Before he blows up beyond all proportion and stops returning our calls Up caught up with 8-bit wizkid and blogger's delight David E Sugar to get his thoughts on disco balls, Ninja Turtles and how he manages to squeeze so much sound out of one small GameBoy.

Up: Hello. What does the "E" stand for?

DES: It's my middle name- maybe Elvis, Endorphins or Electric.

UP: You briefly worked in advertising, what slogan would you write for yourself?

DES: I hate advertising?

UP: You come from a background of the underground "Bit Music Scene," where people use GameBoys and other 8- bit technology to produce their music. Tell us about it.

DES: It's unique in that it's the first music scene to be unified and created through the internet. It's a great thing for encouraging electronic experimentation musically as well as in an "inventor" sense. A lot of the people build their own synths and programs which is very exciting. I got very deep into it when at a time i felt electronic music and music in general had become very generic, especially production.

Remember that bit in that Metallica documentary when Lars says something like "For this album we just played some stuff and then we put it in Pro Tools so lots of these songs we haven't actually played?" I thought that was fucking lame.

UP: So where do you start when making a track in the studio? Tell us about the Sugar methodology.

DES: It really flips around a lot as I move from being really excited by working with electronic equipment or from playing instruments. At the moment i'm doing alot of work where i compose with drums and bass and work from a principle that a successful groove only needs a kick, a snare and a bassline. A note left out is as important as a note left in and all that. I'm still very interested in minimalist approaches to composition. I still write using a guitar, bass, keyboard etc. from start to finish although I am more interested in composing and producing alongside each other. Writing and producing at the same time. There are many different areas to talk about from actually writing a track to producing it although i currently believe the line between producing and writing (for me) is a very small one. All popular music has to be commited to a recording at some point, the process in which the sound is represented, recorded, designed is a creative process and a large part of how the song will be understood by the outside world.

There's a lot for me to say about all this.

UP: Who would you most like to collaborate with? Musically, and then sexually.

DES: Perhaps Tom Waits or more recently Patrick Wolf who appears to be coming from a few of the same angles but making very different sounds to me. I'd do both of these guys and also that girl in the Renault Clio commercial.

UP: What would be your desert island discs? You're allowed three.

DES: At the moment i'd take "The Sinking Ship Song" by Matt Elliot, which i feel would be quite appropriate for being stuck on a desert island. Plus it's a sort of lullaby. I'd also take "Mt. Saint Michel" by Richard D James as I can't live without his music, plus the insane "1/128" or "Something Chopping At The End" to put me in a trance- like state. Then maybe "24" by Morgan Geist as i'd need a little something to bop to when i get wacked on coconut juice.

UP: That's more than three. Who was your favourite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and why?

Raphael was my favourite Ninja Turtle because he was actually supposed to be the leader but let the team down in some way so Leonardo took over. He was actually the most melancholic of the turtles too and the one that April quite fancied although a sexual union between the two of them was never verified. I did have a soft spot for donatello too as i liked his bo staff, his happy go lucky attitude and his genius with technology.

UP: Who invented the disco ball?

DES: I believe it was Bernard Edwards or perhaps Giorgio Moroder.

UP: What has been the best moment of your musical career so far?

DES: Telling Malcolm Mclaren that if he wanted to meet me he'd have to come to MY house.

UP: When can we expect your album?

DES: This year my darling.

Keep an eye out on David's Myspace for a whole slew of original tracks, remixes and live dates in 2007

Words: Alex Sheridan