T
here are few rawer genres than ghettotech, the lewd, pumping club music that dominated Detroit in the '90s. Combining the driving four four of homegrown Detroit techno with the sexually charged chants and low end pressure of Miami bass and Chicago ghetto house, its legacy is best outlined by DJ Godfather, aka Michigan native Brian Jeffries.
Co-owner of seminal labels Twilight 76, Databass Records and Juke Trax, he's been at the forefront of playing, producing
and releasing ghettotech records since its inceptions. Having recently remixed Dizzee Rascal's 'Bassline Junkie' and Laidback Luke's 'Pogo', both number ones on the Serato Whitelabel download chart, and released an iMaschine sample pack – 'Dirty Knock' – for Native Instruments, he's also started a new DJ/production duo, Don Dada, with Chicago's DJ Zebo.
After hearing them tear up the Made in Detroit stage at Movement, we chatted to Brian for some DJ Godfather history.
Can you tell us how and when you started out? “I graduated high school in 1993 and literally that summer we came out with our first record as a group called Bass Association. That guy there [points to label partner DJ Dick], at the time he was DJing on the radio and he'd already helped me get into DJing. I was 15 when I started. He used to play with Jeff Mills on the radio, who went by the name of The Wizard. He helped me get some used turntables off Jeff. I still got 'em. Then I started learning to make beats and production when I was 17 years old.
“We did a song called 'Drive that Thing'. When we did it, it was actually getting Top 40 airplay here in Detroit, and also in some other markets. There's a label called Belmark, they put out that song 'Whoomp! (There It Is)' by Tag Team. They offered to sign the record, but the problem is we sampled Earth, Wind and Fire and they refused to clear the sample. We sampled 'Let's Groove'. I thought that was going to be a cool graduation
kids knew it. At that time they were all into 2 Live Crew and stuff like that. So what I would do is take a 2 Live Crew record and mix it with a Detroit techno record. So I'd play every other record either a booty bass or a techno record. So that's how they got used to the sound. Then, a couple of years later when I started producing the tracks I took elements from each one and I kind of made my own sound with it. So it was for a younger generation to relate to. It was kind of the booty version of techno.”
On stage you do a lot of turntable tricks. When did you learn that? “It's always been a Detroit thing. You'd see all the early techno guys cutting and scratching. For me, when I started, I started out as a battle DJ. I placed third in the DMCs in '96. I just won the Red Bull Freestyle Battle here in Detroit a few months ago. So I kind of incorporate the battle stuff and tricks in a show. But you have to do it in a certain way so you keep the dancefloor. I wanted to create a visual show meets an aggressive music show. I really get bored of DJs. For me personally, it's not a disrespect to anyone but I can't stand it when DJs stand there for four or five minutes acting like they're really doing something when they're just touching a bass knob and they've got their hands up. You act like you're all intense... It's fucking funny to me. I hate that. I think if all of these people are sitting here watching, give someone a show.
“I think that's why a lot of EDM shows now have to have all the big lights. Like, when you see Deadmau5 play – no disrespect to him, he's a great producer, I actually love his tracks – he doesn't DJ. He does his live shows off Ableton. So how do you get 3000 people to watch you? You've got to do all the flashy lights on the stage. It's like a Jedi mind trick. It's getting your mind off 'this guy is really doing nothing on stage!' I see right through that shit but unfortunately this younger generation, they don't know that. EDM has got so big that more and more of these guys started producing before they started DJing. See, I learned to DJ, then I learned to produce. For me, a lot of EDM guys, they have to do that for their show or their show's not going to be interesting. Especially the more commercial guys you see in Vegas and at festivals. Festivals are different in America than they are
present from high school, get signed to the same label that Tag Team are on.”
How did the ghettotech sound come about? “After that I started playing a lot more techno meets Miami bass stuff, and we started making the records that became ghettotech, the Detroit sound. My first solo record came out in 1995 or '96.
“Everybody's got their own experience on how it started. My experience was from when I started DJing in a teen club, so it was all kids my own age. No alcohol. I knew everything about Detroit techno coming up, but none of the
overseas, they're really cheesy and commercial. A lot of those commercial house DJs, they play the same shit. They don't do anything technically behind turntables or decks to separate themselves. If there's ten guys on the line-up, you know when I'm on.”
Tell us about your new project Don Dada. “Me and Zebo were like, man, we should do a trap music meets ghettotech thing. You know, I've been doing ghettotech for so long. Like, I'm an artist too. I feel that with a ghettotech record you can only do the same elements. They're not even songs, they're DJ tool. To me, you have to keep fresh. So when trap music started getting really big, to me it just sounded
djmag.com 025
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94