BORN
“August 13, 1966, Montreal.”

FAMILY
“You mean my parents? It was totally not a musical or even artistic background. Actually, I’m coming from a very square, religious family. I never related to them.”

MUSICAL ROOTS
“I got into music when I was very young. Even as a baby I was shakin’ and singin’. At the age of five I was playing piano, and I was a guitarist for several years too. I was always in touch with music, generally speaking. I was never immersed in one specific genre, I’d an overall interest in music that spanned jazz; classical; rock; disco; funk; country; salsa; anything! When something is done well, it is fine with me. I’m a huge collector of music but again, it’s very general. I’ve got a big room at home with a huge amount of vinyl. I’m not into CDs to be honest; people give them to me but I don’t buy them. My vinyl is from literally every period of time that it has existed in. As a young kid I was heavily into classical music, from the age of five until now - I still appreciate it – I’ve loved it. I’m also a real fan of crooners like Tom Jones, Sinatra, and these guys. The Beatles were a huge influence in my teen years, and around 14 I discovered electronic music through Kraftwerk. I was always into contemporary composers like Steve Reich, Boulez, and many others. I studied a bit of theory and practise, but my ear was pretty good and I tended to be lazy on theory. I gave up.”

FIRST PROJECTS
“It was always clear in my mind that I wanted to make music all the time. I started to make a living from it four years ago, around the time of the first Mutek festival, but before that I was always working in the direction of making this my life. I wasn’t bothered about making a lot of money, but I wanted to have regular income, pay my rent, pay my bills. I don’t have to focus in anything except music now, and I feel very privileged. My very first official project was 1995’s Noiz Slack-r, a very experimental project in the vein of Aphex Twin, or Alec Empire. These people are the foundations of my style; I was mainly working in an experimental way, trying to find new approaches and ideas. Then the whole house thing happened to me, I would say, by mistake. I was caught by my own trick. When I started making house in 1996 or 1997, it was more as a joke. A friend of mine and myself did a project – we got the title, Juice Box, from a porno movie that we picked at random from a magazine – and I found that I really liked the rhythm, I loved the shuffle, and it gave me a refreshing alternative to redundant techno music.”

LABELS AND PRODUCTION
“It’s funny; I never do anything with a plan. Everything comes together in a very natural way, almost intuitively. As I’m working I don’t really realise what’s happening, and it’s later that it all seems to come together. I remember giving my debut album [‘My Way’ on Force Inc., 2002] to my manager, and it hadn’t even grown on me at that point. I flew back into the country with a CD under my arm, and I said ‘You guys have to tell me what you think, because personally, I don’t have a clue what I’ve done.’ I was so much into it when I was doing it – the situation, the location, the isolation – that it wasn’t ever going to be as obvious an album as if I’d done it in Montreal. As I recorded ‘My Way’ in a cabin in the nether regions of Quebec in the dead of winter, the album may sound different, and new, because I didn’t have anything else around me when making it. I didn’t even have any other music to listen to. I wanted to put myself into this situation, where I wouldn’t be influenced or coloured by anything surrounding me. The plan was to isolate myself and not be interrupted by people. There was no phone, no internet, no television, absolutely nothing. For a whole month I was alone in a country home, overlooking a lake, with absolutely no neighbours around me. The closest town was an hour from where I was. If I’d had an accident I would have been fucked. Really. But I had to put myself there. Everything from the tension and the stress, the not knowing what was going to happen to me, also played an important part in the making of the album. You can hear it in the first pieces especially, on ‘Installations’ and ‘Even White Horizons’. I tried it last year as well because I wanted to begin the process of the second album, and I realised that it isn’t something that is applicable in every situation. It depends on the mood of the movement. Right now I’m working in my studio at home with my family around me, my daughter and my wife, and it seems to be working fine. I suppose it’s going to be different each time, but I really needed to experience isolation again because I was so convinced that having worked once, it would work again. I think I’m going to find other ways, and try not to generalise with my albums. The active label I work with is Perlon. I released my first two Akufen releases on Oral, a Montreal label put together by a friend of mine, Eric Mattson, and another Montreal label, Hautec. I began to work with a label from Toronto called Revolver, put together by Jeff Milligan and Mike Shannon. So I had five releases as Akufen on Canadian record labels before anything was available in Europe. Trapez made some of my stuff available in Germany, thanks to Triple R and Thomas Brinkmann. We had three ‘Psychometry’ EPs and remixes. There were probably too many remixes. I think the cow was truly milked there, and I didn’t approve all of the mixes. Background was through word of mouth – this is Andy Vaz’s record label – and I made the Dada EP. This was such an important release for me, it’s where the roots of my way of working - micro sampling – were defined. Perlon came in and my ‘Quebec Nightclub’ became the most important record I’d released to that point, giving me a bigger, wider audience. Then came Force Inc….for these past four years I’ve been really lucky. There’s been so many remixes and collaborations. It’s such a privilege to have been able to work with my peers: Richie Hawtin, Cabaret Voltaire, Yello, Thomas Dolby, Massive Attack, etc.”

