always used drum machines.

SIMONE: By the way, what do you think of well should I call it Trip hop? Stuff like the Propellor Heads like Wall of Sound kind of stuff, what do you think of those things, are you into it?

KURTIS: Well, yeah, I think it's interesting

SIMONE: when you're recording, I don't know, I have to admit that I'm not a very technical person, but I am quite interested, What kind of set up have you got? How do you record your stuff? Could you try to put it into kind of moron explaination so that I can get it and my viewers can get it as well?

KURTIS: Very simple, I use an SP1200, that's it, nothing more. And maybe a tape machine to record the stuff on. But that's about it.

SIMONE: And what about the new stuff you're doing now? Are you playing with live instruments? I'm trying to work out in my head what kind of stuff.

KURTIS: I'm basically doing what I did before, the same thing. The only thing is there are a few new elements that are involved, sonic elements. I have these certain processes that I do that make a record sound completely, I don't want to say different, but just sonically more... there's more impact from it. There's a bigger sound to it, than it did years ago.

SIMONE: Now, something else... about your new material when are we going to expect it? I mean your new single is out, but what about the new album?

KURTIS: The new album, should be out in a few weeks.

SIMONE: Yeah? OK anything more you'd like to say,shout, do?

KURTIS: Which camera? This one? Peace.