Philadelphian musician PJ Geissinger, known to his legions of fans as Starkey, first hit out at the world with an album on the pioneering Planet Mu label last year. Entitled ‘Ephemeral Exhibits’ it put his own unique, and for lack of a better word – American, take on bass music in centre stage garnering huge support in the right places and a slot on Mary Anne Hobbs’ Generation Bass feature, which laid a particularly potent path to success for all of its subjects (Joker, Silkie, Oneman, Cyrus etc) in 2009.
Fusing a little of his love for boom heavy hip hop and his talent for classical compositon with sweeping low end and maniacal synthesizers Starkey’s music forces you to move; its caterwauling presence is immediate, erratic and highly individual. Following a bout of UK dates including slots at pioneering dubstep session FWD>> and a couple of dates in our own Room 3 earlier this year, it was clear that Starkey had fans; fans who would brave the sweatiest of dances just to hear the (then unreleased) VIP refix of ‘Gutter Music’ featuring grime emcee extraordinaire Durrty Goodz on vocals.
Ahead of his second album on Planet Mu and his Room One fabric debut on the 15th January, we tracked the ever busy producer/label owner/music teacher/radio host down and asked him a few vital questions...
So… album number 2… how’s it sounding? The writing's done. Just tweaking a few mixes here and there. I think we have a solid tracklist and order in place as well. It's been an interesting process. We started with about 22 songs in the final list of tunes which we were all happy with... and now we've whittled it down to 15, I think, for the actual album. There may be another single dropping right before the album release... so a few of the songs which we liked that did not make the album cut could surface as b-sides.
Whats the deal, is it more progressive than ‘Ephemeral Exhibits?’ How do you see it? Yes definitely. ‘Exhibits’ was pieced together when I signed with Mu. It was mostly tunes from the previous year or so... and ultimately felt good as an album.... but this one was written from scratch with an "album" in mind. There's some guest vocalist appearances as well as vocals from myself on it. I really wanted to make an album that you could enjoy from start to finish and not just a collection of tracks... which is how most "electronic" music albums feel. I think I've succeeded... with the help of some very talented vocalists of course.
Regarding my own singing... that's always been something that I've been very self conscious about. I was a choir boy growing up... literally. And, when I used to sing in rock bands and such, I never felt comfortable with my voice in those settings. Now, I've kind of said, you know what, I don't care. If I want to express something through signing... then I'm just going to do it. I think my vocals turned out pretty good on the album. The reaction from most people has been pretty positive as well. Like that track ‘Club Games’ which I've been playing out for a few months now, that's me singing the chorus. Most people won't even realize it at first. haha.
The Stuff Records, Wireblock and Dress 2 Sweat imprints all impacted on us in their own way over the course of the last couple of years; with each of them carving their own unique niche within our collective record collections and the electronic music scene in general. Stuff bore the likes of Rustie (helming his breakthrough ‘Jagz The Smack’ EP), TVO, Offshore and Slugabed. Wireblock gave voice to Lory D, Ghosts on Tape and Emvee, alongside releases from Rustie and Hudson Mohawke’s classic ‘Oops EP’ whilst Dress 2 Sweat helmed projects from Starkey as Moves!!!, Piddy Pi, Rod Lee, Kazey & Bulldog as well as 12”s from Dj Deeon and L-Vis 1990 & Bok Bok.
With each label’s own distinct flavor and their close geographical proximity - all 3 labels are run by friends out of Glasgow, Scotland – 2010 will see the trio unite under the singular label banner of Numbers - the name of the Glasgow based club night all parties help run. Stepping out of their comfort zone, the crew have recently begun holding bashes elsewhere, most memorably in Barcelona this summer just past at this year’s Off Sonar and in London at Plastic People for Hudson Mohawke’s ‘Polyfolk Dance’ EP launch and for their new roster showcase last month.