DJING
“The first time I touched a mixer and two turntables was in London. It was in 1993, I think I was there for a vacation. The march against the Criminal Justice Bill was taking place in the streets, and I joined, I demonstrated like everyone else. There I met some of my closest friends, and I got to know my wife through them on that trip too. I stayed at their place and one of the guys was DJing. I was attracted right away, as a musician, to the turntables. I waited for them to go out of the apartment so that I could grab a few records and try to do it. The very first two records I mixed were perfectly in synch. It’s only later I started to deteriorate through lack of practise. When my career started as a musician, DJing got swept under the carpet. My favourite time to DJ is at a private party, in a loft, at six in the morning, when everyone’s completely fucked up. I just like to hit them on the brain with the music, just play the wackiest, weirdest shit. I really enjoy it – not for the same purpose as some other DJs, for the fame or anything – but on an education level. I want to educate myself and hear more music, know more about it. I enjoy mixing other people’s music more than performing live. After a while you get bored of playing your own music over and over. You make it in the studio, you learn it to go on tour, you play it all the time, for a year or two or three… people always ask ‘please play this, or that’… I find playing other people’s music is invigorating."

FABRIC
“I’ve been fortunate to have had a good taste of what Fabric is. I was in the booth the first time, and then the stage the second time. I have a tendency not to like being on stage. I just think it’s ridiculous being on a big stage with just a laptop. It’s better to be in the DJ booth; I’d rather people didn’t see me at all. I’m not technical, I’m not juggling with the mixer, I’m there to make a track in a live situation.”

THE FUTURE
“Right now I’m focused on getting the next album together and looking for the right label to release it on; it’s on its way, My ideas are down, and I’m going to make a record with a few dance pieces but less so than the first one. It’s going to be more eclectic, more downtempo, more loungey and experimental. I just want to go off. I want to treat myself a bit. I think I can afford now to go a little further, take some risks. When you start you have to be a bit careful. You can’t do everything that you want to. I can permit myself to have a bit of an extravaganza now. I’m also keeping busy with my new label Musique Risquée. I set it up, with my pal Vincent Lemieux, to support our community and also help bring up new artists that we’re really into – Stephen Beaupré, Atom Heart, The Rip Off Artist and Philippe Cam are all scheduled for releases this year.”

THE MIX
“I always loved a certain level of risk taking when it comes to my DJ mixing. Marrying the most awkward music together often turns out to be crazy and sexy. And I strongly believe that if it's done right, it'll compliment the artists work while challenging the listener's mind. It's all a matter of momentum, like time does not exist anymore. Ninety percent of the people on this CD are close friends of mine. Right from the beginning my goal was to put as many of those people on this record. My manager said ‘You can’t please everyone, you’re going to have one hell of a time fitting all of those people on there,’ but I thought I had to try. I think I found a way. It took me God knows how many hours before I thought I had it right. I really wanted to find the perfect combination between all those musicians. I don’t like people that mix in and out, fade in and out. You have to create a special environment by having two tracks in the mix together for as long as possible.”

INTERVIEW
STEVE BUG
by Marc Peakay

Durch eine große musikalische Vielfältigkeit hat sich Steve Bug´s Label Poker Flat als die Nummer eins im Bereich des Minimal- und Tech-House etabliert, und der Name verbeitete sich 1999 durch Steve´s unsterblichen Clubhit „Loverboy“ wie ein Lauffeuer. Steve Bug führt seinen Stil fort: er spielt mit lockendem, lockerem Funk, dreckigen Retro-Bässen und willkürlichen, zwitschernden Tönen, er erarbeitet aus Techno-Elektro und Basic-Funk blosse House Grooves, und erzeugt eine dunkle, fraktale, verführende Musik. Gerade hat er sein neuestes Projekt “Bugnology” fertig gestellt, eine besonders bearbeitete Mix-CD, und feiert Jubiläum mit der 50. Poker Flat Release “Loverboy - re-loved”, welches neue Mixe von ihm und Guido Schneider enthält.

