damaged. I have a test pressing of an unreleased 12” by MC Shy D from 1989 that is very precious to me because there isn’t another known copy in existence. I could never replace it so I guess that makes it very precious…but it’s not my favourite record. Speaking of which, how many records would you say you own? I don’t actually know for sure because I’ve never attempted to count them at any point over the years! I don’t just collect records for the sake of collecting, I try to just collect records that have a purpose, whether that means for DJing, sampling or just listening to at home. I don’t like having records just for the sake of making my
“I maybe have about 5,000 records, but that’s just a rough estimate.”
respect so it was a pleasure. I didn’t actually meet Grandmaster Flash that night in Norwich but I recently supported him again in Worthing and he was in quite a friendly mood that night. When he discovered I wasn’t using a laptop he enthusiastically looked through my entire record box, pulling out lots of 45’s and asking me about them. It was a great experience being asked about my own choice of breaks & beats by one of the pioneers of hip hop culture that inspired me to do this in the first place! What would you say your most precious record is in your collection? It’s really hard to answer that because I have records that are worth almost nothing financially that mean the world to me, and I have records that are worth a lot of money, but I’m not sure how to quantify what is the most precious. My favourite hip hop records from the late ‘80s are probably my most treasured but they are easily replaced if lost or
collection look bigger so I constantly get rid of records that I no longer play or intend to sample. I maybe have about 5,000 but that’s just a rough estimate. Is there any chance of Tesimonsound producing more music? Absolutely. Te Simonsound is Simon James first & foremost and he has continued to make music since we released Reverse Engineering together a few years ago. When I joined forces with Te Simonsound we didn’t want to let people know about my involvement because we were scared that our music would be pre-judged as ‘funky hip hop’. We wanted to let the music speak for itself and believed that people would discover it on their own if it was good enough. In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t have been so stupid; we should have exploited my fanbase a bit more and let them just judge the music for themselves. At least it would have reached more people that way. We’ve still got two or three songs together
that we need to finish at some point. I think they are really promising but we just need to put the finishing touches on them when we have the time and inspiration. You cross genres quite happily; rock, hip hop, psychedelia, jazz, blues, funk, soul, electronica. Are there any genres of music that you really don’t like? Yes, I pretty much hate all house music, drum ‘n’ bass, dubstep, pop…anything modern really! Te only hip hop I actually like is either old stuff from the ‘80s & early ‘90s, or new releases that sound just like the old stuff I grew up with. I mostly enjoy music from the late ‘60s & early ‘70s, all sorts of genres. It was a very creative time for music in general and the golden age of studio equipment & recording techniques. Who do you find inspirational as a DJ? I love DJ’s like Mr Ting & Rob Life because they have great records, some classic and some unknown, and always cut them up with such skill & precision. Tey also find the perfect balance between entertaining the people who like to watch, and the people who like to dance; that’s something that’s very hard to get just right. I also take a lot of inspiration from DJ’s who don’t really play classic records that everyone knows & loves. It’s much harder as a DJ to take a chance and play records that nobody knows because nowadays most people in clubs don’t want to hear a DJ’s exciting new vinyl discoveries, they just want to hear the same old songs. What is the essence of being a great DJ? Hmmm…maybe I just accidentally answered that question with my last answer! Everyone has a different idea of what makes a great DJ, but I personally try to keep in mind all of the things I mentioned above. I want to keep people dancing but not by playing classic or famous songs all the time. Tat’s too easy. I want to discover new ‘old’ records and present them in a way that people will hopefully enjoy them despite not having heard them before. I like to cut & scratch a little bit but not so much that it kills the dance floor & becomes a nerd-fest.
Lizz Page INFORMATION Hot Damn presents DJ Format
supported by Chrome and Just-1 at Te Talk on 19th September.
Tickets from
ueaticketbookings.co.uk. Read this interview in full at outline
online.co.uk
outlineonline.co.uk / August 2015 / 13
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