On January 8th the Numbers family take over Room One with live performances from their label staples Hud Mo and Rustie, DJ support from Deadboy, Jackmaster and the Numbers DJs alongside the headliner to end all headliners, Todd ‘The God’ Edwards. Ahead of the event we caught up with three of the parties responsible for the Numbers arc, Richard Chater (formerly Stuff), Calum Morton (formerly Wireblock) and Jackmaster (formerly Dress 2 Sweat) to get the scoop on the need for a change and their plans for the label.
So… what made you guys want to start a record label in the first place?
Jackmaster: It's always been a dream for all of us I think, starting a label. I've always naturally wanted to be as close to the source and involved as possible, and the obvious way to make that happen was to start our own label. Nothing else really interested me when I was younger except for music and the only guy who was really on the same page as me on this was Calum. We used to talk about taking that step when we were like 14 or 15, and at somepoint Neil got involved (probably once he realised calum and I had grown out of dodgy Subliminal records) and that was Wireblock. Calum was always moaning that having 3 labels in one group of pals was stupid and we should focus our energy more. The result was Numbers.
Richard Chater: Liking music too much and being surrounded by people making amazing tracks…
And in turn what made you guys want to bring all the labels in house? Was it a case of too much competition on your own doorstep...
Calum Morton: I guess part of it was that - we all like a lot of the same music so it was becoming a bit tricky at times. The main angle of it - which was more important - was that I think we eventually started seeing the light of how much more we can do if we club together and run in the same direction.
It's also much simpler for people to grasp what we're about, and in time we can get more out of using our club experience over the last 7+ years to tie into the label.
We've had quite a long history of doing stuff under different names, but I think we all got a bit fed up with explaining to people what was going on and we realised that people don't care about who runs what - we're better all wearing the same colour.
We here at Fabric have made no secret of our love for Portugal’s premier party starters, Buraka Som Sistema. The gang have become part of the family, regularly shaking the club’s foundations with their riotous live show, releasing their brilliant debut album ‘Black Diamond’ on our label and earlier this month becoming the latest to join the illustrious FABRICLIVE mix CD series.
In celebration of the release of their infectiously exuberant addition to the series, they put together a tasty little 30 minute promotional mix for you guys. Boom!
1. Roulet vs Dj Znobia - Bad Jóras/Eu me Remexo Muito (CDR)
2. Emalkay - When I Look At You (Dub Police)
3. Octa Push feat. Tony Clean - Deixa (Iberian)
4. L-vis 1990 - United Groove [Buraka Som Sistema Remix] (Mad Decent)
5. Stenchman - Puking Over (Bovinyl Moosick)
6. Sub Focus feat. Culture Shock - Move Higher (Ram)
7. Deekline & Wizard feat. Ivory, DJ Fresh - Blow (The Bomb) [Ed Solo & JFB remix] (CDR)
8. Deadmau5 meets Daft Punk - FML / Revolution 909 (CDR)
9. Buraka Som Sistema vs Technotronic- IC19 / Pump Up The Jam (fabric)
10. Buraka Som Sistema - Aqui pra voçês [Buratronic mix] (fabric)
11. Buraka Som Sistema Feat Kano - Skank (fabric)
12. Drop The Lime - Hear Me [Buraka Som Sistema remix] (Trouble & Bass)
13. Number Nin6 - She (CDR)
For those of you whose thirst is not quenched by a night of New Years Eve celebrations, those who wake up (or not, as the case may be) on New Years Day with an urge for more, the Wet Yourself boys are here to help with another massive shindig to continue the festivities well into 2010. If you are one of the aforementioned party-going types and make the journey to Farringdon, you will be rewarded with a set from house legend Marc Romboy.
The man behind the ever-impressive and influential Systematic imprint has been in the game for over a decade and he remains at the forefront of the house scene going into the new decade. Over two solo LPs, countless singles and a number of collaborative projects with the likes of Stephan Bodzin and Gui Boratto, Romboy has proven himself to be a tireless innovator and one of the premier tastemakers in the tech house movement.
