Derrick May has been an international phenomenon ever since he revolutionized the British club scene in the ‘80s. His music and artistry helped create the modern day clubscape. Along with Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson they are known as “The Belleville Three” and are universally credited as the originators of Techno. His seminal hits “Strings of Life” and “Nude Photo” are two examples of his work that took Detroit Techno and launched it across the globe to be emulated and embraced by DJs worldwide (and also earned him the moniker “The Innovator”). Transmat, the label Derrick founded in the mid ‘80s, was a launch pad for artists such as Carl Craig, Juan Atkin’s Model 500, Stacey Pullen, Kenny Larkin and Joey Beltram to name a few. Derrick continues to be a massive club draw in every major market in the world.
Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
If I have to choose one, I will say the Third Wave (by Alvin Toffler).
Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
They encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do… it turns out being music.
How did you begin to work professionally in music?
In the school, with Juan and Kevin.
How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
I don’t do this consciously, it just happens, but I know what ever I do today is someway shaped by what I was doing yesterday.
Where is your current studio and what is it like?
Innovator
As always at Transmat, in Detroit, its like chaotic fun mix of wires, tapes, and films.
How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
No one can deny marketing issues are a part of the game and you better learn to deal with them, but I keep it separated from my career as an artist. My mission as an artist is to be creative, not to be marketable.
How would you describe your work?
Edutainment, I educate people through entertainment.
Who were your teachers?
Juan Atkins learn me how to make music
Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
I will lock them in my studio and let them hear “I will always love you” by Whitney Houston a whole week, the whole day long.
You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
Rats.
If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
Never boring and always innovative because it’s in his nature. Joris Voorn brought a new energy to the Discoteca for We Love… this summer. Spinning since ’97 he’s been playlisted by John Peel and championed by countless others. Although a relative newcomer to the international and Ibiza scene his schedule is global, taking in every corner of the world. Incase you haven’t heard he recently re-invented the mix album with his addition to the Balance series – creating a voyage stunning in its scope. Fitting hundreds of tracks seamlessly over a two-disc album, “Joris Voorn belongs in the pantheon of DJ titans for this release alone” said DJ Mag.
As a live performer, Joris has the ability to create a rhythm and energy which is truly unique – taking grooving dubby house music into an electronic sphere of techno. He was declared by many critics as this years “man of the match” at We Love… Space in Ibiza.
Q. Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
A. I’m not sure if it really changed my life, but I have enjoyed reading Haruki Murakami’s ‘Wind Up Bird Chronicles’ very much. It shows how lonely a man can be, which I can very well relate to as an artist who’s spending most of his weekends alone on the road.
Q. Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
A. Both my parents are in music, so they have always encouraged me making music in one way or the other. Because they’re from a very different generation, they don’t always understand my work as electronic artist or dj, but they’re very happy I can make a living out of my passion.
Q. How did you begin to work professionally in music?
A. As for most electronic music artists, music was my passionate hobby, so I spend a lot of time in my bedroom making tunes or mixing tapes. When some of my records were actually released and played out I had the opportunity to go professional, so I took it!
Q. How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
A. By trying not to make the same mistake twice…
Q. Where is your current studio and what is it like?
A. It’s in my house in Amsterdam, located at the top, quite a small but cosy room. It’s very comfortable and the sound is great.
Q. How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
A. Not much at all. I’ve been doing what felt right, and luckily people got the message through my music. I do know some form of marketing is important, but I’m also hoping that my natural and honest approach to the music will do most of the work for me.
Joris Voornderbar
Q. How would you describe your work?
A. My work is making and playing music in all forms and shapes possible. People haven’t seen all my different sides yet, hopefully they will one day. I do see a difference between my performance side and my studio producer side. On stage you always have to keep an eye out on the dancefloor, whereas in the studio it’s all about the music.
Q. Who were your teachers?
A. All the great musicians and bands, producers and dj’s I’ve listened to since day one. They’ve all had an influence on my musical taste and vision.
Q. Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
A. Lifetime imprisonment! I hate it when people steal stuff, my bike got stolen last weekend, it’s very annoying and sad…
Q. You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
A. Mosquitos!!!
Q. If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
A. I’d choose somewhere early/mid 70′s when producers were recording music in the most soulfull and creative ways possible. Think Bob James and David Axelrod.
