Richard Brophy has done lots of interviews with artists at this year's BLOC... check them out here -
http://testindustries.typepad.com/test/
Pre-BLOC interviews with Dave Clarke, Ben Sims + more
stuck in the dole office? this will keep you busy.
Krew Kuts
One of the UK’s original electro producers, Ed Dmx aka Dmx Krew has released a slew of EPs and albums that touch on pop, disco, old school electro and ghetto. In straight-talking mode, he sets the record straight on the lack of innovative electronic music, his relationship with Rephlex and his distrust of the music industry. Check out his live/DJ set at Bloc.
Electro was hyped up for a few years and now, the proper stuff seems to have retreated back underground - how has this affected you?
“Thankfully I’m still very busy with gigs, but the whole scene, especially the part I’m involved in, has got much smaller. It seems that no one knows what dance music is anymore, no one knows what techno or electro is anymore. People seem to think techno is all about the Love Parade and German guys with funny haircuts, and everyone thinks that electro is cheesy house music or four skinny guys wearing ties. I just wish that all the rock guys would piss off back to indie and leave electro alone. At the same time, who wants to hear yet another electro track with the ‘Planet Rock’ drums and a robot vocodered vocal?”
Are you saying that there are too few original ideas and producers?
“Yes. Anyone who goes into a studio and thinks ‘I’m going to make a house track or an electro record’ has already destroyed any chance that they had of making anything new or challenging. Remember how exciting dubstep was back in 2002 when everyone was still calling it grime? Now that everyone knows that it’s called dubstep and all of those records sound the same. By the same logic, of course electro is boring: it’s 25 years old, of course house is boring as well. A lot of the electro from the US and Europe that is coming out now sounds like it was made 10 years ago.”
So apart from your own work, what music does excite you these days?
“At the moment, I’m struggling to find new music that excites me. I was really into the UK garage sound in 2001 when it morphed into something weird and I even went through a phase of buying ragga records! The producers whose records I rate are the same old people - Aphex, Dopplereffekt and Underground Resistance whenever they put out a record. I’m into Fastgraph as well as that whole Traxx, James T Cotton and Jamal Moss crew because there is something raw and primal about their music. I’m not sure what they’re releasing will still be really good to listen to in 20 years’ time. When I DJ, I mix up that stuff with older records by Juan Atkins and Derrick May and other older Chicago and Detroit stuff because a lot of the kids haven’t heard these records before.”
What about Italo Disco?
“For me, there are about 20 incredibly wicked Italo records, including ‘Spacer Woman’ and there are about 7,000 cheesy ones. I like the Classics series that Clone’s doing, although I’m sure the people who have been collecting the original releases for years must be gutted now.”
If electro and electronic music generally is so derivative, are you doing anything to chart new territories?
“The ‘Collapse of Wave Function’ series is my attempt to make music that is freakier, more experimental, music that pushes it a bit. I did eight EPs last years and some, like the Computor Rockers one, was more of a ‘robot’ electro one for the fans. It was a good track, worth putting out, but what I really want to do is release the freaky shit, but I’m not sure that it would do so well.”
What do you make about the digital sphere - do you think the internet has helped people find out about your music?
“As far as I’m concerned, the only good thing about the internet and MySpace is that people can find out about my music and I can get gigs without having to use an agent.
Before the internet existed, I discovered Parliament and Kraftwerk by accident, just by listening to the radio. I found out about Rephlex by finding a blue record with ‘TR303’ written on it in my local record store. You used to have to take a bit of a punt on music because most places didn’t have listening decks. There is so much great music to listen on MySpace and that’s great, but I hate the way that each page is classified by genre - it’s just another way of profiling groups of people.”
You have a long relationship with Rephlex - how come you have stuck together for so long?
“Because Rephlex don’t give a toss: they are genuinely trying to push it and that means it can be slow and frustrating, sometimes it takes ages to release stuff, but I’m always happy to do it. Grant who runs the label is one of my best mates and he is the biggest music fan, he’s just obsessed with music and making money doesn’t come into it. Unfortunately, labels like Rephlex are few and far between: it seems like being sincere is a thing of the past and now running a label is about second-guessing what people want to hear. Rephlex has never pandered to the market and that’s what the music is all about, pandering to tastes. The music industry is based on capitalism, which is all about people shit and convincing them that they want it - that’s why people only listen to one small genre of music. Ceephax Acid Crew released the tenth record on Breakin’ and all the people who are into electro didn’t like it and the acid techno people didn’t know about the label.”
What happened with Breakin’ - it seemed to disappear a few years ago?
“I had to take a break with the label for a couple of years because I was losing so much money, but now I have a good distribution deal with no real exposure. Breakin’ did four EPs last year and none of them lost any money. The label is helping me to get gigs, which in turn keeps it (the label) ticking over, but our sales are down. We used to do about 1,000 copies on vinyl of an unknown artist, but now it’s really a struggle to do 500-600, and the most we did of a release last year was 800 copies. At the same time, we have found cheaper ways to do things and the most the label ever sold was about 1,500 copies on vinyl. I’m sure I could do better if I was more of a businessman and hustled the label, but I’ve avoided the ‘industry’ and kept it at arm’s length as much as I can, ever since I started. When I was starting off, I was offered a few recording contracts, and if I had signed them, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation now.
Dave Clarke speaks
Love him or hate him, few people are indifferent about Dave Clarke. The man behind one of the UK's finest underground labels - Magnetic North - and one of the all-time classic techno records - 'Red 2' - has worn many hats, but it's as a quick mixing, dynamic techno and electro DJ that he is best known. Never one to keep his opinions or his less documented black sense of humour to himself, in advance of his appearance at the Bloc Weekend, he talks about the benefits of digital DJing, 'tabloid' radio, his involvement with I Love Techno and the search for techno's soul.
Why did you move from the UK to Amsterdam ? Do you feel that it's a better place to be based than London?
"I still live in the UK but I also chose to spend time in the Netherlands for a variety of reasons, better society as a whole, an airport that is efficient and doesn't treat you like a criminal (too many issues flying in and out the UK now), generally a better quality of life, no need for a car, and a stunningly beautiful city that always inspires me. Some aspects of the scene in the UK doesn't inspire me anymore, the magazines are boring, the radio is too commercial, you know the sort of thing."
Are there any downsides to being based there ? Have you taken full advantage of Dutch society's permissiveness - and do you miss your family and friends, the English sense of humour and brown sauce?
"Wow, is that you admitting I have a sense of humour? Maybe things are looking up! Yes, I miss the fast talk, the playing with words, the humour that is in our bones, sarcasm without it being personal, but I get it when I come back. But let me tell you a disturbing little secret: HP brown sauce is no longer made in the UK but in Holland (which is strange as it is hard to find good bacon there)."
You have been notably quiet in releasing music in the past few years; to quote Blake Baxter "what happened?" and when can we expect a follow up to 'Devil's Advocate'?
"I'm not sure, I enjoyed elements of making my last album and I have no bad blood with Skint at all, but I felt extremely pressured, I didn't like how it made me feel as a person, I felt like a commodity with management pushing me, it didn't feel like art but hard work in the end. I also don't believe in the music "industry" as it stands anymore, it's a strange but exciting time, I'm lucky enough to be established so maybe I will give my future music away, who knows. But I prefer being more relaxed than under commercial pressure."
A few years ago, you said to me that techno had become "too white". Do you still think this is the case or is it more white now that it was then?
"Minimal is even whiter, it's like they never read the handbook to soul and it has no attitude like punk either. Plus you have to have a facist inspired haircut to make it work. It seems to be about the search for some sterile fake oblivion, a lot of the techno I play on White Noise has soul and funkyness and attitude, I just wish that black artists got more respect for their historical input across the board, they inspired me and I learnt a lot from black Chicago house/ booty and Detroit techno/eectro. I owe those scenes a lot, a hell of a lot, and more importantly, they still inspire me."
You also bemoaned the lack of decent electro records in the same interview (2004). Do you think that this situation has changed?
"Satamile still blows up and I am lucky enough to have been sent rather a lot of good electro this year, so it's swings and roundabouts really. Now the hype of the name of the genre has subsided, the music comes out again."
You have been an ardent supporter of digital DJing: do you find Serato compatible with your cut'n'paste and scratching style?
"It has changed my style, but it has also liberated me in many ways. It's great to not be limited to 80 or so records on the road now, if I feel like dropping a past classic like "Space Invaders" I can and the
musical content isn't changed by pitching up the tempo anymore. It also stops me being asked "am I a DJ?" by security staff at the airport four times a week. It has also matured as a technology just at the right time when airports in the UK became so hostile to frequent travellers."
