Articles - Interviews

Paul Van Dyk Interview on George W , Cannibals & Living in A Dictatorship. “I don’t think anyone seriously believes that all of us in Germany are potential cannibal killers. That guy was one geek, one freak; every country in the world has its weirdoes. And in some countries those weirdoes are even President.” Germany’s biggest superstar DJ Paul Van Dyk paid little attention to the recent court case of infamous cannibal killer Armin Meiwes, though stories about Presidential weirdoes are a different matter.

Recently installed as the first non-American to join voter registration drive Rock The Vote, he’s as politically astute as he’s gloriously outspoken, revelling in using the opportunities his music’s brought him, to express himself as much as he can.

“I still think you’re able to say what you think in The States though it’s a little bit more dangerous than it was five years ago,” he tells Skrufff.

“But at least you still can and that wasn’t possible in East Germany in the past.”

Growing up in Communist led East Germany in the 80s (under a regime he unequivocally brands a dictatorship), the teenage Berliner experienced life under tyranny first-hand, particularly after his Mother applied to leave the country in 1986 (some three years before the regime collapsed as the Berlin Wall fell). Branded subversives and placed under Stasi (secret police) surveillance, the 14 year old enjoyed cat and mouse games with the police, simultaneously developing a genuine appreciation of democratic values, notably the importance of freedom of speech.

“Maybe I’m outspoken about my political views and about my stance as a democratic person because I saw how what a dictatorship was like as a teenager,” he suggests.

“Because I saw what life was like, living with no basic rules of democracy; when you couldn’t vote and everything was done the way the authorities said it should be done, you had no choice.”

15 years since the Berlin Wall fell, he’s become one of the world’s most popular (and successful) DJs, enjoying riches and acclaim far beyond his wildest dreams, though he attributes his mammoth success to his abiding passion for music.

“When it comes down to music, I’m a total geek, I love electronic music and I give everything for my music, I think this comes across and lots of people appreciate it, “ he says.

“To do something with substance you always have to put your heart into it.”

Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): You’re shortly re-releasing your latest album Reflections with a new remix bonus CD included, how pleased are you with its performance so far?

Paul Van Dyk: “I’m very pleased, on the one hand it’s already my most successful album, it’s been top 10 in Germany and has been very well received in the US too. People also seem to have appreciated the fact that I took elements from other genres and incorporated them into my music as well the fact that I included more serious issues with my lyrics.”

Skrufff: You’re one of the world’s biggest name DJs, is the  goal to replicate that level of success as a producer?

Paul Van Dyk: “I wouldn’t complain with where I’m at now, because I’m one of the few people that can go anywhere in the world and find at least a few thousand people there that are interested in what I do. This is something that I find amazing and major. But I don’t really define success by how many people recognise me on the street or by what kind of chart position I achieve. Success to me is when I’m able to translate my ideas into music and reach people with it. From that perspective I have to say I’m very successful in what I do because obviously there are quite a lot of people on this planet who enjoy electronic music, and also enjoy in particular, the kind of electronic music that I make.”

Skrufff: Does the term ‘underground’ have any meaning for you?

Paul Van Dyk: “Underground means underground (chuckling). At the beginning of the 90s there was this weird separation between those being called underground and others labelled commercial but neither term really reflected on how necessary the music was that was being made. Lots of ‘underground’ records basically consist of a few bass drums and a hi-hat, which can be interesting but most of the time they’re not. Then people use the term ‘commercial’ to put a negative slant on music, though I’ve never done that. Because firstly as an artist, I try to reach as many people as possible, which is the goal of any artist. And secondly, I love electronic music so much that I hope to see electronic music expanding into all different areas of music, wherever. So for me it was never a question of underground or overground, it was about good or bad music.”

Skrufff: Ferry Corsten said recently ‘the biggest threat to dance music is that everybody wants to be too cool’, would you agree?

Paul Van Dyk: “Let me give you an example; take the UK club scene. There was a huge slowdown with their clubs in recent years and I always said it’s been home grown and homemade. In Germany, in comparison, we have quite a strict separation between discoteques and clubs, whereas in the UK I didn’t really see that happening. Discoteque music that would never be played in a quality club in Germany, at one point starting having huge exposure in the UK in big time clubs. So some of my DJ colleagues became more and more commercial because they didn’t really understand the music with all their hearts, so they just played the music that they thought the people wanted to hear. But moving in the opposite direction was just as bad, ie those DJs who started playing the music they called ‘progressive’. By doing that, they lost all the fun in the music and ended up playing really boring stuff. I’m not interested in listening to a track for 15 minutes in which nothing happens, then thinking that’s really cool- it doesn’t make any sense.

Then suddenly there was that issue of image, of people saying ‘I’m this or I’m that’ (genre), and all that kind of bullshit in the dance community, which never previously existed. I never was a part of that, I never projected some kind of image, I’ve always been just the way I am and people have to accept it or not. There are probably people out there who think I’m very cool and others who think I’m totally uncool, I don’t really care. Not everyone likes what Madonna’s doing but she still has a lot of fans. For me, it’s not a question or being cool or not cool the question is ‘for what reason are you in this business?’ If the answer is because of anything other than music, then you should leave the business.”

Skrufff: You’re the best-known DJ to be involved in America’s Rock The Vote election campaign, despite being German, why do you think they asked you?

Paul Van Dyk: “I think one of the reasons was because they knew I’m politically active and I say what I think; that when it comes down to politics, I actually take a stand rather than just shutting my mouth. For an organisation like Rock The Vote you need someone like that, someone who’s prepared to stand up and say ‘it doesn’t make any sense to sit in front of a TV, moaning about how bad Bush is then not voting’. On the other hand, it was very surprising that they asked me, given that I’m a German. I’m the first foreigner ever to be involved in the campaign. All the tours and gigs I do this year are going to be under the Rock The Vote banner and we’re going to have registration booths at the gigs, so people can register themselves, while they’re at the clubs. I think it’s an important project.”

