After firing across numerous emails and being sent some amazing music, here is what we found out:

CD: Hi Alexis and welcome to Cosmic Disco. Many thanks for agreeing to answer some questions for our readers. As always, lets start at the beginning: Can you tell us where you grew up as a child and one of your earliest musical memories growing up?

I grew up in Paris and spent most of my childhood there until the age of thirteen when I stopped paying attention in school and was sent to boarding school in the UK. (My mother’s English and my dad’s half french half Vietnamese.) My earliest musical memory is listening to the Jackson 5 and later on Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I remember getting my grandfather to buy me the video, which was only available in import at the time and cost an arm and a leg. Watching it and seeing the “making of” blew me away at the time. Stupidly, I was showing stuff to my four year old daughter on youtube a couple of years ago and showed it to her by mistake, since then her nights have never been the same…

A few years later, probably around 86, I discovered Run DMC and early electro sounds, which took me away from the chart music most kids my age, listen to. It was all about break dancing on cardboard mats in the playground and learning to do my first tags. That lasted till around 92, so from say 86-92 I’d spend most of my pocket money buying hip hop lp’s and getting into B-Boy culture.

CD: That’s an interesting background for sure…Can you remember was it about the B-Boy culture that you were attracted to at the time? Are there any stand out LP’s you are particularly fond of that were produced during that period?

The lp’s, which were the most standout at the time, were the first Public Enemy ones and also stuff by the Beastie Boys. I was really into both these bands as they were crossing over many different genres to make hip-hop out of it. I suppose it’s also because these were the bands that were revolutionary at the time and had strong intelligent messages in their lyrics.

After that I got into all different facets of hip-hop but I remember being more into the East Coast sound rather than West coast. From 86- 92 there were so many amazing albums coming out every week that it could take pages to list them all. The thing that attracted me about b-boy culture was definitely the style and the attitude that went with the whole thing, just as much the clothes than the graffiti and dance thing..

Although, in the long run, that’s probably what drove me away from that scene as I started finding the attitude too aggressive and the whole thing quite narrow minded, especially when I started discovering electronic music and going to my first raves.

CD: What were some of the early raves you were going to? Who were the DJ’s that were doing it for you on this scene and how was it you discovered electronic music on the back of Hip Hop?

So, as far as discovering electronic music I suppose it was mainly through friends at school. The first stuff that was turning me on was by the likes of Aphex twin, Future Sound of London and the Orb. I soon ended up at a place called the Whirly Gig which was a very psychedelic and chilled out afternoon party for teenagers. A great contrast to the moody hip-hop scene, which had me, converted quite rapidly… Soon after this, I was going to some quarry parties in Dagenham or further afield (literally) to raves in places like Bath.

These get togethers were know as Goa parties although at the time the music which was being played there (Belgium new-beat, Detroit and German techno, progressive house) didn’t bare that name yet. I guess that the sense of freedom that accompanied these events was something that really attracted me to this new scene along with this strange music and everything else that went with it leading you to this other dimension. My favourite DJ from these parties was called Mike Maguire.

When I moved back to Paris in ‘93 the rave scene was in full expansion and you could do something different every night if you were prepared to listen to different kinds of electronic music. This was when I discovered a much broader spectrum of DJ’s, I remember being blown away by the records played by Andrew Weatherall, the techniques demonstrated by Jeff Mills and the Mad Max atmosphere you’d find in free parties hosted by the Spiral Tribe (who had moved to Paris at this time). This was when I’d just finished school and for a while I seem to have been hoping from one party to the next. Over the years, I’d accumulated a large collection of hip-hop records and at this point, they seemed as if they would be no more use to me. I decided to flog the lot so I would have more money to spend on records that I was hearing at all these raves.

CD: Where were you shopping to find these electronic based records at this time? Would you have already have considered yourself to be a serious crate digger and were you DJ’ing yourself back then?

I was dj’ing here and there but by the time I really got started, all the genres had their own parties- the house music was in the clubs, the harder techno was in the warehouses and the trance was in these strange venues in the countryside. Most of my gigs were at the trance ones and the problem was that I wasn’t really playing the same records as everyone else. Instead of playing most of the goa stuff that was coming out at the time, I was playing a mixture of weird techno from Europe and the US which still had a trancey feel for it but wasn’t as banging as the other stuff people were playing.

This would’ve been in the second half of the nineties and I can’t really say that I was digging all sorts of different styles back then. I was mainly going to Rough Trade in Paris (where a moody Ivan Smagghe was working behind the counter) and London and most of the other electronic music suppliers in those towns. Soon enough though I started getting interested in the roots of dance music and this is when my quest in crate digging began.

CD: Collecting and digging for vinyl is to many enthusiasts an addiction. During this new digital age, especially where many new music consumers wont ever experience vinyl, can you explain what it is about collecting/searching for records you find so appealing?

First of all, I think that collecting is something that is handed down genetically. My father is an art collector and since I can remember has always been hunting for strange artifacts. I guess that’s probably one of the things that gave me a certain knack for chasing after old obscure records. One of the most important aspects of this addiction isn’t even owning the actual records and filing them alongside each other, but actually going out and looking for them.

There’s nothing more rewarding than going on the hunt, on your own or with some friends and finding that one piece of wax that’s been on your want list for years, or even better finding something that neither you or anyone else knows and getting back home to discover an amazing piece of music. As far as digital goes, nothing compares to a real piece of vinyl and it’s artwork. The history that it encompasses along with it’s fading artwork and smell of damp paper will always give a far superior high than any file stored away in a soon to be outdated hard-drive.

CD: Moving on, can you tell us how you became involved in the Tigersushi Bass System?

I hooked up with the guys from Tigersushi pretty much as the label started. Their first releases, along with the in-depth dance music history lessons on the website were in perfect sync to my aspirations at the time. Having many things in common with Joakim and his partner/co-founder Charles Hagelsteen we quickly became friends and planned many projects together. The pair had already started the Tigersushi Bass System as a means of getting their mates together behind the decks and entertaining the dance floor.

The musical agenda was similar to that of the label, blending eclectic sounds from the past with those of the future, always keeping that leftfield edge which made the label famous in the first place. My first introduction to the T.B.S. was when Charles was asked to do a radio show for Radio Campus in Paris. He also invited our friend Vidal Benjamin along and a strong friendship between us grew from there. It went pretty well and Joakim getting a good wind of it suggested we also join in for the next Tigersushi party and hasn’t looked back since. Soon after, Charles sadly left the label and Joakim’s brother Mattias has taken over and joined the team. Together we have now played in many great venues around the world and I’d like to thank my dear friends at the label greatly for that!

CD: Can you tell us of any particularly stand out gigs/performances/venues you have played whilst part of the Tigersushi DJ team?

One of the most memorable gigs I played thanks to Tigersushi was in Montevideo in Uruguay, but it was just me on my own. Joakim had been asked to play there by The Alliance Française but he was already booked somewhere else so he sent me instead. The actual venue was the foyer of the football stadium, it was pretty massive…I guess a couple thousand people turned up and when the sun was coming up on the pitches you could enjoy the show from the terraces. Most of the people there had never heard the weird blend of disco music I was playing as they were more used to straightforward techno, but it still went down very well.

I took my girlfriend along and we stayed for an extra ten days to explore that part of the world. Other than that, I have to say that every time we go abroad with the Tigersushi team, bands included, it’s always a lot of fun even if the parties themselves aren’t always as good as you’d expect. At the end of the day the best part of it, is going away with a bunch of mates and having a night out somewhere completely unknown where everyone is a stranger.

CD: When was it you started to get into production/editing and when were your first releases and with what label/s? How did the progression into music production come about?

I guess my first venture into production was around ‘96-’97 when I was getting into the more techno side of Trance. Me and my music partner at the time Adrien, had been lent a load of synths, drum machines and samplers by this mate of ours Jovan who had some just sitting at home. We started fiddling around with these machines, just for fun and managed to pull together a few tracks. After this we then went on to collaborate with a few more experienced people like Section X and Marcus from X-Dream and started getting a bit better at our craft.

By this time I had many friends with labels and they were all interested in releasing slightly different music than the usual, nosebleed trance. We managed to sign a few tracks which came out quite a while later. Funnily enough, I just received an email from my homie Lovefingers who was curious to know if all the releases on discogs going by my name were related to me! There was also another musical project I was working on in parallel to all this with another friend called Nils. This one was much more open and probably had a lot more potential but we never actually got round to releasing any of the stuff. He lives in L.A. now and hangs out with Harvey! I eventually fell out with Adrien and decided to pack all of that in, putting the hedonistic music making lifestyle aside and trying to move on with life in a more serious way.

Since then, I haven’t really ventured into production as I find it takes up far too much time which I don’t really have at the moment but who knows, i might go back there one day? As far as editing is concerned, I guess that’s just a natural extension to the digging and DJ’ing thing. I’d been cutting and pasting some tracks for a while, just for fun and in a very unprofessional manner, when Gilb’R from Versatile records called me up and told me he was setting up an edit label which would be called les edits du Golem. He’d been told I had some good ones up my sleeve and wanted to check them out. I eventually went round there, played him some and the rest is history…

CD: What are your thoughts on the sheer amount of edits around at the moment? Are edits the saving grace of vinyl sales or are they watering down the original music? Are there people out there who are just out to make a quick buck? Do you see a future for vinyl?

In the same way as with original music, a good edit will always be a good one and the same rule applies for the shit ones, which like original music, there are far too many of. The good thing about them when done properly is that they show good unearthed music to a whole different audience. As for vinyl sales, I think that anything that is of quality will always have a potential market. At the end of the day, if there was plenty of good original music being made I guess many people would be less interested in looking back at what was being done before and moaning about how it was so much better back then. Every period and genres has its diamonds, it’s just a matter of putting the time, effort and mostly patience into finding them. Obviously that rule also applies to all the stuff coming out today.

With the amount of sales generated by selling 500 or so edit 12″, which is more or less the figures one can expect to reach nowadays, you’re hardly going to make a quick buck, unless you have a few releases coming out every month which is hard work…I guess that vinyl will always have a future within a small circle of like minded people who are into owning a nice 12″ object with interesting artwork, liner notes, etc. Something to wrap your hand around which you can look at, feel, listen to and read. If you’re talking about a commercially viable future, unfortunately that doesn’t really look likely…

CD: What artists/acts/bands would you consider to be the ‘Diamonds’ of recent times and do you have any recommendations for which we should be keeping an eye on in the not so distant future?

I guess there’s quite a few so let’s go for the big list then: Any projects involving Thomas Bullock and Eric Duncan, Nacho Patrol, Zomby, Mordant Music, Spectral Empire, Phoreski, Cage and Aviary, Gatto Fritto, TBD, Ronny and Renzo, Premier Rang, Quiet Village, Joakim and the Disco, Matias Aguayo, Unit 4, Cos/Mes, Discossesions, Shakleton…And keep an eye out for Sombrero Galaxy, The Stallions, Bon Voyage, Nenad Markovic, Chok Rock,  Joel Martin and Gerry Rooney’s project, the new RVNG side label and the E.S.P. Institute label. I’m sure I’ve missed loads and I’ll be thinking for the next week or so ah I should of thought of that one and that one…

CD: What about the current French/Parisian underground music scene? In the past France has been at the forefront for beats/hip hop (1980’s) and of course French (disco) house (1990’s). What DJ’s/Clubs/Producers are making waves right now?

Production wise, there’s this young chap who released a 12″ not long ago on Mathematics by the name of Les Aéroplanes. He’s now changed that to Bon Voyage due to the other Belgian act of the same name. The guy is only 21 and he has the quickest left hand in the business. Seeing him play on stage is a truly mind blowing experience and the music he makes is like a weird mixture of space disco and easy listening library stuff. Other than that, I guess Pilooski’s Discodeine project is quite interesting, I’m also really into Turzi, Zombie Zombie and all the stuff released on Tigersushi is always worth more than a listen. Dj wise, besides my man Vidal Benjamin there’s also veteran Romain BNO who rocks my boat.

