Hailed as one of the most forward-thinking DJs and producers in drum ‘n’ bass, Marcus Intalex is known for a tight, techy but soulful sound while his Soul:R label is one of the scene’s most consistently refreshing imprints, releasing music from established and rising global talent alike.

But with a heritage stretching back to the early days of acid house he’s been mixing it up of late, returning to those heady days under the much-hyped house moniker Trevino. As he explains to our friends at Hype, keeping a clear distinction between the two genres allows him to separate his love for the 4/4 beat from the driving syncopation of drum ‘n’ bass…

What’s been happening so far in 2014? I started the year by producing loads of music, most of which is under my Trevino moniker. I’ve been writing four or five tracks a week, which is really good – it’s kind of switched things up from the drum ‘n’ bass.

The Trevino alias touches on your background as an acid house DJ years ago. Has it been a nice return to that mindset and scene? Yeah, it has been and it’s exactly what I needed. When things moved from dubstep into that more crossover thing of house and bass, but still influenced by breaks, I was kind of dying to have a go at making that sound.

Can you draw comparisons between when you DJ now and when you started out almost 30 years ago? It’s a bit different these days but essentially the reasons are the same – I try to DJ good music that makes people dance. There’s so much music out there – house and drum ‘n’ bass – that the difficulty comes from working out what to actually play.

Should drum ‘n’ bass fans be worried that they’ll lose you to your alter-ego Trevino project? More people know me as Marcus Intalex and there’s a history there, but people are starting to draw a correlation between the two now. I’m so busy in the house world, but I’ve also got bits coming up in drum ‘n’ bass too. I’ve got the new DRS album coming out on Soul:R and we’ve got regular 12”s coming up. On a personal note, I’ve got a few bits that I’m working on. Last year I had releases on labels such as Metalheadz, EXIT and more so I’m not disappearing from drum ‘n’ bass at all.

And when you play your drum ‘n’ bass sets, do you still stick to your trademark techy and soulful sound? Yeah. The whole point of the Trevino alias is that I don’t want to be playing sets that contain both techno and drum ‘n’ bass. It’s for separating things out for me. I’m a purist, man. I don’t want to hear people playing techno at a drum ‘n’ bass gig; it’s not going to work for me. People think that you have to steer off into other areas, but me, I’ll be playing the same quality music as Marcus Intalex as I always have. I’ll be playing the music that I love and that’s it.

You’ve been out to Dubai a fair few times. What’s the atmosphere like at your gigs here? I think it’s cool there. There’s a large percentage of expats out there so you do have some sort of recognition from people. I’ve been heading out for this show for like five years and it’s always been great. Of course, it’s not a full-on, sweaty, underground club, but it’s full of people who want to dance to drum ‘n’ bass, and any kind of drum ‘n’ bass, which is perfect for me. I can play what I like and they’re not the type of people to be standing around scratching their chins. They’re going to dance as they have no pre-conceptions of it all and it always works out to be a fun night.

Is there another Marcus Intalex album on the cards any time soon? Nowhere near, I’m afraid. I’ve only got a couple of tracks ready. It took me a really long time to release my last album, 21, in 2010. Maybe it makes more of a statement to just do one album.

The Music Room, Majestic Hotel, Al Mankhool Road, Dubai. Tel: (04) 5012534. Thursday March 13, 9pm to 3am. Dhs100. Taxi: Majestic Hotel