Skrufff: American authorities have also been criminalizing club culture via policies such as the RAVE act, why do you think that’s happening?

Paul Van Dyk: “The RAVE act is a very unconstitutional law, though I wouldn’t even call it a ‘law’ because you can’t make someone liable for something that was done on their property. If you can then that means if someone is doing something wrong in a Hilton Hotel ,for example, then the Hilton sisters can go to jail. That’s pretty much what the RAVE Act says. Right now, I don’t know any cases going on where a promoter or club owner has been charged under that law. I’m sure that the moment they start using it, they’ll be a huge outrage with lots of lawyers getting involved, wanting to defend the club owner, because this is going to go to the highest court in the States and I’m pretty sure they’re going to rule it out. Because there’s still some democracy left in that country.”

Skrufff: You grew up in Communist East Germany and were under surveillance for four years, do you see any parallels between the Bush administration and the East Germany of old?

Paul Van Dyk: “It was completely different. Firstly, there wasn’t such a thing as democracy in East Germany at all; it was a dictatorship. I still think you’re able to say what you think in the States though it’s a little bit more dangerous than it was five years ago. But you still can and that wasn’t possible in East Germany. But maybe this is why I’m outspoken about my political views and about my stance as a democratic person- it’s because I saw how what a dictatorship was like as a teenager. I saw what life was like, living with no basic rules of democracy; when you couldn’t vote and everything was done the way the authorities said it should be done, you had no choice. I don’t know what is more dangerous.”

Skrufff: You’re family was under Stasi (secret police) surveillance when you were aged between 14 and 17 after your Mother applied to leave East Germany, did you notice being watched?

Paul Van Dyk: “As a kid it was like playing a game of cat and mouse, it had a fun element to it as well, because being young you don’t get the whole picture of what was going on. My Mum quite often pointed things out, for example, there was an apartment across the street from us and for some reason they had this weird mirror set up by their window where they could see who was going in and out of our door. Stuff like that went on all the time and it was quite obvious, they didn’t really make any effort to hide it.”

Skrufff: Were you questioned by the secret police at any time?

Paul Van Dyk: “We had to go randomly to the Ministry of Internal Affairs which was the official constitutional headquarters of the Stasi- the secret service. We were questioned regularly- Why did we want to leave the country? Who were our friends inside the country and outside the country? All that kind of stuff. That happened randomly though regularly.”

Skrufff: Have you found yourself under surveillance in the West at all, or had problems with immigration officials in the States for example, given your outspokenness?

Paul Van Dyk: “I don’t think it has anything to do with me being outspoken, or that they recognise me at the border and give me special harsh treatment. Though since the Republicans started governing the States it’s become much more difficult to get into The States. You need at least two hours for immigration and it’s definitely more difficult than it used to be, that’s for sure. I remember once when my wife and I were travelling there, having a problem in New York, which is a place where you’d expect them to be more open-minded and used to foreigners. The woman behind the Immigration desk was really rude to everyone and my wife came up to the desk and said to her, very friendly ‘Hello’ and she just grunted. My wife asked her ‘why are you so unfriendly, we’re just visitors, we just want to see your country?’ and they basically held her back at Immigration, for more than two hours. Things like this have started happening more.”

Skrufff: Have you had many similar hold ups yourself?

Paul Van Dyk: “The last big queue I faced was for over four hours, in Houston. I missed three connecting flights and almost missed the last connection to make my gig. Things like this make you wonder. I understand they have this control freak mentality because of what happened (on 911) but I think they should channel that in the right direction. None of those people (the hijackers) went through normal immigration. They were already in The States, studying there, they weren’t visitors.”

Skrufff: Ronald Reagan started his career as an actor; do you see yourself becoming a politician at some point in the future?

Paul Van Dyk: “I don’t think I’m patient enough. When I see something as being perfectly logical if I try to explain it to someone and they say ‘I don’t get it’ then I don’t have the patience to keep on explaining. I don’t know if I’d make a good politician to be honest, it’s not my goal either. I try to do something in my immediate day to day world and through the charity organisations I’m involved in in India, also here in Germany and even in Iraq. I try to involve myself directly, Rock The Vote is another outlet.”

Skrufff: How comfortable are you with making massive amounts of money these days?

Paul Van Dyk: “I come from East Germany and I remember times when I was earning 5 Deutsch marks (US$5)  a week, having to decide ‘do I eat something or drink something today?’ So I still really appreciate having money and also particularly the small things that happen. Of course, I earn a good amount of money for what I do but one thing is, I work very hard for it, which lots of other people do too, and I also take on the responsibility that comes with it. Not just spending it for myself, I’m trying to do something good with it, because this is something I really learned. It’s not enough to just sit back and believe what all the organisations and Government programmes do, it’s good that they do things but if you want to change something and do it better you have to do it yourself. I take on that challenge and that responsibility, so therefore I don’t feel bad about making a decent amount of money.”

Skrufff: Your biog starts with the line ‘Paul Van Dyk is on a mission, do you feel a sense of destiny?

Paul Van Dyk: “Mission for me means having belief in yourself and in trying to do something with that belief. That means on the musical side, that I do what I believe is right. I make music firstly to satisfy myself, because I have to perform in front of people and present my music. I have to be 100% behind my music so I make it without compromises. Of course, my engagement in other activities is also a mission, of course I’m trying to do something that really helps.”