As usual there’s probably loads I’ve forgotten to name check… Party wise, I find the scene quite sterile in Paris. Unless you’re into that heavily compressed big room French sound, the parties don’t really go off. Unlike the UK there isn’t really a little scene of like-minded people that like going out and listening to quality music. I keep on hoping it will one day exist, but that day has yet to come…

CD: You have been involved in a few of our favourite releases over the last couple of years – The incredibly educational ‘Space Oddities’ series on Permanent Vacation and what has to be one of the contenders for ‘Mix of The Year’ with your ‘Audible Visions‘ mix CD. Firstly, can you shed any light on how the concept for the ‘Space Oddities’ series came about and what was the process involved in getting this series off the ground?

The Space oddities project came about whilst having dinner with my friends from the Gomma label Mathias and Jonas. I was telling them how much I loved their Anti N.Y. comp and how it turned me onto loads of great music and they suggested I did a similar exercise for their label. As I had been picking up loads of library records in the last few years and that the genre hadn’t really been rinsed yet, I thought it would make a nice package, even more so by choosing a specific angle for the comp. As my friend jess had given me quite a bunch of these records after coming across a big collection, I thought I would give him the opportunity to jump on board and do the project with me. Going through all these obscure records we came across loads of things which we recognized from old cosmic tapes, the kind of tracks no one is ever able to id, and some other nice space disco things, so that was the theme for he first one found! Once we had a demo ready I sent them over to Gomma who were really into it but didn’t want to put it out as a physical release, only digital. Jess and myself weren’t into that idea as it was important for us to have a nice package, vinyl, artwork sleeve notes, etc.

Mathias and Jonas immediately understood this and offered to introduce us to Compost or permanent vacation that they knew would be interested in the project. Perm Vac was the most enthusiastic so we signed a deal and the rest is history. The hard work began after that, as part of the deal was that Jess and I did all the clearing. It was a hard task finding and obtaining all the licenses but we managed to pull it off and meet a big bunch of old freaks I the process and now that we know all the right people we have enough material for a few others…

Regarding Audible Visions, this was another collaborative project with a collective of designers called Ill-Studio who I represent in my illustrator agency (www.monsieurlagent.com). The plan was to put together a weirdo mix tape where they would chose the music with me before going on to designing the packaging together. We then made a teaser video for it and we’ve also just received a batch of t-shirts we produced to finish the project off nicely! I hope we’ll do more of these in the future, as it was also a very exiting and fulfilling project.

CD: What are your plans for the coming new year? DJ dates, parties, any releases we can expect to hear in the not so distant future?

I very much enjoyed my first gig at Salon Des Amateurs in Dusseldorf back on the 28th of November. For those of you who don’t know this place it’s meant to be the most forward thinking club in Europe with regards to leftfield music, a small intimate very classy looking venue which is held by a real music lover, a great sound system and an open-minded crowd ready to dance to anything you play. Other than that, I’m also looking forwards to the next Tigersushi related gigs, especially one in March, which will take place in an ice-skating ring.

As far as releases go, I have a couple of compilations up my sleeve which I’m not quite sure what to do with as of yet and I should get working on Audible Visions 2 soonish. Lots of edits floating around my hardrive too and my friend Jonny Nash has asked me to contribute a release to one of his forthcoming projects, which you’ll find out about in the not so distant future.

CD: Outside of music, what do you like to get up to?

Unfortunately, I have to say that music takes up a very small amount of time in my schedule although I have to say that I almost prefer it that way. If I could make a living out of digging for records then I might have a different opinion, but then again there’s so much more to life than just records (he scratches his head and says to himself “is there?”).

My main occupation and source of income comes from my agency that I set up a couple of years ago:
Monsieur Lagent, where I represent a handful of illustrators/graphic designers. This is basically a platform for me to find work for some of my close friends and negotiate better contracts than they would without me. Besides that I’m also a part time journalist for the French music magazine Trax. I guess that covers quite a lot of my schedule, I just have to add that I’m very fond on food be it making it or consuming it and the rest of my time is spent with my soon to be five year old daughter Dizzie and her mother Sandra.

CD: Finally, what’s your idea of perfect happiness?

Spending a lot of time with my family and being able to provide them with everything they need.

Many, many thanks to Alexis for his in-depth insight and time answering our questions. Go check out his compilations, productions, re-edits and of course check him out if he is anywhere in your vicinity playing records.

Alexis Le-Tan – Mixed Behaviour

Tracklist currently unavailable…

Over the last few years we have clocked up dozens of hours online watching the numerous lectures where literally every main player who has contributed to the underground dance music scene over the last 30+ years has been invited to speak at the yearly conferences to share their secrets and experience, whether it’s DJ’s, producers, musicians or engineers, the dedicated musical obsessives over at RBMA have done nothing short of incredible work putting together the academy and publishing the lectures online making them available within the public domain.

After hours of browsing through a shortlisted number of lectures (Soooooo many to choose from!) we finally decided that the king of boogie – Leroy Burgess, would be the feature of our exclusive highlighted video.

For those that want to view the lecture in it’s full glory, click here. Just check out Leroy twitching to get on his keyboard at any opportunity!

The deadline for entrants wishing to attend the 2010 lectures has now passed but keep posted to the academy website for all the latest information as no doubt you are anywhere near London starting February next year you’ll be able to catch a RBMA event at a venue near you.

Mind blowing!

Long time Hardkiss friend Q-Burns Abstract Message interviewed Gavin Hardkiss, asking him about his eclectic style and how the sound of Hawke continues to be shaped by Acid House culture. At the bottom of the interview is an exclusive DJ mix from Gavin Hardkiss himself, showing the contemporary styles and artists making up his current dancefloor playlist.

QBAM: The +++ album finds inspiration in the musical moods and styles found in the electronic/indie hybrids of music from the late 80’s/early 90’s, primarily coming out of England. Everything seems so different now, not just in style but in how music is bought, shared, and listened to. What are the things tying together the music of then with the music of now?

In the early and mid ’80s I was living in the British colony of South Africa.  Well it wasn’t a colony but it had been and culturally it was very influenced by Britain.  Cadbury Chocolate, Rupert The Bear, F.A. soccer and New Romantic music.  I grew up with a fascination for British music and preferred it to American sounds.  So when Acid House culture and the Rave scene hit, I was all over it, even though I was in college in the States at the time.  The guitar driven dance music of The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses seemed so fresh to me.  Keeping with my romantic roots but adding a carefree masculine stagger and a psychedelic funky edge.  There was a silliness to it all that attracted me too. 

You don’t see much of that anymore.  It’s all a bit too serious.  Even when the people aren’t, the music often is.

But, culture moves in cycles and that era did leave a watermark on the sounds of some of my current favorites like MGMT and certainly can be heard on my new album +++.

QBAM: Continuing with the above train of thought, what are some things that are missing now that you’d like to see return?

I’d like to see more maracas and bongos.  I thing there’s a summer of love just around every corner.  There’s so much good music coming from all the corners of the globe.  So many talented producers and musicians in every genre.  It’s all happening at the same time.

QBAM: As you pretty much started making music in the early 90’s and the +++ album draws upon that time, do you feel your creative process and intentions were similar in the recording of this album to those of when you got your start?

I started making music in 1991 when I was 22.   I had never touched an instrument in my life until I bought an EMAX sampler.  With this album I’m definitely trying to make the album I would have made back then had I had the skills and confidence.   Singing takes some balls.  The technology is way better now for making a shitty voice sound good.

QBAM: You tend to do a lot of collaborating on your albums, both in songwriting and your use of musicians. How do you find a collaborator and what do you look for?

I like working with people who have different skills but similar sensibilities to me.  I’m looking for guitarists and other instrumentalists who can play an instrument with sweet intention, cause I can’t.  I have very little interest in collaborating with other producers.

QBAM: Your DJ sets are known to be quite eclectic, though still pleasing to the dancefloor. What shaped your need to take risks as a DJ rather than just concentrating on sure-fire floor-fillers? Have you any tales of resistance you’ve received because of this?

I like to make people dance to songs they’ve never heard before.  I’m not a peak time commercial club DJ, but I’m a pro at setting it up for the heavy hitter to do some damage.  I like breaking it down rather than building it up.  I have no time for drama or ’save the princess from the dragon’ anthems.  As I’m sure you remember, you (Q-Burns Abstract Message) and I were thrown off the decks at the Hard Rock Hotel in Tampa a few years back ’cause it wasn’t banging.  I don’t bang.  I caress. 

QBAM: Tell us a little bit about this DJ mix.

It’s a good little taste of what I like to play right now.  Swishing between some balearic disco influences and minimal funky sounds.

QBAM Anything else?

I’m in the clouds … never coming down.

You can listen to the Hawke album +++, out now on Eighth Dimension Records, at this link: http://soundcloud.com/eighth-dimension/sets/hawke-eighth-dimension-records-8th026d

Hawke (Gavin Hardkiss) – Cosmic Disco Exclusive Mix

• How Why – #9
• Kaoru Inoue – The Secret Field (Todd Terje Remix)
• Sleazy McQueen -ft. Anne Montoro – Anna Due (Cole Mix)
• Simply Yes (Magic Tagik Remix)
• Candy Dealers – Street Delight
• Greg Campbell ft. Ms Audry – Deep Inside (JPhlips Dirtybird Remix)
• Ozy – One Way Jesus (Afterhours Mix)
• Eriella Mangelt – Sugar Nights (Original)
• Franz Ferdinand – Ulysses (Beyond The Wizard of the Sleeve Mix)
• Lumo – Tessio
• Leo Tignino – Into The World
• Rodriguez Jr. – Lila
• Klimouts – Down to Earth (MyMy Monterrey Wash Remix 1)
• Marbert Rocel – Beats Like Birds

Felix has also kindly provided an exclusive mix to get you in the mood for his debut Manchester appearance which is this coming Friday 19th June. Our last event in conjunction with Cutloose (MK7 – December 2008) was stuff of legend and once again this is a FREE EVENT! which is likely to be a roadblock, so in order to ensure your entry get your free tickets by registering your details here. Also check out the Facebook event page for more info.

Cosmic Disco: So Felix, welcome to Cosmic Disco and many thanks for agreeing to answer some questions for us! Firstly, can you give all the readers a brief introduction on yourself right from your early days as a youngster developing an interest in music. Can you tell us, what is your earliest musical memory?

Hey guys, Thanks for having me on your site! My pre-teen musical memories came courtesy of my eldest brother. I remember going in to his room when I was about 6, and he would have been about 20, he’d have a wall of records and would ask what I wanted to listen to. I would always go for Steve Miller band, more than likely atracted to the record cover. He also took me to see David Bowie in concert when I was 10.

My first forays into the kind of music that dominates my life these days would have started when I went to my first Tonka party when I left school. I instantly became a bit of a Tonka disciple and would go wherever the party happened to be each weekend, trying to track down the records I had heard in the weeks between.

The first time I went to their infamous monthly Monday party at the Zap in Brighton I got down nice and early, but was so busy chatting with friends on the beach I didn’t notice the queue growing, and actually never got in, after then I did my best to turn up with either the soundsystem or the D.J. to ensure entry.

Cosmic Disco: Wow, Bowie at 10 years old, that surely must have left a lasting impression on you! Do you have any recollections from that evening as to the theatrical aspects/standout tracks he performed? What was the venue/year?

It was the Serious Moonlight tour at the Milton Keynes Bowl in ‘83. He played all the classics of that time, Let’s Dance, China Girl etc. I think the one I enjoyed the most though was Rock’n'Roll suicide which was probably one of the few Ziggy Stardust tracks he did, the crowd went nuts, but I guess the crowd always wants to hear the classics, and Let’s dance wasn’t a classic yet!. I think my lasting impression though was being in a field with 60,000 people with a kick arse sound etc. I’d never been to anything like that so thought it was all pretty cool. Obviously I was tiny at the time, but my 3 older brothers took turns in sitting me on there shoulders so I got a pretty good view of the whole thing.

Cosmic Disco: So when was it you started dabbling in music production yourself? What kind of things were you doing at the start? Edits? Full tracks? Playing in bands?

