In Depth: Art Department's Jonny White On New Directions And fabric 82

Jonny White and Kenny Glasgow have spent the last five years together as Art Department - a period of time during which they produced two critically acclaimed LPs, countless hit singles and remixes, as well as garnering a reputation as two of the most imposing DJs out there. Earlier this year the Canadian duo announced their separation, with Glasgow leaving to pursue goals as a solo artist, whilst White continues to produce and perform as Art Department. Ahead of his return to Farringdon to celebrate the launch of Art Department’s fabric 82 album in Room One this June 13th, we caught up with Jonny White to discuss the making of fabric 82, new labels, charity projects and his plans moving forward as a solo act. You and Kenny have recently announced going your separate ways after many years together. What was the motive behind the severance? Jonny White: It's not as if there was any one simple reason for it or some explosive incident that triggered a break up - despite the rumours. It's really just a matter of two artists growing together and apart in ways over the course of the past 6 years. The duo thing is something quite complicated that I wouldn't expect most people or most solo artists to really be able to understand fully… especially for Art Department where both Kenny and I were solo artists before starting the project. Try to imagine a moment in time where two artists come together to work on a project after 20 plus years working as solo artists. In that moment where it begins we're both in the same place, our ambitions are similar and musically we're in this space where it all makes perfect sense. Fast forward 5 years and you've inevitably changed as people, as artists, and it would be some sort of miracle if we had evolved and changed at the same pace and in the same exact direction, right? I don't think that either of us imagined that we were going to work as a duo for the rest of our music careers and it felt like the right time. Kenny has written a ton of solo music over the past few years that needs to come out and his immediate goals now are to pursue a solo career. I fully support that. Unlike Kenny, who is now working under his own name, you have decided to continue on as Art Department. What made you decide to continue with this moniker rather than as Jonny White? I know this was a questionable move in some people’s eyes. I get that. Art Department is Jonny White and Kenny Glasgow, not one or the other. I'm not of the opinion that AD is the same without either one of us, the project and the music as we know it was something very unique that I don't think could be replicated so that’s not my mission. The AD that included Kenny was something very different from what it will be going forward. It will take a totally new shape in terms of the sound and the direction. I think that’s very apparent if you take a listen to the fabric mix, so there's no attempt to replicate that Art Department on my own. The real reason that we decided that I would keep the name is because we have put a ton of work into this, too much to let it die because Kenny has other goals that he needs to focus on. I have ate, slept and breathed Art Department for the past 6 years. I didn't want to throw that away and Kenny doesn't want me to either. I'm really excited about the opportunity to take what we've built together and expand upon that. I have a really unique opportunity here to use the profile of the brand to do some interesting things on my own and use it to take people deeper into the music that I’m more interested in. How does the split affect No.19? Has it affected the imprint’s ethos at all? No of course not. No.19 has always been a partnership between Nitin and myself. Kenny was a solo artist writing music for the label before Art Department existed so that will continue as it was. Kenny's new solo album will be released on the label later this year so it's business as usual for No.19.

”It's certainly more in line with what I’m into and how I DJ on my own but this changes constantly.”

You also intend to launch some new record labels and charity projects. Can you tell us more about your plans behind these? Well I’m in the midst of launching 4 new projects right now. One, being the Social Experiment imprint off the back of the branded events that we've been doing for years. This is a partnership between Kenny, Nitin and myself and will coincide with a new Wildlife conservation project called MAAC (Music Against Animal Cruelty) that I’m working on with Wade Cawood - the founder of Pulse Radio. The label will be one of several fundraising initiatives that will be facilitated by MAAC and will be focused on a more dancefloor oriented, underground sound, whereas No.19 is releasing bigger singles and will remain a bit more broad in terms of the style of music that we release. Some of the artists releasing on Social Experiment this year will include DJ Qu who needs no introduction, Jonathan Lee who's released on No.19 and is writing some amazing techno, as well as Moreon & Baffa who have written an amazing dance floor dub-techno EP for us. Another new vinyl only label called Sunday Money is also set for launch towards the end of summer with more focus on a much deeper sound that’s driven more by a certain aesthetic and texture that I don't feel the other two imprints are quite right for. I have a few newer artists who are writing a ton of stuff in this vein that I’m really excited about, one in particular named Morgan who is doing some really special stuff with Guti and I want to give them a really solid platform to do their thing and showcase their work. Finally there’s also another project with Adam Gill, the founder of Embrace, that isn't quite ready to blab about in interviews yet - but its coming! The fabric mix was curated as a solo project and seems to at least partly move away from the Art Department sound, featuring tracks from the likes of Basic Channel, Matthew Herbert and Fred P. Can you elaborate on your ideas behind the selection and is this a forecast of what to expect from your solo venture? I don't know. It's certainly more in line with what I’m into and how I DJ on my own but this changes constantly. I've always been pretty heavy into dub techno and a rougher, dubbier sound even when it comes to house so that will always be apparent and I think that has been a big part of what I brought to the Art Department sound as a duo. I can't predict what I’m going to be playing in 6 months from now and that’s how I keep myself interested in the music. I can tell you that there will be very little reference to the lighter, more accessible sound that was always a part of the project. Some of my friends and members of my team have been a bit concerned about my taking an even more underground approach with the sound but you know what? I’m not putting that much thought into it. The sound of whatever project I’m working on is always just going to be what I love and fortunately it has always seemed to work on some level. But whether it works or not, when I have to compromise that, I’m done. A week on Saturday will see you make an appearance in Room One as part of the fabric 82 launch. What should the punters anticipate? I think they can expect good music, beyond that, I think walking into the club with an open mind is going to be their best bet. What else can we expect from Jonny White in the future? Well right now all of my attention is on what we've been discussing here and staying alive through this summer tour... but I’m bored easily and rarely content so I’ll think of something... fabric 82: Art Department will be released on 22nd June 2015. Pre-order here: http://www.fabriclondon.com/store/fabric-82.html