Paul Van Dyk’s new single Crush is out on March 15, while a new edition of his latest album Reflections hits the shops on March 29 (including a bonus disc with 8 new versions of album tracks.).

http://www.paulvandyk.de

Interview By: Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

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Articles - Interviews

It wasn’t Comedy Dancing: It Was Alright Dancing: </b>Growing up dreaming of being either a ballet dancer or pop star, Cheshire born DJ Charlotte Horne partially realised both ambitions in 2000 dancing on the podium at Danny Tenaglia’s infamous Miami party at Space. Her lost-in-music 11.30 am performance in front of the 60 or so diehard stragglers caught the attention of friends and producers Peace Division, who loved her dancing style so much, they promptly named a track after her; Lottie’s Vogue.

“That was one of the best things ever, having a track named after you,” Lottie reveals today, chatting in her Maida Vale apartment.

“But I wasn’t doing proper Vogue-ing,” she insists.

“I’ve always liked dancing on podiums, I always do it if I get the chance, I love dancing. I went to ballet school and I’ll dance for hours when the music’s good. At the Danny Tenaglia party that night I wasn’t doing comedy dancing, it was alright dancing.”

Miami party frolics aside though, Lottie’s much better recognised these days as one of Britain’s most popular house DJs, routinely spinning at clubs across the UK and abroad, as well as running her own Thursday West London weekly, Missdemeanours (at Ben Watts’ new venue Neighbourhood). Living not far away in Maida Vale (one of London’s swankiest areas), she’s come a long way from when she first arrived down South ten years ago, to take up a job folding jumpers in a clothes shop.

“Working in the clothes shop was good if boring to be honest, but doing it meant I could go out every single night and get absolutely nutted (wasted) because you could do that job brain-dead.” she chuckles.

“The manageress used to say to me ‘you’ve been here a while now, don’t you want to be assistant manageress?’ and I’d be like ‘absolutely not!- I’m not going to be staying here for long’. I wanted to be in clubs every single night listening to music.”

Nowadays making more and more of her own music, she recently released a new single Superkilla, a track she co-produced with Justin Drake (better known as one half of Peace Division.) She’s also now a regular guest DJ for Radio 1, enhancing her profile still further (on top of her acclaimed appearance on Channel 4’s lifeswap programme Faking It, when she teamed up with Anne Savage to teach a young violinist how to mix.) Sitting pretty (both literally and career-wise) she’s also as friendly and open as her reputation suggests.

Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): What was your approach with Supakilla, what kind of track did you set out to make?

DJ Lottie: “A few years ago I was doing loads of tracks and then I got really busy DJing and stopped producing for a couple of years, which meant that before
Supakilla I hadn’t made one in ages. So I initially felt that it needed to be ‘big’, then I reconsidered and decided to make a track purely for myself, for my DJing, which is how it is. It’s quite (DJ) Sneak inspired, with a summery version and a darker weird one and I wanted it to have a woven groove feel with the percussion coming in. Because that’s what I really like, those 8 minute real grooves.”

Skrufff: Your biography talks of you dreaming of being a pop star, now that you’re making records as DJ Lottie, are you thinking in pop star terms?

DJ Lottie: “I have started making non house music too because having spoken to lots of people I’ve understood that the best way to make music is to go with whatever works. I’ve found myself spending hours learning drum programming, not break beat as such, but certainly not 4/4 beats and I’m trying to find new sounds and go with them. I don’t see my music as pop, though I love a lot of pop; everything that I do will be dance orientated. When I’m asked what I listen to at home it’s Prince or Missy Elliot or Air. I suppose I also listen to Talking Heads and Fleetwood Mac but it’s generally dance based. I like a bit of rock but I’m not really a rock girl, I’m a dance girl.”

Skrufff: The editor of tabloid magazine Heat described fame recently as being a tax on celebrity, how do you view the fame side of Djing?

DJ Lottie: “It’s really weird, I don’t see myself as famous. When it’s you, you have no idea how you’re perceived, I know I’ve been on (TV show) Faking It, I know I’ve done Radio 1 and know that I’m in the Evening Standard each week with my club column but I don’t really register the level of how well I’m known. I recognise that I’m known in clubland, obviously, because that’s what I do, but I don’t know beyond that. When I appeared on Faking It that’s when I found myself being recognised in Marks & Spencers and the garage round the corner and that was really weird. But that’s just the nature of television and how scarily powerful it is. But apart from that I don’t see myself as famous.”

Skrufff: When did you first get into dance music?

DJ Lottie: “When I was 15 I got into hip hop and used to walk around Chester, spray-painting my tag on walls and got into loads of trouble. I did it on a wall in my house and my Mum went mental. My tag was Crash, standing for Charlotte Ruth Anne Sommerville Horne (chuckling). Those are not my actually initials, my Dad wouldn’t let my Mum put Anne Sommerville on my birth certificate but she always told me that’s your full name. I was really into Public Enemy then too.”

Skrufff: You got your first decks aged 17, were you still at school at the time?

DJ Lottie: “ was in the Lower 6th but I ended up not doing the Upper 6th form. I didn’t finish my A levels. I was planning to go to Salford Technical College to study sound engineering and I remember going on the open day with about 25 long haired, really dirty blokes all wearing Iron Maiden T shirts, and me. I was happy because I just wanted to make music. At that age you don’t really know how you can do what you want to do so you go with whatever viable options come along. But instead I started clubbing and got a bit rebellious and naughty so didn’t finish my A Levels. I wasn’t getting paid DJing then, I didn’t realise you could get paid, it was just a hobby, I’d look at people like Graeme Park, Sasha and Andy Weatherall but it seemed like a pipe dream that I could be a DJ like them, it was just something I enjoyed doing.”

Skrufff: Graeme Park was telling us recently about noticing Sasha at the Hacienda, when he was just another, admittedly enthusiastic punter. . .