I never played in a band, I was always much more of a record collector and then D.J. The first record I ever made was an edit I did with Nick the Record and Mark Eagling called the Drive which we released on Recycled records in ‘96. It was during the European Cup and we had just watched England beat Holland 4-1 (we actually etched the score into the runout groove on the record). We followed that up by doing a remix of Da Rebels ‘House Nation Under A Groove’ which we released on Ugly Music.

I did quite a few edit releases around that time, but didn’t really get into producing original music properly until I moved up to London in 2000.

Cosmic Disco: So back in the early 90’s you relocated to Brighton and you are running your monthly ‘Slack’ parties (Held on a Monday). Can you tell us a little about the dance scene at ‘Slack’ during this period? While London and Manchester would be credited as the catalyst cities for the explosion of Acid House in the UK, what was happening in your neck of the woods? Did you have your own agenda or were London/Manchester influencing what was happening in other cities? What DJ’s did you have playing and what would you consider to be classic ‘Slack’ tracks?

I have to confess I’ve never been to Manchester. The scene I was involved with in London all seemed to be Cambridge exiles (Tonka). I did come into the scene a bit late for the big Acid House boom though, I didn’t really start going to Acid House parties until 1990. Tonka used to do a monthly Monday night at the Zap club in Brighton, and that was probably one of the reasons I moved down there.

We started Slack in 1992, by then Tonka had stopped doing their monthly in Brighton, and I think that was probably one of the reasons we started our night. The first big party I did when I moved to Brighton I used D.I.Y. from Nottingham for the sound, they seemed to be one of the few crews still doing outdoor parties that weren’t playing mental techno. So a few of their D.J.s would come and play for us, but it would mainly be our own residents and friends, all people I had met at the Tonka parties. Some of the D.J.’s you might now have heard of through what they did since: Nick the Record, Chalky (from Space Cat records), Lee Yule (Session), and Placid (Acid House.com).

Back then we weren’t really relying on big names, we got our crowd more from a reputation for throwing good parties. We tried to bring together the free party scene and the club scene by starting the night in a club (which would always finish at 2 due to the licensing laws in Brighton at that time), and then have an afterparty either on the beach, or in a warehouse in the winter.

Some Slack classics off the top of my head were tracks like Mondee Oliver – ‘Make Me Want You’, Risque Rhythm – ‘Essence Of A Dream’, Piere’s Fantasy Club ‘Got The Bug’, Hugh Masacella – ‘Don’t Go Lose it’, stuff like that. They were pretty messy parties and more likely than not there would be a bottle of toxic punch circulating on the dance-floor, so the more trippy tracks usually used to go down quite well. We also used to put quite a ridiculous amount of energy into dressing the club completely differently each month with different themes for each floor of the 3 floor club.

Cosmic Disco: Did your initial idea of combining the (More mainstream) nightclub fraternity and the (More alternative) free party scenesters result in any interesting situations/scenarios? Looking at this retrospectively you were bringing together what can be considered two totally separate groups of society (With totally different attitudes) who wouldn’t have ordinarily socialized and associated with other only a few years previously. Was this a conscious descision on your part and if so, what was your motivation? Do you think the attitude shown during that major youth culture movement of early 90’s has been in someway passed on to the youth of today?

I’d like to think the parties brought together different groups of society, but it never really seemed like such a brave social experiment. I was first influenced by the free party scene, which always seemed to have a real mix of people anyway, definitely groups of different minded people seemed much more likely to mix at a free rave than some exclusive club, and I was pretty inspired by that inclusive element of the scene.

I think the main motivations behind doing the club first were a) we could get a bit of money to cover costs (never really fancied the idea of asking people to pay at a beach party) and b) by the time the club kicked out we’d have a big enough mass of people all going down the beach/warehouse that it would be more difficult for the police to shut us down, as we’d have a bit of momentum going by the time they turned up. I think our line quite often would be ‘look officer if you shut us down now there’s going to be a few hundred people, most of whom don’t live in Brighton, roaming around your streets with nothing to do, if you let the party carry on till the trains start running, we’ll contain them all here for you’.

I’m not really sure if a scene like that exists anymore, I hope it does, but I spend much more of my time in clubs these days. I think if there is a scene like that now, it’s a lot more underground, because of the increased powers the police got after the Criminal Justice Act. I’m sure the scene influenced what’s going on these days in some way, but I wouldn’t want to say how.

I suppose one comparison these days to what was going on back then can be seen in the way the internet works, people meeting on blogs and chatting and sharing information who might not get an opportunity to meet otherwise; and the file sharing that people do could possible be compared to the free parties that we were doing in a kinda finger up to the man, power to the people kinda way. It’s a pretty depressing comparison though, as although I do love the internet, and can’t imagine how we’d live without it, it doesn’t come anywhere near to what was happening back then.

Cosmic Disco: What are your thoughts on the music blogs, sharing music via mp3’s and whatnot? Is this something that is damaging the music industry or does the music industry as a whole need to look at it’s business model and take steps accordingly? We all read/hear that physical music sales have almost come to a standstill with certain formats almost exstinct (i.e. vinyl) but do you think there is anything particular the industry should/could be doing that they aren’t at present?

I think the whole blogsphere thing although being quite an interesting place, can also sometimes be a refuge for some very lonely people. Nothing beats physical interaction, and I think maybe some quite social inept people lurk around these blogs. Likewise I think some of the trends that are spurned on blogs can be quite nerdy, blog-disco and chat-room-house don’t always bare much connection with what works in a real disco or warehouse party.

That’s only my cynical opinion though, a more positive view can see them as great places for sharing information, meeting like-minded people who you wouldn’t get a chance to interact with otherwise, and for finding out about stuff thats going on the other side of the country or even the other side of the world. Blogs are best when they inspire you to go and hear a D.J. at a party. If the blog is the party, that’s quite sad.

The music industry has always claimed to be under threat from people sharing their music; remember the ‘home taping is killing music’ logo that record sleeves used to have on them?. I used to tape loads of records before I could afford them, and if anything home taping fertilized my love for music. I think these days real music lovers might hear something for the first time by downloading an MP3 but the sound quality of vinyl (and C.D. to a lesser degree) is so much better than MP3, that people do still go out and and buy other formats.

I think the real thing that is effecting the music industry is that people aren’t making as good music as they used to; or to put it another way, there is so much good music already made, that buying older classics second hand can often be easier and better than trawling through loads of average new stuff. Proof of this can be seen in the current glut of edits/bootlegs, the majority of which I’m sure outsell new music.

I’d like to see the record industry re-invigorated by a new music format that sounded better than records (or at least as good). When C.D.’s where introduced I think there was a bit of a boom as lots of people re-bought there collections in the new format. It’s been proved that C.D.’s aren’t as good as they were hyped to be in both sound quality and durability, and the ease with which they can be copied has obviously had it’s own effect on sales. For ages there’s been talk of new format’s that sound better than C.D.’s but the industry can’t seem to decide which one to back. If they created something better than C.D. that could actually compete with records, people might re-buy their collections in the new format (or at least buy it new, rather than track down second hand records). This new revenue could then be filtered down to new acts who might never sell as many records as the classics, but there will always be an interest in new acts because people still like going to see live shows.

Not sure whether this would work though as so many people now listen to music on i-pods and other MP3 players, that they can’t really appreciate the sound of a better format. Again this is a very cynical solution, I don’t really want or think records will ever be bettered. The glut of edits and bootlegs should be telling the big record companies something though. Maybe they could just start utilizing their back catalogues more, doing official re-issues that could compete with the bootleggers, and maybe getting some remixes done. I think the revenues from re-issues isn’t going to be huge, but let’s face it a lot of record shops and distributers would probably go bust if they didn’t sell edits and bootlegs, so maybe some of the bigger companies need to look at that and get involved. I would rather buy a good quality re-issue where the artist might make a bit, so if the major record companies had a grasp on what music is actually sought after, they could make a bit of money from the music catalogues they already own.

Cosmic Disco: Very interesting…so, paradoxically, as technology has widened our scope and potential opportunities it’s also making us somewhat more insular. Moving on, let’s talk about some of your own productions – Do you have a specific method when laying down new material? i.e. do you lay down the beat first, work on a melody etc. How have your production techniques developed over the years and what does your current studio set-up consist of?

I’ve got a load of different techniques for production that vary track to track, I like to stay up to date with new software and programs but also like to use analogue stuff to give tracks a bit of dirt, but there’s no real formula or set method to my madness. Over the years I’ve worked with 16 track reel to reel synced up with a pc (that was a pain in the arse), to editing with samplitude, or producing with an atari and cubase, logic, and now a little bit with ableton and pro-tools. I’d have to say Logic is my workstation of choice though.

As far as out board, I love my MPC 3000, and some other drum machines like the Roland stuff (808, 707, and 727), and I’ve got an Oberhiem DX that’s great, but a real bugger to sync to anything else. I’ve got a selection of nice keyboards and boxes; my favorite probably being the 303, 101, Korg MX10, and Nord modular. I’d probably say the best bit of kit I’ve got is the telephone numbers of some people who can play their instruments well! I’ve made some interesting stuff just fiddling around, but when someone comes in and lays down some sick solo over a groove you’ve been toying with it can take the track to a level I just wouldn’t be able to reach on my own, no mater how much dope gear I’ve got.

Each collaboration demands different methods of working. For instance with the ‘Dedication’ stuff I’m doing with these guys from Japan I have to be really quite methodical, because we don’t get to spend much time in the studio together. I’ll get together maybe half a dozen beat tracks from a variety of sources, maybe some samples, maybe some loops I’ve programed in my studio on my drum machines (usually a combination of both); then I’ll go in the studio with them for an evening or two when I’m out there on tour, and lay parts over the top. I’ll then spend the next few weeks editing out the best parts and working out an arrangement. Luckily for me these guys are such great musicians that I’m rarely at a loss for ideas after each session.

Then there’s the work I do as ‘Fist Club and The Milky Mouth Orchestra’ (with Gerry Rooney), which tends to be more a crazy ‘throw loads of samples and noises together and see what sticks’ way of working, neither of us are really musicians, but we have a good relationship in the studio and like the same kind of things, so there’s a lot more experimentation, but we can come out with some really interesting results.

The L.H.A.S. Inc. stuff I do with Jamie Read (Larry Heard Appreciation Society Inc.) is inspired by that old school Chicago sound, so we use some of the same techniques they used over there to get that same kind of sound, i.e. lots of old Roland gear all synced together to get that Chicago style groove; and then once the boxes have got it going on, we’ll then bounce it down into the computer and arrange and mix it.

Some of the remixes I’ve done recently, for instance the one I just did for D.J.History where I remixed Telemusic, I ended up taking a load of samples from the original track (cause we had no parts), tightened them up in Ableton, and then ran Ableton as a slave off Logic while I and my friend Junior Kiam (who I also do stuff with as The Fanglers) did overdubs over the stripped back groove until we had something I could start arranging into a new track.

The stuff I do with producers like Toby Tobias or Ray Mang because we both kind of have the same skills we usually take it in turns either in front of the computer or making the tea going ‘yeah I like that, or nah that bit sucks’ until we can agree it’s something that works.

Cosmic Disco: You’ve been involved in quite a phenomenal body of work over the years [Details here]. So much so that it’s difficult for us to pinpoint a particular highlight, but can you tell which track/s are your personal favourites and for what reason?

That’s a tough one, a little like asking a parent which is their favorite child. ‘The Drive’ will always have a special place in my heart, just cause it was the first release I did. Other than that, I’m really into the tracks I’ve been doing with Dedication, although most of that hasn’t been released yet, as we’re still looking for a label that can release the whole album. I think the new music I’m working on is usually the stuff I’m most into, as I think I’m still getting better at what I do.

Cosmic Disco: The ‘Dedication’ project sounds very interesting. What is the vibe on these tracks? It sounds very organic with live instrumentation. Is there anywhere we can get hold of any earlier ‘Dedication’ releases or hear samples of any of the new material via Myspace or anywhere else on the internet? Have the other musicians you are working with on this project featured on any other work we can find?

The primary musicians are Tsyoshi (Guitar and Bass) who also plays for Cro-Magnon; and Botch, who plays keys for a number of bands out in Japan, but I think this is the only group he actually records with. The tracks are quite varied, some Disco stuff, some Afro, one Acid track, a kinda Rockey one and a few downtempo tracks. It’s great to work with musicians who are so versatile.