Steve, Du arbeitest gerade an einem Artist-Album – wird es mehr auf den Dancefloor fokussiert sein oder stellst Du andere Anforderungen an das Longplayer-Format?
Das steht noch nicht so genau fest, das Album ist noch im Entwicklungsstadium, aber es wird dieses mal etwas mehr Vocals geben und ich versuche den Computer, sprich die ganze Software etwas mehr als additives Stilmittel einzusetzen. trotzdem wird es mit Sicherheit genug Dancefloor geben, weil da ja immer noch mein Hauptaugenmerk drauf liegt. Die Idee ist aber, für diese Tracks spezielle Versionen fürs CD-Format zu produzieren... Man (incl. mir) darf gespannt sein; )

Was hat Dich in Deiner mittlerweile langjährigen Karriere als DJ und Producer am meisten geprägt, sowohl musikalisch als auch persönlich?
Das viele Rumreisen, alleine sein, sehr viel zeit zum Nachdenken zu haben und natürlich auch die ganzen zwischenmenschlichen Kontakte. Man trifft ständig auf neue Leute, hat aber kaum Zeit für seine Freunde...

Wie sieht die typische Steve-Bug-Arbeitsweise aus, wie können wir uns das Entstehen eines Tracks oder Remixes vorstellen?
Es gibt eigentlich keinen typischen Anfang bei mir, manchmal probiere ich einfach nur was aus, manchmal habe ich schon was konkretes im Kopf, es ist immer unterschiedlich...

Für welchen Künstler würdest Du gerne einen Remix anfertigen, mit welchem würdest Du gerne Kooperieren?
Bestimmte Künstler zu remixen ist, denke ich, eher uninteressant, es kommt halt eher auf den jeweiligen Track an. davon abgesehen möchte ich im Moment sowenig Remixe wie möglich machen, um all meine Kreativität für eigene Produktionen zu haben... Dennoch bekam ich kürzlich ein Demo mit unheimlich starken Tracks, und ich konnte es mir nicht nehmen lassen, hierfür selbst einen Remix zu machen. Um gemeinsam zu produzieren, könnte ich mir Guido Schneider oder Matthias Tanzmann gerade sehr gut vorstellen, mit letzterem ist das eh schon länger geplant. Alles nur eine frage der Zeit!

http://www.stevebug.com

Joris Voorn is a producer and DJ from the Netherlands, started dj-ing in 1997 and released his debut track in 2000 called ‘Muted Trax pt.1’ on Dutch label Keynote. It was an impressive debut receiving great reviews and was played out by renowned djs such as Carl Craig, Laurent Garnier, Dj Rush and Technasia. Joris have released two track since ‘Lost Memories Pt.1’ and ‘Lost Memories Pt.2’, which was nominated by UK electronic music magazine MixMag as “this year’s techno cross over anthem..”. Absolute was likely enough to find Joris for an interview, check it.


Hi Joris, please describe yourself in a few words.
Joris: I am a guy from the Netherlands, 27 years old and into some serious electronic music.


How's the club scene like in Rotterdam, can you tell us a bit about the clubs and the type of dance music happening there?
Joris: In the Netherlands in general there's a very lively club scene. In Rotterdam, where I live, there are also many clubs, but most of them are quite mainstream. they play from hip-hop and r&b to house and trance. There's a wide variety of different music styles, but still it can be difficult to find some good underground techno parties. Dutch people are somewhat spoiled because there're so many parties every weekend that it can be difficult to get them excited about a small but good party.


Does a background in classical music helps you in anyway in producing electronic music or being a DJ?
Joris: I don't know. Maybe it helped me with working with melodies, but for rhythmic techno grooves I guess it doesn't really helped a lot..


Tell us about your best dj-ing experience.
Joris: I like many different parties, if they're small but crowded they're usually the best. However I was playing at a huge party in Belgium last year, and there were 8.000 people in front of me which is a lot! I also played at the rockit festival last year in HK, and it was very nice, the audience was really enthusiastic and the atmosphere was great!


It must be great going into all those marijuana cafe without worrying about the police, do you have a favourite cafe for a smoke and what is your brand of choice.
Joris: Hahaha.. I don't smoke!! seriously, I have been into a 'coffee shop' in the Netherlands maybe only once or twice. So no favourite bar or brand, sorry..... I once had dinner in a place which was both a restaurant and coffee shop, so we were having dinner while some people were enjoying their joints.


How did you hook up with Sino and Amil Khan?
Joris: I got to know Technasia just when I released my first record. Charles Siegling was playing it all the time, so I gave him some more of my music on a CD. He passed it to Amil Khan who seemed to like it too.. Later on I met him in the Netherlands and we started talking about a release on the sino label. And the rest is history....