In anticipation of his New Years Day set at Fabric, he has been kind enough to pass on an exclusive mix to entice you down to our dancefloors.
You can catch Marc Romboy at Fabric on NYW alongside regular collaborator Stephan Bodzin as well as Martinez, Rui Da Silva, Mikki Most, Antony Di’Francesco, Harry McCanna, Oiram Gar b2b Paco Modinos, Nat Self, Solo, Nic & Kaleb, Rossko, Ray Stanley b2b Kid K and the WYS residents.
Taking place on Friday, January 8th, 'Elevator Music' will take over Room 3 with Untold, Shortstuff, Hot City, xxxy, Mosca and Vista, whilst Rooms 1 & 2 will feature the likes of Todd Edwards, Hudson Mohawke (Live), Rustie (Live), 2562, Headhunter, dBridge, Instra:mental, Joy Orbison and more.
Minimix by mlr // Art by Remote Location // Animation by Peter Dickinson
We're looking for a Web Development / Social Networking intern to come join us for a month or two at Fabric's offices in Farringdon, London.
We need someone with some web development experience who is interested in gaining further skills and experience in the field. You will be
responsible for updating and aiding in the development of the fabric website and other web-based projects. You will also be responsible for
updating and managing our online presences on third-party sites such as Facebook and MySpace and YouTube.
Required skills and experience:
Basic HTML and CSS
Photoshop
Experience with social-networking sites
Advantageous skills and experience:
PHP or similar server-side languages
Basic Audio/Video editing
Design skills
If you are interested in gaining further skills and experience within the web-development field contact robin@fabriclondon.com
Nat Self, one half of hip-house upstarts Zombie Disco Squad, has had a very big year in 2009. He and his extended crew of undead funksters have been making waves with their skills both on the decks and on the boards, finding high profile fans in Jesse Rose and Claude Von Stroke, releasing on both the Made To Play and Dirtybird imprints; as well as winning over audiences internationally with a string of online mixtapes and a hectic touring schedule.
Amongst all this, Mr. Self still manages to find the time to DJ and produce under his own name, as well as hosting his own radio show on Diesel U Music. Come the 1st January 2010 he will be taking to the decks in Room 3 for the Wet Yourself New Years Day party to ensure that the 10s (thats what comes after the 00s right?) get kick started in the proper fashion we’ve come to expect from the WYS crew.
Ahead of his set, we’ve been granted access to one of his Diesel U Music radio sets to up for download to give you a taster of what to expect from his record box...
Tracklist:
Green Velvet - Everybody Wants
Camel- Colabri- Nat Self Remix
Prunk - Cirque De Soleil - DJ Madskillz Remix
Matt Tolfrey- Bounce To Me
Claude Von Stroke - Storm
Gant Man- Juke That Girl From The Back
Claude Von Stroke- California
Nat Self - Soho- CD-R
Derrick Carter - Where We At
Giuseppe Cennarmo – Elgitan
Marcus Meinhardt - Drive It Mad Max (Super Flu Remix)
Kevin Saunderson- Unknown – Claude VonStroke Mix
Jon Gurd- Rebel
Ramon Tapia –Unknown - Edu Imerman
Fake Blood - Fix Your Accent
Groove Armada- Paper Romance - ZDS Remix- CD-R
Two Trups - Cello Track
Jack Your Body Tool
Sebastian Legar – Mouse
John Tejada - Sweat On The Walls
Claude VonStroke - Monster Island dub
Steffano Ritteri, AKA Solo, is undoubtedly one of the most exciting new producers around at the moment, winning over legions of fans with his fun, quirky take on house music which is encapsulated perfectly by the brilliant ‘Congaloid’ which was released earlier this year on Claude Von Stroke’s Dirtybird label; an imprint that provides a very fitting home for his infectious, groove-laden tracks, which are simply bursting with catchy hooks, propulsive percussion and eccentric originality.