You can check the last released track, ‘Pito Deep’ here

We released a 3 track E.P. on Cynic: details here and the first track we recorded came out on an album I did for a label in Japan a few years back, which you can check here and we’ve got another 6 tracks done but we’re getting some more vocals recorded before we try looking for a label to release them all as an album; so not sure when it will all see the light of day as yet. This is their MySpace.

Cosmic Disco: Not only do you create and produce music but you’ve also been DJ’ing for over 17 years. Which came first, playing other people’s music or making your own? Do good producers make for good DJ’s? What qualities do top DJ’s possess and which other DJ’s do you admire/respect?

I’ve been D.J.ing nearly 20 years now, long before I started making my own music, and still think of myself more of a D.J. than a producer.

I started making tracks specifically for the dancefloors I was playing for, but I think it’s a shame that some D.J.’s are overlooked cause they haven’t produced records. I also think it’s strange that people go to hear producers D.J. because they’ve made some records, when they might be terrible D.J.’s. Although D.J.’s and producers both need to know a good track, I think they have very different skills, and quite often just because your good at one of them doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be any good at the other.

To be a good D.J. you need to be intuitive of the dancefloor, and have an understanding of the energy in a room and the programming of the whole night, so you know which records to play when.

My favorite D.J.’s alive today are Harvey and Baldelli; but I was very lucky to have heard Larry Levan a few times, the best time being when he played at Harvey’s night Moist; that was proper.

Cosmic Disco: So, your making your Manchester debut with us and Cutloose at The Roadhouse on Friday 19th June. What can people expect from you? What kind of genres are you playing atm or is it a case of playing by ear on the evening? Also, what formats do you DJ with?

Really looking forward to this party as I’ve heard nothing but good reports.

Having never played in Manchester before I’ll probably bring quite a few different things with me and play the party by ear. The usual staples of my sets are any new things I’m digging out at the moment, some classic acid and disco, and maybe a few odder things if the crowd seem open enough and up for it.

I prefer vinyl; but it’s handy to have the flexibility to play unreleased stuff on C.D’s. I tried the laptop thing for a while a few years ago, but although you can do some quite interesting stuff with them, I once had a little bit of a technical glitch with one in Japan, and when I put a record on and shut the computer down the whole dancefloor went nuts and I haven’t used a laptop to D.J with since!

Cosmic Disco: Some acid eh? Over the last 12 months we have noticed more and more DJ’s seem to be incorporating original acid house tracks into their sets as well as hearing the sounds of the Roland TB-303, TR-808 and 909 and Future Retro 777 on new productions. Is the ‘Acid’ sound coming full circle again? Speaking of which we have heard a rumour of an Acid House themed tent at Glastonbury this year that you are involved with. Can you give us any more details?

Yeah I’ve always been partial to a bit of acid, still sounding fresh after 20 odd years, and it nice to be able to play it to a new generation who may not have heard it first time round. Also good to see more producers dusting off their 303’s (I’ve actually just started some new acid tracks with the Idjut Boys for their Droid label that I think are sounding pretty dope). This year at Glastonbury I have the pleasure of playing again at the New York Downlow.

When I played there 2 years ago it was crowned Glastonbury’s best afterparty by NME. If you make it to Glastonbury you should be able to spot us as our tent looks like a derelict 3 story building.

In the past 2 years at the Downlow they’ve tried to re-create the vibe of a 70’s disco, but this year it’s all about 88, so it’s going to be O.G. house time (No doubt with a bit of disco still thrown in as I’ll be playing with the Horse Meat Disco boys among others).

Cosmic Disco: If you weren’t involved in music, what would you most likely be doing?

I used to want to be a painter, I was pretty good when I was younger, and I think it’s something I’d like to go back to when my hearing goes.

Cosmic Disco: Outside of music, what do you like to get up to?

I like cooking for friends, and I’m getting quite into surfing these day’s (Although I’m still quite crap). The guy’s from Dedication had a board made for me when I was last out in Japan, so I’m looking for any excuse to take it out these days.

Cosmic Disco: What’s your idea of perfect happiness?

I think you need to be healthy to be happy, so I try to eat well and do a bit of exercise during the week to make up for the hedonistic weekends I generally have. I’m really lucky to be able to see people enjoy my work, be that D.J.ing or my music, and that brings me a lot of pleasure. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and old friends.

Cosmic Disco: Finally… If you could create your ideal ‘Supergroup’ from artists alive or dead, who would you have playing what instrument and if you could choose any location/venue where would they perform?

Tony Allen on drums, Cerrone on percusion, Robbie Shakespear on Bass, Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder on key’s, Bobby Byrd on Rhythm guitar, Carlos Santana on Lead Guitar, Love Unlimited Orchestra string section, Martha Wash & Izora Armstead on Backing vocals, Joe Cocker and Sylvester lead vocals. Playing daybreak on Black Rock Beach in Brighton.

Cosmic Disco would like to thank Felix for his time giving us such detailed answers and if this wasn’t enough find below an exclusive ‘Cosmic Disco’ mix to get you in the mood for his Manchester debut on Friday. See you down the front!

Felix Dickinson – Cosmic Disco Exclusive Mix

Track list currently unavailable. Get spotting!

As a result we donned our stalking hats, tracked down the guys responsible and obtained an exclusive mix and grilled them about the label, music and life in general.

We spoke to Mattias who kindly answered our questions:

Cosmic Disco: For those of us that aren’t up to speed can you please tell us a little background info on Lugnet Records? Who are the people responsible, how you guys know each other and why you decided to start the label?

The idea behind Lugnet came about almost precisly a year ago by Emil Broomé and myself [Mattias]. We stumbled into each other at an afterparty six years ago and from there on we’ve been unseperatable. Emil is, and has always been on the edge of anything generating sound and I suppose I have also. Now we even live together, on top of our favorite bar and hangout; Tempo, with sphinx, my beloved and mystical cat from the ancient times.

Both Emil and I have been DJ’ing around the region for around the last 10 years. We love sound and frequencies and the space between with no particular basis of what kind of music or genre it is as long as it touches our souls.

I have been doing edits and remakes of songs for many years so we basically decided to put some of those we liked the best out on our own label. The name Lugnet, translates to calmness in Swedish and came about last summer during a peaceful semester in Bingsjö, Dalarna in the middle part of Sweden.

As soon as I came home from that relaxation we started putting together the artwork and a plan for at least four releases. The first two releases are remakes by myself and from here on we want to put out a few local acts that have a modern, acoustic, psychdelic sound with a Swedish touch.

We really would like to see this music released on vinyl, so that is one of the reasons of starting the label, but also because there were so many sounds I had in my bag that I wanted to share with the rest of the universe.

Cosmic Disco: The Scandinavian invasion of the UK underground music scene has been gathering pace for a few years (Lindstrom & Prins Thomas, Todd Terje & Studio to name but only a few!) and looks as though it has no intention of stopping just yet. Do you have any explanation as to why Scandinavian artists are so prolific? Can you also give us any tips (Other than yourselves of course!) as to what Scandinavian artists you think we should be keeping a close eye on in the near future?

Well I guess when the Norweigan new sounds started to spread that definitely had an impact on bands and producers around the region but as I see it there has always been a tradition going back to the 60’s and 70’s rock, prog, folk and jazz movements where especially in Sweden, artists were mixing up foreign influences with their own sounds.

That I think, is the main foundation to what we are hearing today. I would love and hope to hear more new sounds emerging from the Scandinavian woods.

A few artists to have your eyes (And ears) open for is the one man band Ved and our  local heros Vidderna.

Cosmic Disco: So, you guys do your fair share of DJ’ing. Where can we find you spinning and can you give us any insight as to what the underground club scene is like in Sweden? What are the best parties and what is happening right now?

In Malmö there are a few different constellations of people doing some exciting stuff. Emil is with and behind many of them. There are the collective ‘Stephen Hawkings‘, who also run a blog with the same name.

Also in a small basement located in one of Malmös oldest and most genuine bars ‘Club Underlandet’ takes place every Friday. This is a small intimate space where we are four people playing everything from obscure Kraut to Disco, Psych and Detroit house. One night legend Gerry Rooney came by and turned the place into a mayhem.

Then there are ‘Kristallen’, the remains of the already legendary club ‘The Space Between’ who once a month turns club ‘Babel’ into a galatic far away space, inviting people to the most ambitious decoration and obscure music around. Last thursday together with Stephen Hawkings they had Richard Norris lifting the roof.

Also, Kontra-Musik have been a provider of quality electronic music for years now. A little bit further up north in Göteborg Anton Klint runs ‘Styrbord Babord’, also known as the disco boat, where most of the interesting names come and play every weekend. 

Cosmic Disco: We loved the Lugnet Vol.1 & 2 12″ vinyl releases. [BUY HERE FROM COOL IN THE POOL and LUGNET or RECORDMANIA] The series features a spacey/cosmic sound on the opening release and progresses to a more heavy psychedelic edge on Vol. 2. Can you give us a heads up on vol.3? When is it due to drop and featured tracks/artists etc.?

Well, thank you for that! At the moment we have plans for another two releases but as we decided to distribute Lugnet no.01 and 02 ourselves, we haven’t really yet reached the masses.

As for now you can buy them at the local recordshops in Malmö or from us through our Myspace, and now also from Lenny at ‘Cool In The Pool’ (See above link).

We are still waiting for some more respons from the bigger fishes but if everything goes well we have some newly produced prog rock from Sweden we want to release and I also have a few more exciting edits up my sleeve. LUGNET DISCOGS INFO

Cosmic Disco: As DJ’s/Promoters, playing records and hosting parties would you say that musical selections and choices for guest DJ’s are becoming more ’similar/formulaic’ or do you think the ‘underground’ is still in fact underground? I suppose what i am really trying to say is that with modern technologies such as the internet, what was previously obscure and/or rare is much easier to find/discover. Do you think this is having any effect on how we play/find our music and how we organise our parties?

Wow, that is a huge and complicated question.

Although the music is more available it still needs to filter through a selector. Neither would I say that the new generation of clubs are any better or more interesting because of the digital access of music.

The technology doesnt change peoples taste or the way people feel for music. Different blogs are doing a great job with sharing music, tips and thoughts and I hope this can reach more peolple outside the obvious circle of music lovers.

One thing is for sure, and that is that the new generation doesn’t respect and see the value in the vinyl; for it richness in sound, how it feels and smells and how by purchasing it or not it effects the industry.

I know many would say diffrently and it is now impossible to slowdown the technology. I guess it comes down to a philosophy in the end…

Cosmic Disco: Do you feel the speed of which technology is developing is a good or bad thing, both in and out of the music industry? Can you give us any insight into what is your/Lugnet’s philosophy?

Technology will either destroy or save the world.

However, you have to ask yourself music wise; ‘Are you controling the machines or are the machines controling you?

Lugnet’s philosophy is exactly what the name Lugnet stand for in Swedish, The calmness.

Therefore, I guess that is one element of our philosophy is that you shouldn’t hurry to much. Neither in life or for that case with technology.

Our friend Ved has written an article at his myspace tackling just this very question and I would also like to refer to those words that we share: READ ARTICLE HERE

Cosmic Disco: What technology are you using to create your edits and musical productions? Can you give us any insight as to how to work on your tracks and the processes involved?

Well, all the edits I’ve done through the years have been almost entierly sample based but in a few cases I’ve put additional pads or sounds on top.

Me and my friend Ulf built a studio last summer but we haven’t had so much money to buy the equipment that we want yet to put in there. For now we have a few synths and a drum machine that is used to make other kinds of music.

I record all sounds in the studio because we have a great Motu sound card in place. Then most of my edits are done in Cubase on my laptop (At home) with the help of my little korg midi synth.

The process itself is usually at night when everything else around is quiet. I take out some beers and go through my records or borrow a track from a friend that I would like to reconstruct.

Editing for me is a result of lost songs that need to be retouched for one reason or another. Partly, the way the oldschool disco edits were done, where you build your own breaks and also make the intro and outro more mixable but also to merge features from three or more tracks to construct into a whole new song.