DJ Lottie: “You have to be a punter, all the best DJs are like that. I was out clubbing the other week, dancing to Damian Lazarus in a dirty filthy sweatbox in East London and I loved it. You can’t sit on your laurels. Half the reason I go to the Miami Conference each year is because I get to hear other DJs and they inspire me. Whenever I get the chance and it’s worth it, I’m in the middle of the dance floor. I think if you forget that element you’ll start losing your own judgement behind the decks, you need to be a punter as well. The best DJs are record collectors, the best DJs have all been collecting records for years before they start mixing, in my opinion.”

Skrufff: How do you find time to go out as well as DJing?

DJ Lottie: “Well I’m single again so I’ve got more time on my hands. To be honest, when I was in a relationship I stayed in much more whereas now I’m out all the time. It’s the nature of your lifestyle, and I like going out.”

Skrufff: The Chester Daily Post recently said ‘she doesn’t have a partner or children’, I don’t know if you watch Sex In The City. . .

DJ Lottie: “Of course, I’ve got every single episode on DVD.”

Skrufff: They’re frequently going on about babies in the last series, do you see it as maybe sacrificing kids for DJing?

DJ Lottie: “Hmm, if I was with somebody that I was really in love with then I’d have a baby. DJing or not DJing, I’d take some time off then go back to DJing when I could. Hopefully I’ll be in a position at some point where I can do it careerwise, maybe through making records. I don’t see myself DJing when I’m 40, it’s not a good look really, but I’ve still got a few years left in me. I definitely want children, without a doubt, but I’d want to be in a relationship.”

Skrufff: Do you get many male groupies?

DJ Lottie: “I get a few, but not really, they’re just messing around. I think male DJs get more. You’ll see a lot more girls hanging round DJ booths, pouting and sticking their boobs out, than you do blokes trying to do the same thing. If you’re a woman DJing in that environment, you’re obviously going to be quite a strong person and a lot of blokes don’t know how to handle that.”

Skrufff: I understand you started out as a clothes shop assistant, which shop?

DJ Lottie: “When I first moved to London I had to get a job to pay my rent so I worked at Agnes B, in Covent Garden, for about 18 months. I started DJing doing the warm up at The Gallery and sometimes the last bit too, I remember once playing from 6am til 8am and I had to be in the shop at 10am. I could do it because not many people came in the shop, it was one of those quite intimidating designer shops, so it was really quiet all the time.”

Skruffff: Were you a good shop assistant?

DJ Lottie: “I was very friendly and nice to people but I think that’s because I’m Northern. A lot of shop assistants are quite snooty aren’t they, I’ve never understood why. Because I know what it’s like when you want to walk in but you haven’t got any money, especially if you’re young.”

Skrufff: Were you particularly determined during that period, thinking one day I’m going to be a DJ?

DJ Lottie: “By that stage, yeah, I used to look out of the shop window on Floral Street and think ‘I really want to travel the world’ and by that time I’d realised it was possible. I remember hearing Jo, Smokin Jo in Trade and thinking ‘I’ve got all these records, I can mix, and she’s a girl’, and it clicked that if I put my mind to it, then I could do it. But it took a long time for me to realise that.”

Skrufff: You said in The Standard last August ‘when you think about it, it’s pretty funny that I get paid for playing other people’s records’ and the paper suggested you got up to £15,000 a night . . .

DJ Lottie: “Where’s that come from, I’ve never been paid that much? I know where it comes from, they asked me my biggest fee and I said I usually get around £1,500 to £2,000 though sometimes I’ll do it for free if it’s a mate’s party for example. It varies all the time. But they pushed me and I told them about one New Year’s Eve when I got paid something like £12,000 but it was for three different gigs- that was the Millennium. I’ve never got £15,000.”

Skrufff: When you’re playing for a high fee, do you feel more pressure to deliver?

DJ Lottie: “No, absolutely not. To be honest, I’m more pressured at the gigs I do for free because they’re usually full of people who really know their music. If I get a big fee, like I do abroad sometimes, it’s usually because a party’s sponsored by a big company but I always do my absolute best whether I’m being paid or not.”

Lottie’s Supakilla is out now on Missdemeanours Music.

Interview by: Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

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“The symbol of The Orb is a round circle with a cross on top, it’s quite an important sign that’s been used for millenniums. It dates back to the Pre-Egyptian days of Sumerian and Mesopotamian culture.” 15 years after he gave up roadying to concentrate on building ambient house giants The Orb, Alex Patterson remains one of dance culture’s most enigmatic, highly developed souls, as comfortable discussing chill-out as he is ancient Sumerian History and the future of the world.

“My missing link at the moment is that we don’t go to Heaven unless we’re complete,” he suggests.

“Our own egos have to belief that something happens after death, because we’re much too intelligent just to die. What we need to find is some kind of formula that gives us longevity in life so that we can actually reproduce the real power in our brains. But it that happened, we’d all become genuine supermen and there would be far too much of an overspill of population. So right now it’s still about keeping that formula from ancient alchemy, down.”

Equally happy discussing the background of Stonehenge (he’s recently returned from visiting Ireland’s equivalent Neolithic structure Newgrange) he’s nevertheless resolutely down-to-Earth and quick to downplay his alchemical knowledge.

“It’s not about me knowing this or that, it’s rather about me reading books, learning about these issues and discussing them with friends,” he explains.

“I’m not a person who philosophises, I just read things and try and connect them together. If I had the money I’d love to become and explorer and go on adventures, to find ancient cities in the jungle. But it’s not the 19th century.”

Instead he continues to make music, such as he brand new Orb album Bicycles and Tricycles, which sees him returning to the four/four ambient dub style he first pioneered in the late 80s.

“I’m 44 years old and I find it magical to be 44 and playing 4/4 music a lot,” he quips.
 
“I am 44, I shall play 4/4.”

Chuckling as he ponders such numerological coincidences, he admits he’s chilling out even more as time passes.

“I think I’ve slowed down a lot since when I started, I give myself more time, that’s something that happens when you reach 40. You suddenly realise all the rushing around doesn’t really matter,” he says.