Such is the excitement about him that Solo has recently found himself remixer du jour, with everyone from Maps to The Heavy to Crookers clamouring to get the Solo treatment. Ahead of his set at Fabric on New Years Day for the Wet Yourself gang we've got another one of his remixes to give away. We are exclusively upping his fantastic funky remix of Wiley’s ‘Never Be Your Woman’ which you can download from here: Wiley - Never Be Your Woman (Solo Remix)
AND, as if that wasn’t enough, we are also giving you a mix that he has been kind enough to put together for the occasion!
Catch Solo at WYS on NYD alongside Stephan Bodzin, Marc Romboy, Martinez, Rui Da Silva, Mikki Most, Antony Di'Francesco, Harry McCanna, Oiram Gar B2B Paco Modinos, Nat Self (Zombie Disco Squad), Nic + Kaleb, Rossko, Ray Stanley B2B Kid K plus the WYS residents... phew, and breathe.
With New Years Eve just around the corner, it is time to start getting you over excited for the massive party we are throwing to bring in 2010 with a bang and a thump, hi hat snare, thump, snare...
One of our highlights from our raucous birthday weekend back in October was definitely Parisian powerhouse Ivan Smagghe’s blistering 3 hour set on the Sunday afternoon. So, in anticipation of his set at our NYE party we are giving you another to chance to have a listen to that set to get you suitably salivating.
You can catch him at the epic 12 NYE hour party that includes Andrew Weatherall alongside our Trojan residents Craig Richards & Terry Francis and Jamie Jones, with Joe Goddard, Toddla T and Zinc holding down Room Two with Rub N Tug going big up top. Check the full line up here.
Founder of Kaos Records and Godfather of the Portuguese house scene, Rui Da Silva, has becoming an internationally renowned name with huge club hits like ‘So Get Up’ and UK number 1 ‘Touch Me’. Now a London resident, he is continuing to push his progressive house sound as owner of the Kismet imprint and playing out across the globe.
Ahead of his appearance for Wetyourself at Fabric on New Years Day alongside Stephen Bodzin, Marc Romby, Martinez and more, we have got a bunch of bits to get you suitably excited.
We have got a couple of mixes from the man himself which you can get from here:
Also, if you haven’t already, make sure you check out his new release on Motivbank with Craig Richards called ‘Be Here’, which features a killer mix from Tobias Freud:
Hudson Mohawke, known to his familiars as Ross Birchard, is responsible for producing some of the most fluorescent and experimental forward thinking hip-hop of the year. Alongside the LuckyMe collective he’s representing the Scottish beat scene to the fullest and despite him having only just released his long awaited debut long player, ‘Butter,’ on Warp Records, its already on some of the biggest and best of 2009 lists.
Born and raised in Scotland’s second largest city, Glasgow, Birchard - alongside the likes of Flying Lotus, Samiyam and his sometime sparring partner, Rustie - are pushing the notion of instrumental hip-hop into the furthest cataclysms of the experimental electronic dimension before ripping it straight back out again. But despite the obvious and hugely complementary comparisons to his contemporaries ad to the current wave of dubstep, thugstep and funkstep, trademarked by Geenus in an interview with XLR8R, he’s managed to capably carve out his own unmistakable ‘sound.’
“I hate that I have to call it anything to be honest with you, but I know it can just exist on its own. I’ve heard a lot of really bad names, but my main problem I have is people calling my music is wonky. Just because it doesn’t fit into a category and it has a slight rumble of bass they say its ‘wonky mate,” he says in an a hilarious mockney accent. “But you know what I mean though? Labels, labels, labels... It gets boring very quickly. I like to call it Turbo Soul”
Birchard’s adoration for music began from an early age, practically surrounded by vinyl since birth, his dad held down an American “top 40” style radio show in his hometown in the early eighties. He began mixing when he was just eight years old on a “shitty little hi-fi turntable and cassette deck” that he spent hours on mixing between vinyl and tape. “I owe my mixing skills to that basic set-up!” he proclaims with a wide eyed grin on his face but that tireless attention to detail paid off as Hudson went on to become one of the youngest finalists in the UK leg of the DMC World Championships, spinning under the name of DJ Itchy. When asked if he scooped the top prize he deftly responds, “Nah. They’d never let a Scot win.”
