So Johny, how did The Fuss come about?
The Fuss was actually started by Kevin Agius and Dan Bolton, who are both from Bury Saint Edmunds and both shared a passion for the more trippy, underground electronic music scene. I joined a little later on when they started doing parties here in Cambridge and now the three of us run the night once a month in the basement of The Cow.
What kind of music can people expect to hear at the nights? What goes down well at The Cow?
We play underground minimal electronic music, lots of tracks by artists such as Ricardo Villalobos, SIS etc. The most important thing at a party, after the music being played, is the sound system it is being played on. Its not all about volume, but quality. At The Fuss we have both, hiring in a hugely expensive Hughes and Ketner sound system that sounds like the best hi-fi but at ear-bleeding sound levels. This is what has helped us build up a strong regular following over the past 10 months or so including a large number of european regulars (this music is hugely popular over in Europe) with each party selling out.
You make your own music, under the 'Le Jockey' alias. Tell us about that.
Its turned into a bit of a necessity really, haha. I don't really enjoy the process of writing music, but I feel compelled to do it and always enjoy the finished product. I suffer from ADHD but seem to be able to focus on writing music. I am lucky enough to have been published numerous times on various different labels, and 2011 is looking to be a busy year. I have 5 tracks/remixes coming between now and June and have had a remix out a few weeks ago too. It can all be heard at http://soundcloud.com/lejockey
What kind of gear do you use? What's your trustiest piece of kit?
I might ruffle a few feathers when I say this, but I use only software, all on my PC (NOT Mac, I am fiercely proud of my PC!). I don't even have an external soundcard, its all done internally (when rendering a track down to a finished audio file the soundcard isnt even used so really for me there is not much point). Some people will say that you miss that 'warmth' that you get with analogue gear, but if you think about how different the sound can be when you listen to music hungover and the same piece when sober. Perceived sound quality is far more psychological than based on scientific fact.
In terms of software I use, Ableton 8 is my DAW and then I use soft synths such as FM8, Crystal, Minimoog, and I also falked out on the 'waves' plug in pack for all my compression and effects. My trustiest piece of kit is my laptop though. It is my soul mate.
Are there any records you adulate at the moment? What being spun the most at The Fuss HQ?
Orbital Frame by Mathias Linzatti is probably my favorite track to play out at the moment. Its a few years old now but I havent heard anything which is at the same time so weird and different yet also universally loved. The biggest track of mine to date would have to be my remix of Louis Armstrong performing 'it dont mean a thing if it aint got that swing':
Got That Swing by Le Jockey
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I also spoke to Andres Marcos, a Spanish musician who lives in Switzerland. We talk about his unique set of sounds and his relations with Horseplay...
For those uninformed readers of Mane Shakin' Folk, could you please describe the music you make?
I would define it as electronic music with a jazz approach. Improvisation and live performance play an important role in the composition process and also influence structures and instrumentation. Rhythm, harmony and melodic content are strongly influenced by jazz-related music. I experiment through controlling random possibilities and hijacking step sequencers a lot . My vision is not to reach something through music; it is to try being part of the music. By that I mean that I don’t try to follow rules or schemes, but go my own little way and let myself be surprised by the results.
Adriano 1930 (La Tapisserie Remix) by Andres Marcos
Has this always been your style? What is your musical background?
Not really; I initially started playing classical guitar, then in hard rock and blues groups. A rock band that already had gigs needed a bass player, and for a couple of years I played guitar and bass with them. I spent almost every evening and weekend in the rehearsal room, and started exploring synthesizers and drums as well. I began experimenting with effects and the mixing desk. The drummer of the band introduced me to jazz rock, and some years later we decided to study at the Jazz School of Lausanne and at the Conservatory where I also started to play upright bass. It was a quite stimulating environment, and there were jazz jamming sessions almost every evening in the city. This made it easy to make contacts and get regular gigs. At this time I played my instrument for more than 8 hours a day, and slept in my music room. I then had the chance to write and perform music for two theatre companies, one year with each. It was a very interesting experience, and acted as a proper job.
One year later, an accident with my left hand forced me to cancel all my gigs during the summer. The recovery took some months, and I found this very boring. As a result I started experimenting with computers, synthesizers and sequencers. It was love at first sight. I was fascinated by the fusion of electronic and acoustic elements, and the first tracks I produced had very strong drum’n’bass and jazz influences. The change came about ’99-2001 where I had the first contact to electronic minimal music. I liked it because it had a completely new concept, the focus was in sound design and it was completely unheard for me. This new genre was unknown - your average listener wouldn't have even considered it as music. I always liked challenges. At the beginning of this era, lots of courageous and brilliant music came out. It was exciting, and it still is. Experimental electronic music has no high status, and this has similarities with the status of jazz at the beginning. It was an immense world that was waiting to be discovered, and this was damn attracting.
How did your relations with Horseplay records come about?
At the start of 2010 I did a release for Bleepsequence. Kevin, the man behind this label made some suggestions about the remixers and told me about LeJockey. I didn’t know him, and he was due to remix one track only. He felt comfortable with the material I sent him, and remixed two tracks. Both were excellent, and I could not choose one, so I decided to release both. We got more contact, and I really appreciated the ideas and music of HorsePlay. I decided to release 4 tracks, one of which was the track that I wrote for my daughter Marisol, who also sponsored the giraffe on the cover.
Marisol by Andres Marcos
Have you ever played in Britain? What is the most memorable gig you've been involved with?
No, not yet, but would love to come one day! My most memorable gigs are not the bigger ones. I will never forget the first gig. I was 16 and played bass and guitar with a rock band. All my friends and the whole family were there. We prepared this event for many months; we were quite nervous and scared, but it was a big success.
Another one was some years ago in Mesocco, in the Swiss mountains: it was a festival with DJs and live PAs, and the weather was very bad all night long and it flooded. I didn’t want to play because all power cables and the mixer were wet, but at the end I played in the early morning as the sun was rising, and it was great, even if a lot of the public listened to my live PA from their tents.
Finally, are there are any particular records you love at the moment?
I prefer to list labels and artists, more than single records. Just a little sample, I really can’t include everyone. Unoiki, Mindtours, HorsePlay, Trimsound, Bleepsequence, Spontan Musik, Minibar and Telegraph (some), ECM and Blue Note, are among other labels that I especially like.
As for artists, I would firstly list all Unoiki members. It is a collective I am a part of where we share all the same point of view on a lot of aspects. Alva Noto, Tom Ellis, Jan Jelinek, Akiko Kiyama, Cobblestone Jazz, Treplec, Thomas Brinkmann, Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Ryuichi Sakamoto, John Scofield, Chano Dominguez, Charlie Haden, Kurt Elling are also among my favourites.