Apart from the fact that you can play brand new music, what are the other advantages of digital DJing: seeing as using Serato is a digital vinyl emulator, would you not still be as well off still playing records?
"Nope, I find it interesting that I got slated when I changed over and talked about the benefits a few years back, and now people like Mr C Hell and Sven get slated for talking about vinyl in a high way. Moral of the story: just do what makes sense for you. Digital DJing has an incredibly free feeling, it has so many benefits and a few romantic drawbacks. I'm lucky enough to get most music sent to me just after it is finished, sometimes before the label gets it or even the remixed artist, everything now is just like
in a car factory, and that is quite exciting. I also don't have to deal with moody record assistants in snobby shops in the UK anymore, that used to piss me off no end. It was like 'Hi Fidelity' but with too much insecure testesterone floating around the system. It wasn't always like that, but in the 90s it felt like that way too much. The ability to back up your whole collection is also an amazing feeling, and having 2500 Wavs available at the flick of a switch, it's almost like Bow Wow Wow said in c60: "I carry my whole collection on my back". It's something most DJs dreamed about. The downside is being a system administrator and an archivist at the same time."
Has the White Noise radio show given you a fresh outlet for your DJIng in that you can play music that doesn't necessarily fit into a dance floor set?
"Yes, absolutely, it can be incredibly cathartic. I also do it to give something back to the scene, a lot of DJs (maybe without realising) seem to take the ladder away after they have climbed it. I just want to play, find
and air good (IMHO) new music from young artists as well as those that still do it. I would never be given that chance in the UK, the dance radio scene had so much promise in the beginning, but now it's just tabloid in 95% of its output. There is no cultural gain from dance radio on almost all of the UK national (licence paid) output, you have DJs just talking about their money in newspapers and those are the ones holding back the scene for their own benefit, actually it's damn right disgusting. The whole point of a specialist radio DJ is to be a catalytic convertor not for their own money but for getting oxygen and jest into the scene."
Do you think that radio programming is more forward-thinking in Holland than in the UK?
"See above. I would never have been given a chance in the UK because it's run by old farts with no attitude and foresight, it's a con. I said after John Peel died I would never be invited back. I was right."
How did your involvement with I Love Techno start? Do they let you pick whom you want to play your room?
"I think it was from the second edition when Peter (formerly of Fuse) was running it. I have been involved ever since. I don't usually have any problems in booking what I want, sometimes we disagree, I wanted a heritage act this year, but it wasn't to be."
You mixed their CD this year - why didn't you do it sooner?
"I'm the first international to be offered, I never really thought about it before."
Do you feel that techno loses its impact at such a huge event or is this the ideal place to experience it? What about small basements or smaller festivals like Bloc?
"Techno is great for big events, minimal doesn't work which is why it was shelved, when a crowd that big is as one it can be quite awe inspiring. Small festivals can be very intense if done correctly, so let's wait and see, but I'm looking forward to Bloc, I think it has a great line up that gives credit to a lot of long serving artists."
He's quite a Sim card
Things take a tougher turn this Tuesday afternoon as Ben Sims drops in for a chat. One of the (many) highlights of this year's Bloc Weekend, Ben Sims has a passion for old school electro and Chicago house, while his no-nonsense, chopped up DJing, cheeky, sample-heavy 'Killa Bite', 'Manipulated' and 'Hardgroove' records as well as his Theory label have made him one of techno's global techno players. Never afraid to speak his mind, Mr Sims waxes lyrical about his love for vinyl, why he doesn't want to be viewed as a techno DJ and what his new mix CD sounds like.
You have a reputation for being quite opinionated...
"I can be quite opinionated, so I'm glad I have a reputation for speaking my mind. Life's too short to keep quiet about what you feel."
Is the music industry a place with an especially high bullshit factor?
"Admittedly, there can be a lot of bullshit and bullshiters in this scene. It's hard to know who you can trust and how to seperate real friends and 'industry' friends. I'm very wary of people now, there's alot of users out there."
Do you ever regret that you didn't make it as an electro/hip-hop DJ rather than a techno DJ - or has what you do now got more longevity?
"Sadly, I simply wasn't good enough as a hip-hop DJ, my skills stopped around 1988 and I haven't had the time or dedication to move beyond that. Turntablism requires patience, which I only have in very short supply. I loved hip-hop, breakin, the whole scene, but there's no future in just spinning old music because for me every genre has its golden era and the period of hip-hop/electro I'm passionate about is 20 years old now, so progressing to something else is only natural. I chose to play techno, I liked the energy and raw funk of the music, but I don't class myself as a techno DJ, I'm just a DJ, and right now, I play techno. It's what I'm known for, but hopefully people recognise that I'm not just a one-trick pony."
What is the situation with Theory - it hasn't released much new music lately. Has it been affected badly by the general downturn in sales and distros going bust?
"I actually cut two new Theory records in late December and I'm very happy with them. I didn't release any Theory beats last year, so it feels like the right time now. As a DJ, I receive far less vinyl promos now as more and more people are going down the digital route, which is understandable the way things are now. I just prefer vinyl and playing CDs just doesn't do it for me, so having new records is important. Even if they only break even or lose a bit of money it's worth doing to show it's still what I'm about. I've lost thousands through distributors going bust and it can be very hard sometimes, but I've never released music just to make money, it's not the motivating factor and as long as people, many or few, buy them, it's a still positive move to put them out."
You’re still a vinyl advocate/lover/DJ: is this something that is becoming more and more difficult? Do you ever see a situation where you will only release music digitally?
"I haven't really embraced the digital side of things yet. My next few releases will be the first that are available for download as well as on vinyl, so I'll just see how things go. It seems enivitable that one day vinyl will die and digital will be the only way, but for now it's still my main focus. Real DJs play records as far as I'm concerned."
In a recent interview, you said that most modern minimal was 'soulless and full of lame FX'. Wasn't most loopy/tribal techno quite samey and soulless as well- and this is why people stopped listening to it and playing it?.
"Whenever any formula is repeated endlessly and bastardised, it becomes soulless. Styles get popular and people jump on bandwagons, it's the nature of the beast and I wouldn't try and defend the hundreds of loopy nothing records I receive because obviously there's shite in every genre of dance music and a lot of people missed the point with the whole tribal/loop thing. For me, it was about sampling records from my youth, bringing elements of music that I loved into my tracks or digging hard for samples from 70s and 80s raw percussion or drum heavy disco records, not just using a fucking sample CD. That's just lazy and for people without heritage. As soon as that sound became popular, people jumped on it and most of these artists are now doing minimal because that's what's in now. If country and western became the new thing then they'd make that too, idiots! But yeah, most minimal does nothing for me, I'm not against it as a concept of music, yeah strip it to its essential basics but you have to keep the groove, the funk, without that it's just not music. So many miminal tracks just don't have anything in them that interests me, a kick, a hat, bleep, an echo, an reverb, that's not funky enough for me, too empty. There are some great minimal artists who know how to make it, sadly they are a rare breed."
Are you still putting on parties in London? Were you never tempted to move to a country where you are far more popular as a DJ, say like Spain, and where what you do is more popular? With the exception of Lost and a few other nights like your own, London has never really been techno central.
"I still persist with doing parties in London. The last one was with Ken Ishii, The Advent, Paul Mac, Vince Watson and Colin Dale. It was very successful so there is a crowd here, just not that many. Again, it was never really a money thing doing the parties, I just got frustrated that I didn't have anywhere I played regularly in London that felt like home or a residency. Also the only place I ever saw DJs I like or am friends with was on the road, so it seemed a good idea to start something. Sometimes it's frustrating when you put on a line up that would be a 10,000 people festival elsewhere in Europe and you only get 1,200 here, but that's just London, it's never been the capital of techno and it's never been particularly fashionable to like techno here. I kind of like that though. Yeah, I've thought many times about moving to other countries or cities to make my travelling easier, maybe one day I will. Right now, I know there's still more things I wanna do in London and I still kinda miss it when I'm not here."
Are you still as popular as ever as a DJ in places like Spain and eastern Europe - or has minimal become more popular in these places too?
"Minimal has exploded everywhere, but I think in the long run, it has been good for me to stick to my style. There was a period where gigs slowed up and that's probably why so many other DJs jumped on it. There were many clubs that stick to their guns though, and many that won't even book minimal now because as every club is doing it, it doesn't fill venues like it did. There has been more of a merging of the two scenes recently too, which I definitely think is positive. In the same way that minimal all night is boring, so is tougher stuff. Well, so is everything. Mixing up different styles in a night is how it should be."