Think acid-house superhero meets new romantic. Neil Tennant meets Fatboy Slim. Influenced by everything from Talking Heads to Toto it’s music that pops out of the speaker with a martini in its hand. But why the name? It depends, “You want the idealistic version or the truth? Either it’s something to do with being linked to the earth, chained to Mother Nature by an unseen umbilical chord. Or I chose it because my releases would end up being next to the Chemical Brothers in the racks at HMV. Either way if you type it into Google you get lots of weird pictures of little kids behind bars.” A revelation on the Terraza for We Love… Mr Gandey’s been a busy man over the last couple years, continuing with his stunning song writing, incredible production and masterful remixing. Get a grip of his sound with the mix he’s done for We Love… here.
Q. Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
A.’The Disco Files 1973-78, New York’s Underground Week by Week’ by Vince Aletti. Or ‘Red Herrings and White Elephants, the origins of the phrases we use every day’ by Albert Jack. Both polar opposites but have been useful in their imitable ways. They also make excellent lavatorial reading. I love non-fiction, the more inane the facts the better. I’m currently reading ‘Underground London’ after I read a copy at Carl Smith’s ( of Madness) place – its not going to be life changing but I do like dark spaces.
Q. Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
A. They were hugely influential and encouraging, putting me through musical studies as a child. We have a lot of musicians in the family including my Grandfather who is a honky tonk genius and my Father who taught me chord structure and exposed me to a lot of amazing folk music. I studied piano from the age of 9 and singing lessons at the same time, I wanted to become a professional tennis player in my teens but then lucked out with a signed band when i was still young.
Q. How did you begin to work professionally in music?
A. I’ve probably done everything, from being in pop bands as a session player to a production runner, sound engineer, lampy, studio bones, crew, you name it. These positions provide you with invaluable experience in the industry and give you an appreciation of what to expect once you can stand on your own feet.
Listen to Cagedbaby and look as happy as these people
Q. How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
A. I have more patience now, I take time to understand and articulate things better. I make a concerted effort to minimalise my environmental impact, as much as a frequent traveller can. I have a wisdom from my mistakes and apply a little more grace so as to not stumble a third time! Aldous Huxley said it simply, “Facts do not cease to exist beacause they are ignored”.
Q. Where is your current studio and what is it like?
A. My new studio is inside a 15th century stone wellhouse in the countryside in the South-West of France. We overlook a vineyard and valley down to the river. Its very humble, ancient natural and beautiful, perfect for creative juices. I got rid of half of my gear when I moved from Brighton a year ago and just kept the quality synths and a little analogue gear, it’s a playpen stuffed full of toys and collectables.
Q. How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
A. 10 years ago I played a piano and sang, people listened and hopefully enjoyed and that was it, it really was “all about the music”, there was no internet and word of mouth was the social media. I have always been difficult to pigeon hole and the industry doesn’t often like that. Good and keen marketing is absolutely essential but i try not to let that influence my creativity, its a shame that the time spent writing new music is often marginal, luckily I have a great team around me who help steer the ship and let me vent my artistic license.
Q. How would you describe your work?
A. I like to play with keyboards I make melodius wonky disco, electronic balearic soul with a penchant for techno. I’m constantly evolving my styles and production so each year I will have some other fictional genres to illustrate. It’s very difficult to describe ones own work, I see myself as an honest songwriter who is now a spanking DJ.
Q. Who were your teachers?
A. My first mentor was Ashley Slater (Freakpower) – a lounge genius. I was his apprentice in as much as I went to his studio every day for a year took him coffee and treats and he gave me a great knowledge on life and music. We are still very good friends today. Secondly Richie Fermie, another synaesthesist genius who worked with Jagz Kooner, Unkle, Gabrielle he taught me the proper geek stuff every producer should know. Norman Cook also taught me a great deal about arrangement and finalisation. Working with David Byrne and Tracey Thorn taught me a lot about song writing and just being yourself.
Q. Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
A. I’d be so happy that I’d got all my possessions back I’d let Madame Karma deal with it. Community Service is also a good thing.
