Introducing: STARKEY

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.



Your ‘OK Luv’ tune with Badness got a lot of a love on radio over here. Plus the Durrty Goodz refix of Gutter Music got a wicked response. Do you consider working with vocalists as adding something to your sound?
I love working with vocalists. I love vocal music... and melodies. Yeah, I think working with the right vocalist can really take a track to the next level. Durrty Goodz and Badness are both mc's/vocalists that I admire. They have great voices first and foremost, and lyrically they are trying out new things and willing to take chances. On the next album, ‘Ear Drums and Black Holes’, I've got a tune with P Money, another UK MC, who blew me away as well. Plus there's also vocals from Anneka and Kiki Hitomi based in the UK and Cerbral Vortex and Buddy Leezle from the US.

Your Slit Jockey and Seclusiasis label seem to be going from strength to strength. Can you shed some light on them for readers who perhaps aren’t as up on the projects?
Thanks. Yeah... we've been busy with trying to maintain a very strong output. We may not have a ton of releases under our belts yet, but for us it's really quality over quantity. We're really hoping to step it up in 2010 though and have a more steady release schedule. But with so many "labels" popping up, who only release digital stuff which requires no overhead and really no financial planning, the marketplace is flooded with music. Even when we release something as digital only, it's got to be hot. It has to represent the brand in a good way. I think that everyone who is involved with, or had a release on Seclusiasis or Slit Jockey, really feels like they're part of this big family. We're all helping each other out for a common goal.

But on to the details... we've got a sick Slit Jockey release to kick off the new year. A split 12" with the UK's Numan and SDUK; both amazing up-and-coming producers whose sound, although different, really works together on this release. That will be followed up by a digital release with bonus tracks, remixes, etc... Slit Jockey Records is basically the label for strictly "garage" influenced music, for lack of better words: grime-ish, dubstep-ish stuff. It's run by myself, Dev79 and El Carnicero.

Then on the Seclusiasis front we're kicking off the new year with the ‘Street Bass Anthems Vol 4’ compilation mix CD... which I curated. It's got tunes from Slugabed, Eprom, Dev79, BD1982, Kotchy, Hovatron, DNAEBEATS and more. That's followed up by BD1982's debut full-length album... which is amazing! The Seclusiasis brand is run by just me and Dev79 and is a bit more broad in scope.

Your building a track from scratch with samples provided by various people especially for Mary Anne Hobbs’ show on BBC Radio 1. How does it feel to be pioneering the new segment?
It's an honor! I can't believe she thought of me. It's airing live on Wednesday night/Thursday morning January 13/14th at 2am. I'm obviously really excited, but at the same time it's going to be pretty nail biting. Most likely, I'm only going to have an hour and a half to produce this track from scratch... and I really want to incorporate as much of the good material we get from listeners/DJs. Plus I'll have Reso in the studio with me to help supply some rhythmic ideas and Anneka writing melodies and lyrics. So there will be a lot going on. haha. Oh, and they'll also be videotaping the whole thing.

It will be an intense experience.



Do you think that radio is as important as the internet in terms of promoting your own music?
Depends on the country to be honest. In the US, radio is crap. It's terrible. It's an automated playlist or personality who doesn't pick the music they play most of the time. But in the UK and Europe, as well as Australia, there is still some good radio that goes on... so that's refreshing. But ultimately, the Internet and mobile communications is the main way to promo your music today.

Who would you earmark for being big on 2010?
I really think 2010 is going to be a huge year for music. Some people I'm feeling a lot include.... Slugabed, Eprom, BD1982, SDUK, Numan, Hyetal, Stagga, Bok Bok, Joker, Gemmy, DZ, DNAEBEATS, Lazersword, NastyNasty, Phaseone, Kaiser, Kastle, Raffertie, Debruit ...there's really too many to mention. The underground is coming up!

You also compose classical scores… do you think this type of work has helped your sound develop in terms of composition?
Yeah... a lot. I've been playing piano since I was like 5 or 6 years old as well, so when I'm writing, my hands gravitate to certain positions and keys which just feel good. When I'm writing as Starkey, I'm always writing songs, not beats. Although I love listening to 8bar grime, whenever I make something that feels simple to me, I tend to throw it away. I wish sometimes that I didn't always feel the need to do more, and could keep things a bit simpler, but it's just the composer side of me coming out I guess.

How does it feel to be playing Room One in fabric after playing Room Three? What can we expect from the show?
Ah... It's going to be sick! I've played Room Three a few times now, and have always had a good time there. The fabric staff, the lineups, the crowd... always a fun night! For Room One, it will be next level mayhem. It's going to be a great way to kick off the new year... tell your friends.

PJ has also been kind enough to give us download dibs on a mix he did for Redlight's BBC 1xtra show (featuring a few new tracks from his forthcoming album and his label projects). Catch Starkey alongside Trojan Soundsystem, Scratch Perverts, Tayo and Reggae Roast on Friday 15th Jan.

Download: Starkey - Guestmix for BBC 1xtra



Tracklist:

01 - Starkey "Fidelio" (planet mu)
02 - SDUK "Clunge" (slit jockey)
03 - Slugabed "Ultra Heat Treated" (planet mu)
04 - Kuedo "Glow" (planet mu)
05 - NastyNasty "Four Letter Word" (dub)
06 - Starkey "Rain City" (rwina)
07 - R. Kelly "Bangin the Headboard" (jive)
08 - Mosca "Square One (Bok Bok remix)" (night slugs)
09 - Kaiser "Lost in an Analogue Dream" (slit jockey)
10 - Gorilla Zoe "Lost (Starkey remix)" (adult swim/bad boy south)
11 - Starkey "Capsule" (planet mu)
12 - Starkey ft. Badness "OK Luv" (planet mu)
13 - Gemmy "The Midnite Drive" (dub)
14 - Kano "Rock N Roller (Starkey remix)" (bpm)
15 - Bon Iver "Woods (Starkey remix)" (dub)