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Monday, 13 October, 2008

PLANETNOTION TELEVISION!

CAMERA-FOLK AND FILM EDITORS WANTED!

Planet Notion is looking for guys and dolls to film and edit features for its new TV channel, PNTV. Accompanying Notion to artist interviews, gigs, fashion shows, festivals and international events, you will be skilled, passionate and full of ideas about how to produce shit-hot video content. Camera-folk will be experienced and ideally have their own equipment, or at least access to equipment, while editors must be able to turn projects around quickly, and with stylistic flare. If you can both film and edit content, we would especially like to hear from you! These casual, unpaid positions would be ideal for those looking to develop their showreels, and to get the chance to travel, film major artists and top events.

Please email lucy(at)musichqmedia
(dot)com if you’re interested in getting involved, cheers!

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Plastic Little Interview

Plastic Little Interview

Britain . Buckle your doors; border your windows; weep into your tin of economy beans. It seems that Armageddon is upon us. We are a nation in continual fear; global-warming scaremongers shovelling paranoia down our gullets like a ten-joint marathon, not to mention crime rates and MRSA. Thank goodness help has reached our trembling shores… thank goodness for hip-hop quartet ‘Plastic Little.’ The transformation from national melancholy to happiness was long overdue and they have duly delivered. Take new single ‘Dopeness;’ one of the funniest hip-hop songs to have come out of 2007. Horrifying yet strangely engrossing – it’s a video you feel uncomfortable watching but can barely take your eyes off. Akin to snorting copious amounts of Ketamine and staring at a grain of sand for forty-hours… ‘Dopeness’ is the ultimate K-hole experience. Hip-hop has been turned on its head and spun violently around; a punch thrown equivalent to a circus clowns. They’ve made a scene high in macho-brutality into one of sex-fuelled testosterone, with hilarious consequences. Okay, so hip-hop has always featured a sexual allure and has always been… well… sexy. But ‘Plastic Little’ talk about screwing the way an old boy down the battle cruiser talks about football. It’s a passion; a fascination; think Russell Brand and times by four. The nature of their lyrics and their delivery has bridged a gap between bad-boy crews of the ghetto and middle-class geeks alike. A very rare thing indeed. The lads caught up to chat about big collaborations, genies in a bottle and sex with spreads following a blinding London tour. Stick a vulture in the same room as a toucan, and you can see the differences. But both have feathers and make shit loads of noise. What sets you guys apart from one another? What sets us apart? We all have bigger penis’ from one another. You’re a fun loving punanni loving bunch of fellas – which is apparent in your lyrics. How important is it to have a good time with your music? Very – having fun while you're doing shit is most important. You should have fun while you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing… that’s our motto. You’ve bridged a gap – so to speak, between hip-hop shakers and indie-rockers alike. Is it important to have a fan base ranging from kids with attitude to Star-Trek fanatics? Very – it’s super important. It’s hard to make rap music that fans like, especially if you put out what you like – but something has to give at some point. We love the kids’ attitude towards music and life though. We have a thing for real socially awkward nerds – not cool geeks but real geek geeks, the ones that know a lot about music but are still gimpy; all good. Sex Pistols summed up a generations pent up frustration at the establishment and Barry White’s music was the epitome of love making. What kind of situations befit your music, and would you say the Plastic Little sound is good to make love to? Well if you don’t want an abortion when you wake up, then yes. Give us a lesson in history and where Plastic Little’s journey began. Ok we’re gonna keep it real simple - we started out in 2001 –in the summer of 2001, and just evolved like kids do over time. This was all pre 9/11 by the way, and then we just got loads of material after that. You paid homage to The Smiths with the cover to She’s Mature, are you a fan of the Manchester favourites, and do you guys have any guilty music pleasures? Guilty music pleasures? Hmmmm… we Love the Aladdin soundtrack… yeah, and Scatman. Oh, and the LFO summer girls – check it on YouTube. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHuGG_FsC20 ) Tell us about Crambodia, and how it was to work with luminaries such as Ghostface Killah and Amanda Black. Surely there’s some tales to tell? Amanda is our home girl you know? She records that shit and nails it out – we knew her shit would be hot, and it’d be hot working with her. Ghost face? Having him on any track is dope! I had a poster of ghost face on my wall, from about 4 years ago, and I drew myself into the poster - so to have it on our track was, WHOAH! The hilarious video to Dopeness features male birth, a subject matter dear to my heart. I loved that Schwarzenegger film Junior. Where did such inspiration come from? To be honest we have a Crazy director who does all our videos called Ted. He just came up with this crazy shit and we thought it rocked. He was like I got this idea where you’re all giving birth to each other and all the ideology of that shit – it was deep. I’m curious to know how the giving birth effect was created. Were your ball sacks proudly on display and dubbed out in the computer room? If so, were the nurses actually fondling your manhood in the video? No, unfortunately not – they came close to touching though. Narr – I’m just foolin. The director made these vagina underwear shorts with hair and shit and we had to stick our heads through a giant-green screen vagina. All the red stuff you see was molasses and corn syrup and red dye. Many a man can hold their head up high and say that Dopeness is a tune that symbolises that Bruce Banner surge of energy we get when the female of the species enters the equation. Are there any particular stories relative to the track that you care to share? No... no tails on tour. No stories at all really – ‘Dopeness’ was just inspired. We just had this beat and a whole load of crazy ideas we all put together. We Like having sex just as much as the next guy, it’s just we get to rap about it. I guess we’re lucky mother fuckers. It seems you guys could probably make a sick beat out of anything put your way. Are there any music styles you wish to experiment with in the future? A touch of classical perhaps… or a sprinkle of country? To be honest I have a friend who wants to teach me how to sing opera… I’m gonna do it. What’s your opinion of the current hip hop scene? Do you think everyone should cheer up a bit? Yeah, why not? Calm down dawg - the world is always ripe with conflict – singing about it won’t change anything. That’s the thing right… the world’s always been the same. What does the future hold for plastic little? Is it wet and juicy, or dry and flaky? Wet and juicy baby– like having sex with marmite! Plastic Little’s debut album “She’s Mature” is available now: www.shesmature.com Words: Dave Dryden