Are there any upcoming producers that you would tip at the moment?
"Quince from Holland is very promising, making clubby, emotive Detroit-flavoured techno and electronica. I'm looking forward to see how he progresses. On the tougher end of things, Kazu Kimura is doing some really interesting stuff, playing lots by him right now. Norman Chung from Singapore is coming up nicely with the more sample driven/loop based stuff, definitely worth checking out if that's your bag."
You’re about to release a mix CD, your first in quite a while and includes material from 2000 & One, Shinedoe, Redshape, Educutuion and DJ 3000. Are these the kind of producers who are making great records and pushing techno forward at the moment?
"Yeah the mix has quite a mix of artists, some new, some old, different styles, a lot of the producers I've been really into over the past couple of years are in the mix. I think the way to push techno forward is incorporate elements of various styles, to keep it interesting, techno isn't just 'bang bang', it never started out like that. "
There is also some older stuff from Tyree and DJ Funk on the mix: is it important for you to play older stuff? You’re a big fan of Chicago house and techno - does it continue to influence what you do?
"Admittedly it's hard for me not to drop older stuff. I'm a huge fan of old Chicago stuff and always try to play something in my sets, whether it's an original or a re-edit. I don't want to just focus on what's new as so much great stuff has come before it. If I want to get in the mood to make a mix CD or even start a track, sometimes I just have a little mix up of old records to get my groove on. It's not always Chicago house, could be anything, disco, soul, hip-hop... just something to get my head nodding before I've even started, maybe even just do an edit of an old track. A few of the re-edits I've been dropping for a while should see the light of day on theory soon (DJ Rush being the first). I just think that a lot of the funk and energy of music has been lost in the digital age, so I surround myself with music from the past 30 years whenever possible. It's an overused statement but one eye on the future, one on the past pretty much sums me up."
Can't Get No Sleep
Can't get no Sleep
They seek them here, they seek them there, those trainspotters seek Sleeparchive everywhere! Ever since the first anonymously packaged Sleeparchive record appeared a few years back, these droning, bleeping hypnotically repetitive tracks have become an essential part of any self-respecting techno DJ's armoury. Clearly influenced by the early to mid-90s school of minimalism, Sleeparchive records - and the odd remix for Monolake and Bpitch Control - still sound distinctive, taking the Finnish/Detroit blueprint a few quantum leaps forward. Scheduled to play the Bloc Weekend, I caught up with Sleeparchive's official 'frontman', Roger Semsroth, who in a rare interview, talks Hardwax, laptops and anonymity.
You are closely affiliated with Hardwax: did the shop help you discover a lot of the music that influenced the Sleeparchive sound?
"When I started listening to more and more techno-related music 10 years ago, I bought my records in many different shops in Berlin. But after a while, I thought that there is no need to go to any other shop than Hardwax. I found all the music I was looking for in the shop and I also liked the atmosphere at Hardwax. Over the years, some of the people at Hardwax became very good friends of mine. But I think the music that influenced me most for Sleeparchive I bought on eBay - I was not into techno in 1993 when the first Sähkö stuff was released."
Do you think generally, Hardwax has been an important supporter of techno in Europe?
"In many threads, when people ask for good shops around the world, many people have Hardwax in their list, so I think the shop is really important for many people."
Would you say that the back catalogue of Sähkö was as big or a bigger influence than Plus 8, Plastikman and Detroit producers like Dan Bell and Rob Hood on Sleeparchive?
"Rob Hood is great music, but was never an influence. Also, Plus 8 was never my cup of tea. It's mainly Mika Vainio on Sähkö, Plastikman and yes, Dan Bell is a genius!"
Do you think in turn that Sleeparchive's music has influenced emerging artists? I bought a record on Sandwell District by Function recently that had the same kind of bleeps and tones as your work....
"I think he was inspired by Mika Vainio as well, but it's actually a really great record! By the way, every Sandwell District is fantastic so far."
There seems to be a split nowadays in techno between people who make new school minimal and those, like you, who make music that is rooted in the sound that emerged in the 90s. Do you agree that there is such a division?
"I really don't care
I don't follow so-called minimal music these days."
Apparently, you were not involved in one of the Sleeparchive records: how many people are actually in Sleeparchive and who are they?
"We are 3 people at the moment. I really don't wanna talk about the other two as I know they don't want me to!"
You have also remained quite mysterious, never having your photo taken. Is it important for techno artists to have a sense of mystery?
"This mystery thing is a bit strange to me. I have a website, I have e-mail, I play concerts. The only thing I don't like is to see myself in a picture. I think a picture of the artist has nothing to do with his music."
You use a laptop when you play live - do you also use only software when you produce? What is your view on using analogue equipment vs software?
"It's another thing I really don't care much about, but it's really funny sometimes. Everyone is using mobile phones, nearly everyone is listening to music on their i-Pods, everyone is using the internet and so on, but if it comes to equipment, people make something evil of modern technology. That's strange sometimes. I listen to music I like. I don't care much how the music was made."
More recently, your work has focused on non-dance floor tones and sounds ('Antti-Rannisto'): is this a direction that you see yourself moving into more and more in the future?
"Yes, I think my next release will sound more or less similar to my five tracks on that CD. We also have some great tracks from people around the world we are going to release next year. A lot of those tracks does not have a bassdrum. It's music you can dance to if you like, but it makes more sense just to listen to it."
Angelic upstarts
Bloclogo Last year was a good one for off-centre electronic music. Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu put out some of 2007's best albums - Boxcutter, Neil Landstrumm and U-ziq - and the Aphex-affiliated Rephlex also scored with 'Eksel' by D'Arcangelo. The work of two Italian brothers, its mixture of glitchy abstraction, electro drums and trippy Italo melodies has made it something of a slow-burner. One of the many acts to play Bloc, I managed to prise the boys away from their computers - and got some tongue in cheek answers in return...
What's it like to work together seeing as you are brothers? Do you have any
arguments when you are working on the studio?
"No, we are always straight in there, kicking the balls."
Are there any other brothers or sisters in your family?
"Yes, we are quadruplets, and there are two other brothers who perform our
PAs from time to time."
Is D'Arcangelo your real name or a stage name? Does it mean 'dark angel' in
Italian?
"It is our one and only real birth name so we see ourselves as that as a
result."
You have been making music for over ten years - what inspired you in the first place?
"Actually our first release was more than 15 years ago. We've been making music since the 80s, it's our chosen form of self-expression beyond visual art, writing etc. We are inspired by many aspects of our universe. Our thoughts and feelings and interactions."
Was Marco Passarani and the Nature organisation an inspiration for you when you were starting up?
"No, we give respect to him/them, but we had already started before that hook-up."
Does Italy have a healthy electronic music scene?
"Healthy? Everywhere has a scene, sometimes it's small and concentrated,
sometimes on more of a mass scale. We don’t like to nationalize music."
You didn't release a lot of material for a few years - from 2002 to 2006. Were you working in day jobs or did you just want to take a break?
"We released a handful of tracks and did some touring. We are always making music; making it a commercial product is not the main objective. We are also involved in industrial and aesthetic design as well as computer programming, when it suits us."
You say on your MySpace that you sound like "two old gits pretending to be deaf". You don¹t look that old in your pictures - are you?!
"All the D'Arcangelo brothers are now 55 years old, but we have a regenerative disorder that keeps us looking young."
I like your music because it mixes up a lot of older electronic styles but also brings your own approach to it - is this your aim?
"There is no aim. It is just like breathing or making love. It's an impulse. We don't like to find ourselves repeating ourselves or reaching conclusions that are not unique."
I really like 'Eksel' because it focuses a lot on melodies - was it a conscious decision to make a softer, more melodic sound?
"No. have you heard 'Broken Toys Corner'?"
Are you playing live at Bloc? What kind of set will you play - harder than the album?
"Depends what mood the kids are in, but we don't have to decide now. It will be musically special."
What are your next release plans - hopefully it won¹t be such a big break until the next release...
"Make us an offer, we'll see."