While it might not matter much now, Patterson’s energy in the past helped make the Orb one of dance culture’s most significant, indeed popular bands of the 90s, their number one albums and Glastonbury headlining live shows putting them firmly on a par with their peers of the era Underworld, Orbital and Leftfield. However, as corporate forces took musical control as the millennium approached, The Orb’s relentless experimentation saw them being relatively marginalized though not before Alex duetted with Robbie Williams in a bizarre version of the Bee Gees ballad I Started A Joke.

“Robbie’s someone who, if I met him again, we’d have a coffee, a chat and a laugh, I still regard him as a kind of mate in that sense, because he’s that kind of bloke, he’s not a pretentious pop star,” says Alex.

“The funny thing was he first saw us when we were on Top Of The Pops playing chess, years ago- all day, because he was there performing with Take That. He told me that when he next saw us playing live that summer he was so impressed that he decided he wanted to do a tune with us.”

Odd collaborations aside, though, he’s nowadays back to collaborating with Orb originals Jimmy Cauty (of KLF fame), Thomas Fehlmann and long term collaborator Simon Phillips and will soon be touring the UK as a band in May. Though not before he’s completed a 16 date DJing solo tour of Australia.

Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): You’re shortly off to Australia for a DJ tour, how does DJing compare to playing live as a band?

The Orb: “As a DJ I will be playing Orb music, I think that’s probably what they want me to do, though I actually find DJing much more difficult than performing with the band, because you can’t hide behind anyone. It’s two hours of sheer concentration, I concentrate with the Orb too but you can have more of a laugh than when you’re on your own- there’s no cover.”

Skrufff: you’ve got an extensive back catalogue to choose from, do you sometimes find yourself thinking ‘Oh God, I’ve got to play Little Fluffy Clouds again?

The Orb: “It gets like that now and again, it’s bound to. It’s just when I go out sometimes people say ‘this is the bloke who did Little Fluffy Clouds’. It’s a talisman but it’s also been a great salesman for me, it’s opened so many doors for The Orb. I can’t say ‘I fucking hate it’, because that’s what you want me to say, because that’s a good journalistic line. I actually regard Little Fluffy Clouds and A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain as the two main cornerstones of The Orb. If it wasn’t for those two tracks we wouldn’t have got anywhere, the other tracks would have been seen as being just good tracks, whereas those two are the excellent ones.”

Skrufff: How do you see acid house culture, now that it’s 15 years old?

The Orb: “I consider it to be a way of life, I see it all over the world, it’s still springing up everywhere. I’ve toured China, I’ve been doing a regular club in Moscow, all last year and I’ve been to places like Macedonia, all because of the music. I find it’s all opening up and it’s still fresh. In Australia it’s still fresh too. I played the Earthcore party on the millennium and that was magical. I’ll never forget that one.”

Skrufff: Do you ever look back and thing you should have done things differently?

The Orb: “I think everybody has regrets but you can’t really change it, you’ve just got to make sure it doesn’t’ happen again. I don’t really have regrets- though if I started again I would never trust anybody (chuckling).”

Skrufff: Do you see yourself as being involved in music until the end?

The Orb: “I think so, yeah, particularly when I go and see Kraftwerk play and know that Killing Joke are doing gigs this year, I think I can carry on for a few years yet. I think having a couple of classic albums under my belt has put me in the right sort of company.”

Bicyles & Tricycles is out on new label The Hexus shortly (check the website for release dates, which vary widely for different countries).

http://www.theorb.com

http://www.glasson.com/sights/newgrange.htm  (Newgrange: Built some 5,300 years ago, this holy place is one of the oldest built structures in the world. The tomb is the passage grave which on the morning of the winter solstice becomes filled with the dawn sunlight for one memorable moment every year. At all other times of the year the tomb of a shrouded in darkness . . .’) 

Interview By: Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

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Nag Nag Nag’s Next Star? 12 months after he started door-whoring London’s still oversubscribed, always interesting, alternative club Nag Nag Nag, man-with-the-clipboard Mr Cormack stepped up to the decks, joining John Taylor’s Punx Soundcheck crew as a fledging new electro (clash) DJ. And 8 months later, the expat Irishman spins monthly at The Ghetto’s equally fashionable gay/ electro weekly The Cock and beyond, while continuing to bar undesirables from Nag every Wednesday (notably Christina Aguilera and Irish boy band Westlife).

“There are nights you think it should be called Blag, Blag, Blag, the stories people come out with trying to get in,” he laughs.

“I’ve had girls groping my cock, trying to get in, people offering me money and drugs. Sometimes some of them get embarrassed by what they say, comments like ‘do you know who I am?’ Actually, only one person has ever said that to me; Kylie Minogue’s ex-boyfriend, what was his name, James Gooding? I said ‘Yes, I do know who you are and you’re not coming in’.”

“I’ve also been spat at in the street once,” he chuckles, “It happened when I was walking through Soho Square on day.”

Skrufff: (Jonty Skrufff) How long have you been DJing for?

Mr Cormac: “Not long, just a few months. I’ve been into dance music for seven years or so and I was previously a club podium dancer which made me understand I was more interested in the music than the movement. The DJing all came about through opportunity and good luck. I’d bought some decks and learned how to beat mix and found I really enjoyed it. Though I was actually offered my first proper gig before I could beat mix, to be honest, which I’ve since found out is quite common amongst lots of DJs who are nowadays well known. It’s a good way to learn, to make all your fuck-ups right at the start and also to get through the fear of getting up there and doing it. My first gig was at The Cock, eight months ago.”

Skrufff: How did the Cock gig come about?