tags: | plastic little | dopeness | shes mature | crambodia | ghostface killah | amanda black

Gallows Interview

Gallows Interview

Tackling social issues with all the ferocity of a rampant Rhino, Gallows are a band unafraid to raise the often controversial questions affecting today’s youth. From date rape to street violence, they deliver the answers through spilt claret, venomous spit, and an unflinching attitude not seen on the mainstream circuit since punk’s heyday in the seventies. The toast of South-by-Southwest, a storming show at Reading Festival, and a critically acclaimed debut album behind them; bass player Stuart caught up with Notion to lay bare head collisions with monitors, collaborations with Lethal Bizzle, and their growing reputation as the UK’s most exciting and interactive live band. · What influences beyond punk/hardcore are prominent in Gallows music and attitude? WE LISTEN TO ALL KINDS OF MUSIC AS LONG AS IT’S DEEMED GOOD BY US, FROM PHIL COLLINS TO DEADGUY. EVERYTHING INFLUENCES US. EVERYTHING, TO SOME EXTENT. ALL THE SHIT MUSIC AND ROCKSTAR CUNTS JUST INFLUENCE US TO PLAY HARDER AND WITH MORE PASSION. · In three words, what does your debut album bring to the current music scene? WAKE UP CALL. · In a world where Johnny Burrell can have a number one album, what state do you think the UK music scene is in? IT’S IN A SHITTY STATE AND HAS BEEN FOR YEARS. I DON’T LISTEN TO JOHNNY BURRELL’S MUSIC, SO CANT COMMENT ON THAT ONE, BUT THE UK MUSIC SCENE IS TOO SAFE. BANDS ARE HAPPY TO JUST BE CARBON COPIES OF ONE BAND THAT DOES WELL, OR TRIES TO SOUND LIKE SOME AMERICAN, WATERED DOWN VERSION OF A SUCCESSFUL BAND. NO ONE IS TAKING MANY RISKS THESE DAYS. · Though worlds apart, both draw on the depravity of a town - was Come Friendly Bombs directly inspired by the John Betjeman poem Slough? IN SOME WAYS YES. OBVIOUSLY WE LIFTED THE TITLE FROM THE POEM AND THE SONG IS ABOUT FRANKS EXPERIENCES OF SLOUGH. IT’S A FUCKING HELL HOLE, WHICH I THINK WAS BETJEMAN’S POINT TOO. · Your popularity continues to grow, having had a busy few months on the festival circuit. How are you responding to the mounting attention cast upon the band? WE JUST IGNORE IT AND GET ON WITH TOURING. THAT’S HOW WE RESPOND, BY NOT REALLY PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO WHAT GOES ON OUTSIDE OUR CIRCLE. IT’S NICE PEOPLE ARE LISTENING AND PAYING ATTENTION TO OUR RECORD AND SHOWS, THAT’S ABOUT IT. · You were the toast of South by Southwest – how important is it to you to break America? FAIRLY. WE WANT AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO SEE OUR BAND AND THEN BE DISSATISFIED WITH THE MANY BANDS THAT APPROACH THINGS HALF HEARTEDLY. · After recording and playing live with Lethal Bizzle, do you have plans for any other collaborations? Are you interested in working with other artists, or does the collab simply stem from Frank’s passion for Grime? NOTHING PLANNED AS YET, BUT WE ARE OPEN MINDED ABOUT FUTURE COLLABORATIONS. IT WAS GREAT TO WORK AND TOUR WITH LETHAL BIZZLE, A REWARDING EXPERIENCE ENTIRELY. · You’ve been compared to the Sex Pistols and The Clash, because you’re songs confront social issues in a similar way. How important is it to tackle social issues such as date rape and violence through your