Cosmic Disco: We know you guys are also planning on releasing original material from new artists but what are your thoughts on the ‘Edit’ scene at present? Do you think it has become over saturated, it’s almost as if ‘Edits’ has become a genre of it’s own. Is the sheer volume of edits currently available devaluing the original music in some way?

Hmm. Like any genre when new ideas or new sounds surface a wave will follow. Within that wave there are always releases to question.

We really dont have an opinion of the edit scene more then we really like alot of stuff that some people dig up and redo for the greater good.

Cosmic Disco: OK, final couple of questions.. If you could form your ideal ‘Supergroup’ from any artist living or dead, past or present, who would you have playing what instrument and what venue/location?

Wlodek Gulgowski on Synthesizers, Herbie Hancock on Piano, Klaus Dinger & Max Roach playing Drums, Rebop Kwaku Baah doing Percussion, Okay Temiz on the Magic Pyramid, Björn Jason Lindh blowing the Flute, Reine Fiske strumming the guitar. On vocals we have Dr. John & Nina Simone. Soundeffects: Holger Czukay and Else Marie Pade. Bass: Charlie Haden, Trumpet: Jon Hassell & Marcus Belgrave, Harp: Alice Coltrane, Kora: Mamadou Diabate & Marimba: Steve Reich, all produced under the watchful eye of Conny Plank. To set the scene the gig would be on the roof of the Mayan Temple ‘The Pyramid of The Magician’ in Mexico or in our backyard.

Cosmic Disco: What does ‘Perfect Happiness’ mean to Lugnet?

A worldwide higher conciousness…

Lugnet - Det Härstammar Hemifrån

We recently caught up with Eric and couldn’t resist firing a few quick fire questions in his direction.

Being ever the gent, here’s what Eric had to say:

Cosmic Disco: Where did you grow up as a child and what are your earliest musical memories?

Los Angeles. Music was always around since i can remember. 1000’s of records & parties at the house.

Me snatching beers off the tables when i was real little, before 5 years old almost every weekend either my parents or their friends would have a party and i would be around.

This was early 70’s action.

Cosmic Disco: Haha, so the drinking/partying started early on then… So, when was it you first started to play around with music production? Were you in any high school bands as a teenager? What artists/groups were you listening to during your formative years?

OK… Well, as far as music groups/artists in the early 80’s I was into lots of different stuff.

Breaking and popping was just happening in Los Angeles so the music that went with that was around. Things like Soulsonic and other cool electro instrumentals that i don’t remember the names of but also the rock stuff.

I remember goin’ up to the local record store ‘Rainbow Records’ in Silver Lake in 1983 and buying The Clash ‘Combat Rock’ album when it came out. I got it for my 6th grade graduation party at school that week but it got vetoed in favor of Midnight Star ‘No Parking on the Dance Floor’ fair enough…

Then there was a new phase of hip hop emerging… RUN DMC, Dougie Fresh, LL etc. and that was really grabbing me. Also at my new junior high school they would put on dances every Friday during lunch time for 50 cents and they had a DJ and he would play all sorts of cool shit. I remember he always mixed Erotic City (Prince) into White Horse (Laid Back) or the other way around, every single party. This was around 84/85 but at the same time I was getting into skateboarding and graffiti.

This is when I met Paul T who does the Sarcastic Disco with Harvey. Paul had a DJ set up at his parents house and we all used to go over to his place and drink cheap wine & mix and scratch records. Double copies of Cybetron ‘Clear’ and ‘R9′ and things like that.. What was that one??? ‘It’s Time’ Allynafish or something like that on Cutting Records. Also at this time around 85/86 there was a 3rd phase of hip hop coming in which I think the best phase. Groups like BDP & Public Enemy, UltraMagnetic and that shit was unreal and nobody was into that sort of stuff in L.A. There was a radio station then called KDAY but they weren’t playing the good stuff.

Paul’s brother used to take trips to NYC and bring back cassette tapes of Red Alert’s radio show on KISS FM in New York, now that was the real deal! So we were up on everything in L.A. before anybody else. I remember we went to see Public Enemy play their very first show in L.A. and they were the opening act for LL Cool J. It was 1987 at the Hollywood Palladium, I was 16 years old and I was hooked…

Cosmic Disco: So around the late eighties/early nineties you must’ve started hitting the LA club scene with Paul and your crew? What parties were you hitting and what DJ’s were doing the business for you back then? Was the Chicago House scene making an impact in your area around this time?

Well, we were hitting the backyard parties, and the clubs in the late 80’s. There was one club we used to always go to on Tuesday nights in Hollywood. It was first called ‘Water The Bush’ then changed it’s name to ‘United Nations’. It was put on by Ice T and Afrika Islam and I think it was a spin off of the old Radio Tron that they used to do in the mid 80’s (See the movie – Breakin’). Man, UN was the spot! It was a hip hop club but Afrika Islam was playing some amazing music. All the great old school breaks that were made famous by him and Bambatta back in their early days in NYC.

So I was getting a first hand lesson by one of the originals and we were there almost every Tuesday from like ‘88 till ‘90 and they would have special guest performances coming out of nowhere. They would stop the music and Afrika would get on the mic and say ‘tonight we have a special perfomance by our friends…. ‘The Jungle Brothers’ or ‘De La Soul’, It was whoever was in town that week would just pop in and get on the mic. Fucking great club!

Towards the end they added a ‘House’ room but it was always empty then I stopped going sometime in 1990 as it got really popular and also ‘Gangster Rap’ was really catching on, which would be the 4th phase I guess…

Cosmic Disco: The 4th Phase… I guess this is when Hip-Hop went all Yacht Rock, hehe… (Refers to the G-Funk episode of the spoof ‘Yacht Rock’ series) Anyway…Were you throwing your own parties, if so when did they start and was there anything you were trying to achieve with them in the early days? Where were they and can you kinda describe them for us?

At that time I was jus being a kid and havin fun, no party throwing, just partying, not any djing at all, just hangin out. I didn’t pick it up again til ‘94 or so when I ended up in Sydney, Australia for about 6 months where I met Mario Caldato (Beastie Boys) down there. He stayed with me and turned me on to soooo much music, what a cool dude!

Then I came back to L.A. In ‘95 and was really getting into djing. Paul T said there was this DJ from london playing up in San. Fran. and we should go check him out so we grabbed some pills and some LSD and headed north where we went to this dark club with a big ‘Turbo Sound’, sound system. On acid and good California exctasy those speakers looked pretty wild.

Now I had been hitting the afterhours dance music parties in L.A. and they were basicly shit music and just a place to hang out late so I was expecting more of the same, then this UK DJ gets on and plays for like 5+ hours and played all across the board. Totally blew me away and I thought, ‘That’s how your supposed to do it!’

That was very early in 1996 and the DJ was Harvey. Good times…

Cosmic Disco: So is this how you hooked up with Thomas (Bullock) and started to DJ seriously, through Harvey and these parties?

I met Thomas & Harvey at the same time in early 1997 in L.A.

I was already living in NYC but Paul T. threw a party in L.A. (The first time Harvey ever played in L.A.) and he needed someone who had pull in California as nobody knew who Harvey was in the U.S really… (Pre interweb) So he hired Thomas to open up.

Since Thomas had pull from Wicked Crew in SF and Thomas had just moved to NYC as well, we hung in L.A. then connected in NYC and I was already full time DJ at this point. Playing and drinking in bars and clubs in NYC about 4 to 6 nights a week.

Myself & Thomas used to hang out and drink and have generally just have fun, then about ‘98 we took that spirit behind the decks together and as they say, the rest is history…

Cosmic Disco: 4-6 nights a week, that’s full time alright! How would you describe your DJ style? Looking back to your early influences there’s surely gotta’ be some hip-hop techniques in there somewhere?

My DJ style? Shit man, better to ask somebody who’s heard me a few times…

I just like to play tunes that I like, trusting my own tastes, not so much following the map of safe pre approved records. Some things I play might be on that map but thats not where I found them.

I’m also halfway out there with the party people, drinking and shouting just as much as everbody else at the party.

Cosmic Disco: And don’t forget raving on the dancefloor with the punters! (Referring particularly to Rub n Tug’s visit to Manchester playing @ El Diablo’s Social Club a couple of years back…) How much time did/do you spend digging for your records?

Of course… Do you mean digging through my shelves before a gig or digging in general at the shops? Over the years I’ve put in some serious time digging through the record bins, crates, basements etc..

Before gigs it all depends on the party itself. How long i’m playing, where i’m playing etc. etc.

Cosmic Disco: Yeah, digging through the bins… Over the years, from all the countries you’ve visited is there anywhere specific you remember finding record after record of pure gold?

Now if i told you that it would take all the fun out of it.

Cosmic Disco: Haha, fair enough (Worth a go I suppose…). Well, in that case could you tell us a few of your all time favourite records and some current plays on heavy rotation?

That’s tough to say as I have sooooo many all time faves and the newer stuff I can never remember the names, just the colors of the labels. I’m really bad with that kinda stuff but I do play all the C.O.M.B.i. records

Cosmic Disco: Haha… OK then, let’s move on to your own music. How did you get started with the production side of things?

The first tune I ever produced was on the Rong label. Second release on the label I think. Shit I can’t remember what it was called! It was me and DJ Spun under the name ‘How & Why’ featuring Danny Wang on the keys and his boyfriend at the time, Stephen Hall on guitar. We did it at Oliviers (The guy I do ‘Still Going’ with) studio.

Around the same time Thomas and I were beginning to mess around in the studio also. We did a few sample based tunes that never saw the light of day and we did that Chicago – ‘I’m a man’ edit, which also came out on Rong. I think we called ourselves ‘The Disco Theatre of Manhattan’.

Cosmic Disco: Ah, that’ll be ‘Crusing’ (Rong002) which used a Queen Samantha sample and the ‘I’m a Man’ track being ‘Lower Beard Stays The Same’ (RPR99). Great stuff… What have you been working on recently? Is there anything we can expect to see light of day in the near future?

Riiiight, ‘Cruising’. Yeah, I was inspired by the movie.

Well, recently I’ve been doing remixes with both Rub n Tug & Still Going and also just had a CD/DVD come out from my solo tour of Japan with the C.O.M.B.i. records crew.

They had a guy come along and video all the parties and he made a short movie which you can find HERE!

I’ve also have a new mix CD coming out on aNYthing outa NYC that’s gone into production this week it’s a Dr. Dunks project. Rub n Tug have recorded an album which is full length and is being edited right now and finally hope to have it ready to mix by the end of May.

Oh yeah and one more thing – There’s a brand new Still Going 12″ coming very soon on DFA!

Cosmic Disco: There are a number of current labels such as DFA/Whatever We Want really making an impact on the current scene. Can you give us a little insight into your Dr. Dunks project? We know its had a release on WEWW (Re-Imagined In Alphabet City, WEWW012) but do you have a definitive manifesto for this project? Also, WEWW seem to be splitting the record buying public somewhat. There’s no doubt the music is of the highest quality but the retail prices are so high. Can you give us your opinion as to why we should be prepared to shell out more $$$’s for WEWW releases?

I’m not the one to ask about WEWW. I don’t really know tbh as those edits I did for them are like 4+ years old.

Cosmic Disco: What was the direction behind the mix CD (Dr. Dunks aka Eric Duncan – How We Do In NYC)? Can you let us know what tracks you’ve included on the mix?

10 tracks.. all but 2 are un-released

Cosmic Disco: You’ve recently recorded a show with Tim Sweeney for his Beats In Space radio show. How did that go? You included the Dr. Dunks track ‘Keep It Cheap’, can you give us any info on when we can expect it to be released?

‘Keep It Cheap’ is a work in progress. Just something I knocked up the day before. It will see the light of day for sure. When is the question…

Cosmic Disco: Let’s talk a little about Rub n Tug. It’s fair to say you have somewhat of a following around the world now with a reputation for your DJ performances and your first full length album almost ready to unleash on us. As Rub n Tug you were throwing you own parties which became stuff of legend, right? Can you tell us a little about some of the parties you guys have thrown and what for you are the required elements to create the perfect party?