Q. You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
A. The Human Race
Q. If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
A. Last Tuesday, it was 26 degrees here and i made the perfect Massaman Fish Curry. Delicious. Failing that take me back to any We Love… party, anytime :)
This summer in Ibiza, exclusive monthly resident to We Love, Jeff Mills took the Discoteca by storm with his own uniquely futuristic take on electronic music. From the founding of Axis Records to playing live with the Montpelier Philharmonic Orchestra, Mills breaks new ground in every aspect of his professional life. One of the most revered and respected names in techno took a moment out of his busy schedule to answer these 11 questions…
Q. Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
A. Probably John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”. We had to read this in high school. It was the first real book (besides Silver Surfer comics) that I ever read. The book was short, but vivid in its description.
Q. Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
A. No, they pressed me to consider working as a electrical engineer or electrician. I wanted to pursue Architecture or Advertising. In Detroit where I grew up, Music was compulsory. Everybody was connected to it in someway, so jumping into that professional wasn’t really a big step.
Q. How did you begin to work professionally in music?
A. I auditioned for a DJ group called the Dale Willis Organization. My older brother was part of that organization. They provided the Dance Music for parties and events around Detroit in the 70s/80s. After begging him for months to arrange a audition, I got the chance to display what I had been practicing for and in a real club with grown up people. I was 17 at the time. Dale Willis liked what I did and started working at a club called The Lady in Detroit on Tuesday Nights. I was under age, so I had to stay in the DJ booth the entire night. It was there, Dale and others taught me how to program, read, measure and pace the crowd and a lot other things that I still practice today.
Q. How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
A. I think to be a DJ, one generally has to have a un-bias view of people and on the other side, a realistic way of generalizing. A understanding that the distance between you and your audiences isn’t really that far. Rationalizing is a big part of the profession. As a child, I could get along with everyone and never had any problems expressing myself. I think that at a early age, I understood that people are not perfect. This is only something we can strive for.
AXIS-001
Q. Where is your current studio and what is it like?
A. The main one is in Chicago. It’s a small room, many keyboards w/ all red MIDI cords, 2 desk lamps, no overhead lighting, no signs or posters, 1 small window with a view of other buildings. In Berlin, it’s all on the floor in the bedroom. Using the boxes the equipment came in, the keyboards and units sit atop. I rarely use the return studio monitors, but prefer headphones.
Q. How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
A. Marketing issues consume about 70% of my time. Between our label, Axis and the clothing shop Gamma Player, structuring ways to relay to people what we’re doing takes a lot of time, preparation and execution. For this, we’ve assembled a team of people that I’ve worked with for over 10 years to handle certain tasks. Because we creating so many projects at the same time, it can be difficult to make sure we’re all on the same channel, but we managed a system of shuffling information quite well considering. The marketing does not drive creativity. It’s the opposite. Every project is different and requires various strategies. From this, we’ve learned a lot over the many years.
Q. How would you describe your work?
A. It’s difficult. My actions are moving towards something, but I’m really sure. I feel that it’s important, but I really don’t know why. Luckily, work has never been a struggle. I’ve never had a creative block or anything – it evolves on a time system that I control. I favor the subjects of Science Fiction and the work is just a reflection of how I envision it.
Q. Who were your teachers?
A. My father and brother. Dale Willis, Arthur C. Clarke, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Martin Luther King Jr, Pierre Cardin, Oscar Niemeyer and many, many other. Without knowing their individual names, decades and decades of people at parties have taught me how to communicate musically.
Q. Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
A. Moderate jail time. How much time should be determined by the true reasons of the burglary. Was the culprit committing a crime for necessity or preference? Was their a family or a addiction to feed?
Q. You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
A. The Rat. We’re longtime enemies.
Q. If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
A. This is a tough one. Musically, I’d have to say in Harlem, New York between 1939-1945. The Great Jazz era. Spiritually, during the completion of the last Egyptian Pyramid to see what they were really made for?
Best known for the abstract minded LUV*JAM parties, now into it’s 7th year. The LUV*JAM has developed somewhat of a local cult following with the mighty ONK and it’s ONKTIONARY. It’s as much an art project as music, but expect supreme sound, extreme darkness and lots of places to hide. He’s been playing for We Love… at Space for the past 7 years, bringing minimal tech jazz and abstract house music to Ibiza. Coley’s Onk Triplet is a continuous mix spilt into 3 parts for easy downloading and perfect for ripping to CD. An energy packed mix from the get go, taking us back to his set in the Red Box at our closing party. Great stuff. Parts 1, 2 and 3 – here.