music? IT’S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO US. IF YOU AREN’T SAYING ANYTHING YOU MAY AS WELL SHUT THE FUCK UP. WE’LL LEAVE IT TO OTHER BANDS TO SING ABOUT BEAUTIFUL GIRLS AND GETTING HIGH. DON’T GET ME WRONG, WE ALSO HAVE SONGS ABOUT PARTYING AND GENERALLY BEING DICKHEADS AT TIMES, MAKING BAD DECISIONS, BUT SOCIAL ISSUES, ESPECIALLY DATE RAPE ARE THEMES OFTEN IGNORED BY THE MAINSTREAM BANDS AS IT’S A TOUGH PILL TO SWALLOW. BANDS FROM THE SCENE WE CAME FROM IN HARDCORE, TACKLE THESE ISSUES IN THEIR SONGWRITING FAR MORE OFTEN. IT’S AN UGLY AND UNCOMFORTABLE SUBJECT, BUT SO IS PUNK ROCK. THAT’S WHY IT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING. · You could be said to have a confrontational attitude to your audiences - how important are the audience to your live experience? WE LEARNT VERY EARLY ON THAT A LOT OF AUDIENCES CAN BE APATHETIC TO THE BANDS IN FRONT OF THEM THAT THEY’VE PAID TO SEE. OUR CONFRONTATIONAL STANCE IS SO WE CAN’T BE IGNORED, AND LIKE US OR HATE US, PEOPLE HAVE TO LISTEN TO US. WE THROW A HUNDRED-AND-TEN PERCENT OF OUR BODIES AND ENERGY INTO OUR SHOWS, AND PEOPLE CAN AT LEAST SEE WE MEAN WHAT WE’RE DOING. I ENJOY SHOWS A LOT MORE IF THE AUDIENCE ARE RECEPTIVE AND FEED OFF OUR ENERGY AND LOSE THEIR SHIT, BUT WE STARTED PLAYING TO CROWDS OF KIDS WHO DIDN’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT GALLOWS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO IN SOME PLACES I IMAGINE. · Your performance at the Reading Festival was described by many as your best to date. How was it to play at such an esteemed event, and what made it so special? IT WAS GREAT TO PLAY THERE, IT WAS A MILESTONE FOR US AND WAS GREAT TO COME BACK TO A RECEPTION LIKE THAT AFTER BEING ON TOUR IN THE STATES FOR SO LONG. IT WAS MADE SO SPECIAL BY THE FACT A LOT OF OUR FRIENDS FROM OTHER BANDS WERE PLAYING THE SAME STAGE AND WE HAD OUR FAMILIES AROUND US ON HOME TURF. · What’s the story behind Frank’s head wound during the Stoke gig recently? KID GETS ON STAGE, SINGS ALONG WITH FRANK, FRANK LOSES FOOTING, FRANKS HEAD COLLIDES WITH CORNER OF MONITOR, FRANKS HEAD EXPLODES IN A CLOUD OF CLARET, FRANK GOES TO HOSPITAL AND GETS GLUED BACK TOGETHER. TOUR CARRIES ON AFTER A COUPLA DAYS. · Frank described the band as a hobby, and that being a tattoo artist was his ‘life and job.’ How do you think Gallows will be remembered when the band eventually call it a day? A BAND THAT PLAYED SOME COOL SHOWS, GOT SOME ATTENTION FOCUSED BACK ON UK BANDS AND MADE AT LEAST ONE GREAT RECORD. OH AND SOLD OUT BY SIGNING TO A MAJOR. · What can we expect from Gallows in the future, and are their plans for a second album? WE WILL HOPEFULLY STAY TOGETHER LONG ENOUGH TO RECORD A SECOND RECORD AT LEAST AND TOUR SOME MORE AND MAYBE, AS RIDICULOUS AS THIS SOUNDS, HAVE SOME TIME AT HOME FROM TOURING. BUT SO FAR, I’M ENJOYING IT, WE ARE A BAND OF BROTHERS AND THERE’S NOTHING BEEN THROWN AT US YET THAT WE HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO HANDLE OR SHRUG OFF. TOUCH WOOD. The Gallows debut album, Orchestra of Wolves is available on Epitaph Records. The lads Taste of Chaos tour hits UK waters on November the nineteenth, kicking off at Guildhall, Portsmouth, and closing at Brixton Academy on the 28 th . Words: Dave Dryden