What music are you listening to recently? can you give us the names?
I listen to all kinds of music, but not so much techno. I like the warp label and artists like autechre, plaid, boards of Canada and aphex twin.


Can you give us some insight as to what we will expect when you play in Hong Kong on the 8th February?
Joris: I will be playing a more minimal techno sounding dj set, but it's definitely going to be for those who like to dance! I don't really know what to expect from the HK club crowd, so I'm very curious. But I'm sure it will be good!


Your favourite album/song of all time?
Joris: In electronic dance music one of my favourite producers is Carl Craig, he once did a remix for a Dave Angel track called Airborne, that's a master piece without any drums, just some synthstabs, I'll play it in the edge!


If your music is a type of food, what will it be?
Joris: Thai green curry [which was my lunch today and maybe my favourite food]. It's spicy but with a nice deep taste.


What was your last MP3 song you’ve downloaded?
Joris: That would be 'loose my breath' by destiny child, I downloaded it for my girlfriend who loves that song!


What do you take with you on a Saturday night out?
Joris: My records and cd's!! It would be difficult playing without them.


What's your poison?
Joris: That would beeeeee.. travelling and dj'ing which is just toooo nice. If I come back I have to get back to work.. but that's ok though, it gives me inspiration too. Besides all that, my poison can be drinking too much when
I'm having a great time at a party.


Any words to the Hong Kong clubbers?
Joris: Please come to the edge February 8th to have a great night with great music. Show me what you got!

Joris Voorn will be at Sinosphere on 8th Feb, his full length debut album called ‘Future history’ on Sino is available now.

On "Absolute"

Matthew Dekay may not be a name that dance music fans are instantly familiar with, but to progressive house DJs and fans alike he’s known for producing peak-time anthems to devastate any of the darker dance floors. His original production - ‘Higher Thoughts’ could be the progressive house tune of the summer, and DJmag reckons there are big things in store for this Dutch producer in 2004.

Sasha, John Digweed, Deep Dish, Danny Howells - and all the house DJs that matter, have been caning MDK’s productions for the last few months. Sander Kleinenberg released ‘Higher Thoughts’ on his prolific Little Mountain Records back in February. For a hard-working producer who’s been playing the piano from the age of five, it’s about time.
“I’ve always had interests in music technology,” MDK reveals. “I went to music conferences like the Frankfurt Musikmesse more than 10 years ago, and when I first heard that weird underground stuff made by unknown producers I too started to make my own tunes.”

Soon to be 26-years-old, MDK is starting to make his mark on the DJ world, with upcoming gigs in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. For Matthew however, production must always come first: “I’ve got a band - the Matthew Dekay Band, and along with the other members, Frederic Gervais (bass), Norman Soares (percussion), and Joep Berkenbosch (guitar), we are working on some new tunes” he states proudly. “I play the keyboards and use computers to make what I call Trousy music - it stands for Trippy Trancy Tribal Housy music. I’m also working on a huge remix coming out on Little Mountain Records soon called ‘Party 2 the Music’.”

With DJing gigs worldwide, and a hectic studio schedule, MDK stills finds time to run two labels - Lowriders Recordings along with Nick K, and Dekay Recordings, which will have its first release out in June.

Is it important for DJs to produce original material as well as spin? Matthew offers some advice to any DJs that want to be taken seriously: “Ten years ago it was possible to become famous just from DJing. Nowadays however, DJs must produce, as name branding has become more important than ever before.”

As a producer is Matthew worried about illegal downloading? “It doesn’t upset me at all”, he tells DJmag. “I think it’s a good mirror to see how popular an artist is. I would be more worried if I couldn’t find any Internet matches of me. File-sharing programs are there, and you can’t do anything against it. I just see it like an extra promotional tool.”

Will vinyl be ever replaced by digital mediums? “It’s stupid to say ‘no’,” he warns. “But I think people still like to mix using their hands, by touching the music. I don’t know what kind of format will replace vinyl, but it will disappear eventually.”(D.M)

In the future: “It’s important to make the club thing happen in Berlin, to develop our scene, and there are so many incredible musicians here in Berlin that it will start to happen. We will all begin to work together, in different and strange mixtures. People that don’t know one another will begin to work together. We are all going to the same parties, listening to the same music, dancing to the same music; all these people will work together and it will be really fertile and interesting. Richie is here; Thomas Melchior; Baby Ford is here every three weeks; Luciano is coming. It’s a worldwide net of close friends that are heading for the same thing. Berlin is where everyone meets. It’s a big city, not a small one, it’s the only big city that we Germans have. It’s really, really nice and it’s cheap to get a flat. I want to be here more and not travel so much, I really want to be here.”