Mr Cormac: “I’d been doing a project with John Taylor from Punx Soundcheck and part of that project was making music as a band, he was already doing the first Friday of the month as a Punx Soundcheck night at The Cock and he offered me the gig as a monthly thing. Everything progressed from there. My second gig was at Cock Live at The Face magazine party which was even better, I loved it. That was the first time I really saw people reacting to what I was playing and dancing and that was when I really got into DJing. I’d had so many lost moments myself dancing in clubs and to be able to create that atmosphere and effect as a DJ was amazing.”

Skrufff: You started from zero; how did you decide what records and what style to play as a DJ?

Mr Cormac: “I started from a position of playing dance music predominantly, though I’d also got into the whole electro thing a few years ago and by the time I started going to Nag I was so ready for it, it was so overdue. For years I’d been going out on the hard house/ tribal gay scene and had got so blatantly bored, so when I started hearing electro, with its tongue-in-cheek, more fun vibe I was immediately into it and knew that it was a scene I wanted to get involved in.”

Skrufff: When did you first move from Northern Ireland to London?

Mr Cormac: “I grew up in a little town called Banbridge, near Belfast, which was where I started clubbing and had my first foray into dance music and all that comes with it; the good and the bad, the natural and the unnatural. I was a podium dancer in those hard house clubs of the time (chuckling), I was about 16 or 17 then. Clubbing really inspired me to move to London, actually much more than the gay scene.”

Skrufff: How old were you when you came to London?

Mr Cormac: “I was 20 and came over not knowing anybody, I came here for a bit of freedom I wasn’t feeling it at home. It was quite challenging for my Mum to deal with my sexuality, being based in a small town, at that time. I felt out on a limb when I first got here and felt I had nothing to lose, which was great. So I jumped in at the deep end, starting working at an all night café on Old Compton Street, doing the night shift. From there I started going out clubbing loads and started finding out which clubs interested me.”

Skrufff: How did you end up doing Nag’s door?

Mr Cormac: “I met Jonny (Slut) in Brighton when he was trying to get another club he was involved with, Marvellous, off the ground there. I’d gone to Brighton after travelling in India, wanting somewhere a little quieter than London and I ended up being so fucking bored, it was terrible. I’m not into pub culture and found it really hard to live somewhere after London because I still wanted to be social. So I started going to Marvellous regularly; started flyering for him, then when Nag got going I got into the club via Fil (Fil Ok, who co-promotes the club with JoJo De Freq). I remember Fil being  quite excited about this club he was doing, and when he was telling me I was listening to a Dave Clarke CD called World Sessions. When I went to Nag they were playing it and I was blown away. At that stage, I didn’t think the club was going to be huge or crazy, I don’t think anybody did, but I liked it anyway. Then when Nag moved to The Ghetto, bigger and bigger crowds started arriving at the door every week so I said to Jonny, ‘you need a door person, I’m going to do it for you’.”

Skrufff: Had you worked a club door before?

Mr Cormac: “I’d done it sporadically at various cheesy celeb type clubs, places like Kabaret. Doing the door at Nag felt right and I wanted to be involved. It was a good challenge for me, it’s been a real insight into what people are like (chuckling). There are nights you think it should be called Blag, Blag. Blag, the stories people come out with. People say they work for magazines, I’ve had girls groping my cock, trying to get in, people offering me money or drugs. It’s not so crazy now, though there was a period about a year ago when it was absolute mayhem.”

Skrufff: Did you really refuse entry to the boy band Westlife?

Mr Cormac: “Yeah we did and also Christina Aguilera once. Westlife just turned up at the door one night and to be perfectly honest, I didn’t recognise them, though I kinda’ did after I’d refused them, and I didn’t want to back down then (chuckling). But when I first saw them my first reaction was ‘those guys look like they’re out on a stag night, they looked dodgy’. The security stopped them initially and said ‘do you know this is a gay club’ and one of them said ‘I can tie my t shirt in a knot’ and was actually being quite witty. At the end of it all they didn’t seem that bothered, and weren’t that phased, I don’t think they’d set their sights on going to Nag, Nag, Nag, I think they’d rather stumbled into it.”

Skrufff: What happened with Christine Aguilera?

Mr Cormac: “With Christina Aguilera we have a mutual friend, and she phoned me saying ‘Christina wants to come down tonight, can she come with us?’ I said ‘of course she can come’ but she wanted to bring four or five security people with her. Jonny and I talked about it and we decided that we thought four or five security was a bit unnecessary in a club like Nag, Nag, Nag. It doesn’t fit with the feeling of the club; people should come down and leave their shit at the door. Christina’s response was that she didn’t use the bathroom without her security, so I don’t think we missed anything.”

Mr Cormac DJs at the Punx Souncheck night at the Cock, Ghetto, the first Friday of the month and door whores Nag, Nag, Nag every Wednesday (also at the Ghetto. Falconberg Court, Soho).

http://www.punxsoundcheck.com

Interview By: Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

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Articles - Interviews

You Don’t Need To Be Famous To Write About Fame. Staring off the cover of DJ magazine’s latest issue, Miss Kittin (aka ‘Dark Little Poet’ aka  ‘artist, pop star, DJ, electroclash survivor and poet’, as DJ dub her) is both famous and presumably well used to riding round in limos, though chatting to Benedetta Skrufff she insists she’s only done it once.

“It happened with Sven Vath after I’d worked with him, I went to see him playing and later he invited me to an after party,” she reveals.

“The people from his office had rented a limo with zebra seats for him as a birthday present, so there were ten of us in the car and it was really funny being driven along the highway. Especially when we had to stop at service stations because all ten of us were desperate for a pee. But it was nothing like I imagined in the song.”

And significantly, when she dreamed up her seminal electroclash lyrics, her life was as far from limousines, Frank Sinatra and even Sven Vath, as any Hollywood rags to riches clubbing narrative could contrive

“Just picture this scene,” she says (sounding exactly as she does on the records- her regular voice is exactly the same).