tags: | gallows | johnny burrell | john betjeman | slough | orchestra of wolves | more...

Def Mix Interview

Def Mix Interview

Could you all introduce yourselves, say where you’re originally from and what you’re best known for? David Morales: I’m David Morales, president of Def Mix Productions, and I guess I’m best known for being me: Def Mix 1! Frankie Knuckles: My name is Frankie Knuckles and I’m Def Mix 3. 1 and 2 can argue among themselves but I’ll always be 3! I’m from the Boogie Down, from the big BX originally. I live in Chicago now, and I think I’m known as the Godfather of house music. DM: I forgot to say I’m from Brooklyn. Hector Romero: Hello hello! I’m Hector Romero. If you’ve known me that long you can still call me Baby Hack. I’m from the Bronx as well, and what am I best known for? For being a stubborn pain in the ass, and for always having a smile on my face, why not? Satoshi Tomiie: Ok my turn? Hi, it’s Satoshi Tomie here. I’m originally from Tokyo and I’m best known for, hmm, not sure. I’m a little slow today so I’ll pass on that. DM: I’ll answer that one for him! He’s a DJ, producer extraordinaire! David, how did Def Mix come about and did you think it would be as big as it is today? Def Mix came about in late ’86 going into ’87. I really just used the name Def Mix as a remixing name. Some of the other guys doing remixes at the time had similar pseudonyms, so I had to have a similar name when I wanted to remix. Back then the word ‘Def’ was slang for ‘good’, ‘great’ so I started to use that. With Judy we ended up incorporating the word into our productions, and then Frankie came in from Chicago. There was no intention for Def Mix to be anything but a name, you know, we didn’t think it would become ‘a thing’. There was no plan. Ok so Frankie, Satoshi and Hector, when do you guys come into the story? FK: I think I probably come in next. I had just moved back to New York, and I had a lot of mixes that were being offered to me, mostly from the UK. I had a few from around New York City from a few different labels and I was told that I needed representation. Someone wanted to book me to do a remix or play a gig or something and they asked who my manager was, and I had worked up until that point without one, living in Chicago and before I had ever left New York in the first place, I had never had one. So when that person approached me it kinda threw me completely. And then I met Judy and she asked me the same question, and I had the same answer. We go way back, you know, even before the Record Pool, that’s how far back we go. And we talked about it, and she talked about what was going on with David and Def Mix and what they were trying to do with it. Honestly I didn’t think that much about it, I just though ‘Yeah that’s great!’ I thought of it as something to help me along while I’m regaining my footing back in New York City. I hoped that it would take me someplace else within the industry and it just took off from there. It was a place for me to be found and it gave me the opportunity to be able to bring something to the table. I’d already done quite a lot of work in Chicago, but it was not paid work, you know? Although for me I wasn’t really looking to get paid, it was more of an education than anything else which helped a lot. And joining Def Mix andworking with David and all the other engineers and programmers, that was like finishing school for me. ST: Ok, so I actually came after. I met Frankie in Japan while I was at University. I was helping out on a couple of parties while he was touring the country, about 7 different party’s altogether. FK: Almost every night for a whole week! ST: Basically the people organising the parties asked me to write the theme music that would be played each night. FK: It was basically like a fanfare just before I was supposed to come on. ST: So that’s the way I met him. Then after he went back to New York I made a demo. HR: It was probably on a cassette. ST: Actually I think it was! Ha ha! So after that I couldn’t actually meet him in New York, but he met with my friend, liked the track that I had given him, asked Judy and David if I could join Def Mix. HR: I come in around ’94. Basically I was a young DJ from the Bronx, doing some parties around the city, and it was a special promoter from the city that hooked me up to play a gig with David. I had never met David but I used to go out to hear him play at Red Zone; that was like my Paradise Garage. I went religiously every weekend, just to hand out and listen to good music. We got teamed together to play this Bank Holiday Sunday party, and it was a big hit! I played before David, and he enjoyed what I did I guess! Ha ha! And from there he asked me to pay other gigs for him, you know be his warm-up, at Red Zone, Club USA, Tunnel, various clubs around the city. It was a pleasure for me to be the opening DJ. I also used to work at a record company called Emotive Records, and I wasn’t really happy there. Then David asked me to come on board and start Definity Records, and it basically just started from there. Frankie, you are the owner of a Grammy. What does that feel like? FK: I think the thing I was most proud of was bring it home to Judy and David. That was the biggest thrill. DM: Ha ha! FK: I’m serious! DM: What was important was that one of us got it. FK: I wasn’t really thinking about that. They can probably tell you, I was a mess two or three weeks leading up to it. I couldn’t eat I couldn’t think straight, I was a mess. I was really just trying to stay level throughout the whole thing, and then when it happened it was a blur, it just came and went so quick. I mean I’m really happy and really proud to have it, but the biggest thing about it was bringing it home to them. It helped to secure certain feeling within myself personally, about where I am personally within this company. DM: *Sob* Ha ha! FK: I’m serious! We’re a family, we’re a team. We’ve been through a lot together you know, good thing bad things. But at the end of the day we hold each other up, we stand beside each other. Hector. Is it hard being the label manager and an international DJ? HR: Yes! Ha ha! I love it though, that’s what I love to do, and that’s what I bring to the company