"Brazilian music is the biggest influence I have. Brazilians were listening to techno two or three hundred years before anyone else. If you compare the samba groove to the techno groove it has a really, really similar idea behind it. I think South American music is important because of the rhythm, but also the melody. It relates to the living, the reality that people have in South America. You have many things to be sad about, but the general outlook is one of happiness. It’s a very special mixture and mentality. The people are making these melodies that exist exactly between sadness and happiness, and also the rhythm thing creates happiness. People use music to forget their problems. I was listening to this music with my parents at home the whole time, and the influence is very, very pronounced. Brazilian music; Salsa; Cuban music; the music of the Andes – Chile, Peru, Bolivia – all these things; Tango for sure; Argentinean Astor Piazzolla; all of it. These melodies are full of passion, happy and sad at the same time, it leaves something very strong in your mind.”

Jeff Mills- I make mixing mistakes almost every night

There are minor mistakes that happen almost every night and major mistakes that happen maybe once a month: as a DJ you become better at fixing the problem and move on as quickly as possible, so that people don’t notice; that’s part of being a DJ.

Chatting down the line from a Cannes hotel, Detroit techno wizard Jeff Mills is the first to admit he has the odd bad night, though as one of dance culture’s most technically proficient mixers he’s happy to hold up his hands.

“If I stopped making any mistakes I should probably look at what I’m doing and start trying to be a little more adventurous,” he continues. “I still love to play even if I may play less nowadays than when I was younger. But I’ll always keep on DJing, even if just as a hobby.”

Still one of the biggest name DJs both in both techno and dance music in general, he’s happy to pass on advice, stressing the importance of focus for those wanting to step into his shoes.

“The sooner you understand what is it you really want out of the profession, the easier it becomes to achieve it,” says Jeff. “If you want to become a superstar DJ, it’s possible, but there are certain things you’d have to do.”

Skrufff: Such as?

“I don’t know, because I don’t consider myself one,” he replies.

“But if you want to have a long and healthy career, one crucial piece of advice I could give is this: you have to be able to accept negative responses from the audience and people in general, and rebound from that criticism as quickly as possible. I know so many DJs who have often been severely affected by an audience’s negative response.”

Coming into England shortly to DJ at both the End and Liverpool’s Circus Club, he’ll also be meeting his audience directly at Eukatech Records, when he personally opens an Axis Records merchandise shop at the Covent Garden store. As well as selling beach towels and sandals (‘we’ve done some research to categorise the typical costumer who buys our merchandise, that’ll be older male, student or just graduated from college’, he explains) the store will be stocking his new album The Three Ages’, his latest soundtrack remake, this time to Buster Keaton’s 1923 film of the same name.

“The idea behind Axis Live is to come close to the people and reduce the distance between the internet and the customers,” he explains.

“We have a steady stream of online costumers from around the world, and we planned to go into their cities to offer special things made for that particular situation, so we’re producing very special records only released at that time and lots of other items displayed in the way we think they should be displayed, on the basis of a certain type of lifestyle and mentality they’re based upon,” says Jeff. “After London we’ll be doing Berlin.”


Skrufff (Benedetta Skrufff): As well as launching the shop, you’re DJing again in the UK this February, what kind of show do you have planned for the gigs?

Jeff Mills: “It’ll be an integration of sound and moving images alternating throughout the night. At times the video will take the lead then at other times it will be the music.”

Skrufff: How much advanced planning typically goes into a DJ set; do you ever turn up with a stack of music and improvise, track by track?

Jeff Mills: “There’s always a little preparation, typically I prepare the first ten minutes of the set and from that point it’s very much about reading the crowd and playing music or showing images based on what I see and what I find interesting at that precise moment in time.”

Skrufff: You’re also set to release a new soundtrack to Buster Keaton’s “The Three Ages”, how different is your approach when producing music for soundtracks as opposed to the dance floor?

Jeff Mills: “I tried to prove certain things in that particular soundtrack. As a DJ I can approach producing music for films in multiple ways, the same ways I can program records for an audience, which is probably slightly different from someone who only does one or the other. I look at it from many different perspectives. For “The Three Ages” I chose to use a very indirect way, not only composing the music for the interactions between the characters specifically, accenting certain kind of moves or things like that, but I also decided to create a backdrop for what was happening on the screen. The result is not a humorous soundtrack as such, but it’s allowed humour to happen on screen. I did that because I wanted to show how diverse electronic music can be and that it’s not always predictable as composing music for movies can be. Even in that type of context, with all the humour and the geniality of Buster Keaton, electronic music can be reserved and allowing at the same time.”