“I used to go to many illegal parties all night, and I’d go home, still on drugs, switch on the TV and watch the music channels, and all you’d see would be those hip hop guys in limos, surrounded by girls in bikinis. There I was, all super dirty, wearing my army boots, shaved head, off my head, watching these videos . . . of course I laughed at them, and eventually I decided to write my feelings down.”

As well as writing Frank Sinatra during her early morning comedowns, she also penned the limousine themed lyrics to Felix Da Housecat’s genre crossing anthem Silver Screen Shower Scene, which both kick-started electroclash and changed Kittin’s own life irrevocably, when the track became one of the biggest club hits of 2000.

“When my career begun I never thought it would have taken this turn, I never even thought I would have become a DJ,” she admits.

“I started making music with The Hacker, decided to talk on some tracks and next we meet DJ Hell. He asks for music; we deliver him music . . . bang, the rest is history. And then there’s this legendary Chicago DJ who wants me to put some vocals on his new album, and sure, of course I do it.”

And four years after Felix took her in the studio for his album she’s sitting in a Central London luxury hotel to talk about her own album, a highly eclectic record called I com that encompasses hip hop, techno, electroclash and her own unique sensibilities and slant on life.

Skrufff (Benedetta Ferraro): “The album is really varied in style, did you create it with one specific vision?

Miss Kittin: “The whole concept for the album was to include a lot of influences that inspire me as a DJ or as a music lover and if you think about it, it’s like my DJ sets. I literally went to the studio with a book of notes and went through all my ideas, one by one, with one of the producers Thies Mynther and we picked together the ones we thought would work. I told him what I had in mind musically, he then pointed out which styles would work best with whichever lyrics I had noted in my book. He made it easy, because we had a guideline to combine the music with this sort of imaginary world I had already jotted down in my notebook. It was fun. Perhaps some people thought I made this album in order to impose myself as an artist, which I can assure you is not true. I loved the collaboration and the input I have received throughout.”

Skrufff: Did you consider involving The Hacker more closely?

Miss Kittin: “No really, because I don’t think he would have liked to follow me in all these crazy, different styles I explored. That’s not his philosophy, so I did it on my own. He did, however, collaborate on one of the tracks.”

Skrufff: People now have a certain image or idea of you, how conscious were you of people’s expectations?

Miss Kittin: “That didn’t concern me. I wasn’t conscious about it because I’m not interested in this part of the job. Everybody thought it was risky for me to expose myself, but if you don’t take risk, you never do anything. Everyday life imposes a certain code of behaviour on you, sometimes you want to shout in the middle of the street, but you don’t do it because you don’t want people to think you’re crazy. As an artist though, you need to express yourself in the most genuine way, so the answer is to just do it. I’m pretty good at that.”

Skrufff: All your previous records seem to reflect this untainted approach with your vocals recorded on top of the tracks, seeming to tell a story . . .

Miss Kittin: “Sure, that’s because I recorded them spontaneously. That’s the key to everything I do. If I think too much about things, if I start to intellectualise, then I loose it. For instance, when I did (mix CD) ‘Radio Caroline’ I had just moved to Berlin, I had all my possessions scattered on the floor, and I was in that frame of mind. I was honest, there was nobody there to judge me so I went with the flow, I had confidence in myself, and in what I was doing. Of course, by being honest sometimes you might end up being a bit cheesy too, but that’s the charm of spontaneity. If you’re interested in someone, then you should also be interested in their faults.”

Skrufff: How did you develop this confidence in yourself?

Miss Kittin: “It develops over the years and probably it started when I was very young, when I used to shut myself in my room, making my own private world. I used to draw and paint, a lot of my time was spent creating things, and my granddad was also an artist, so he was very inspiring to me. Then I became independent, had my experiences and for sure, like any artist I had problems with authority, nevertheless I did what I needed to do. I think it all came from me trusting my own intuition and following this driving force I have inside me. It may all look crazy from the outside, but in the end everybody had to agree with me. We all have this ability, but people give up too easily because our society doesn’t encourage abstract thinking, everything is expected to fall into the ranks. To me though, that’s the essence of being an artist.”

Skrufff: There’s a method in your madness then . . ?

Miss Kittin: “Absolutely. There’s no point in acknowledging your energy if you don’t channel it somehow. I try not to waste my energy, instead I’ve learned every time to go a little bit further inside myself and I’m proud of that. The process seems more interesting that the final result, because it’s a lifetime work.”

Skrufff: DJ mag describes you (amongst other things) as a ‘pop star’, is that a term you’re comfortable with?

Miss Kittin: “I don’t describe myself as a pop star; not at all. Though I can understand why people would say that because I think I represent something the market was waiting for. For some reason, I don’t know why yet, I came at the right time in the right place, and now I’m here.”

Skrufff: Is it a good or bad thing?

Miss Kittin: “I think it’s good. If you succeed in what you do it’s definitely good, if you don’t it means you’re on the wrong path. I won’t complain if people take an interest in me and what I do; of course not. The reaction was a little extreme though, but I think that’s a reflection of the times we’re living in where people project themselves on to celebrities. I don’t have a problem if some people recognise themselves in what I do, but as soon as that happens, there you have it: pop music. The moment people start singing your song in the shower it becomes pop music. This I understand, but I’m not ready to follow the rules of the market, so in that respect I don’t consider myself a pop star, no.”

Skrufff: Do you tend to follow the rules more as a DJ?

Miss Kittin: “To a certain degree, yes, I think I do, not as a singer though and that’s why it works for me. On the same token, how many people have tried to imitate me and have not succeeded? There must be a reason of ‘why me’? But I’m not here to judge, I don’t make that my business. I leave that job to journalists and critics… they are here to analyse, aren’t they?”