The Black Dog
You may or may not remember last year that I mentioned that this website is one of the sponsors of the Bloc Weekend, which takes place from March 14th to 16th at Pontin’s Holiday Park in Hemsby, Norfolk, UK. It’s the second year of the festival, which again this year has a killer line up - the full details are available on the Bloc website. It’s a small festival limited to a few thousand tickets and everyone who attends stays in the chalets at the holiday camp. It’s exactly the kind of messy fun that I like. Anyway, that means there will be loads of Bloc-related interviews running on the site over the next few months. To get the ball rolling, here’s a Q&A with The Black Dog, who talk about their new album, ‘Radio Scarecrow’ as well as their plans for their labels and why you won’t find them moving to Berlin. If you have any questions you would like me to ask some of the other festival acts, please email me.
You recently released a retrospective compilation: do you think that there is a whole new generation of techno fans who had never heard the dog’s back catalogue?
“We know there’s still a generation of people who aren’t aware that the current tBd line-up has been in place for over four years now, many still think that it’s just Ken.The whole point of putting older tracks and albums out was part of getting our house in order really. Some people will have missed these the first time around and the re-mastered versions sound a lot better than the originals so we thought the project was very worth while, but it's not our main focus and we won't be repeating any of it.”
Should it matter to the new audience that the dog’s line-up has changed radically since then? What do you make of the music that the former members of the dog are making now?
“We don't feel that the line-up should matter at all, it's primarily about the music. tBd is a collective that’s been evolving both musically and personally for the last 20 years. Every track is a product of a certain time, place and the personalities involved. It’s quite obvious that we won't be making an album along the lines of ‘Bytes 2’. That time has long gone. Techno has always been forward thinking and we intend to move forward with it. For those who want that ‘old sound’, there are more than enough competent artists out there producing it, we’re just not interested in working towards a nostalgic revival of the past.
We do listen to the work of our peers, but feel that it’s not important to pass comment on former members work. They do their own thing and we do ours.”
The dog’s earlier stuff fused Detroit techno with jazz and pre-jungle break beat and sounded like nothing else at the time - do you think it’s still possible to come up with that kind of innovation? If so, who do you think is doing this kind of innovative music nowadays?
“Innovation, the final frontier! Music is either good or bad, but innovation often comes across as the emperor's new clothing. Electronic music lays down many claims to it, but what has often passed as innovation has been nothing more than a lazy PR back-story.Innovation most often occurs as small incremental steps, not an entire re-invention. There's loads of people out there we enjoy: Rob Hall, Andy Stott, Stars Of The Lid, Autechre, UR, Richie, DNCN, Orlando Voorn, Bass Soldier, Slit, Benga etc. It changes all the time, but there's still enough to get us excited. Touchin’ Bass have put out some great stuff this year and so have lots of the smaller labels. There’s lots of good people around if you dig deep enough and now more than ever, we feel it's time to get behind the small labels and up and coming DJs/artists.”
You have a new album out next year - tell me about it. What does it sound like: is it similar to your previous work ‘Silenced’ and how long did it take to make?
“ ‘Radio Scarecrow’ is being mastered as we type this but we actually started it in late 2005 (immediately after ‘Silenced’), so that's over two years from start to finish. New material was being written all the time, but the vibe of the album only really started to take shape in the last six months. It's been a difficult album to work on simply because it refused to be rushed. We spent a long time trying to make some sense of all the different ideas within the early tracks. We even took months away from other work just to try and finish the album but we couldn't force it. We seemed to end up sitting around in the studio “talking” about it rather than “doing” it. We eventually returned to techno basics, stripping things back to a more fundamental level and moving away from the eastern and breaks influences that have been present over the last few years. We'd also been researching things like Numbers Stations and EVP recordings for a long time because both topics interest us a great deal. These transmissions and recordings (and people’s interpretations of them) had a strong influence on many of the final concepts and compositions, to the point where we’ve been embedding coded messages and curses deep inside the tracks.
In the end, it does sound like real progression from ‘Silenced’. The beats are faster and the bass is heavier - so much so that it was making us ill working with the low frequencies for hours on end, we could only do three hours at a time on some parts. It's difficult to describe our own work we’re so close to it personally. It’s almost impossible to articulate our ideas and feelings into any other form than the album itself. It feels complete and we’re very proud of the results. “
How come you signed to Soma - did you want their clout behind you when you were releasing the retrospective album and the new album? Would it have been more difficult to put out on Dust Science?
“It all came about by accident really, we'd been working on tracks that didn't really fit with the tBd sound on Dust Science, so we approached Soma. We also wanted to find a label that was pretty neutral for the ex-members of the band as well. Soma have been great with us and they do have more clout than Dust Science, but it was more a matter of finding good people to work with - we get on with them very well and that alone makes a lot difference to us. It means we can spend more time focusing on the music.”
Are you guys facing the same difficulties that most small dance labels are at the moment – falling sales, distros going bust - do you see any light at the end of the tunnel, any sign of stuff changing for the better? What’s next on the label?
“We’ve been hit several times by distributors going bust with our stock and money, it makes it really hard to carry on and it drains your energy and soul. Talking to the legal receiver is not really how we’d choose to spend our days, but something good would often happen after every fall so we'd always get our faith back. We never set up the label to be a cash cow, it was always intended to be way of doing what we wanted in the way we want – a way for us to work with artists and material that we believed in. Breaking even and being able to pay the studio rent/artists is the basic goal, anything else is a bonus.
As far as the music industry as a whole is concerned, we don't think there's any light at the end of the tunnel just yet. Vinyl and CD sales are down and downloads don’t yet make up the difference. There's a lot of education and many changes to be made but that alone it keeps it interesting. We don't have the answer to the current woes of running a record label, the whole machine is being eaten from the inside. It may take another generation before everything falls into place, but it is a fucking mess. We’re actually more concerned with real life - CCTV, ID cards and the general apathy of this island. To be honest, it's surprising that people are so passionate talking about one industry while they are being filmed hundreds of times a day, need ID to buy a can of beans and probably won't have a pension when they hit 65. Just what does it take to get people angry these days? MP3s apparently. Anyway, Dust Science is putting together its schedule for 2008 and DS:93 is mastering 002 (Vector Lovers) for release in January 2008 – this year is going to be hard work, but we’re up for it.”
Bloc2_7 Given these circumstances, is the sub-label a labour of love - it certainly seems to be going in the face of the rather soulless penchant for net labels and the big focus on downloads . Did you lose a lot of money on it? What is next for it?
“We do what we do. We live in an ‘on demand’ society and felt that it was time to question the current mentality, that’s why we said no to doing represses, licenses, compilations and downloads for DS:93. It was important to create something and that be the ‘end’ of it, which could be called arrogant but it’s a statement that needed to be made. In response people called us elitist and all kinds shit but we figured fuck it. Some of the hate mail is quite funny and we even got an offer from a big label to do a ‘best of’ CD. We said no. We often wonder if people are actually interested in art anymore.
It's a labour of love but one that is worthwhile. And no, we didn't lose any money but there isn’t much to be made on a vinyl pressing that small either. Vector Lovers, Scan 7 and Orlando Voorn are up next, so we are busy mastering tracks, hand printing sleeves and making new rubberstamps.”
Sheffield has a notable electronic music heritage, but it doesn’t seem like there is much going on now – do you ever feel the temptation to move to a hub like London or a trendy spot like Berlin to further your careers?
“The grey skies and rain in Sheffield can be fucking grim sometimes, but that can also be a great influence. There’s always something going on, it's just not in your face as much these days and everyone is busy trying to find the next Arctic Monkeys. Kid Acne, Richard H. Kirk, Hiem, Carl Taylor, SND, Aitcho and iPassenger are all doing some great stuff and to be honest, we don't want the spotlight and all the shit that goes with it. In this day and age we fail to see the point in moving at all, it's a shame people fall for the me too thing, but we don't feel there's any need to move anywhere. Moving to Berlin wouldn't help our careers, Have you heard Bowie's ‘Low’ [laughs]? We've always been outsiders and just like to visit I guess.
On that note, what do you make of the popularity of minimal techno? Do you think it has taken attention away from the deeper side of techno that you guys make?
“Do we make deeper techno? We just make techno don't we? There’s good and bad, at least the trend puts some focus back onto the techno crowd again, but we're not concerned about ‘hair dos and don’ts’.”
Will your set at Bloc be like the one in Dublin? A mixture of old and new?
“We only played a few old songs in Dublin and they’d all been editing heavily by us. We don't have a problem dropping the odd old track but the new stuff is where it's at for us. Some of the old ones have been around for nearly 20 years, they left home a long time ago! We have plenty of new material lined up, far more than what appears on ‘Radio Scarecrow’, so we'll just see where the night takes us. We don’t generally plan the sets in advance as we like to have adapt to the mood of the crowd and the night, we’ve got enough material and flexibility. However, we do plan to a have a great time and to bring the party, so we'll see you down the front.”