It wasn’t until he was thirteen that he made his first beat and like a lot of the new generation of beatmakers -Skream, Gemmy & Benga have also cited this method for the earliest audio dabbling - Birchard cut his first track on Playstation’s Music 2000 game. “That’s how I first learnt to sample” he recalls, “It was completely laborious and stupidly complicated, even more than traditional methods of sampling. It was really time consuming to find that little bit you wanted; but it makes you a perfectionist and was really good training for sampling.”
His debut album, ‘Butter’ follows on from where his ‘Polyfolk Dance EP’ - also on Warp Records – left off, packed with the same careering melodies and chopped drum textures. It’s a journey from the depths of traditional hip-hop melodies all the way to Prince-esque funk, and beyond. Aiming to feature a handful of artists across the collection of dazzling instrumentals, Hudson hooked up Olivier Daysoul, LuckyMe’s first lady Nadsoric and he called on LA’s Ambassador of Boogie, Dam Funk to lay down some vocals. “I was a fan of Dam and I liked what he doing for a while. I had a track of his that had his vocals on it and although he’s not an incredible singer, he has a sort of charm which really appealed to me, we were gonna do some instrumental collaborations together but I wanted to do some vocals and luckily he was up for it.”
Italian house DJ and producer Antonio De Angelis, AKA ,Toni D, is winning more fans with everything he does, with each release and DJ set garnering him more attention. After moving to London in 2000, his skills behind the decks quickly got him a residency at top night Kubicle, as well as going on to play at some of the biggest clubs and parties around. His own Zum night is also considered one of the best underground nights around and his groove-laden tribal house productions have seen releases on a host of respected labels including Safari Electronique, Kailash and Material Series.
Ahead of his set in Room 3 at Fabric on Saturday alongside Terry Francis and regular production partner Luciano Esse, he has been kind enough to put together a mix to whet your appetites…
After being introduced to the sounds of UK dub through the King David Warriors sound system in his home town of Turin in Italy, Dub Terror moved to London to study the sonic arts and he's not looked back since. Fusing together the classic, organic sounds of dub with the cutting edge, synthetic sound scapes of dubstep and grime, he creates his own futuristic musical vision. After several single releases, Dub Terror released his self-titled debut LP on Universal Egg earlier this year, marking him out as a singular talent and a master of musical manipulation.
Ahead of his DJ set in Room 3 at Fabric this Friday for the Reggae Roast crew, Dub Terror has put together a weighty mix for us that effortlessly takes in some serious dub, dancehall, dubstep, funky and grime riddims, alongside a handful of his own productions.
Don’t sleep on this!
Tracklist:
1. King Tubby – No Wicked Shall Enter Version
2. Starkey – Million Remix
3. Major Lazer ft. Santigold and Mr. Lexx – Hold The Line
4. Lazer Sword – Gucci Sweatshirt
5. Roots Manuva meets Wrongtom – Do Nah Bodda Mi
6. Bok Bok – Nntf09
7. DBU – Serious Dub
8. Dub Terror – Mr. Terror
9. Jakes – In Tha Place To Be
10. King Tubby – Heavenly Dub
11. Neil Landstrumm – Shit Daddy Bass
12. Noah D and Roommate – The Bassman
13. Breakage ft. David Rodigan and Newham Generals – Hard
14. Dub Terror – Technology
15. Dub Terror – I’m Leaving
16. Dub Terror – Silver Words
17. Dub Terror – It’s Time
18. DBU – All Over The World
19. Billy Boyo – One Spliff a Day
20. Karborn – Yo Punk!
We're pretty excited to be housing Todd 'The God' Edwards on the 8th January, and much to our delight the man himself just put together a mix for FACT Magazine alongside a succinct interview.