Yeah, we used to put on parties from the ground up, starting in maybe 1999 I guess. I had a sound system (I still do, just don’t know where all of it is anymore!) and we would find lofts or galleries that our friends lived in or ran where we could go as long and as hard as we wanted.

That was in the beginning of Rub n Tug, mostly in our mate Rui’s (R.I.P.) loft. We would do them every month or so beginning at midnight and sometimes go till noon the next day. No joke! So many great New York characters would be there with hours of wild shit happening.

Good fun, I’m smiling now… I think for a good thing to happen it starts with the people. If you have a good open minded crew of friends then your on your way.

Cosmic Disco: So, you’ve had the pleasure of DJ’ing all over the world. What have been some of your favourite foreign bookings and are there any current parties in the states that come close to the original spirit of your Campfire events? Do you have any plans to throw some of your own parties in the future?

I generally enjoy all the gigs minus a few here and there. I would have to say playing in Japan is great as you can do whatever you want there and they really appreciate it. I mean you can play anything at anytime. In my experiences anyway…

I’ve been going out there pretty much every year since 1996 and I always love it but with that being said just about every place I’ve played is great fun and Japan just sticks out a bit more for some reason.

As far as parties in the states go we just did an awesome one in Los Angeles with Paul T. And the Sarcastic Disco Crew. It was probably the best party we’ve played in years. Hot sweaty warehouse in downtown L.A. where we played till 8am or something like that. It was great! They really know how to do it.

I’m sure we’ll get around to doing something in NYC very soon. I might actually do a CD release party in Miami and NYC on consecutive nights for my Dr. Dunks ‘How We Do In NYC’ CD.

Cosmic Disco would like to thank Eric for taking the time to answer our questions and don’t forget to pick up his Dr. Dunks – ‘How We Do In NYC’ mix CD, which is expected for UK release on 1st June and is available on pre-order from Piccadilly Records.

Eric & Thomas will also be DJ’ing at El Diablo’s Social Club on 6th June as part of the Rizla Invisible Players tour at Manchester’s Deaf Institute. For tickets and more info check out the Diablo’s web-blog…

We decided to contact Paul and fire a few questions across in addition to receiving an exclusive selection from the man himself. Here’s what we found out:

Cosmic Disco: For those of us out there who may be unfamiliar with Paul Sleaze, can you give us some background info, his roots and how he was conceived?

I was born in the gutter, and still quite like it there. Originally, Jeff (Danger, landlord of the Shakespeare in Sheffield) decided that we all needed danger names – so he became Jeff Danger and I Paul Sleaze. It’s since become more of a conglomerate persona, with contributions from Marconius Baddy, who I also do the Roland Ritter project with; Clarence Bollinger, an idiot savant vocalist; Ed Carter, who does Winter North Atlantic and was foolish enough to put our records on his label; and Jeff.
After a few 7″ singles with Jeff, there were two albums (Masturbot and The Embalmer), also featuring other guest vocalists, none of whom are regular. I’m still always looking for vocalists to work with.

Cosmic Disco: So, you’re a northern lad like us then… Can you tell us was it like growing up in Sheffield and what was your experience of the local music scene as a youngster and any early musical influences?

I actually grew up in Derby, but have lived in Sheffield for around 15 years now. The local music scene, like many things in Derby, was pitiful. In terms of early musical influences, the first records I bought were Smash It Up by The Damned; Thriller by Michael Jackson (shortly followed by Off The Wall); and Prince Charming by Adam & The Ants – I think I was about 9 or 10. I also saved up a lot of crisp packets for such gems as the theme from Monkey and Weird Al Yankovic’s Eat It. I didn’t really listen to much electronic music until my late teens, although I’ve always been a big fan of Japan and The Human League, so appreciated great synth noises.

Cosmic Disco: So, when was it you started to play around with music production/instruments?

I played guitar while I was at at school, but around 19 started working in a shop selling musical intruments & processors. Over the time I worked there I bought a 4-track, an Atari ST with cubase, a collection of drum machines & synths, some monitors speakers that I still use now, a couple of effects processors, etc. I suppose it all evolved from there.
The obsession with sampling came later, first with a minidisc player and more recently with a hand-held recorder that writes straight to an SD card; I guess I just couldn’t afford anything that would do that to start with. It’s much cheaper and easier now with computers, which is a really great thing, especially with people writing freeware applications & plug-ins – I like freeware because the people who programme it often don’t dedicate a lot of time to finishing it and making it perfect, which can lead to more interesting glitchy effects.

Cosmic Disco: Ah, the trusty Atari ST.. (I had one for Kick Off II, not music, mind…). So, what does your current studio setup consist of?

A lot of children’s toys (I didn’t actually steal them off children), some of them ‘modified’ – glockenspiel; melodica; lots of percussive stuff; stylophones; circuit-bent things in varied states of disrepair. As for nerdy equipment, PMC monitors; Beyer Headphones; Rhode microphone; Zoom field recorder; Focusrite soundcard; Rodriguez, Fender, & Schecter guitars; Kawai keyboard.
For sequencing / editing I mostly use Cubase, Reason, and SoundForge. I do a lot of stuff at Brad’s (Marconius Baddy) studio too – a lot of the Paul Sleaze stuff was produced there, and all of the Roland Ritter stuff is. He uses M-Audio monitors; Allen & Heath desk; MOTU soundcard; Novation keyboard… the list goes on.

Cosmic Disco: Great stuff! So let’s move onto the music itself… How have your production and development methods changed from when you first started to create music to what you are currently producing today? How do you go about laying down the tracks? Drums first, work on a melody etc. Do you have a particular formula?

Fairly dramatically! Originally, most of the electronic tracks were very much pattern-based, only using samples or noises from MIDI instruments. Over time I’ve started recording much more live. A lot of the Roland Ritter music is done that way, with sections being recorded, then fed back through lots of effects for texture. Playing instruments is generally more exciting than programming them, and seems to create more energy in the finished product.
Having said that, the Foundwaves project that I’m also ear-deep in is mostly programmed (although not much of it is done, and I may take a different approach on different tracks). It involves recording everything on a field recorder, and using only those sounds, with each track having a particular theme. The first one I’ve finished is all about food, so everything I recorded was edible (chickens, eggs, spaghetti, salt). I then edit the waveforms to get drum sounds, loops, and tiny repeated sections to generate new tones – so I don’t have to use synth noises for oscillators, I just use my own tones in samplers. I was really interested in knowing where each individual sound had come from, and how far I could push that envelope. The album is called ‘Paranomaniac’ – it’s all about plays on words, usually very bad puns.
I like recording familiar noises (like those of cooking) or things that happen to me – for example, I had a wisdom tooth removed while recording The Embalmer, and a lot of the noises from that ended up on the album.
I suppose overall I’ve become more interested in either setting strict rules for a project, or imposing restrictions – I think it’s a good way to focus creativity; while that makes the music more difficult, it’s often more interesting as a result.
I don’t have a particular template, like always doing drums first – I think that would be inhibitive for me in a negative way, and might make a lot of the music too similar. I like making the rules abstract, rather than about the process itself.

Cosmic Disco: So you’re the new Matthew Herbert then (Is he an influence btw?) When can we expect ‘Paranomaniac’ to drop?

I do like his stuff, particularly Radioboy & the Big Band. He seems more socio-politically motivated though.
I’m not sure when I’ll finish – it’s been fairly time consuming and I don’t have a deal for it yet, so no deadline. Left to my own devices, I expect early next year.

Cosmic Disco: Well, that’s understandable as it sounds as though your busy with other projects as well. Speaking of which can you give us any more detail on your work under the ‘Romcom’ and ‘Roland Ritter’ monikers?

Roland Ritter is a kind of conglomerate personality that me & Brad create. It’s all done at his studio, and involves certain themes and instruments – I bought a chime square last year (tubular bells) and that’s on it a lot, along with the melodica and glockenspiel. We had a mid-album crisis when his DSP card died at the end of last year, close to finishing the album, so we’re now left picking up the pieces! It’s starting to come together again now though, a couple of the tracks are nearly finished. Again, no deal or deadline, so we’re just plodding through it. I think the album will be finished this year though.
Romcom is a project me & Ed (GC Recordings / Winter North Atlantic) have just started. It’s based on our misconceptions of the difference between Roman and Common law – he gave me some rules on what I could do, and I gave him some rules on what he couldn’t. That’s all in the very early stages though, as is a collaboration between me & Tomski (Comfortable Records). I think it’s always good to try and work differently. Other people’s approaches are always inspiring.

Cosmic Disco: How did you originally get yourself hooked up with GC Recordings?

I don’t exactly remember how I met Ed, but suspect that like our relationship since it had something to do with beer. He was actually on the same university course as Abbi (my soon-to-be wife), although I think I know him through Juliun (Bitslap / c90 / We Wear The Gold). He’d already done a few 7″s with the Arts and Leisure Foundation, and me & Jeff followed that up with some 7s of our stuff. Then we kind of challenged each other to actually finish a whole album, so he did Load Line and I did Masturbot. There’s a collaborative track that’s on both albums – Headstone; he’s also on a couple of tracks on The Embalmer.

Cosmic Disco: What does Paul Sleaze like to do outside of music?

Errrrrmmm…. eatingsleepingwalkingtalkingdrinkingtaijicooking… stuff. Stuff and things.

Cosmic Disco: What does perfect happiness mean to you?

I’m not sure that perfect and happiness go together! I like things that are a bit wrong. That’s what makes me happy.

Cosmic Disco would like to thank Paul for his time answering our questions. You can listen and purchase his releases from Giovanni Chrome Recordings. Go check them out and pick up some stunning electronic music now!. In the meantime, click the buttons below for Paul’s brilliantly eclectic and exclusive ‘Cosmic Disco’ mix:

Paul Sleaze – Cosmic Disco Mix

• Krstic, Bilja & Bistrik Orchestra – The Carriage Is Rocking
• Stump – Our Fathers
• TV On The Radio – Crying
• Department Of Eagles – No One Does It Like You
• I Monster – The Best
• Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators – A Perfect Kind Of Love
• Gang Gang Dance – Vacuum
• Cylob – Rewind
• Foundwaves – Beersay
• Talking Heads – Houses In Motion
• Villalog – Kuri Kaeshi
• White Noise – Love Without Sound
• Steve Jansen – Cancelled Pieces
• Roland Ritter – Zowie, He-Man!
• The Knife – A Lung
• Spoombung – Kev Hopper Knows
• The Residents – Hello Skinny
• Burnt Friedman – I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
• Evan Christopher – Farewell Blues
• Robert Nacken – What A Sweet Tonight

As the guys behind King Kung Foo Records and being based out of Antwerp, Belgium the guys have a deep, deep knowledge that we had to delve into somewhat, finding more info about what it is that makes them tick. Whilst we were at it we also managed to obtain an exclusive new Ronny & Renzo mix that can only be described as mind-blowing.

Speaking of which, for fun you will notice the track list for this mix has been somewhat encrypted. The first person to correctly identify the complete (And correct) tracklist wins a King Kung Foo 12″ record.

There are some easy to I.D tracks tucked in amongst some real nuggets dug deep from the Ronny & Renzo vaults.

Firstly however, here’s the interview (Conducted with Nicolas Rosquin), so click the play buttons at the bottom of the page, kick back and read exactly what we found out:

Cosmic Disco: Who are Ronny & Renzo? How did you guys meet and start working together?

Ronny & Renzo is our latest project since we started working together 18 years ago.

Some people may know us as Brian ‘Bradys’ De Schryver (38) & Nicolas ‘Saloquin’ Rosquin (35).

We like to spend our days in our hometown Antwerp digging for vinyl or retrieve in our studio, which is part production laboratory & part hideout.

We share equal amounts of love & hate for the computer but it’s our passionate & neverending, continious search for new music that inspires us to keep producing timeless electronic dance music on my label King Kung Foo Records.

Cosmic Disco: 18 years working together, that’s a long time! What are some of the other projects you have collaborated on during this period and is there anything that stands out that you are particularly proud of?