Krew Kuts
One of the UK’s original electro producers, Ed Dmx aka Dmx Krew has released a slew of EPs and albums that touch on pop, disco, old school electro and ghetto. In straight-talking mode, he sets the record straight on the lack of innovative electronic music, his relationship with Rephlex and his distrust of the music industry. Check out his live/DJ set at Bloc.
Electro was hyped up for a few years and now, the proper stuff seems to have retreated back underground - how has this affected you?
“Thankfully I’m still very busy with gigs, but the whole scene, especially the part I’m involved in, has got much smaller. It seems that no one knows what dance music is anymore, no one knows what techno or electro is anymore. People seem to think techno is all about the Love Parade and German guys with funny haircuts, and everyone thinks that electro is cheesy house music or four skinny guys wearing ties. I just wish that all the rock guys would piss off back to indie and leave electro alone. At the same time, who wants to hear yet another electro track with the ‘Planet Rock’ drums and a robot vocodered vocal?”
Are you saying that there are too few original ideas and producers?
“Yes. Anyone who goes into a studio and thinks ‘I’m going to make a house track or an electro record’ has already destroyed any chance that they had of making anything new or challenging. Remember how exciting dubstep was back in 2002 when everyone was still calling it grime? Now that everyone knows that it’s called dubstep and all of those records sound the same. By the same logic, of course electro is boring: it’s 25 years old, of course house is boring as well. A lot of the electro from the US and Europe that is coming out now sounds like it was made 10 years ago.”
So apart from your own work, what music does excite you these days?
“At the moment, I’m struggling to find new music that excites me. I was really into the UK garage sound in 2001 when it morphed into something weird and I even went through a phase of buying ragga records! The producers whose records I rate are the same old people - Aphex, Dopplereffekt and Underground Resistance whenever they put out a record. I’m into Fastgraph as well as that whole Traxx, James T Cotton and Jamal Moss crew because there is something raw and primal about their music. I’m not sure what they’re releasing will still be really good to listen to in 20 years’ time. When I DJ, I mix up that stuff with older records by Juan Atkins and Derrick May and other older Chicago and Detroit stuff because a lot of the kids haven’t heard these records before.”
What about Italo Disco?
“For me, there are about 20 incredibly wicked Italo records, including ‘Spacer Woman’ and there are about 7,000 cheesy ones. I like the Classics series that Clone’s doing, although I’m sure the people who have been collecting the original releases for years must be gutted now.”
If electro and electronic music generally is so derivative, are you doing anything to chart new territories?
“The ‘Collapse of Wave Function’ series is my attempt to make music that is freakier, more experimental, music that pushes it a bit. I did eight EPs last years and some, like the Computor Rockers one, was more of a ‘robot’ electro one for the fans. It was a good track, worth putting out, but what I really want to do is release the freaky shit, but I’m not sure that it would do so well.”
What do you make about the digital sphere - do you think the internet has helped people find out about your music?
“As far as I’m concerned, the only good thing about the internet and MySpace is that people can find out about my music and I can get gigs without having to use an agent.
Before the internet existed, I discovered Parliament and Kraftwerk by accident, just by listening to the radio. I found out about Rephlex by finding a blue record with ‘TR303’ written on it in my local record store. You used to have to take a bit of a punt on music because most places didn’t have listening decks. There is so much great music to listen on MySpace and that’s great, but I hate the way that each page is classified by genre - it’s just another way of profiling groups of people.”
You have a long relationship with Rephlex - how come you have stuck together for so long?
“Because Rephlex don’t give a toss: they are genuinely trying to push it and that means it can be slow and frustrating, sometimes it takes ages to release stuff, but I’m always happy to do it. Grant who runs the label is one of my best mates and he is the biggest music fan, he’s just obsessed with music and making money doesn’t come into it. Unfortunately, labels like Rephlex are few and far between: it seems like being sincere is a thing of the past and now running a label is about second-guessing what people want to hear. Rephlex has never pandered to the market and that’s what the music is all about, pandering to tastes. The music industry is based on capitalism, which is all about people shit and convincing them that they want it - that’s why people only listen to one small genre of music. Ceephax Acid Crew released the tenth record on Breakin’ and all the people who are into electro didn’t like it and the acid techno people didn’t know about the label.”
What happened with Breakin’ - it seemed to disappear a few years ago?
“I had to take a break with the label for a couple of years because I was losing so much money, but now I have a good distribution deal with no real exposure. Breakin’ did four EPs last year and none of them lost any money. The label is helping me to get gigs, which in turn keeps it (the label) ticking over, but our sales are down. We used to do about 1,000 copies on vinyl of an unknown artist, but now it’s really a struggle to do 500-600, and the most we did of a release last year was 800 copies. At the same time, we have found cheaper ways to do things and the most the label ever sold was about 1,500 copies on vinyl. I’m sure I could do better if I was more of a businessman and hustled the label, but I’ve avoided the ‘industry’ and kept it at arm’s length as much as I can, ever since I started. When I was starting off, I was offered a few recording contracts, and if I had signed them, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation now.
Dave Clarke speaks
Love him or hate him, few people are indifferent about Dave Clarke. The man behind one of the UK's finest underground labels - Magnetic North - and one of the all-time classic techno records - 'Red 2' - has worn many hats, but it's as a quick mixing, dynamic techno and electro DJ that he is best known. Never one to keep his opinions or his less documented black sense of humour to himself, in advance of his appearance at the Bloc Weekend, he talks about the benefits of digital DJing, 'tabloid' radio, his involvement with I Love Techno and the search for techno's soul.
Why did you move from the UK to Amsterdam ? Do you feel that it's a better place to be based than London?
"I still live in the UK but I also chose to spend time in the Netherlands for a variety of reasons, better society as a whole, an airport that is efficient and doesn't treat you like a criminal (too many issues flying in and out the UK now), generally a better quality of life, no need for a car, and a stunningly beautiful city that always inspires me. Some aspects of the scene in the UK doesn't inspire me anymore, the magazines are boring, the radio is too commercial, you know the sort of thing."
Are there any downsides to being based there ? Have you taken full advantage of Dutch society's permissiveness - and do you miss your family and friends, the English sense of humour and brown sauce?
"Wow, is that you admitting I have a sense of humour? Maybe things are looking up! Yes, I miss the fast talk, the playing with words, the humour that is in our bones, sarcasm without it being personal, but I get it when I come back. But let me tell you a disturbing little secret: HP brown sauce is no longer made in the UK but in Holland (which is strange as it is hard to find good bacon there)."
You have been notably quiet in releasing music in the past few years; to quote Blake Baxter "what happened?" and when can we expect a follow up to 'Devil's Advocate'?
"I'm not sure, I enjoyed elements of making my last album and I have no bad blood with Skint at all, but I felt extremely pressured, I didn't like how it made me feel as a person, I felt like a commodity with management pushing me, it didn't feel like art but hard work in the end. I also don't believe in the music "industry" as it stands anymore, it's a strange but exciting time, I'm lucky enough to be established so maybe I will give my future music away, who knows. But I prefer being more relaxed than under commercial pressure."
A few years ago, you said to me that techno had become "too white". Do you still think this is the case or is it more white now that it was then?
"Minimal is even whiter, it's like they never read the handbook to soul and it has no attitude like punk either. Plus you have to have a facist inspired haircut to make it work. It seems to be about the search for some sterile fake oblivion, a lot of the techno I play on White Noise has soul and funkyness and attitude, I just wish that black artists got more respect for their historical input across the board, they inspired me and I learnt a lot from black Chicago house/ booty and Detroit techno/eectro. I owe those scenes a lot, a hell of a lot, and more importantly, they still inspire me."
You also bemoaned the lack of decent electro records in the same interview (2004). Do you think that this situation has changed?
"Satamile still blows up and I am lucky enough to have been sent rather a lot of good electro this year, so it's swings and roundabouts really. Now the hype of the name of the genre has subsided, the music comes out again."
You have been an ardent supporter of digital DJing: do you find Serato compatible with your cut'n'paste and scratching style?
"It has changed my style, but it has also liberated me in many ways. It's great to not be limited to 80 or so records on the road now, if I feel like dropping a past classic like "Space Invaders" I can and the
musical content isn't changed by pitching up the tempo anymore. It also stops me being asked "am I a DJ?" by security staff at the airport four times a week. It has also matured as a technology just at the right time when airports in the UK became so hostile to frequent travellers."