because obviously I’m not a producer. I love what I do. And being a DJ that’s in my blood forever, so it’s an amazing job and I would never change it for anything in the world. Sometimes it’s hard to do the label thing, especially during these rough times, but we’re riding the wave. You’ve all worked with some pretty big names over the years…any stories? DM: I kicked Seal’s butt at table-tennis! He told me that American’s can’t play it and I showed him at thing or two. I also got Julio Inglesias to speak to my mum on the phone. She thought someone was messing around so he sang to her and of course then she lost it. FK: You know we’ve worked with some pretty big artists. And they’re Pro’s, you know, they know their instruments. They may travel with entourages or whatever, but when it’s time to perform, they know their craft. I’ve worked with Luthor [Vandros?] and he just strolled in here and sat down on the couch beside me. We talked about his day-time diamonds and his night-time diamonds and we were just having fun, but the minute he went in the live room and it was time to perform, he nailed it in the first take. But he humoured me by giving me another 12, 16 takes, just so he could hang out and have fun. DM: The biggest artist that intimidated me, bearing in mind I’d already worked with Mariah [Carey] and Seal among other, was Aretha Franklin. For me she was the ultimate queen of soul who had worked with some of the best producers in the business. And here I was a DJ/Mixer/Producer, and it was hard for me to feel confident, knowing the legends she’s worked with. I don’t even put myself in their league. You learn a lot from working with artists like that. Have you all taken influences from each other? HR: Always. For me as a DJ, I take a little bit from each one of them. That’s how I play music, and they’re like big brothers who I look up to. DM: The most important thing for us is that there’re never any egos. We’ve always supported each other, you know, like I was talking about Satoshi ages ago before anyone had ever heard of him. Before they even knew how to pronounce his name! Same goes for Hector. FK: It was great when Satoshi first came to New York, because everyone had already heard his song and they wanted to know who he was. Just to hear all these local people talking so much about someone they hadn’t met was great, for me that was thrill. It was an opportunity to add another element to what we were doing. We were playing the track everywhere and everyone was just going ape, ga-ga over it. DM: Satoshi used to come and play live keyboard at my sets. We used to do live remixes together. Drum units, effects, reel-to-reel; it’s how we arrived at ‘a sound’ We were each doing out own thing, but there were a bit of each other in all of our songs. FK: When you listen to an album like the Robert Owens album which was the first album that David and I produced together, Satoshi was at the centre of all of that. So when you hear that album you hear Def Mix in its infancy, but you hear just how rounded the sound was and still is. 20 years down the line, are you still learning? DM: I don’t think you ever stop evolving. FK: You never stop learning. It’s funny; Hector and I were just talking about gadgets and how he wants to get the new i-Phone and Satoshi comes in with ‘Wait for the second generation, never go with the first’ And he always knows best! Just being around each other and learning little things like that and keeping on top of what’s going on. At least it keeps me on top of it! Technologically I’m not the greatest, and these guys keep he updated with stuff that helps me out when I have to go work on something. Could each of you pinpoint a high and low point of the last 20 years? DM: Obviously winning a Grammy for sure. FK: I would say it’s one of them. Not the highest point but for sure it’s up there. DM: For me, having the 4 year birthday party in Mikanos, and having everyone together for that. FK: There are more high points than low ones believe me. DM: Between ourselves there are no lows. The only thing that I can think of that’s more of a general thing is the state of music. FK: For me personally, the highest point that we have is the fact that we made it 20 years. 20 years! There’s no way that 20 years ago I would have believed we’d be where we are now, being as close as we were if not closer. I’d already been playing for 15 years before I even started with these guys. It doesn’t get any better than this…unless it’s 25 years! Is it easier to be a DJ now you’ve all been travelling the globe for years, and how do you get treated by comparison? DM: Like a rock star now. FK: I don’t rest on it though. I don’t think it’s easier though, cos you have so many people trying to re-invent the wheel. We weren’t purposely trying to re-invent the wheel we were just making music because it’s the heart of what we are. People look at house music as something that was purposely invented; that wasn’t the case. It just came off the heels of the kind of music we were playing at The Warehouse and at The [Paradise] Garage and so many other places across the US. House music flourished and grew from that. Now there are so many young guys and so many new guys popping up all the time. In the UK they’re always looking for the next big thing and the next big superstar DJ. It’s difficult staying in it because industry states that I have to compete with everyone else, you know, but I don’t look at what I do as a competitive sport. I think I have just as much right to be out there playing as the next guy as long as people want me to do it. It’s awful when promoters or the media try and introduce a competitive element and try and pitch us against each other, cos that takes all the fun out of it. And if we can’t have then we can’t make anyone else have fun. DM: Also the thing is that the audience that we initially played for are no longer going out. So then you have to almost start again and prove yourself to the next generation who really don’t know who you are. And with all that technology changes, music changes, taste changes. And you have to evolve with these changes if you want to stay in the game. FK: It’s like we’re here at the WMC and where’s the hit record? ST: Yeah this used to be the biggest opportunity to get a record out there, and in a way that opportunity it still there, but not as much as it used to be. Now people not involved in the industry just hang out in clubs, the original spirit has been lost. But now everything about music is different, the way it’s made the way it’s distributed. Even producing records has become more like part of the package necessary to be a DJ. HR: There’s so much pressure, especially at the level these guys are at. FK: There is pressure, but no-one could accuse any one of us of not putting in our all every time we perform. There are guys out there who go out, throw their hands in the air and just because they have a name for themselves think that’s enough. It’s not enough. I think if you don’t connect with your audience and see them looking back at you and smiling then you don’t have it. Doesn’t matter how big your name is you just don’t have it. And you have to have it for as long as I’ve had it to be able to make an impact. Satoshi, was DJing or production your main drive? Well my first love was Hip-Hop and I actually started producing and DJing at the same time. I got more into house music after meeting Frankie and later David. I’m a perfect example of the fact that unless you’re a big DJ already, in order to get gigs you have to make some records, so that’s what I did. Where are the Def Mix residencies around the world? DM: I have Stereo (Montreal)) which is a club that I own. Then there’s Pacha in Ibiza which I think we’ve been doing for 7 years. Grease in Italy which we’ve been doing for 10 or 15 years. There are other places where we don’t have residencies but we go and play at the same time once or twice a year. Do all four of you regularly play together? HR: Rarely! But tonight the Def Mix anniversary party will be special. Champagne will be flowing! That’s gonna be a treat! DM: We all have different styles and different personalities, and because of the current fragmented state of house music, you know you’re either into electro or you’re into tech, or you’re into vocal house or whatever, it’s hard to go to parties where you go into a room and you just hear different styles of music. And it will be 10 DJ’s just all playing one style. HR: I agree, but I also think that the genres are becoming more blurred once again and the general sound is becoming more organic. FK: I hope so. HR: Me being the A&R director and all! Ha ha! I really do feel that. DM: When I do my residencies, playing for 10 hours or something, they know that they’re going to hear all kinds of music, across the board. People outside our culture of music, see our music as boring, because it’s just this linear thing. And back in the 70’s or 80’s there was so much variation in music, that there’s no way you could say it was boring. Today we’re missing the artist part of the scene. FK: Technology has put the music into the hands of the DJ’s, which is great, but the one gripe I have is that some of the music being made is so two-dimensional. It’s great that you can sit in your bedroom and sample someone else and put together a track completely independently, but it’s even greater when you can create a track with others and use a vocal artist. There’s so much disposable music around at the moment that it’s resulted in the industry being where it is now. DM: Before you had DJ’s and you had producers and the lines never crossed. Now you have keyboard players who are DJing because there’s a market for it and there’s money to be made. ST: There’s no money being put into production now, and most of the time you can tell. And the result is you either have a huge hit, or nothing at all, nothing in the middle. It’s a tough market. DM: When I started out producing, if I didn’t know how to do something, I hired someone who did, you know? I didn’t know how to play the keyboards so I hired someone who did, I didn’t know how to produce background vocals, so I hired a professional, and I learned from them and became a better producer myself as a result. Some people can do it and others can’t, some people can DJ and some can’t. How do you decide which remixes and which tracks are part of the album? ST: Making tracks is always interesting. I just go with the flow! Someone lays down a baseline and someone else some beats and we all add our own elements to it. DM: It’s like a jam session. We used to literally live in the studio, 48 hours non-stop sometimes and put out a couple of records a week. FK: For this current compilation, there are some songs we have in our back-catalogue that absolutely have to go on. ‘Tears’ obviously, ‘The Whistle Song’, ‘I’ll Be Your Friend’. Songs like that have to be a part of it because people get this package and expect those songs to be there. Those are gems, those are precious stones within our catalogue. Fast-forward 10 years to Def Mix 30th anniversary; what’s in store? FK: We’re still trying to grasp the concept of 30 years! DM: Yeah, I think my kids are going to have to carry that torch. FK: There’s always something left to achieve. I think at this particular point we’re all still raising the bar for ourselves. I’d like to think we will still all continue to play. Hopefully things will come back around to how they were. HR: For me I hope to contribute more to this industry as a label manager and make a dent in dance music. DM: I don’t think I’ll be playing in 10 years, but I definitely want to be making music, producing tracks. Work towards developing artists, writing songs. I’d like to grow more in a more mainstream market. If each of you had a motto or a message that you would like to get across or that’s driven you, what would that be? DM: I think the most important thing is to stay grounded. I’ve been fortunate to have someone in my life, my partner, to keep me grounded, because being a superstar DJ, producer, whatever you want to call it, it’s easy to lose yourself. I think it’s important to have someone to let you know when you’re crap stinks, when you need to reinforce yourself, because the regular tag-alongs would never tell you that your sound is stale. So I would stay be humble and stay grounded. FK: I would agree with that. And love what you do, first and foremost.