Skrufff: how much do you regard electronic music to be a revolutionary force?

Jeff Mills: “I believe electronic music still is a revolutionary force. As a genre, it’s gone through changes because it has evolved, and it was logical for it to reach a point of saturation because of the level of popularity it’s had. It had to prove to have solid foundations, achievements have been reached even through the hype that has surrounded it, and we’re at the point today where electronic music can be considered pretty much an art form. Deep down, there have been very important messages delivered to the people through it; it has survived, and it’s at the point where it can now be considered just as important as any other music genre.”

Skrufff: Speaking to Fabric last year, you described today’s club scene as too conformist, why do you think it’s gone that way?

Jeff Mills: “Mainly because most DJs haven’t really taken advantage of all the freedom and creativity that they were originally given. As a DJ I’ve seen the same format being repeated over and over again, even down to the DJ location in a club, it’s always the same spot, facing the crowd etc…. Of course the format works, but considering the amount of freedom we have to do things differently, with music production having faced the same pitfalls, we’re largely missing a lot of opportunities to explore our creativity.”

Skrufff: I want to mention another quote from Jockey Slut from last year: “We are at a turning point in the history of techno music- If the younger generation has less interest in supporting music then why don’t techno labels begin to create and release music targeted to an older generation?”: what does targeting an older generation involve that’s different from a younger generation?

Jeff Mills: “I think that the older generations are quicker to recognise the higher artistic forms. When I was younger, and also when I look at younger people now, you’re less interested in appreciating art. As a DJ today, when I play for an older crowd, I can play a more diverse, progressive set, I can play older classics and a wider range of music. In terms of survival for independent labels, if you’re releasing music for others to buy, you need to focus on a particular type of costumer. The tendency is to put out music to accommodate all kind of buyers, but if the indications are very strong from younger generations that they’re just not interested in one particular sound, then you need to find your own place. In the context of what’s happening these days it’s wiser to look at the generations that started electronic music; they’re the ones who probably understand it the most, they’re the ones who grew up with it and made it all happen. If they had an interest in it before, then they probably still have one now. I think it’s questionable, this general thinking within the music industry that dance music is only for young people.”

Skrufff: Tossing another quote at you, you told Techno Tourist in 2001: ‘‘the things that we fail to try does the greatest damage to our future, not the things we do and fail”; looking at your career, you seem to have always succeeded: what projects do you consider as failures?

Jeff Mills: “There’s been many failures and things that haven’t worked out in my career, but as an artist who releases music and also runs a label it’s my job to smooth that over and move on to the next project as quickly as possible. So many people are never aware of their mistakes. Most of the time I assume that the idea was solid but the timing wasn’t right, so I generally keep those ideas and try to re-introduce them at different times. It’s better to make those mistakes, to experience problems and be able to handle them so that they won’t happen again. Without them you’re on a dangerous course, certainly in my career I see those mistakes as crucial and as a learning process and as long as they’re not too severe and don’t send you to jail, it’s ok.”

Skrufff: I read in the same interview that your 2001 album title ‘Every Dog Has its Day’ means ‘everybody eventually gets their share of good fortune’; how big a role has luck played in your career?

Jeff Mills: “I really couldn’t say, but I know that I prepare a lot to allow certain situations to happen and when they do I can take advantage of it.”

Skrufff: You basically create your own luck…

Jeff Mills: “I leave lots of room for luck to come into the equation. I’m never quite sure if it’s luck or just being open enough to be able to accept any type of situation and make the most of it.”

Jeff Mills’ new album ‘The Three Ages’ (the new soundtrack to Buster Keaton’s 1923 film) is out now.

Benedetta Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

BORN
Black Forest, 1971

FAMILY
“I was surrounded by music at home. I’d stay awake and listen to the radio all night, recording things if I was too tired. My parents gave me the chance to learn the piano which maybe helped, but in the end I destroyed all my classical music wisdom when techno came along.”

MUSICAL ROOTS
“My favourite band was the Alan Parsons project -why ever? – I used to love them as a child, especially the electronic tracks. I was a disco kid. When I first went to a youth disco night and realised that you could mix records on special turntables I instantly fell in love. I knew that I had to do this. The first things that I bought and played were some Italian disco stuff, Stock, Aitken and Waterman, Pet Shop Boys, all those extended versions of pop hits, some funk… I used to play at school parties and then got my first job in a big discothèque at 18. It was perfect training but it didn’t work out very well. I had to stop half a year later because the audience didn’t like my music very much. Then I started to do parties with Tobias [Thomas]. That was back in 1991. We used to play all the newer kinds of dance music – hip hop, house, techno – and finally we concentrated on four to the floor stuff.”