Apart from the fact that you can play brand new music, what are the other advantages of digital DJing: seeing as using Serato is a digital vinyl emulator, would you not still be as well off still playing records?
"Nope, I find it interesting that I got slated when I changed over and talked about the benefits a few years back, and now people like Mr C Hell and Sven get slated for talking about vinyl in a high way. Moral of the story: just do what makes sense for you. Digital DJing has an incredibly free feeling, it has so many benefits and a few romantic drawbacks. I'm lucky enough to get most music sent to me just after it is finished, sometimes before the label gets it or even the remixed artist, everything now is just like
in a car factory, and that is quite exciting. I also don't have to deal with moody record assistants in snobby shops in the UK anymore, that used to piss me off no end. It was like 'Hi Fidelity' but with too much insecure testesterone floating around the system. It wasn't always like that, but in the 90s it felt like that way too much. The ability to back up your whole collection is also an amazing feeling, and having 2500 Wavs available at the flick of a switch, it's almost like Bow Wow Wow said in c60: "I carry my whole collection on my back". It's something most DJs dreamed about. The downside is being a system administrator and an archivist at the same time."
Has the White Noise radio show given you a fresh outlet for your DJIng in that you can play music that doesn't necessarily fit into a dance floor set?
"Yes, absolutely, it can be incredibly cathartic. I also do it to give something back to the scene, a lot of DJs (maybe without realising) seem to take the ladder away after they have climbed it. I just want to play, find
and air good (IMHO) new music from young artists as well as those that still do it. I would never be given that chance in the UK, the dance radio scene had so much promise in the beginning, but now it's just tabloid in 95% of its output. There is no cultural gain from dance radio on almost all of the UK national (licence paid) output, you have DJs just talking about their money in newspapers and those are the ones holding back the scene for their own benefit, actually it's damn right disgusting. The whole point of a specialist radio DJ is to be a catalytic convertor not for their own money but for getting oxygen and jest into the scene."
Do you think that radio programming is more forward-thinking in Holland than in the UK?
"See above. I would never have been given a chance in the UK because it's run by old farts with no attitude and foresight, it's a con. I said after John Peel died I would never be invited back. I was right."
How did your involvement with I Love Techno start? Do they let you pick whom you want to play your room?
"I think it was from the second edition when Peter (formerly of Fuse) was running it. I have been involved ever since. I don't usually have any problems in booking what I want, sometimes we disagree, I wanted a heritage act this year, but it wasn't to be."
You mixed their CD this year - why didn't you do it sooner?
"I'm the first international to be offered, I never really thought about it before."
Do you feel that techno loses its impact at such a huge event or is this the ideal place to experience it? What about small basements or smaller festivals like Bloc?
"Techno is great for big events, minimal doesn't work which is why it was shelved, when a crowd that big is as one it can be quite awe inspiring. Small festivals can be very intense if done correctly, so let's wait and see, but I'm looking forward to Bloc, I think it has a great line up that gives credit to a lot of long serving artists."
He's quite a Sim card
Things take a tougher turn this Tuesday afternoon as Ben Sims drops in for a chat. One of the (many) highlights of this year's Bloc Weekend, Ben Sims has a passion for old school electro and Chicago house, while his no-nonsense, chopped up DJing, cheeky, sample-heavy 'Killa Bite', 'Manipulated' and 'Hardgroove' records as well as his Theory label have made him one of techno's global techno players. Never afraid to speak his mind, Mr Sims waxes lyrical about his love for vinyl, why he doesn't want to be viewed as a techno DJ and what his new mix CD sounds like.
You have a reputation for being quite opinionated...
"I can be quite opinionated, so I'm glad I have a reputation for speaking my mind. Life's too short to keep quiet about what you feel."
Is the music industry a place with an especially high bullshit factor?
"Admittedly, there can be a lot of bullshit and bullshiters in this scene. It's hard to know who you can trust and how to seperate real friends and 'industry' friends. I'm very wary of people now, there's alot of users out there."
Do you ever regret that you didn't make it as an electro/hip-hop DJ rather than a techno DJ - or has what you do now got more longevity?
"Sadly, I simply wasn't good enough as a hip-hop DJ, my skills stopped around 1988 and I haven't had the time or dedication to move beyond that. Turntablism requires patience, which I only have in very short supply. I loved hip-hop, breakin, the whole scene, but there's no future in just spinning old music because for me every genre has its golden era and the period of hip-hop/electro I'm passionate about is 20 years old now, so progressing to something else is only natural. I chose to play techno, I liked the energy and raw funk of the music, but I don't class myself as a techno DJ, I'm just a DJ, and right now, I play techno. It's what I'm known for, but hopefully people recognise that I'm not just a one-trick pony."
What is the situation with Theory - it hasn't released much new music lately. Has it been affected badly by the general downturn in sales and distros going bust?
"I actually cut two new Theory records in late December and I'm very happy with them. I didn't release any Theory beats last year, so it feels like the right time now. As a DJ, I receive far less vinyl promos now as more and more people are going down the digital route, which is understandable the way things are now. I just prefer vinyl and playing CDs just doesn't do it for me, so having new records is important. Even if they only break even or lose a bit of money it's worth doing to show it's still what I'm about. I've lost thousands through distributors going bust and it can be very hard sometimes, but I've never released music just to make money, it's not the motivating factor and as long as people, many or few, buy them, it's a still positive move to put them out."
You’re still a vinyl advocate/lover/DJ: is this something that is becoming more and more difficult? Do you ever see a situation where you will only release music digitally?
"I haven't really embraced the digital side of things yet. My next few releases will be the first that are available for download as well as on vinyl, so I'll just see how things go. It seems enivitable that one day vinyl will die and digital will be the only way, but for now it's still my main focus. Real DJs play records as far as I'm concerned."
In a recent interview, you said that most modern minimal was 'soulless and full of lame FX'. Wasn't most loopy/tribal techno quite samey and soulless as well- and this is why people stopped listening to it and playing it?.
"Whenever any formula is repeated endlessly and bastardised, it becomes soulless. Styles get popular and people jump on bandwagons, it's the nature of the beast and I wouldn't try and defend the hundreds of loopy nothing records I receive because obviously there's shite in every genre of dance music and a lot of people missed the point with the whole tribal/loop thing. For me, it was about sampling records from my youth, bringing elements of music that I loved into my tracks or digging hard for samples from 70s and 80s raw percussion or drum heavy disco records, not just using a fucking sample CD. That's just lazy and for people without heritage. As soon as that sound became popular, people jumped on it and most of these artists are now doing minimal because that's what's in now. If country and western became the new thing then they'd make that too, idiots! But yeah, most minimal does nothing for me, I'm not against it as a concept of music, yeah strip it to its essential basics but you have to keep the groove, the funk, without that it's just not music. So many miminal tracks just don't have anything in them that interests me, a kick, a hat, bleep, an echo, an reverb, that's not funky enough for me, too empty. There are some great minimal artists who know how to make it, sadly they are a rare breed."
Are you still putting on parties in London? Were you never tempted to move to a country where you are far more popular as a DJ, say like Spain, and where what you do is more popular? With the exception of Lost and a few other nights like your own, London has never really been techno central.
"I still persist with doing parties in London. The last one was with Ken Ishii, The Advent, Paul Mac, Vince Watson and Colin Dale. It was very successful so there is a crowd here, just not that many. Again, it was never really a money thing doing the parties, I just got frustrated that I didn't have anywhere I played regularly in London that felt like home or a residency. Also the only place I ever saw DJs I like or am friends with was on the road, so it seemed a good idea to start something. Sometimes it's frustrating when you put on a line up that would be a 10,000 people festival elsewhere in Europe and you only get 1,200 here, but that's just London, it's never been the capital of techno and it's never been particularly fashionable to like techno here. I kind of like that though. Yeah, I've thought many times about moving to other countries or cities to make my travelling easier, maybe one day I will. Right now, I know there's still more things I wanna do in London and I still kinda miss it when I'm not here."
Are you still as popular as ever as a DJ in places like Spain and eastern Europe - or has minimal become more popular in these places too?
"Minimal has exploded everywhere, but I think in the long run, it has been good for me to stick to my style. There was a period where gigs slowed up and that's probably why so many other DJs jumped on it. There were many clubs that stick to their guns though, and many that won't even book minimal now because as every club is doing it, it doesn't fill venues like it did. There has been more of a merging of the two scenes recently too, which I definitely think is positive. In the same way that minimal all night is boring, so is tougher stuff. Well, so is everything. Mixing up different styles in a night is how it should be."