tags: | def mix | frankie knuckles | david morales

Todd Terry Strictly Rhythm Interview

Todd Terry Strictly Rhythm Interview

Todd Terry – Strictly Rhythm Interview. I think it’s fair to say that it’s been a while since you produced a big vocal record… Well, I’ve been doing vocal records, but whether people label them as big vocal tracks or as an underground record doesn’t matter; it’s all the same to me. However people labelled it or whether this person sang it or that person sung it, you know, to me it’s the same. Sometimes people label one record as being way bigger than another and I don’t really get that. What was the inspiration behind the ‘Get Down’ track? I first came up with this idea maybe two years ago, and I’d always wanted to do a record with all the Gods, with all the stars that make records. I felt as though that have never been done before. It had happened in Rap music on a Destruction record, but no-one from dance music has ever done it so I thought it would be a cool idea. And so far so good! But actually at first no-one really took up the offer of a record because with me, Kenny [Dope], Louie [Vega] and [DJ] Sneak all featuring they couldn’t figure out how to promote it. Really what I was trying to do is keep the hype on dance music in general. There are so many people out there creating dance music that there are no stars any more, and I think that’s becoming a problem in the industry and I think that’s why kids are looking into other avenues and other styles of music. You need a face to the music and that was key when I was putting this project together. There’s a real benefit to having a face to music, cos then kids can go online and check us out and see what we’ve done before. There’s a new generation out there that doesn’t know what Todd or Kenny or Louie or David [Morales] did, you know, so it’s kinda like I’m trying to school them too. When I started out, I looked at the Chicago and the Detroit sound, and that’s what I mimicked, that’s where I got it from, so keeping the kids clued up is definitely the way to go. How did you hook up with Tara McDonald for the track? After we’d finished the whole album we sent it out to a few labels, and I ran into Sven Kirschner in Ibiza, and he gave me some of his records and I told him about the project. I said I was looking for a smaller label to branch it out cos all the bigger ones didn’t know how to push it and didn’t want to pay for it. I got tired with the whole big name thing, so I thought I’d start off with a smaller guy. So he got into a lot of the tracks and said that he wanted to put some vocals over the top of them. So working with him we got a couple of really great songs together. I believe that Tara brought the whole pop vibe to the project and a keen edge to take the track to the next level. I think that’s what’s going to make this project branch out. How did you and Kenny Dope meet? I met Kenny through another partner of mine, Mike Delgado, who I made records with back in the day. We were just friends hanging out in the neighbourhood and it just went from there. We’ve know each other for years, you know, we’re home-boys! A lot of what we created came about because we were like family. Is it true that you introduced Kenny to Louie Vega? Yeah that’s true. Louie was playing at this club called The Fun House, and me Mike and Kenny all met Louie, and he played one of his first tracks called ‘All My Love’, but it never came out, that’s how I knew Louie years and years ago. It’s probably fair to say that you were the first big name to record for Strictly Rhythm… Yeah I would say that me and Kenny were among the first. I’m always interested in the new labels starting out. I felt that they were going to give it their full attention and that they were gonna go after it as hard as they can, instead of the criticism that comes from the major labels if the record doesn’t sell. That’s they kind of crap I hear sometimes so I’d rather go with the smaller label. We’d thrown them a couple of record for them to get to the next level. I think going with them was a good move at the time and I think that this time it’s an even better move. I think it makes a lot of sense. 10 years later, we’re back! Mark [Finklestein] is a great guy, and for a time I had a management group that were telling me to get a load of money out of him. Mark’s like family to me, so I couldn’t do it. I’m not out to jerk Mark around; I’m very honest with him in everything that I do. So that’s a big part of why I was unable to put out record with Strictly for a while. I think it’s part of the music business that some times it turns into a money issue. And you were probably one of the first US DJ’s to come and play house music in the UK… Yes. We did a bit of touring back then, we did The Wag back in the day, we did The Fridge, you know, they we among the first clubs that even cared about that type of music. How did it compare to the kind of places you were playing in New York at the time? It was just different. Everybody was into it, you know I used to play at The Walk, in New York, Studio 54, 1018, I used to play at all these clubs and it was just a different vibe. You could play stuff that no-one had ever heard before. There was a lot of space to play with and that’s what made me enjoy it. Now you have to be more careful with the space that you have. Back then I always thought that the US was gonna be way ahead of the UK when it came to dance music, but in the US it just completely died; it’s just not there no more! All the European countries own house music now. Back then, house music was massive in the US. First it was Detroit and Chicago and then it came to New York. It was everywhere. But then there was this one radio station which we thought was going to take it on and make house even bigger, and they wouldn’t play any of our stuff. That was a real smack in the face. When that disrespect happened, they killed the whole damn industry. Do you notice a difference in style or attitude between the old and new DJ’s? Well when I play in clubs I play a lot of older stuff, which I guess is a breath of fresh air compared to what most DJ’s have been playing all year. So I guess that’s what keep me going and keeps me playing a lot of gigs. A lot of DJ’s are hitting the hard trance stuff with no lyrics, which I think is just a little too much. My biggest records were always the vocal records. I’ve always said it’s good to have the best of both worlds, which is why I’ve always tried to have a strong pop life while also maintaining a strong underground life. I think that’s always got to be the way to go. Make songs and then on the b-sides make dubs. There’s nothing wrong with that. You know, I wish I had some defining philosophy about dance music, but I’ve been doing it 20 years and I still can’t figure it out. I just want to make music for the people and I’m think I’m gonna stick to that. What will make the industry big again is to promote us as the stars, but I don’t think they think about it like that. Do you think it’s harder now for upcoming producers and DJ’s? I think it’s gonna be harder because they’re not allowing the pioneers to open it up. I think there will be a few lucky hits here and there but there should be a lot more space open now. And radio stations are partly to blame for only adding 10 songs to their playlists when they could be adding 30 or 40. It’s been going on for a while, but maybe it’s time for it to stop, because it’s not helping. I think they grab what they think is hot, hit it really hard for 2, 3 months and then drop it. They don’t have a long-term plan. Of all the clubs you’ve played over the years do any stick in your mind as being particularly memorable? The biggest clubs over the years have been the [Paradise] Garage, Ministry of Sound (no matter how much they jerked me); Hacienda was probably the greatest ever. There are a lot of clubs that really stick out, that put a stamp of approval on the music. I’ve had a lot of great times, I will never tear that down. What can we expect from you this year? I’m just gonna do what I do! When I DJ, my concept is to play a lot of my own tracks because people don’t get to hear that kind of thing the rest of the year. It’s worked out for me that way.

tags: | todd terry | strictly rhythm | get down | kenny dope | louie vega | dj sneak | more...