Crystal Fighters are truly like nothing else around. Like all the best bands, they are an amalgamation of their collective influences and heritages which are combined to create something which is genuinely innovative and original. A bizarre prospect on paper, they mix electronic beats, distorted basslines and piercing synths with traditional Basque folk music instruments and melodies. The result, however, is a joyfully exuberant and chaotic set of party starting dance anthems.
Forthcoming single ‘I Love London’ (video above) is a perfect example of this. It is nigh on impossible to stop yourself cracking a smile and throwing some shapes to its heady combination of carnival-esque percussion, stomping beat, electro bassline and joyful chanting.
You can catch their riot-inducing live show in Room 2 tonight for Kill ‘em All’s 6th birthday party and in honour of this, we have some exclusive remixes of track ‘I Love London’ to give away.
London-based heavyweight duo The Others, made up of D-Code and DeXterous, are purveyors of just about the filthiest dubstep around. Tracks like ‘Africa’, ‘Fun House’ and ‘Bazooka’ have given people no choice but to sit up and take notice of their uncompromising cocktail of hard-hitting half-step beats and crushing, maniacal basslines. They have had releases on a number of top labels like Veri-Lo, Boka, Wheel & Deal and, of course, Dub Police, as well as regularly destroying dances up and down the country with a record bag full of the nastiest dubs around.
Ahead of the Dub Police takeover of Room 1 at fabric on Friday 18th December alongside Caspa, 12th Planet, Dubwoofa, LD and Subscape, the boys have been kind enough to put together a seriously tough mix for you guys to get you in the mood. It's a non-stop onslaught of upfront bangers and exclusives from the likes of Emalkay, Rusko, Distance and themselves and is carried all the way through by your dutiful host, Rod Azlan.
Youngsta & Seven – Masai mara
>> The Others – Funhouse
Emalkay – Solid State
Distance – Twilight
The Others & N-Type – Circuit
Emalkay – When I Look At U
>> Benga & Walsh – Biscuit Factory
Rusko – Ravers Special
The Others – Dot 2 Dot
L-Wiz – Handfangsel
The Others – Karma
The Others – Gravity
With a reputation as London’s most vibrant reggae night steadily built up over 2 years of party promoting, Reggae Roast, hit Room Three next Friday after humbly starting life as a chilled out Sunday Session in a pub in Kentish Town. With a strictly positive atmosphere and a penchant for providing authentic roots music resident DJs Exel & Moodie will play alongside Ramon Judah and guests Dub Terror and Necessary Mayhem, launching their brand new compilation ‘Roots Uprising’ (in stores on Monday) which features tracks from Adrian Sherwood and Mungo’s Hifi amongst others.
The album is a prime example of the versatility, and distinctly vibrant style that Reggae Roast has become synonymous with; a consistently positive and conscious message combined with earth shattering bass-lines and booty shaking beats, something we hope the crew will bring to our intimate up-top dance house.
Ahead of the slot we asked the crew to take us through their top 3 tracks so we could properly show you ‘how they do’ but these dudes went one step further, raising the bar and spinning together an exclusive mix too!
Lock into David Rodigan’s show on KISS FM this Sunday for the Reggae Roast takeover and be in with a chance of winning tickets to the event. For more info, mixes, photos, videos and news on future events check out - www.reggaeroast.co.uk
Parisien threesome dOP, comprised of childhood friends Clement Aichelbaum, Damien Vandesande and Jonathan Illel, are currently reinvigorating the house scene with their unique, organic take on the sound. With a background in rock music and experimentation with jazz, reggae and hip hop, they are a band in the true sense of the word. They live and work collectively and favour the use of live instrumentation and vocals in their tracks. Now they are taking their show live, so we caught up with them to ask them a few questions in anticipation of their Supplement Facts showcase this Saturday…
Firstly, how are things going with the Supplement Facts tour?
We don’t have many gigs all together, but when we do it is always a lot of fun. At the moment it’s nice though because Varoslav, Guy and Yakine are all living in Paris so we have time to hang, make music, and do other stuff too.
