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Saturday, 22 November, 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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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

The Outlines

Considering hip hop is a genre commonly perceived as being more than a little self-obsessed as well as being overly concerned with self-improvement often to the detriment of everyone else, French collective Outlines are something of an anomaly. The man who ties together their disparate strands of art and music, Jerome Hadley, spent last year working for UNITAID, an organisation set up by the WHO with the purpose of widening availability to drugs that could lessen the burden developing countries carry in terms of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. Such practical altruism is a rare thing these days for many musicians, but it is something he believes passionately in. The dichotomy between the first and third world is something close to his heart and it undoubtedly informs his beliefs and consequently his music. ‘People are scared of each other because they don’t know each other,’ he tells me in a rolling Gallic tone. ‘Art is the best communication.’ His musical partner Irfane Khan-Acito, as always, finishes his friend’s sentence by pointing out that art is ‘an abstract expression of our own core values. Hip hop is an exchange of ideas replacing negativity.’ With such awareness and consciousness, it’s little wonder that their debut album ‘Our Lives Are Too Short’ is brimming over with collaborators from Wu- Tang Clan’s RZA to France’s own rapping luminary Abd Al Malik, all wanting to work with these humble yet humorous boys from Strasbourg. Hadley informs me that ‘Outlines is based on music, but it’s an artistic concept.’ This goes some way to explaining the wide ranging mix of influences bubbling through the album, as bossa nova gives way to euphoric beat declarations and all of it done with the debonair panache with which French hip hop has become synonymous. Likewise, it offers a clarification as to how RZA ended up in Hadley’s apartment laying down some breathtaking rhymes over the cathartic rhythms of ‘Now That I’m Free.’ ‘All the people we work with, we may not have the same vision, but we do have the same values,’ says Khan-Acito, highlighting again the unifying nature of their work. — They have been aided in their mission to make the world a better place by Berlin based label Sonar Kollektiv, an imprint set up by musical magpies Jazzanova. Clearly they saw something of their own penchant for being open to music in all its wondrous forms in Outlines, and as such afforded them the creative support required to pursue such audacious goals and make the type of music that truly engages the listener. The man with the spray can who provides the visual aspect of the Outlines operation, Jay Ramier – or graff artist extraordinaire Jay1 to you and me – says, ‘We’re not technological, we’re cultural – it’s art. Art is expressing your vision of the world and you don’t have to be limited.’ When pushed as to what their vision of the world is, he grins, shrugs his shoulders in typically French fashion and says ‘It’s a mix of pessimism and optimism.’ As ever, Irfane concludes things concisely: ‘It’s reality.’ — Living in the 18th arrondissement along with brothers in arms the Ed Banger crew, Outlines are helping to form a new and distinctly independent identity for European hip hop. Whilst complimentary about the British hip hop scene, they are aware that they are working in a genre that is foreign in more ways than one. ‘Hip hop is an American art form,’ explains Hadley. ‘We’ve been emulating it but they’re ahead of the game.’ Khan-Acito, putting his beatmaster head on, waxes lyrical about combining ‘musical production with the abstracts of melody, to bridge the gap between club tracks and home listening’ as being his mission. For him the likes of DJ Premier, Pete Rock and Dre are the points on his compass, and Jazzanova were the people who encouraged him to pursue the direction that he was tentatively stepping towards when not working with MCs. ‘Hip hop found its way into a tunnel, and it’s now coming out of that and taking on new influences,’ is how Hadley explains Khan-Acito’s tendency for taking bold musical steps. — This approach to their music has clearly given the boys the confidence required to take their craft onto the next level. They do not conform to the stereotype of self-regarding hip hop heads who prefer to keep things real, i.e. staying underground and selling bugger-all records. ‘This album took five years to make,’ says Khan-Acito, ‘so we want to share it with as many people as possible and cross boundaries.’ As such they are keen to take their time putting together a live show that does the music justice, so expect big things when they hit the road this autumn. In the meantime though, these busy beat bees will be working on the soundtrack for ‘Babylon A.D,’ the next film from ‘La Haine’ director Mathieu Kassovitz. Clearly Outlines are on a mission to infiltrate as many mediums as possible in order to communicate their message to the world. Could they change it? You know, I reckon they might make a dent. ‘ OUR LIVES ARE TOO SHORT ’ IS OUT NOW ( SONAR KOLLEKTIV ) FOR MORE INFO ON UNITAID, GO TO WWW.UNITAID.EU

tags: | the outlines | khan acito | our lives are too short | sonar kollektiv | unitaid