Soul of Man

Justin Rushmore and Jem Panufnik not only brought UK breakbeat the funk-driven Finger Lickin’ Records, but as Soul Of Man they have produced seminal breakin’ beauties and spun them with such finesse the world over that Notion couldn’t wait to buy these guys a beer. Or five... WHY DOES ANNIE NIGHTINGALE CALL YOU ‘CLASS A PARTY BOYS’? JEM: We met Annie in Miami, absolutely hammered, surrounded by bottles... JUSTIN: The party baton that’s been passed from me to Jem, he’s definitely flying that flag now! I burnt my credit earlier, but it still goes on... JEM: What, passing me your baton?! — BREAKBEAT’S MATRIARCH ALSO SAID YOU MAKE ‘BLATANT PURE SEX BREAKS...’ JEM: Our music is groove-based and funky, it makes you wiggle; what kind of wiggling is up to you... JUSTIN: It’s different from what gets called breakbeat - dark, lads’ music, heavy, strange rooms rather than bright lights... Our roots are more in funk and disco... I hate it when politicians use ‘sexy’ in the wrong context but this is kind of right, it’s sexier than most breakbeats and appeals to girls – sexier than men! JEM: Don’t print the sex bit though, Annie needs no encouragement! — WILL YOU EVER FLIP TO THE DARK SIDE? JUSTIN: Never completely! We keep a foot in the dark side but bring on the funk... JEM: You’ll see one day we’re not always all about the party... Until now it’s been about tunes to play out, which can restrict beats and tempos. JUSTIN: Our next artist album move direction. Stuff like Nightmares On Wax inspires us; we want to be more musical, deeper and varied, with instrumentalists and vocalists. It’ll flow... — WHY DOES BREAKS FALL BEHIND EARLY DRUM N BASS OR TODAY’S DUBSTEP? JUSTIN: Dubstep is hip but won’t be around in a few years; breakbeat is a generic genre as it encompasses anything, hip hop through to electro... JEM: It’s its strength too, though, it’s a many headed beast... JUSTIN: That’s good for longevity, tough for a fresh angle. One promoter told me electro house DJs won’t play alongside breakbeat DJs; we got into the scene making house, but we weren’t in the boys’ club. 10 or 12 years back we met Matt and Aston (The Freestylers); from them we met others, and no one was snobby or fascist. JEM: Those DJs realise that breaks DJs happily play electro in their sets, then they have no variety... JUSTIN: And they play Plumps tracks... Erol Alkan and Simian Mobile Disco... — HAS THE TERM ‘BREAKS’ MORPHED OVER TIME FOR YOU? JEM: I want to resist it, so now I just treat it as a wide term... JUSTIN: D Ramirez worked with Meat Katie, then he suddenly become part of electro house, but could have been labelled electro breaks... We work with guys like Micky Slim, who Pete Tong champions, but musically their work ticks breakbeat boxes. It’s not 4/4, no straight kick and high-hat - all over the place! Using studio sounds rather than old samples - that’s what’s changed since we started. Finger Lickin’ includes these people, to break down these preconceptions.. IS THAT HOW FINGER LICKIN’ WAS BORN... JUSTIN: Well, we needed something to put our music out on! JEM: After house we latched onto this whole other sound; we threw out different ideas under several names – Two In The Bush, Osmosis, Freaky Jalepeno... We were leaving the white label era, labels were less anonymous and people were following them because the music was fast, almost ephemeral. — JEM, YOU STILL DO FINGER LINCKIN’’S ARTWORK... JEM: The sleeves are essential, another guard against piracy, and collectable packages are part of the vibe and character. I draw by hand then add colour in Photoshop. I love translating music visually, the combined force; the ink’s smell... — YOU’VE JUST RELEASED ‘RE-LICKED,’ AN ALBUM OF ORIGINAL SINGLES AND GUEST REMIXES... JEM: It’s amazing hearing them together; you worry whether tunes recorded 6 months ago will match those 8 years ago... JUSTIN: ‘Between The Eyes,’ was inspired by Westerns, we raked through loads for samples. The old tunes sound low quality production-wise, but they’re all cheeky and funky, with dark edges. ‘The Drum’ was after Glastonbury; through the smoke... JEM: Hopefully people will go ‘I remember that,’ or, ‘I didn’t know they made that!’ — A-SKILLZ, MERKA, TROUBLESOUP!!, DEEPCUT AND KRAAK & SMAAK HAVE ‘RE-LICKED’ YOUR BABIES – DID THEY TREAT THEM KIND? JEM: I loved digging out the old samples, a lot were done on an old Emu sampler, there were good nuggets to play with, and they all went to town.. JUSTIN: We chose Kraak & Smaak for a funk workout, mid-tempo thing. Merka’s got this jazz-like logical progression thing and scratchy, crunchy sounds... JEM: A lot of them were fans; TroubeSoup!! asked to remix one before at their request. All were intelligent and musical, not just in-your-face breaks. — HOW DOES ‘SOUL OF MAN’ SOUND 10 YEARS ON? JEM: Sometimes I hate it! You can take it on so many levels. Our first big track had this sample: ‘Love and hate coming straight from the soul of man’; Robert Mitchum playing a crazy criminal disguised as a preacher, with ‘love’ and ‘hate’ tattoos... JUSTIN: It’s soul as in James Brown... Krafty Kuts says we need a decent name; it’s a bit crap but depends how the wind blows! We’ve grown into it and let the music talk, but if we find God, it all changes...

tags: | annie nightingale | breakbeat�s matriarch | drum and bass | substep | breaks

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