on’t call it a comeback to get behind. Having an album to get unique sonic imprints. Indeed, for
D
— he’s been here for behind was the main inspiration.” him sampling is an essential part of
years. Since the age of Now fi red up, from the initial album the production process, but only as
19, Milton Jackson’s sessions Jackson emerged with a new a creative springboard, a foundation
procession of lush machine-funk sound that joined the that allows him to build sound worlds
deep house on labels like Glasgow dots between his passion for classic US from the ground up.
Underground, Tsuba, Urban Torque and house and garage and the aquamarine “I would say that my music is up to
Silver Network have made him one of washes and potent, emotive chords 90% samples,” he admits. “If I’m going
the genre’s best-kept secrets. of Detroit techno. The result was the to play something in, I tend to sample
Well no more. The success of 2008’s ricocheting, synaptic scramble of a noise and then pitch it about, rather
‘Ghosts In My Machines’ track, released ‘Ghosts In My Machines’ — a perfect than playing soft synths. Even if I’m
as part of UK deep house institution marriage of jazzy, unexpected Motor using synths, I’ll sample them in and
Freerange Records' ‘Freerange 100 City synth soul swathes and cool then play them from there. It just
Part 1 EP’, has since catapulted fi nger-snapping 4/4 thunk, a sense- gives you a tighter sound, it’s hard to
Jackson into the wider public domain, shocking dive into an arctic ice hole, explain. I think it’s really hard to get
and his tracks into the sets of everyone with a touch of the twisted Berlin a proper sound just using instruments
from Ewan Pearson and Prins Thomas groove. Drawing on Milton’s recent and stuff. I do sample a lot!”
to Danny Howells to Laurent Garnier. inspirations in artists like Solomun But some of the sources of those
IN THE
It’s not hard to see why either. Arriving and tracks on his Diynamic stable, it’s samples really are from the more
at that lofty junction, the interface instant club adrenaline. way-out and unexpected extremities
where electronic house melts into the “I think I found my feet again sound- of the musical galaxy. Milton Jackson
darker machinations of the techno wise with ‘Ghosts in My Machines’, it’s ain’t mining the same old crates for
spectrum, ‘Ghosts in My Machines’ cuts more where I want to be,” enthuses his inspiration, instead looking to
MACHINE
through the leagues of faceless drum Jackson. “It’s funky, it’s deep but then lounge-core ’60s exotica acts for his
tracks out there with a crisp, bright, it’s got a melody to hook onto as well, plunder-phonics, taking in everything
ice-packed cool. It’s the fact that that a lot of people can remember as a from Martin Denny, Nino Nardini, The
Milton’s music swings that makes it so tune. I always want a little hook. That’s April Orchestra and Harold Mooney
appealing to dancefl oors and home what I try to aim for. So that came out along the way.
listeners alike. Quite simply, Jackson’s and then everyone was really into that. “‘Ghosts in My Machines’ is built
music has more funk than you can I had my moment of doubt before, but around a sample from a Les Baxter
shake a stick at, while retaining that I overcame it with ‘Ghosts’.” record from 1963,” he tells us. “I
appealing deep house element which This reinvigorated sound signature like using what a lot of house guys
has enjoyed such a recent resurgence.
A passionate purveyor of the kick-
"To make house music you have
drum rhythm since his fi rst release
on Tronicsole in 2000 — the ‘Deep
to look a little further afi eld for
Streets EP’ — it’s only really now that
Milton Jackson’s name is beginning to
inspiration to make it original"
resonate beyond those underground
rumblings. But there was a moment is one that suffuses the new album, wouldn’t look towards in my track. I
in time when it could have all been so ‘Crash’ — out this month on Freerange. get into so many different things but I
different. For in late 2007, Jackson Take the submerged fi lter electro- rarely remember them all!”
(real name Barry Christie) was on funk of ‘Backwards Disco’, with it’s And having fi rst found his dance
the verge of jacking in his production classic “nice break!” breakdown of music feet with drum & bass, Jackson
career, disillusioned with the scene clever descending bassline synth consistently looks back to his
and fi nding himself in a creative cul- squelches and concealed, intricate favourites and obscure gems of that
de-sac. production touches — listen out for genre, drawing on them for his house
“I just found it diffi cult to come up that skilfully deployed vinyl crackle cuts and inscribing a line between the
with tracks,” he confesses. “I was sample loop and those warm chord sonic similarities of the two disparate
doing things that sounded like things ripples, the hidden cornerstones to musical styles.
I’d done before and I thought, ‘what’s an inexorably rhythmic jet-stream of a “The fi rst thing I got into electronic
the point in doing it if you’re not going track. Meanwhile, ‘Snap Crackle’ makes music-wise was drum & bass, I got
to be really good at it?’” the vinyl snatches more explicit still, into that for a couple of years,” he
Luckily, the maverick music man was constructing the beat from tons of tiny enthuses. “In Scotland it was more
persuaded otherwise when Freerange micro snippets and segments of vinyl about house and techno nights and
came to the rescue. hiss and the titular snap and crackle, the clubs steadily infl uenced me and
“I was speaking to the guys at before adding a cheeky melodic top- turned me on to that sound. But I was
Freerange, and they were like, ‘no, line to incendiary impact. to speaking to (San Francisco house
don’t do that, we want you to do an DJ/producer) Justin Martin about this.
album for us this year’. That gave me Twists And Turns I said to him, ‘I sample a lot of d&b,’
an impetus and the inspiration to get It comes as something of a surprise and he was like ‘yes, so do I!’ It’s quite
back into it,” he explains. “Whereas to learn that much of Jackson’s music a good source of inspiration, where
BEN MURPHY
before I was just releasing 12”s and is constructed from samples, such you can get a lot of sounds and stuff.”
ds:
that becomes a bit of a treadmill, I are the original methods he has used Jackson’s also not averse to the more
or
W
suddenly had a bit more of a project to twist, turn and subvert them into recent developments in UK bass music
www.djmag.com
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DJ470.MiltonJackson.indd 33 19/1/09 22:53:21
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