In preparation for our joint party with good friends Cutloose this weekend we spoke to Felix about his early musical memories, organising events on the free party scene, music production and the advent of new technologies.

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

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