Are there any upcoming producers that you would tip at the moment?
"Quince from Holland is very promising, making clubby, emotive Detroit-flavoured techno and electronica. I'm looking forward to see how he progresses. On the tougher end of things, Kazu Kimura is doing some really interesting stuff, playing lots by him right now. Norman Chung from Singapore is coming up nicely with the more sample driven/loop based stuff, definitely worth checking out if that's your bag."
You’re about to release a mix CD, your first in quite a while and includes material from 2000 & One, Shinedoe, Redshape, Educutuion and DJ 3000. Are these the kind of producers who are making great records and pushing techno forward at the moment?
"Yeah the mix has quite a mix of artists, some new, some old, different styles, a lot of the producers I've been really into over the past couple of years are in the mix. I think the way to push techno forward is incorporate elements of various styles, to keep it interesting, techno isn't just 'bang bang', it never started out like that. "
There is also some older stuff from Tyree and DJ Funk on the mix: is it important for you to play older stuff? You’re a big fan of Chicago house and techno - does it continue to influence what you do?
"Admittedly it's hard for me not to drop older stuff. I'm a huge fan of old Chicago stuff and always try to play something in my sets, whether it's an original or a re-edit. I don't want to just focus on what's new as so much great stuff has come before it. If I want to get in the mood to make a mix CD or even start a track, sometimes I just have a little mix up of old records to get my groove on. It's not always Chicago house, could be anything, disco, soul, hip-hop... just something to get my head nodding before I've even started, maybe even just do an edit of an old track. A few of the re-edits I've been dropping for a while should see the light of day on theory soon (DJ Rush being the first). I just think that a lot of the funk and energy of music has been lost in the digital age, so I surround myself with music from the past 30 years whenever possible. It's an overused statement but one eye on the future, one on the past pretty much sums me up."
Can't Get No Sleep
Can't get no Sleep
They seek them here, they seek them there, those trainspotters seek Sleeparchive everywhere! Ever since the first anonymously packaged Sleeparchive record appeared a few years back, these droning, bleeping hypnotically repetitive tracks have become an essential part of any self-respecting techno DJ's armoury. Clearly influenced by the early to mid-90s school of minimalism, Sleeparchive records - and the odd remix for Monolake and Bpitch Control - still sound distinctive, taking the Finnish/Detroit blueprint a few quantum leaps forward. Scheduled to play the Bloc Weekend, I caught up with Sleeparchive's official 'frontman', Roger Semsroth, who in a rare interview, talks Hardwax, laptops and anonymity.
You are closely affiliated with Hardwax: did the shop help you discover a lot of the music that influenced the Sleeparchive sound?
"When I started listening to more and more techno-related music 10 years ago, I bought my records in many different shops in Berlin. But after a while, I thought that there is no need to go to any other shop than Hardwax. I found all the music I was looking for in the shop and I also liked the atmosphere at Hardwax. Over the years, some of the people at Hardwax became very good friends of mine. But I think the music that influenced me most for Sleeparchive I bought on eBay - I was not into techno in 1993 when the first Sähkö stuff was released."
Do you think generally, Hardwax has been an important supporter of techno in Europe?
"In many threads, when people ask for good shops around the world, many people have Hardwax in their list, so I think the shop is really important for many people."
Would you say that the back catalogue of Sähkö was as big or a bigger influence than Plus 8, Plastikman and Detroit producers like Dan Bell and Rob Hood on Sleeparchive?
"Rob Hood is great music, but was never an influence. Also, Plus 8 was never my cup of tea. It's mainly Mika Vainio on Sähkö, Plastikman and yes, Dan Bell is a genius!"
Do you think in turn that Sleeparchive's music has influenced emerging artists? I bought a record on Sandwell District by Function recently that had the same kind of bleeps and tones as your work....
"I think he was inspired by Mika Vainio as well, but it's actually a really great record! By the way, every Sandwell District is fantastic so far."
There seems to be a split nowadays in techno between people who make new school minimal and those, like you, who make music that is rooted in the sound that emerged in the 90s. Do you agree that there is such a division?
"I really don't care
I don't follow so-called minimal music these days."Apparently, you were not involved in one of the Sleeparchive records: how many people are actually in Sleeparchive and who are they?
"We are 3 people at the moment. I really don't wanna talk about the other two as I know they don't want me to!"
You have also remained quite mysterious, never having your photo taken. Is it important for techno artists to have a sense of mystery?
"This mystery thing is a bit strange to me. I have a website, I have e-mail, I play concerts. The only thing I don't like is to see myself in a picture. I think a picture of the artist has nothing to do with his music."
You use a laptop when you play live - do you also use only software when you produce? What is your view on using analogue equipment vs software?
"It's another thing I really don't care much about, but it's really funny sometimes. Everyone is using mobile phones, nearly everyone is listening to music on their i-Pods, everyone is using the internet and so on, but if it comes to equipment, people make something evil of modern technology. That's strange sometimes. I listen to music I like. I don't care much how the music was made."
More recently, your work has focused on non-dance floor tones and sounds ('Antti-Rannisto'): is this a direction that you see yourself moving into more and more in the future?
"Yes, I think my next release will sound more or less similar to my five tracks on that CD. We also have some great tracks from people around the world we are going to release next year. A lot of those tracks does not have a bassdrum. It's music you can dance to if you like, but it makes more sense just to listen to it."
Angelic upstarts
Bloclogo Last year was a good one for off-centre electronic music. Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu put out some of 2007's best albums - Boxcutter, Neil Landstrumm and U-ziq - and the Aphex-affiliated Rephlex also scored with 'Eksel' by D'Arcangelo. The work of two Italian brothers, its mixture of glitchy abstraction, electro drums and trippy Italo melodies has made it something of a slow-burner. One of the many acts to play Bloc, I managed to prise the boys away from their computers - and got some tongue in cheek answers in return...
What's it like to work together seeing as you are brothers? Do you have any
arguments when you are working on the studio?
"No, we are always straight in there, kicking the balls."
Are there any other brothers or sisters in your family?
"Yes, we are quadruplets, and there are two other brothers who perform our
PAs from time to time."
Is D'Arcangelo your real name or a stage name? Does it mean 'dark angel' in
Italian?
"It is our one and only real birth name so we see ourselves as that as a
result."
You have been making music for over ten years - what inspired you in the first place?
"Actually our first release was more than 15 years ago. We've been making music since the 80s, it's our chosen form of self-expression beyond visual art, writing etc. We are inspired by many aspects of our universe. Our thoughts and feelings and interactions."
Was Marco Passarani and the Nature organisation an inspiration for you when you were starting up?
"No, we give respect to him/them, but we had already started before that hook-up."
Does Italy have a healthy electronic music scene?
"Healthy? Everywhere has a scene, sometimes it's small and concentrated,
sometimes on more of a mass scale. We don’t like to nationalize music."
You didn't release a lot of material for a few years - from 2002 to 2006. Were you working in day jobs or did you just want to take a break?
"We released a handful of tracks and did some touring. We are always making music; making it a commercial product is not the main objective. We are also involved in industrial and aesthetic design as well as computer programming, when it suits us."
You say on your MySpace that you sound like "two old gits pretending to be deaf". You don¹t look that old in your pictures - are you?!
"All the D'Arcangelo brothers are now 55 years old, but we have a regenerative disorder that keeps us looking young."
I like your music because it mixes up a lot of older electronic styles but also brings your own approach to it - is this your aim?
"There is no aim. It is just like breathing or making love. It's an impulse. We don't like to find ourselves repeating ourselves or reaching conclusions that are not unique."
I really like 'Eksel' because it focuses a lot on melodies - was it a conscious decision to make a softer, more melodic sound?
"No. have you heard 'Broken Toys Corner'?"
Are you playing live at Bloc? What kind of set will you play - harder than the album?
"Depends what mood the kids are in, but we don't have to decide now. It will be musically special."
What are your next release plans - hopefully it won¹t be such a big break until the next release...
"Make us an offer, we'll see."
The Black Dog
You may or may not remember last year that I mentioned that this website is one of the sponsors of the Bloc Weekend, which takes place from March 14th to 16th at Pontin’s Holiday Park in Hemsby, Norfolk, UK. It’s the second year of the festival, which again this year has a killer line up - the full details are available on the Bloc website. It’s a small festival limited to a few thousand tickets and everyone who attends stays in the chalets at the holiday camp. It’s exactly the kind of messy fun that I like. Anyway, that means there will be loads of Bloc-related interviews running on the site over the next few months. To get the ball rolling, here’s a Q&A with The Black Dog, who talk about their new album, ‘Radio Scarecrow’ as well as their plans for their labels and why you won’t find them moving to Berlin. If you have any questions you would like me to ask some of the other festival acts, please email me.