What have been your impressions so far playing across Europe?
There is a lot of difference between different places: the crowds, the codes, the taste. Some countries are definitely more forward than others.
How do you translate largely electronic music to a live show?
We have to bring back the energy, the dynamics and the show-time...we are entertainers; we are here for a party!
It is very important to us. We always try to reinterpret our tracks because our music is usually deeper than when we play it live. Sometimes people are surprised by the difference, but now we are more known than before.
Whose live performances do you take inspiration from the most?
Iggy Pop , Michael Jackson , The Doors ...
How’s your relationship with Nôze? When was the last time you guys hung out?
We share the studio together, as well as a lot of other things. It is Nico from Nôze who introduced us to the electronic scene at the beginning.
The last time we hung out was last Saturday when we played back to back in Paris, but we see each other almost everyday during the week.
What led you to Supplement Facts – how did you hook up?
We hooked up with them through Varoslav. We have known each other for a long time and he was already into this kind of music before we were...So when we got on it, after a little while, he contacted us about a release on Supplement Facts. At first we weren’t sure because we were new to it and we hadn’t heard of the label or of Guy Gerber....but we made it in the end.
“The Genius Of The Crowd” was a huge summer anthem this year. It features the spoken monologue of novelist and story writer Charles Bukowski and his lyrics are bold.
Can you explain the process of its production?
We make almost all of the music without vocals, and we were looking for some spoken words for the track, so we looked on Youtube for some poets that we like and things like that and we just found this one, which was perfect for the track.
What is it that you appreciate about Bukowski? What are some of your favourite novels of his?
That it is uncompromising, pornographic, excessive, and that there is so much emotion in his darkness. We also love his very cynical humour. He 's probably an asshole, but the kind of asshole that you really like.
Where do you like to travel to gain inspiration?
Dam : Almost everywhere
Jaw : Everywhere
Clem: No-man’s-land
What’s your take on remixes – what is it you enjoy about them, and what’s your creative approach for them? Whose cuts have you enjoyed making the most?
I think we're looking for good parts, like real melody lines or vocals, not just small parts.Remixing can be a lot of fun or a big pain, it depends really. The tracks that you like the most are not necessarily the ones that you remix better. There aren’t any rules with it. Like on the creativity side, sometimes we start with a groove, sometimes we work on the vocal, sometimes we already have vocals - anything can happen. We had a lot of fun doing the Brigitte Fontaine and Khan remix recently. There is also a remix of Kenny Leaven on a new label that we really like to play called odyssey.
You meld disparate sounds (rap, blues, free jazz, Malian kora, house, experimental pop)…in your opinion, what does it take to stand out in the fast-moving electronic music world?
Wake up early, work a lot, play a lot, listen and dance a lot…and repetition. Do it again and again.
Who are some of your biggest musical influences/inspirations?
Dam : Miles Davis, Gil Evans, and J-S .Bach.
Jaw : Michael Jackson, Prince, Dizzee Rascal, Eminem, Busta Ryhmes, Q-Tip, Quasimoto, Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, The Blues Brothers, Serge Gainsbourg, Lil Wayne, Beatles, Goodie Mobb, Al Green, Vybz Kartel.
Clem: Yousef Lateef, Salif Keita and many more!
What specifically can we expect from dOP in the next year or so? Anyone you are looking to collaborate with?
We will release our first album in 2010, so that will be an important event for us. We're still working on it now. We're hoping to have Mos-Def or Q-tip feature on the album, that would be nice, so if somebody can help us to reach them…?
Can you tell us an embarassing/funny/unheard story about each other?
Sorry we don' t have any personal lives! We live everything together. We are a band in the old fashion sense. The last embarrassing story, 2 weeks ago, was when we left our computer at the studio …We only realized at the airport and no computer means no gig ....but we managed to get it on time. Clem arrived with the computer five minutes before playing at 3am. That was at the Czech border, in Germany, in Plauen.
Parisien threesome 