To be honest, I find the fact that we still enjoy working together after such a long period of time amazing by itself and something to be proud of. In 1994, 3 years after we first met, we produced & released our first 12″ vinyl record called ‘Kinky Sex’ on Humanity Music, a now defunct sublabel of USA Import.

That same year Humanity label-boss Jan & I produced 2 more 12″s on Humanity before I decided I wanted to start my own studio. From those 12 inches a couple of tracks, ‘Acquaintance’ and ‘Storm’ got comped on a couple CDs in 1995 and in 2002 ‘Acquaintance’ was re-released on Music Man Records together with a remix of that track by UK producer Cherry Bomb aka Richard Brown.

Running the studio, producing countless demo acts & working with Brian on our own material, trying new things out & finding our sound has kept me pretty busy up until 2003. Eventually in 2004 I decided to activate King Kung Foo Records, also because I wanted to bring out stuff I had been working on with Brian over the years. I guess that was also the birth of Ronny & Renzo.

Therefore I think it’s fair to say we’re most proud of our recent work on King Kung Foo because we really want to make music that can stand time & trends – music that transcends genres. Strong music with striking visuals!

On top of that getting remixed by such extremely talented people as Joel Martin, Matt Edwards and Pal ‘Strangefruit’ Nyhus is also something to be really proud of.

Cosmic Disco: What does your current studio setup consist of?

For recording audio & sequencing we use Pro Tools and Logic Audio Platinum on a Mac that’s stuffed with plug-ins of all kinds.

All the mixing is done on a analog DDA mixing board and recorded straight onto a Tascam 2-track DAT. The wiring is completely done with 100% oxygen free copper cable. We also use a patch bay that makes it possible to literally interconnect every piece of equipment in the studio, which is a necessity to obtain our particular sound. Monitoring options are the classic Yamaha NS10s or the Dynaudio Acoustics M2 monitors to catch the full frequency.

The M2 go all the way down to a stunning 38Hz! We really need to hear this sub part because we pre-master our recordings in house. Then there’s also a lot of hardware or outboard if you want, like EQs (GML, Moog) and compressors (BSS, JoeMeek, SolidStateLogic), gates (Drawmer), pre-amps (Focusrite), valve processors (TLAudio) and digital signal processors (Eventide, Lexicon, Roland, Symetrix, TC Electronics).

For sound design we also love to use analog equipment like a ARP 2600 semi-modular synthesizer, a hand built Dutch Synton Fenix modular (1 of only 75 made!), a Analogue Systems custom RS8000 modular, a Korg MS20, a Roland Juno 06, various analog ’stomp boxes’ like phasers, flanging, fuzzes, wah & filters, etc…

On the digital side there’s a Korg Trinity master keyboard, a Roland JD 800, the powerful, orange Waldorf Microwave XT, a pretty old school yet beloved EMU Emulator IV sampler, EMU orchestral & percussion modules.

Available drum machines are Alesis HR16, Roland TR626, TR707, TR808, the mighty Yamaha RX-7, Pearl Syncussion. Additionally, sounds from every other drum computer imaginable can be downloaded from the HD and thrown into a session.

Two other crucial parts of the set up are a 1981 Gibson Les Paul Firebrand Deluxe & a 1974 US Fender P-Bass. Of course, once in a while we slam the traditional bongos. It’s not only synthetic sounds we produce

Cosmic Disco: Ah, the good old Les Paul Firebrand! (I was a one time owner of a ‘69 Stratocaster. Vintage white w/rosewood neck. Man, I miss it…). Can you tell us what are your musical (And non musical) influences and do you have any early recollections of defining moment/s when you knew music would play a major part in your life?

Sure, I have many recollections of such moments like when I was little older than 6 and I noticed that the melodies and synthesized sounds from a Vangelis record playing, did something peculiar with me. Something I could explain many years later as endorphins doing their job. Or the countless hours I spent as a kid lying face down on the floor with my ear glued to a hifi speaker, trying to analyse & isolate every individual sound on records.

I really enjoyed listening to this melodic pop music by 70’s artists like Demis Roussos, the Bee Gees, Abba or even The Kelly Family, etc… Another very vivid one is when in 1985 a class mate gave me a copy of a mixed tape recorded at the Antwerp club Ancienne Belgique, that I believe he had taken from his older sister. Anyhow, that moment my 11 year old world stood upside down and it instantly triggered me to buy & collect records.

By then I started listening every Thursday evening to a local radio show called Liaisons Dangereuses. Because I was still very young and not allowed to go to clubs yet, that radio show was all I had to keep up with this ‘New Beat’ music coming out. The rebellious, eclectic style of that show was really revolutionary in our minds. I think they were first to introduce Acid House & the Chicago House sound to a bigger audience here in Belgium.

In 1990 my musical interest suddenly shifted towards Techno & Detroit Techno in specific after listening for the first time to Derrick May’s remix of ‘Neurotic Behavior’. This unheard sound immediately convinced me to start producing my own kind of techno music.

All this is before I would meet Brian but without knowing it, all that time we had been listening to the same kind of music. Evidently our music now has a lot of influences of most things we like but it’s such a broad horizon and of course there’s also life in general to get inspired. I mean, when ordinary things happen almost simultaneously and you’re able to connect some of the dots between them, like strange facts or other eerie coincidences that may grab your attention, then things get fascinating, don’t they.

It’s all art!

Cosmic Disco: We have heard of the famous Ancienne Belgique nightclub and it’s resident DJ’s such as Fat Ronny. What venues/nights did you used to regularly visit and can you give us any idea of the atmosphere/vibe of these parties such as the music that was being played, the DJ’s that were influential etc.

The Ancienne Belgique club was in fact a former theatre near the heart of Antwerp. The interior of the building was pretty much left untouched when it became a club. So you had a large, central dance floor, surrounding corridors with lots of decorative woodwork, a stage and a balcony that also functioned as DJ booth.

It was a very beautiful & classy place with its taupe painted walls and burgundy curtains. Unfortunately at that tender age of 11 I was too young to actually go out and visit the club. I did manage to sneak in under aged a couple of times but this was at least 5 years later when AB was a little passed its peak, I think it must have been somewhere in the early 90s.

Rumoured nights like the notorious Roman themed party that had a toga for dress code, are only of hear- say and I cannot confirm. But all that didn’t matter to me because the music on those AB tapes was more than enough for my young & inexperienced mind to deal with. Really, those mixed tapes were like valuable study books All these different styles brought together, the ‘genre crossing’ did have a great effect on me. New Wave, Electro-Pop, Soundtrack Themes, Afro beat or other musical stream could make sense next to each other. That was a major discovery for me.

Anyway, to my knowledge Ronny H. was indeed the first to DJ at AB but outside Belgium few people seem to know how brief that was. After Ronny it was DJ John who became resident of AB. He told me this when I looked him up a while ago to talk about his time in AB. The music played on the Liaisons Dangereuses radio show was quite similar to the stuff played at AB.

This also rubbed of onto other bars, clubs and radio shows in Antwerp and probably a similar thing happened in other Belgian cities like Ghent and Brussels. One of the founding members of this legendary club is Renzo Mela. Besides co-owner & founder, he was also occupied with the artistic direction of the club. That is why we use the moniker ‘Ronny & Renzo’ since those 2 names quite sum it up for us. Of course, later we did regularly visit that other famous Antwerp club called Cafe d’Anvers. There we attended many unforgettable evenings and watched influential DJs like Derrick May, Carl Craig, Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins, Jon Dasilva & many more play for the first time in Antwerp.

I even remember a retro disco party at Café d’Anvers and Boney M performing live. We also visited lots of parties across Belgium and also organized 2 infamous ones of our own. Well acquainted ‘Antwerp Godfather of House’ DJ Koenie got asked to play. Two times in a row it resulted in the mighty yet long lost feeling of ‘1 DJ, 1 crowd & 1 big *fooking* pile of energy’. As you can see, there’s been and still is an abundance of influences for us to channel…

Cosmic Disco: What are your thoughts on the current state of the music industry, both for the major and independent labels? Does technology and wider access to communication tools such as the internet make it easier or more difficult for you to achieve your goals? What would you say are the difficulties you currently face producing, releasing and distributing music?

This is a serious topic and I think there are much smarter people than me out there who can give a reasonable answer.

I can only speak from my limited experience as a independent label owner. I remember a certain studio owner telling me when he’d returned from a Midem convention sometime in the late 90’s and he’d attended a seminar where some lecturing musicologist said that he predicted the extinction of the ‘World Artist’ explaining further that because of the internet and the technological progress everything would get a different dynamic creating countless artists to release their own material on self-run indie labels.

The speaker also predicted that more and more artists would reach their audience on a different scale and this through their self created networking environment. I think he’s right about this particular evolution in the music business. It certainly is in our case and I can say for instance that MySpace played a major role in the way we put out the label and reached an audience worldwide.

Okay, this cyber networking is only a part of the process but we can’t deny how important that has become these days. Also the blogs and forums are a very interesting phenomenon and they are of considerable importance to the record labels of today. So it’s fair to say that these new communication tools certainly are actually positive things to occur in this digitized era.

About the difficulties we face: KKFR is a ‘micro-label of love’ meaning that it’s run by merely 2 people and a lot of help from friends. This has the advantage that I can publish only that what I really like, still we are subject to one major factor and that is money. It’s very simple: no money = no release. I know this may sound a little harsh but it is reality. And believe me, today it’s not that evident to break even when you look at the high production cost of our releases or records in general let alone to make a profit and create some continuity as a label.

However, being a small indie also gives you the flexibility to move pretty fast or respond to every twist & turn in the road. Also, we can anticipate what we think is strategically ‘the right time’ to put something out and release it for the public, almost like a guerilla leader would do. Of course this timing can depend on various factors and isn’t the only thing that matters in running a successful business. It may sound cliché but as long as the passion is there you have every reason to proceed.

This is what I love to do and will probably keep doing for the rest of my life regardless of an empty cash register at the end of the day.

Cosmic Disco: So, what formats do you release KKFR tracks on? Are you strictly a limited run vinyl only label or are you also releasing music digitally via such sites as Beatport/ITunes etc.? Can you give us any updates on any upcoming KKFR releases or any new artists on your label? Do you have any recommendations on new artists who you are feeling at the moment?

We currently release on limited vinyl but since the plans are laid for a Ronny & Renzo album and compilations as well, CD is inevitable.

Our catalog is also digitally available at Juno, DJHistory and Flexx (Belgium) and in a couple of weeks on our own restyled KKFR website. The site will also have a nice ‘Exclusive Mixes’ page and a ‘Used Records’ section where you can buy used rare vinyl records or other collectable stuff we particularly like.

I know Beatport and iTunes probably are the most popular download stores but I choose to work with individual persons and not faceless companies. Very big companies tend to take decisions over your head and sometimes suck you in their legal whirlpools so that before you know it you’re talking music to their lawyers.

As far as new stuff coming I can tell you that besides we’re working like berserkers on various tracks at the same time. The next Ronny & Renzo release is almost fact. I know it is taking a long while now since our last release but nothing leaves the King Kung Foo kitchen before it is ready. Once again it is going to be an impressive total package of incredible music and mind-numbing art on the cover. And special in a sense that once more we leave the conventional pathway of releasing a record and we try to add this extra “awareness” dimension to it without being corny.

I want to put out records that when you’re holding them, be it now or in ten years time when you pull one out of a bargain bin somewhere in a charity shop, you instantly know you just found something precious, crafted with a lot of devotion and care. I guess ‘Me, Myself, Good’ is going to be our most emotionally laden release so far and for every copy sold a part of the money goes to the Gorilla Foundation/Koko.org. On top of it, this 12” release will also have a remix by Quiet Village and just like their remix of ‘Uniqorns’ it’s going to be a groundbreaking listening experience. We had to wait more than a year for this release to be ready and complete so we’re really excited about it!

In the mean time we’re also talking to the Idjut Boys, Mungolian Jetset & other well/lesser known people for new material on KKFR but I can’t say much more about it because we like take it one step at a time in this slippery world.

