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Seb Fontaine: DJs Were Never Pop Stars…Interview by Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
“There are probably a few DJs who would like to believe they are pop stars, but DJs are just people who watch plastic go round. If you turned us into pop stars we wouldn’t be DJs anymore.
With an upcoming headline slot at Glastonbury Festival and his ultra high profile Radio 1 show, Seb Fontaine is one of the most likely candidates to be routinely dubbed a superstar DJ, though chatting from his West London home, he’s keen to stress his down-to-Earth credentials.
“DJs were born out of warehouses and grotty, seedy little clubs, that’s where we come from and that’s what we do and if you take that element away from us, we won’t be DJs anymore,” he insists.
“It’s nice to be recognised and for people to be into what you do, but certainly egos have become too big in this business.”
In recent months, in fact, Seb’s high status appears to have prompted a vicious campaign of abuse from the overblown egos of certain, presumably jealous, journalists, prompting a curious article by Pete Tong in a recent issue of London’s Standard newspaper
“Type is the home of Seb Fontaine, also a Radio 1 colleague and someone who has overcome his critics in recent months following a spate of attacks from dance magazines keen to have the power to sway public opinion,” Tong wrote in a preview of Seb’s Kings Cross monthly.
“Well it didn’t work, and Seb’s show on Radio 1 is still an integral part of the UK’s radio weekend, and Type is still one of London’s most vibrant clubs.”
Seb, himself, is keen to move on; preferring to discuss his new compilation CD Perfecto presents Seb Fontaine (out now on Paul Oakenfold’s label Perfecto). Designed to reflect the kind of sets he plays these days (‘it would be unfair to the punter, to come up with something completely different and unexpected’), the CD includes tracks from Salt Pervert, Agent Orange and David Guetta mixed together in a style he’s calling ‘electronic house music’.
“It’s tougher that house, it’s not progressive and it’s certainly way ahead of trance,” says Seb.
“It has more energy, it’s more electronic and typifies the new sound coming up. It’s an emerging genre.” It’s also the style of music he’ll be spinning at this year’s Glastonbury Festival as the headline act in the dance tent.
“I loved Glastonbury last year, people were dancing with absolutely no clue of who was playing, just for the sheer pleasure of listening to the music. They were really cool people, really open-minded, who could be hanging at one place for hours. That’s what festivals should be like.”
Skrufff: How was the whole Glastonbury Festival experience last year in general?
Seb Fontaine: “It was absolutely amazing, it was my first time there and it was a real eye opener, definitely one of my best weekends ever. It was what festivals were always promised to me should be like, and it was just amazing. So much so, that I went back to the BBC and I asked to do a four hour special, creating a really good show with lots of things happening including live bands. It’s taken a lot of preparation for this year, but I think it’s going to be really worth it.”
Skrufff: When you were in Glastonbury, did you stay in a luxury campervan or a tent?
Seb Fontaine: “No, it was a caravan. The hardest thing was getting absolutely shit faced (drunk) after work and not realising that I should have put some sign or symbol on the caravan door before hand; there were thousands of identical caravans everywhere. It was like looking for one particular penguin in the Antarctic, they’re all the same. But somehow I managed to find my bearings, eventually… I’ll take my missus (wife) this year, she couldn’t come last year because she was expecting our baby.”
Skrufff: Are you planning to catch Radiohead and Moby?
Seb Fontaine: “Ummm, I’m not sure about Radiohead, I find them a little bit too depressing, I have a love/hate relationship with them, I absolutely love a couple of their tracks, but not enough to go out and buy a whole album. I’ll certainly be seeing lots of other acts though. I remember meeting the Red Hot Chilli Peppers at a festival once, which was a high moment for me of my career. I also like The White Stripes.”
Skrufff: I saw on your website that you were supposed to be playing in Beijing this June, why did you cancel?
Seb Fontaine: “I didn’t do it because of the SARS scare. I had to make a decision and it looked very scary at the time though I think the situation is more under control right now. I’ll be over there again soon, if not by the end of this year then at the beginning of next year.”
Skrufff: What about Australia?
Seb Fontaine: “I was there last year and I’ll probably go back by the end of this year too. I’d love to travel a bit more if it wasn’t for the radio show. You have to make choices in life and I know I really, really enjoy doing radio… much more than sitting on a plane, to be honest. Especially with the way the world is at the moment, where every bloke with a beard is viewed as a threat.”
Skrufff: Perfecto Presents Seb Fontaine has been internationally released simultaneously, how much did you make it with a global, as opposed to just a UK, audience in mind?
Seb Fontaine: “I did it completely with a global audience in mind. It makes sense, since UK CD sales represent such a small slice of the market right now. DJing is an international profession these days and DJs should be thinking internationally, I actually don’t think in UK terms about anything specifically, except perhaps my Radio One show.”
Skrufff: How long did it take you to select the tracks?
Seb Fontaine: “Quite a long time actually, probably two months because I did half of it before Miami, then the other half when I returned to England. Then I went away again and on my return I decided I wanted to change a few things, again… I was tinkering for quite a long time over it.”
Skrufff: How do see the UK club/music scene at the moment?
Seb Fontaine: “I think it’s having an upturn at the moment. Last year it was pretty bad and everyone was panicking because clubs were quiet, but the recession has just affected the big clubs, the smaller ones are healthier than they’ve ever been. In London especially, there are some fantastic nights almost every weekend, from Bugged Out, to Underwater and so on. I really believe that in smaller environments the music works better, the days of the 2,500 people rooms are gone, quite frankly. This is probably a good thing because most artists were making music for large crowds and I don’t think that was ever meant to be.”
Skrufff: How far ahead are you looking at the moment? Is Ibiza dominating your thoughts?
Seb Fontaine: “Not really. Musically there’s something new going on which I’d describe as electronic house music… it’s tougher that house, it’s not progressive and it’s certainly way ahead of trance, it has more energy, it’s more electronic and typifies the new sound coming up. It’s an emerging genre and I don’t think Ibiza really covers it. Ibiza it’s great if you’re an American house DJ or a banging trance DJ, but I think in between, there something missing over there.”
Perfecto presents Seb Fontaine is out now.
http://www.perfectorecords.com
http://www.clubtype.com (Seb’s London club Type: Erick Morillo headlines July 12)
By: Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
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