Q. Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
A. I wouldn’t call it life changing, but I certainly enjoy Charles Bukowski in particular “South of No North”.
Q. Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
A. No, but there was always music around us. My dad loved Tamla Motown and my mum was a country and western and disco fan. So I had a nice collection of 7″ to play. There was always two hi-fi tops and turntables around for me to have fun with!
Q. How did you begin to work professionally in music?
A. A lot of my music has come from my love of design and music combined really. My first taste of the industry proper was being fortunate enough to direct music videos for Death In Vegas on Concrete and Attica Blues on Mowax, both mine and their first videos which I directed straight from college on shoe stringbudgets, but had great fun in the process.
Q. How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
A. I just keep on doing different things. Education. I think one thing I can always look back on and think, yes that definitely gave me inspiration. Sounds tacky, but it’s where i gained in confidence and crazyness. We were always given strange briefs like “find as many uses of the common household brick as you can” and create something out of a “loaf of bread” – odd, I know and seemed pointless exercises at the time, but intended to make you think outside of the box!
Q. Where is your current studio and what is it like?
A. I have a design meets music studio which allows me to cover all aspects of motion graphics using after effects pro and audio with logic pro. I have a great set up where I can record mixes direct into logic and compress the sounds I also build my own productions in Logic and relating it back to my design, I create specific sound fx for my pictures, it all goes hand in hand. The studio is small, quaint and full of quirky images and artifacts and oh, lots of vinyl.
Unlock your mind
Q. How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
A. I think marketing yourself is an important factor to any business or trade! How you choose to do that is a personal thing. There are so many useful tools to help everybody gain reputation. I would say it has only helped my creativity in pushing into other directions it may not have gone down.
Q. How would you describe your work?
A. Creative, unusual, bespoke, odd. Some people don’t understand me at first. Those who do, I’m fortunate enough to befriend and vise versa.
Q. Who were your teachers?
A. Musically I’ve always looked up to pioneers like Underground Resistance. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet Mr Mad Mike himself in Detroit land! I think my first Musical crush was to the one and only Mr FAST EDDIE SMITH. He was my hero if I had one! Locally I’ve been following people who I’ve worked with in the past and can say they are of inspiration, like Mike Monday, Frank Tope, Geddes and his Murmur thing and of course my LUV*JAM buddies, we’re always helping each other make sounds. Visually I will always look artists such as Jake Tilson, Cy Twombly and Kim Hiorthoy
Q. Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
A. Need to think on this but they could quite happily do all my flyposting for the rest of their lives, because I’ve had enough!
Q. You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
A. Those daft, ugly squashed up dogs. Sorry!
Q. If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
A. The year 303, 808 or 909 – sorry i’m being greedy My rent was once £303, I was so happy when I signed the cheque! My alarm, if I can allow myself a lie in is nicely set at 8:08. 9:09 is a great time to sit back and think, yep it’s time for a sneaky stella! Those years I have little knowledge of, but they’d be good to spend a week there just for the novelty factor!
The highlight of the Space Terraza this summer at We Love. Weekly Paul Woolford clarified, refined and defined the sound of one of the most important rooms in contemporary dance music each Sunday. Paul Woolford’s Intimacy Music label is an outlet for his more experimental offerings. Not limited by genre or expectation, Intimacy Music aims to deliver the highest calibre dancefloor techno and tech-house while also proactively trying to surprise people with avant-garde productions. If you haven’t checked out his remix of DJ Hell and P. Diddy (yes Puff Daddy, Sean John Combs, Puffy, et al) – The DJ, then do so, it’s great.
Q. Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
A. Paul Arden’s “Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite”. I don’t really go in for self-help books, but this is more like a tool for refreshing your state of mind. It comprises of a series of very short, direct, statement designed to make you think around creative problems. It’s something I always have to hand in the studio, and I’ve ended up giving away about 5 copies of it to friends over the years.
Q. Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
A. Yes. My parents supported my interest in music from a young age, and kudos to them as I started to gravitate towards drums when I was 10 – they were asking for trouble in the noise department. This didn’t end up with a kit in my bedroom, which was probably a good thing for them. I learnt the basics in lessons at school and then moved onto keyboards which offered wider stimulation. Yamaha & Casio home keyboards of the 80s had some incredible features on. One of the first Yamaha keyboards I got had a very basic but effective FM synthesizer on it, which served as a good introduction to how sounds are made, and then I moved onto a Casio SK5 which had a very crude sampler on it, so between the two, I had unwittingly began to teach myself some very raw skills. These were the building blocks of everything to follow.