The past year I mainly focused on digging & rediscovering old music. I didn’t really follow all the new stuff coming out so while I would love to recommend other artists we’re feeling I’m not going to. Also because I don’t think it’s fair to all the others out there giving their best in what they believe in. Like I said before, the internet gives everybody the opportunity to expose themselves and show their work to the rest of the world so I don’t think I can contribute much in mentioning artists already doing that. And of course the ones I personally think are unearthed diamonds in the rough I will approach in utter silence… Guerilla. Remember?

Cosmic Disco would like to thank Nicolas for taking the time and effort to give us such informative answers and as promised both Nicolas and Brian got together in-between their very busy schedules to put together this stunning exclusive mix for you and as promised, find below the encrypted track listing.

First person to correctly identify the full mix wins a special King Kung Foo 12” direct from Ronny & Renzo themselves! Maybe it’s a copy of their upcoming release ‘Me, Myself, Good’ which has a hypnotic, dark mix on the B-Side from no other than Quiet Village?

Maybe, we can even get the guys to sign it especially for you! Leave your details and answers in the comments section below.

Get spotting!!!

Ronny & Renzo ‘Cosmic Disco Exclusive’ Mix:

• Throbbing Octopus
• Don’t worry, Nina
• Black & White, Holmes!
• Cosmic Storm In A Swedish Glass
• Ganz Geil
• Biblical Proportions
• Tripping In Trieste
• Moving Between Silk Sheets
• Icelandic Rain
• Sleazy Peeping Rod
• Rhythm Of The Bong
• Latin Glasses
• Tralla La-La Land
• Final Beating
• Tokyo Lit By Lasers

This Sunday 2nd November sees Baggy & THP (Niles is otherwise engaged in Mexico defending his Lucha Libre title belt) join Mooken and special guest; Bearfunk Gold’s Sankt Goran who is flying in from Gothenburg especially for the evening at Manchester’s coolest Northern Quarter hangout – Common Bar.

For full event details join up to the Technicolour Facebook group which you can find by clicking here. It’s freeman-hardy-willis, on from 8pm till midnight so if you fancy joining us don’t forget to RSVP!

To wet your taste buds we managed to get a great mix from the guys and fired a few questions in Goran’s direction before he touches down in our rainy city:

Cosmicdisco: We read that before you got into the dance sound that you were more into pop music. What were you (And other Swedish teenagers) listening to whilst growing up?

Goran Dahlstrom: I really don’t recall all the commercial stuff surrounding me when I grew up. I didn’t really pay all that much attention so couldn’t say what other people were listening to. I guess I was more of a classic indie-kid. Loads of Smashing Pumpkins, Suede, The Cure, some of your beloved Morrisey oriented stuff, The Charlatans and so on… We also, and still have, many good Swedish pop bands, some even more famous abroad. The more and more I listened to the electronic stuff that I got from my older brother Jonas (aka JohnnyTooBad) such as The Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Kraftwerk and so on the more I got into this type of sound.

Cosmicdisco: Ahh, those older siblings have plenty to answer for! So did you pick up any instruments and play in any bands as an angst ridden indie loving youngster? If so, what was your weapon of choice? Also, what is your current studio setup? Editor Note – J2Bad has previously supplied an excellent mix for us, which you can find by clicking here.

Goran Dahlstrom: Yeah, we had a band, sort of a rock oriented, ska outfit. We would wear lots of make up and had a sort of horror show thing going on. It was fun and I played the trombone. I studied at the local music school when I was really young but as the band came along I left the school and went bananas without the notation. It’s safe to say the trombone doesn’t feature in my studio today! I’ve got a Juno 60, Korg 800DV, some midi keyboards, one lousy M-Audio sound card, NEar 08 speakers, guitar, bass, amps, percussion, all of which I cannot play! I’ve also got a computer of course. A recently upgraded Mac, which is pretty much the industry standard.

Cosmicdisco: You eventually moved from your hometown of Falun to the bright lights of Gothenburg. What prompted this move and what were you doing professionally and recreationally at this time?

Goran Dahlstrom: When I moved I’d just finished school. I was 19 and didn’t know anything. Mostly I moved to Gothenburg as my brother already lived there. I also have a number of relatives there and Gothenburg is the only place to live if you didn’t want to be in Stockholm, which I didn’t. My first summer in Gothenburg found me working in a bingo hall calling out the numbers and selling tickets. Myself and my brother started a house night that pulled maybe 20 people a week and it was a good start. Well, sort of…

Cosmicdisco: What records were you playing during this period and can you give us any idea of the local underground club scene? Where were you hunting for records?

Goran Dahlstrom: I mostly played stuff on the soulful side of it all but always had the approach of mixing it up with disco tracks. At the time this was not considered to be the way to play house music on the Swedish scene. I think mostly myself and my brother got the idea of playing in this style from DJ’s like Tel-Rok at Club Mecca and Nefertiti in addition to the pioneering DJ Mark Seven from Stockholm. Mecca was the only club that I really cared about at the time, it was always packed! Nefertiti was also to the max and played everything from hip-hop and mid tempo disco to deep house and Detroit techno. Hey, they would never hesitate to drop some drum ‘n’ bass, it was just great fun! After another year or two we started listening to a guy called Crinan and his fantastic disco sets that were always on the more leftfield side of things and I guess I got stuck there. I was always broke at this time so went shopping at the flea markets and second hand stores but still managed to pick up some great records. Once I had money I started to order from Juno and Piccadilly Records in addition to purchasing lots of vinyl from Recordmania in Stockholm.

Cosmicdisco: It sounds as though you and your bro are pretty tight. How did you guys start on the Hermanos project and how did you go about laying down tracks? Also, how would you say you have developed from creating your early tracks to your current production style?

Goran Dahlstrom: Me and Jonas never actually made any tracks together. Hopefully we have time for that in the future but in regards to my own productions it all started when I wanted to make house music the way I liked to hear it best – deep and melodic. Although I didn’t really end up making my sound come out quite as planned it ended up some strange sort of cosmic, bumpy disco stuff that people seemed to like. It became sort of my sound but I’d say I’ve developed my skills a bit more which ironically means I’ve gone quite retrospective in terms of a basic house sound. I guess I can come closer to the ideas in my head nowadays. Jonas has always been the musician in our family and he quite recently took up producing his own material and it sounds awesome so be on the look out for that one!

Cosmicdisco: You’ve had a release on the hugely influential Bearfunk Gold imprint with ‘Back2Back/Angel Babe The Tin Man’ #BFK028Gold, which we loved. Can you tell us how you hooked up with Steve Kotey and crew? Do you have any upcoming releases on BF we should be looking out for?

Goran Dahlstrom: I just finished my Back2Back on my old PC in the fall of 2006 and for Christmas I sent it out to some people I admire as a gift. Stevie wrote back and straight up said he wanted it for the gold series. It was more than I was hoping for. After finishing ‘Angel Babe’ it took a long time before it came out. I had some plans on making an album for BF but I came to realize that an album is not the thing for me, even though it was fun work to do it. Still, I wanted to continue to make dance music, in or out of the cosmic box. I’ve got no releases planned for BF at the moment but it would be cool to do something with them again someday…

Cosmicdisco: So what is keeping you busy at present? It looks as though the DJ gigs are piling in…

Goran Dahlstrom: At the moment I am working on a number of remixes. Gotta get one done for a Swedish artist called Kleerup. Also one for up and coming Club Silencio from Milan. Also got some work for Mad Bros. records in Paris and hopefully I’ll have the time to finish some new Sankt Goran tracks as well. Till they are done I hope to get a peice of Maelstroms label – Solar Disco with a nice remix on the flipside. If house is more your bag then you should check out Neoboys who are me and Hird. This will be out on My Sonic Mountain records and Philarmonix new label in Hamburg.

Cosmicdisco: What are your feelings on the current trend for the influx of re-edits (Especially of cosmic/disco tracks) available on the market? Do you see them as a good or bad thing?

Goran Dahlstrom: I think that it’s great that good music gets picked up and gets the attention it deserves. Whether it’s a super rare track that only a few people in the world have found or really well known anthems that get a new package as lengthened extended mixes for DJ use or totally re-arranged as new tracks, it’s always a good thing. I guess it’s the universal rule when it comes to music – The more the merrier! What I mean is that you can still decide what to play, you don’t have to play them if you don’t like them! As I see it, editing and re-releasing tracks has been going on for quite some time. When house music came along or the euro sound was big, you could get hold of ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Country Roads’, ‘Jungle Fever’ and ‘Over Like A Fat Rat’ in flashing new 128bpm remixes on one 12″ single. Probably not an accurate example but you know what I mean…

Cosmicdisco: So, what’s getting heavy rotation on your play list at the moment?

Goran Dahlstrom: Franck Roger, Workshop 02, L.S.B, The Barking Dogs, Mark E, Jacob Korn, Van Morrison, Sade, Fabric Lig, Basic Soul Unit, Subliminal Kid… Gosh, I’ve got no clue!

Cosmicdisco: OK Goran, we are almost finished Can you tell us your top 5 records of all time and what you consider to be your most treasured piece of vinyl?

Goran Dahlstrom: Top 5 tracks are: 1. Sister Sledge – We Are Family 2. Moodyman – Forevernevermore 3. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks 4. Suede – Dog Man Star 5. Studio – West Coast. I think my most treasured record would be Inner Life’s – I’m Caught Up (In A One Night Love Affair) LP, mainly because it’s the one I paid most money for.

Cosmicdisco: For those that will be coming down to hear you play at Common on Sunday, what can they expect and in turn what are your expectations of Manchester?

Goran Dahlstrom: Of course, I don’t really know the venue but I’ve been mostly looking forward to doing quite a basic disco set topped with some contemporary, more deep electronic stuff. It’s been a while… It’s been a lot of house gigs recently. I just got a proper shipment of plastic so definitely expect some new stuff in addition to some recently unearthed dusty weirdies.

Cosmic Disco would like to thank Goran for taking the time to answer our questions in addition to providing us (Also Mooken!) with the below mix.

If you are anywhere near the vicinity of the Northern Quarter then pop in from 8pm to no doubt hear some great music…

Technicolour - ‘Giving you a chromatic pinch and a polyphonic punch.’

Put simply, we asked half a dozen artists to provide us with a compilation/mix of material that influences them (Both past and present) and a few words about their experience whilst at the festival.

To kick off the series we present Gong Gong – Jean-Christophe Baudouin and Thomas Baudriller. A French power duo who quite simply blew us away.

Programmed straight after Quiet Village on the Castle Stage on Friday evening we stuck around after reading their biog in the programme and seeing as though we pretty much like most things Gallic we thought we’d give it a go… Boy, are we glad we did.

Put quite simply, their live show was amazing. A mix of breathtaking musicianship that takes in drums, bass, samplers and sequencers using literally hundreds of sounds to create a live electronic experiment. This, with the addition of some stunning visuals combined to create what was for us THE performance of the whole festival. Think along the lines of Jean-Luc Ponty mixed with Bill Laswell and Material adding a touch of Kid Loco and your not even close to the broken clash of genres these French maestros concocted.

Jean-Christophe from the group had these words to say about Gong Gong’s time whilst performing at The Big Chill:

‘For us it was really fantastic. With a very bad trip before performing, looking at this terrible rain coming down from nowhere as we installed our instruments behind the stage. A few hours before, when we arrived and saw the sun setting behind these beautiful hills, with big stages, beautiful persons and decoration, we had felt proud to become part of it. By chance, we started to see people come towards the stage with less and less rain… The show was a great moment. We always take pleasure on stage but this moment was special to us. We only played twice in London and love the English audience, always welcoming to us, but it is still rare as it was impossible to have a large audience a few minutes ago. It became a fabulous moment to have these people braving the weather. The festival was a nice place to discover, with a rare soul, or spirit with things for everybody, like a huge tent for children! and a mix of arts. Mixing arts is a thing we try to do with our installations on stage with two video makers so this we appreciate.‘

We managed to find this video clip which gives you more of an insight to just how good these guys are musically:

The chaps have kindly whipped together a brilliant little Cosmic Disco exclusive mix that includes the likes of DJ Food, Hifana, Homelife, Cut Chemist and Cornelius. Click the buttons below to download or stream.

Gong Gong’s latest album ‘Mary’s Spring‘ is available in the shops now. Pick it up and listen to the band Justice wanted to be.