FIRST PROJECTS
“This was when I moved to Cologne in 1992. At first I was only a DJ and I didn’t feel that I had to automatically produce tracks. For me it was two different things. When I met Reinhardt [Voigt] and all those guys we had some fun nights and thought ‘let’s make something out of this’ so we founded our band, Forever Sweet. I still regard making music as a hobby. I’m not a professional producer in the classic sense. I’m too bad on techniques and I’m not interested in reading manuals. I feel I’m playing with instruments and not a serious producer.”

LABELS AND PRODUCTION
“Only Kompakt is active now. I used to do stuff for Ladomat too but that was five or six years ago.”

DJING
“The only thing I pre-determine is that I play 4/4. The rest happens by accident. I love the deeper side of music, obviously, but I like it raw and kicking. There has to be some pop sensibility too but in a third kind, not obviously. The structure of my set is very pop influenced: I don’t mix tools for hours. There have to be waves like a pop song. I love records that are structured, that have a beginning/middle/end. It’s the same for any clubnight, there has to be that progression. I love to warm up and take my time to get in to it, to take the people with me. There’s the prime time and then the end and at the end I love to play more songs and some things you can whistle on the way home.”

FABRIC
“Playing there was just great, I can’t wait to come back.”

PLAYLIST FABRIC 13 MIX

1 Heiko Voss - I Think About You (Geiger Mix)
Kompakt
2 Richard Davis - Bring Me Closer
240 Volts
3 Westbam and Nena - Oldschool, Baby (Piano Mix)
Low Spirit
4 Richard Davis - In The Air (Further’s Acid Relapse Edit)
Punkt
5 Robag Wruhme & Wighnomy Brothers - Killerteppich
Music Krause
6 Thomas Schaeben - Busted
Firm
7 Villalobos - Easy Lee
Playhouse
8 Magnet - Abendstern
Kompakt
9 Superpitcher - Mushroom
Kompakt
10 M83 and Benoit Villeneuve - Run Into Flowers (Jackson Remix)
EMI
11 Thomas Schaeben & Geiger Ft Schad Privat - Really Real
Firm
12 Le Dust Sucker - Love Me Plong!
13 Heiko Voss - I Think About You (Original Mix)
Kompakt

Die Philosophie des Londoner Clubs "The Fabric" heißt „cutting edge“ (engl.: innovativ).
Das Ziel der Clubmacher ist es, neuer Musik eine Plattform zu bieten, und das nicht "nur" auf den rund 7.500 m2 der Location.
Deshalb bringt das Label des Clubs jeden Monat eine neue Clubcompilation raus. Die Idee dabei ist, dem Partygänger ein echtes Stückchen Clubatmosphäre „ins Wohnzimmer zu holen“.
Pressesprecherin Melissa Taylor über das Clubkonzept der "Fabric" und die Londoner Clubszene...

Seit wann gibt es The Fabric? Gab es eine Gründungsidee für den Club?
The Fabric öffnete im Oktober 99 und das Ziel war, ein Forum zu schaffen, in dem wir Künstler und die Szene präsentieren, das heißt in einer sicheren Atmosphäre, gut organisiert, die Leuten eine gute Erfahrung mitgibt, wo ein guter Service geboten wird, denn die Orte, die man von vorher kannte, waren illegale Locations oder alte Farbikhallen, wo es nicht um die Leute ging oder um die Liebe zur Musik...

Ihr arbeitet für eure monatlich erscheinende Compilation mit internationalen DJs zusammen. Wie funktioniert diese Kooperation?
Die Dinge entwickeln sich hier auf natürliche Art und Weise...So wie Kompakt z.B. – wir sind große Fans von Michael Mayer und er kam und spielte für uns. Er machte auch eine CD für unser Label, die „Fabric 13“, die mir persönlich sehr gut gefällt...Uns geht’s wirklich darum, solchen Leuten eine Möglichkeit zu geben, im United Kingdom zu spielen...

The Fabric ist ein Club-Label, ihr seid Club und Label in einem. Was ist das besondere an The Fabric als Label?
Unser Label kommt direkt aus dem Club, es ist wie ein Retro-Joke nach dem Motto „zurück in die Zeiten der alten illegalen Rave-Mix-Tapes“. Wir wollen den Leuten genau die Musik mitgeben, die im Club wurde, aber für einen guten Preis...Namen haben bei uns keine so große Bedeutung...