Skrufff: Am I here to analyse you? I knew I wanted to be a journalist since I was 6 years old, and I still doing it for the love of meeting special people . . .

Miss Kittin: “That’s brilliant. I also love meeting special people, but once I also wrote ‘never meet your idols’… because it’s never the way you think it is. I love the fact that people can have their own idea of who I am. Nobody needs to know my personal life. Would you like the masses to know what you do and who you’re fucking? I don’t think so.”

Skrufff: On the subject of fame “Frank Sinatra” certainly came out from a burst of imagination, and you wrote that before being famous . . .

Miss Kittin: “True. I do have a vivid imagination, for sure. Was I a visionary in that moment? Who knows. That was one of the first songs I ever wrote, where I came out with that ‘speaking’ thing. You don’t really need to be famous to write about fame, and when you are famous you tend not to talk about it.”

Skrufff: How do you feel looking at your picture on the cover of DJ magazine in a red low cut dress, red lips et all?

Miss Kittin: “It’s a nightmare; honestly it is, but I don’t think I’m alone on this one, I truly believe it’s every woman’s problem. So here I go, look at my wrinkles, the outfit is too small and it won’t fit, I look so fat, my skin looks bad; I hate it. I don’t even pretend not to care about my image because in a way I do, not that I care about what people think, but I do care about how I feel inside. If I feel good, then everything is OK. The truth is I don’t look good in photos and I never did. I never liked being photographed and I think I never will. As a woman you carry this weight, a man can get away with going on a shoot looking dishevelled, we can’t.”

Skrufff: You’ve managed pretty well so far though, I’m thinking about that nurse outfit you used to wear, for example . . .

Miss Kittin: “When I started playing out live with The Hacker, nobody wanted to see a girl with a microphone on the stage. Techno parties with a girl singing live? Err, don’t think so. So I had to use any weapon in order to bring attention on us. Michel was all right behind the keyboards, but I had the rough end of it… and I still do. So I went and spent £30 in a fetish shop for that nurse outfit, which I wore four times, and six years later people are still asking me about it. This is just to show you the power of image.”

Skrufff: Do you feel more comfortable on a stage rather than in front of the camera? Presumably, you’ll have to perform live at some stage?

Miss Kittin: “I feel at my best when I’m DJing, but as far as performing, no, I’m not obliged to do it. Of course, the record company would love me to and I think that people would like to see me performing live, though right now, it’s the last thing on my mind. I feel exhausted even thinking about being on the road. On the other hand, I don’t want to make a mistake. As an electronic music artist I’d have to hire live musicians, gear up the whole show, which can easily be a failure. Maybe in a year’s time, but for now DJing is what I know best, so why not continue with that and make it even more special?”

Skrufff: Do you still feel DJing is something selfish?

Miss Kittin: “Oh yes, and music is too. If you do it for the people who come to see you, you’d become addicted to the crowd and that could become a problem. When I was younger, I used to think that as a DJ you should educate people by playing more obscure tracks, for example. Then I met Eric Krug, this French DJ who really put it into perspective for me. “Educate?” He asked me. “Who do you think you are?” I remember taking it really badly at the time, then I understood he was right. The most honest way to do it is by having fun doing it, as an entertainer you should, first of all, entertain yourself.”

Skrufff: Why do you always go on about Laurent Garnier?

Miss Kittin: “Because he’s been a very inspirational and influential figure in my life. I used to go and see him every Thursday with my friends who knew him and even then he’s always been very friendly to me. Of course, in time we have become good friends and he’s always given me plenty of good advice. To be a good DJ you must have a big heart and Laurent certainly has it. He’s a giver and you can witness that whenever he plays, as he manages to sexually charge the atmosphere, he amazes me. It’s always a big lesson for me to see him playing.”

Skrufff: Your have talked at length about having been exploited when you first started. Is it right that you got no money at all from all your Felix Da Housecat tracks?

Miss Kittin: “When my career begun I never thought it would have taken this turn, I never even thought I would have become a DJ. Then, I start making music with The Hacker and I decided to talk on the tracks, next we meet DJ Hell, he asks for music, we deliver him music… bang, the rest is history. Then there’s this legendary Chicago DJ who wants me to put some vocals on his new album, and sure, of course I do it. Then again, there’s another producer from Zurich, who also heard what I’ve done with Michel, he also wants me to do something, also he’s not too far away and he’s a friend… so there we go again. Of course, the more you do the more experienced you become, but then there has to be a limit, otherwise you become a microphone whore. In my collaborations it’s never been the case that I sing, then I leave. I always write my own lyrics, I’m always behind the music, I want to know what they do with my voice, as a DJ I have a sense of how the arrangements should work and when the voice should come in, and of course if I’m not there it becomes very frustrating for them.”

Skrufff: Did you get any money from that Detroit Grand Pubbhas track, “After School Special”?

Miss Kittin: “That was also a very strange scenario. Their label asked me for vocals for an artist I really loved. I did the job, sent the tape to the label in Detroit, Detroit Grand Pubbhas were in the office when my tape was played, so they asked if they could keep it. At the label they said yes without asking me, but as it turned out the track sounded great, so I was at least happy about that. When Detroit Grand Pubbhas signed for an album deal with a big record label, I was still without contract so it was a horror to clear the whole thing up. Since Detroit Grand Pubbhas are no longer with that label, their lawyers are urging my lawyers to sign whatever contract they have, because it’s either that or nothing at all. I have learned my lesson, for sure. Now I don’t do anything without a contract unless I know the artist very well, and even then you can never be too sure. Obviously you have to take risks if you want to work and I don’t regret anything, because it’s all been part of the process and I was very lucky because I’ve retained my name. I’m still Miss Kittin.”

Miss Kittin’s debut album I Com is out on May 17, on Mute Records.

http://www.misskittin.com

Interview By: Benedetta Skrufff (Skrufff.com)

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