The Mules

Take yourself back. Back in time to the 1940s. To a packed east-end boozer with a piano and plenty of ale. It was an era when spirits were low and music was live. People sang along to songs around the piano to raise those downtrodden wartime moods. Pots and pans were used for percussion and floors were stomped for beats. It was the time of DIY fun and frolics in a place of misery. Music was an escape from the terror around – and boy was it needed. What’s the relevance of this you may ask? A lot. You see, The Mules would have been the perfect band for a late night drinking sesh down Bethnal Green circa 1941. Blackout blinds down and sweat dripping off the walls the fivesome would have raised smiles with an A chord. All jiggy this and retro that, but with a modern twist, they sure as hell aren’t mainstream - but they’re fucking interesting. And a little bit odd too. Something many present day groups are scared to be. How many other bands can count their lead singer as the drummer too? Not many. They’re different – plain and simple. A Marmite of music in the truest sense; you’ll either love them, or, you won’t. — Tall of figure and big of hair, bassist Jim explains, ‘It just came out that way. We didn’t see a point on the musical landscape and say ‘that’s not been done yet,’ it went the way it naturally went because of all the different music we were into.’ Citing favourites from he of less ribs Prince to digi-pioneers Kraftwerk, there’s not one particular point of listening reference for the band – and it shows. Their debut album ‘Save Your Face’ has elements of post-punk, rockabilly, 1930s flapper piano riffs, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band wackiness and Ratpack-style crooning - a camaraderie of styles and sounds if there ever was one. And it works oh-so well. — However drummer-come-vocalist Ed claims his quirky storytelling lyrical style comes from one main source: country music. The geek-chic frontman states, ‘There’s an ill view that songwriting is a lesser form of poetry – but the words are written to be sung, they’re not written to be read or spoken and they don’t pass off well as that. I like stories with narratives and songs with a character piece in them, country songs are like that. There are loads of country songs that have those sort of really creepy, corny devices but can get away with it. Like Hank Williams songs have very depressing words but you know he’s singing it with a bit of a smile.’ Recent single and first track on the album ‘Polly-O’ follows this rule perfectly. A darkly undertoned murder ballad about a man inappropriately obsessing over a girl and her little sister, it’s catchily-creepy to the max. You know you shouldn’t be singing and clapping along to such a twisted tune, but it takes over. The sign of a very good song indeed. — But their brilliance didn’t happen overnight. The band came to fruition at Oxford University – a place more renowned for doctors and professors than leftfield musicians – in 2001 around Ed and piano-basher Tim. Along with Jim, guitarist Duncan and no-longer present fiddle player Nico (recently replaced by classically trained violinist Jenny) the five-piece started practicing their wares in a room beneath the college chapel. But music was more than just a hobby for them – it was, and is, their element. And that passion shows. Having self-released the album, The Mules aren’t prepared to be eaten up by the major label music monster. A gutsy decision in an industry that sees more mediocrity than marvel nowadays - they are a grass-roots band through and through. — But being involved in the underground zone of the music scene is something the band are happy with, and Duncan jokes, ‘I always find it strange when anyone knows who we are – even at our gigs. That’s a strange fan experience in itself – having fans!’ And it’s clear that fame is not a particular ambition for the group. Ed muses, ‘It’s completely beyond our control what happens. We just want to make more records and be able to sustain ourselves. Then what comes from that is out of our hands.’ A fresh view to have in today’s celebrityhungry musical landscape. — And things bode well for The Mules – with gigs aplenty, and the second album already written, they’ve got more longevity than many of the Liberscenester bands that seem to dry up and die after a few hit singles. That’s because of their uniquely intelligent-fun-factor. There are no songs about boozing and banging – just witty narratives above weird and wonderful musical arrangements. And we like that we do. Just like they did sixty years ago. And this band might just be one of those making music that’ll last longer than a lifetime.

tags: | the mules

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