You recently released a retrospective compilation: do you think that there is a whole new generation of techno fans who had never heard the dog’s back catalogue?
“We know there’s still a generation of people who aren’t aware that the current tBd line-up has been in place for over four years now, many still think that it’s just Ken.The whole point of putting older tracks and albums out was part of getting our house in order really. Some people will have missed these the first time around and the re-mastered versions sound a lot better than the originals so we thought the project was very worth while, but it's not our main focus and we won't be repeating any of it.”
Should it matter to the new audience that the dog’s line-up has changed radically since then? What do you make of the music that the former members of the dog are making now?
“We don't feel that the line-up should matter at all, it's primarily about the music. tBd is a collective that’s been evolving both musically and personally for the last 20 years. Every track is a product of a certain time, place and the personalities involved. It’s quite obvious that we won't be making an album along the lines of ‘Bytes 2’. That time has long gone. Techno has always been forward thinking and we intend to move forward with it. For those who want that ‘old sound’, there are more than enough competent artists out there producing it, we’re just not interested in working towards a nostalgic revival of the past.
We do listen to the work of our peers, but feel that it’s not important to pass comment on former members work. They do their own thing and we do ours.”
The dog’s earlier stuff fused Detroit techno with jazz and pre-jungle break beat and sounded like nothing else at the time - do you think it’s still possible to come up with that kind of innovation? If so, who do you think is doing this kind of innovative music nowadays?
“Innovation, the final frontier! Music is either good or bad, but innovation often comes across as the emperor's new clothing. Electronic music lays down many claims to it, but what has often passed as innovation has been nothing more than a lazy PR back-story.Innovation most often occurs as small incremental steps, not an entire re-invention. There's loads of people out there we enjoy: Rob Hall, Andy Stott, Stars Of The Lid, Autechre, UR, Richie, DNCN, Orlando Voorn, Bass Soldier, Slit, Benga etc. It changes all the time, but there's still enough to get us excited. Touchin’ Bass have put out some great stuff this year and so have lots of the smaller labels. There’s lots of good people around if you dig deep enough and now more than ever, we feel it's time to get behind the small labels and up and coming DJs/artists.”
You have a new album out next year - tell me about it. What does it sound like: is it similar to your previous work ‘Silenced’ and how long did it take to make?
“ ‘Radio Scarecrow’ is being mastered as we type this but we actually started it in late 2005 (immediately after ‘Silenced’), so that's over two years from start to finish. New material was being written all the time, but the vibe of the album only really started to take shape in the last six months. It's been a difficult album to work on simply because it refused to be rushed. We spent a long time trying to make some sense of all the different ideas within the early tracks. We even took months away from other work just to try and finish the album but we couldn't force it. We seemed to end up sitting around in the studio “talking” about it rather than “doing” it. We eventually returned to techno basics, stripping things back to a more fundamental level and moving away from the eastern and breaks influences that have been present over the last few years. We'd also been researching things like Numbers Stations and EVP recordings for a long time because both topics interest us a great deal. These transmissions and recordings (and people’s interpretations of them) had a strong influence on many of the final concepts and compositions, to the point where we’ve been embedding coded messages and curses deep inside the tracks.
In the end, it does sound like real progression from ‘Silenced’. The beats are faster and the bass is heavier - so much so that it was making us ill working with the low frequencies for hours on end, we could only do three hours at a time on some parts. It's difficult to describe our own work we’re so close to it personally. It’s almost impossible to articulate our ideas and feelings into any other form than the album itself. It feels complete and we’re very proud of the results. “
How come you signed to Soma - did you want their clout behind you when you were releasing the retrospective album and the new album? Would it have been more difficult to put out on Dust Science?
“It all came about by accident really, we'd been working on tracks that didn't really fit with the tBd sound on Dust Science, so we approached Soma. We also wanted to find a label that was pretty neutral for the ex-members of the band as well. Soma have been great with us and they do have more clout than Dust Science, but it was more a matter of finding good people to work with - we get on with them very well and that alone makes a lot difference to us. It means we can spend more time focusing on the music.”
Are you guys facing the same difficulties that most small dance labels are at the moment – falling sales, distros going bust - do you see any light at the end of the tunnel, any sign of stuff changing for the better? What’s next on the label?
“We’ve been hit several times by distributors going bust with our stock and money, it makes it really hard to carry on and it drains your energy and soul. Talking to the legal receiver is not really how we’d choose to spend our days, but something good would often happen after every fall so we'd always get our faith back. We never set up the label to be a cash cow, it was always intended to be way of doing what we wanted in the way we want – a way for us to work with artists and material that we believed in. Breaking even and being able to pay the studio rent/artists is the basic goal, anything else is a bonus.
As far as the music industry as a whole is concerned, we don't think there's any light at the end of the tunnel just yet. Vinyl and CD sales are down and downloads don’t yet make up the difference. There's a lot of education and many changes to be made but that alone it keeps it interesting. We don't have the answer to the current woes of running a record label, the whole machine is being eaten from the inside. It may take another generation before everything falls into place, but it is a fucking mess. We’re actually more concerned with real life - CCTV, ID cards and the general apathy of this island. To be honest, it's surprising that people are so passionate talking about one industry while they are being filmed hundreds of times a day, need ID to buy a can of beans and probably won't have a pension when they hit 65. Just what does it take to get people angry these days? MP3s apparently. Anyway, Dust Science is putting together its schedule for 2008 and DS:93 is mastering 002 (Vector Lovers) for release in January 2008 – this year is going to be hard work, but we’re up for it.”
Bloc2_7 Given these circumstances, is the sub-label a labour of love - it certainly seems to be going in the face of the rather soulless penchant for net labels and the big focus on downloads . Did you lose a lot of money on it? What is next for it?
“We do what we do. We live in an ‘on demand’ society and felt that it was time to question the current mentality, that’s why we said no to doing represses, licenses, compilations and downloads for DS:93. It was important to create something and that be the ‘end’ of it, which could be called arrogant but it’s a statement that needed to be made. In response people called us elitist and all kinds shit but we figured fuck it. Some of the hate mail is quite funny and we even got an offer from a big label to do a ‘best of’ CD. We said no. We often wonder if people are actually interested in art anymore.
It's a labour of love but one that is worthwhile. And no, we didn't lose any money but there isn’t much to be made on a vinyl pressing that small either. Vector Lovers, Scan 7 and Orlando Voorn are up next, so we are busy mastering tracks, hand printing sleeves and making new rubberstamps.”
Sheffield has a notable electronic music heritage, but it doesn’t seem like there is much going on now – do you ever feel the temptation to move to a hub like London or a trendy spot like Berlin to further your careers?
“The grey skies and rain in Sheffield can be fucking grim sometimes, but that can also be a great influence. There’s always something going on, it's just not in your face as much these days and everyone is busy trying to find the next Arctic Monkeys. Kid Acne, Richard H. Kirk, Hiem, Carl Taylor, SND, Aitcho and iPassenger are all doing some great stuff and to be honest, we don't want the spotlight and all the shit that goes with it. In this day and age we fail to see the point in moving at all, it's a shame people fall for the me too thing, but we don't feel there's any need to move anywhere. Moving to Berlin wouldn't help our careers, Have you heard Bowie's ‘Low’ [laughs]? We've always been outsiders and just like to visit I guess.
On that note, what do you make of the popularity of minimal techno? Do you think it has taken attention away from the deeper side of techno that you guys make?
“Do we make deeper techno? We just make techno don't we? There’s good and bad, at least the trend puts some focus back onto the techno crowd again, but we're not concerned about ‘hair dos and don’ts’.”
Will your set at Bloc be like the one in Dublin? A mixture of old and new?
“We only played a few old songs in Dublin and they’d all been editing heavily by us. We don't have a problem dropping the odd old track but the new stuff is where it's at for us. Some of the old ones have been around for nearly 20 years, they left home a long time ago! We have plenty of new material lined up, far more than what appears on ‘Radio Scarecrow’, so we'll just see where the night takes us. We don’t generally plan the sets in advance as we like to have adapt to the mood of the crowd and the night, we’ve got enough material and flexibility. However, we do plan to a have a great time and to bring the party, so we'll see you down the front.”