Q. How did you begin to work professionally in music?
A. The first record I had available was a collaboration with Swedish prodigy Tony Senghore. It was on a 3 track EP on his Anonym label and the track was called ‘This Last Week’. Heavily psychedelic deep house, and that sparked a really fertile series of collaborations and a very intense and incredible friendship. We met through a mutual friend, and immediately embarked upon a relentless period of experimenting. The first track we made was a very deep, almost aquatic drum n’ bass thing, and that was within an hour of talking to each other in the flesh. As our friendship grew, we became inseparable and made about 4 12″s including a double pack which brought us to the attention of Kevin McKay of Glasgow Underground. They signed us up for an album, which took about a year to complete in between many, many late nights of inspiration. Although I had been djing and begun to make a name for myself, I’d say this was the moment that things started to move into a professional capacity. Tony lives back in Sweden now but I still speak to him occasionally via email. I miss his humour. We had an amazing time.
Intimacy
Q. How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
A. This one’s a very complex one to answer in a manner that will do the question justice. Suffice it to say that it happens every day.
Q. Where is your current studio and what is it like?
A. It’s my second home and accordingly very comfortable. It feels right. A mixture of analogue hardware and various carefully-chosen items. I’m adding and subtracting constantly but there’s some core items that will never change. I can’t keep out of there.
Q. How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
A. I’ve thought a lot about this over the last year, and it’s true that many DJ / producer types promote themselves in ways that make them look as if they are selling racing bikes or razor blades. There is nothing quite so counterproductive as that stuff to my mind. I’m more interested in developing as an artist & producer. Marketing is a necessary distraction, but it has to be taken into consideration.
Q. How would you describe your work?
A. Exhausting but fulfilling.
Q. Who were your teachers?
A. There continues to be more & more. You never stop learning and absorbing, which is one of the most exciting things about this. At a practical level I learnt a lot from a guy called Jamie Sefton who’s studio I rented when I was about 20, Tony Senghore, and then from listening to records, Rick Rubin, Brian Eno, Steve Reich, Phil Spector, Stevie Wonder, Trevor Horn, Manuel Gottsching, Prince & many, many more incredible people. Outside of music, Jeff Koons and Andy Warhol have made many astute observations that are probably more relevant to the marketing question but nevertheless, lessons to be learnt.
Q. Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
A. The misery that comes their way naturally is punishment enough.
Q. You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
A. Skunks. They stink!
Q. If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
To get the ball rolling on what will become a regular feature on the We Love… blog. Man of many monikers, Carl Craig takes time out of his busy schedule to answer 11 pertinent questions posed by our interrogator in chief. If you have the time (and money) check out his newly released box set, The Legendary Adventures Of A Filter King. Including Planet E’s first release titled “Four Jazz Funk Classics,” which Carl Craig recorded under the pseudonym 69. This album set the standard for what was to follow in Planet E’s history. In addition, it set the stage for listeners to prepare themselves for the unique and undeniable sound the label would become synonymous with, a sort of “futuristic funk” that remains true to its techno roots, while redefining the genre as a whole.
Q. Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
A. Dirty Havana Trilogy. Lots of sex and alcohol!
Q. Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
A. No. They wanted me to work at the post office. Now my dad is very supportive. He works for me.
Q. How did you begin to work professionally in music?
A. I met Derrick May in 1988 with a demo. Actually a bunch of demos over a bunch of time. If I’ve learned one thing, persistence pays!
Q. How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
A. N/A
Q. Where is your current studio and what is it like?
A. In Detroit. I have mostly analog keyboards, a mixing desk and lots of vibe. Actually the vibe is more like a science lab!
Q. How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
A. I’ve gone through all of the marketing ideas for a small label and since I’m no specialist I just release music and let the people enjoy.
Q. How would you describe your work?
A. Heavy
Q. Who were your teachers?
A. Time and experience.
Q. Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
A. Slavery.
Q. You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
A. Possums. They’re ugly fuckers.
Q. If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
A. I would go to the time of Casanova and would be his rival.