Wie versteht sich The Fabric als Club?
Ich glaube, Leute denken, dass jeder große Veranstaltungsort ein typischer Großraumclub ist, wie das „Cream“ (Liverpool) oder das „Ministry of Sound“ (London)... Wenn wir uns entscheiden würden, zu expandieren und dazu, dass unsere CD 100 000 fach verkauft werden – was würde das wirklich bringen? Alles, was dabei rauskommt, ist Geld. Zwar ist das Geld in bestimmter Hinsicht hilfreich, jedoch machst du dich im Endeffekt dabei selbst kaputt...

Wie sehen Eure zukünftigen Pläne aus?
Natürlich wollen wir gerne ein Label sein, das DJs vermittelt, aber die Dinge müssen sich langsam entwickeln. Wenn wir soweit sind, werden wir das auch tun. Wir wollen das für unsere DJs tun, sie unterstützen, ihre Musik rauszubringen.

Wie schätzt Du die Londoner Club-Szene ein?
Leute reden darüber, dass Dance Musik tot ist, aber ich denke, der Underground lebt! Es gibt viel mehr illegale Parties als früher, viel mehr After Hour Clubs, es gibt neuen Sound, der Deep Minimal Tekk-House wird immer beliebter...Und Drum’n’Bass – pfff – die Medien ignorieren ihn vielleicht, aber die Clubber lieben es! Also ich denke, die Situation derzeit schaut insgesamt sehr gut aus.

Scandinavia's Scottish Prince has been doing the techno business for some time now. From the early days at Pure and Sativa Neil has helped to shape Scotland's techno scene into the healthy beast it is today. The clubs have showcased the world's finest over the years and Neil's productions have crafted a distinct sound that's influence has been felt the world over with releases for Germany's mighty Tresor label and the classic albums 'Bedrooms and Cities' and 'Pro-Audio'. Neil now runs the experimental Scandinavia label that also produces music and animation for TV. However he can still be found pumping out his trademark dirty-bass techno at the world's biggest techno clubs.

How's things?
fine, enjoying being back in Scotland and getting on with various creative projects in relation to my company, Scandinavia

What makes you tick?
bio-yoghurt, Wing Chun, power-pot,apple computers, petrol and electronic machines

How would other people describe you?
a bald chewbacca

What you working on now?
new music with Tobias Schmidt, new sound completely. Various tracks for Music Man with Oliver Chesler, Bill Youngman etc...keeping the Scandinavia flame alive in a never-ending ocean of boring techno beats. Re-release of the "$40 million beatnik" project i did in new York-It isn't a techno project but will come out on Cristian Vogels new "Rise Robots Rise" label.

Been working on our website and shop.Creating a whole new skate clothes label for Scandinavia- relates to the motion graphics and design side of what i do.

What's the future sound of Neil Landstrumm?
don't know.Haven't come up with it yet. Wont be putting out stuff till i am happy and have weeded it out. Might put a few of you off but may gain a few also...Quite into downtempo these days but
like to rock a floor also.

Who has inspired you in the past and who inspires you now?
Various UK, US and Euro acid,bleep,electro and techno pioneers to many to name. I like lots of hip hop and wierd guitar music also....inspiration now is being sought in sucking MP3s through my broadband pipe at a frightning rate.....A lot of new techno im not that into though....I like fusion
mixes of styles now.....Si Beggs new album is really cool and is Disko Bs-Electronicat and DFA records-LCD soundsystem are a few..

Aside from music what else inspires you creatively?
Motion graphics, good graphic design, travelling, Cities, other mad music that you hear

Who would you most like to work with?
Dr Dre, Nike, Sony, Birmingham City Council

Why doesn't techno sell in the UK? Do you care?
it does a little. Id like it to sell more than the absolute shite trance music that does sell well. Cant understand why better dance music or hip hop doesnt sell more....It used to in the late eighties and early 90s.....maybe a new fusion music would sell

What are your feelings about commercial trance and hardhouse ripping off Techno's sound?
go for it....all sounds pretty crappy generic to me. have you heard how shit radio 1s dance music shows now are..? Peel is obviously their saving grace though as he is still on top of his music

Top 3 all time albums.
too hard to say

Listening to at the moment.
as much different and varied music as possible care of telewest! hip hop, electronia and rock mainly although there is a fairly large amount of eary 80s New York like ESG in there.


Have you changed or has the music changed?
that is my current dilemma.dont know.what do you think.?

Ask yourself a question you wouldn't like to have been asked.
this one.

www.scandinavianyc.com