Gerald, it has
been four years since your last album. What have you
been up to since?
Writing new music and remastering old music.
Before joining what would become 808 State,
you were part of a band called Scratchbeat Masters.
Was that your first experience as part of a band, and
how did you come to be part of it?
Yes it was my first experience as part of a band. Scratchbeat
Masters was basically a band of DJs and MCs who played
hip-hop/electro. I was starting to build my first studio
and we’d get together every Sunday and jam.
You released Voodoo Ray at about the
same time as 808 State were starting to get successful,
incidentally with Pacific State, for which
you were not originally credited. Were you always determined
to make music on your own, and how was it like to have
two tracks in the charts at the same time with two different
projects?
At the time when we made Pacific State I had
no intention of it being released. I was told it was
being made for BBC radio – a Peel Session. I’d
already agreed that I was not going to make any more
music with 808 State. It was obvious that there was
never going to be any payment so I had already started
concentrating on my own career and the 808 State project
became just a hobby.
Having two tracks in the charts was the same as having
no tracks at any time in the charts. It was pretty much
a non-event. Chart success for me has nothing to do
with my art but I’m glad it happened first time
around – now I’ve got the video and the
T-shirt “Chart music: been there, done that. It’s
crap!”
In the last fifteen years, you have released
quite a few albums and a considerable amount of singles
and EPs but some people seem to mostly remember you
by Voodoo Ray. Isn’t it a bit irritating?
Just shows the level at which most people listen to
music.
You’ve recorded for a variety of record
labels over the years, including Sony in the early days,
and your own, Juice Box. How did you get to work with
K7?
I hooked up with !K7 in New York. I’d actually
had enough of Juice Box and wanted to do something different
and I was introduced to !K7.
Your third album, Hi Life Low Profile,
was never released as such. Are there any plans for
this album to ever be released as it was intended to?
You would have to ask Sony Music.
There are rumours that 28 Gun Bad Boy
is due to be re-released later on this year. Will there
be any extra material that wasn’t included on
the original album?
There will be lots of material surrounding
the release of 28 Gun Bad Boy. The whole series
we are calling Machine Room Sessions after
Machine Room Studios, where all that stuff was written
and produced. So, like on a DVD, you will get all the
outtakes and all.
Your early work was influenced by the Detroit
and Chicago sounds. Is this still something that influences
you today?
Very much so. I’m still spinning a load of old
Chicago and Detroit material and anytime I hear anything
that sounds like it I try and pick it up.
You are also often credited as one of the spiritual
figures of the early drum’n’bass movement,
influencing some of the most high profile names of the
scene, such as Goldie or Dillija, and 28 Guns Bad
Boy is often referred to as the blueprint for jungle.
How do you react to that?
| 28 Gun Bad Boy was definitely a move away
from four to the floor rave music that was dominating
in 1991-1992. I was definitely trying to get away from
mainstream – maybe figures like Goldie and Dillinja
were feeling the same.
On your new album, you have collaborated with
Finley Quaye, with who you’d already worked on
Black Secret Technology, and Ursula Rucker.
How did these two collaborations happen?
Finley I’ve obviously known for quite a while
and we’ve written quite a few pieces of music
together. It was just a matter of time when we were
going to release some more stuff together. Ursula I
was introduced to via !K7 but I was into her material
from hearing her working with other artists including
4Hero.
You regularly collaborate with other artists
on your records. What makes you decide to work with
someone in particular, and who is the most interesting
person you’ve worked with?
Usually it’s the feeling of that person’s
material that makes me want to work with them. Everyone
is interesting in their own way.
To All Things What They Need seems
less destined to the dance floor than some of your previous
albums. Is that deliberate?
Yes it’s a deliberate move to do something a little
bit different. It seems that there is a certain few
rhythms and patterns that people perceive as dance nowadays
whereas in the mid eighties to early nineties there
was a little bit more freeform. I thought I would revisit
this pattern.
Rephlex recently released Prebuild,
an album that compiles some early 808 State tracks.
Would you have liked to be involved in the project?
I was involved in the project. If you read
the small print you will find 70% of the music on the
album is mine prior to forming 808 State.
What was your reaction when you first heard
that Graham Massey was putting this together?
Brilliant. It's interesting the way things work. A vast
percentage of the tracks were originally from a demo
tape I made in 86/87 and gave him. I'd actually lost
my original tape so it was really great to hear them
again.
How do you think the dance scene has evolved
since you were first part of it, and do you still feel
a lot of connections between your work and that of younger
artists?
I don't think it's evolved that much musically.
Commercially some of it has moved on to become a system
mirroring the pop industry. I do feel a connection with
younger artists - especially with people who sample
my music or the music of my contemporaries.
Who do you think are the best young talents
around at the moment?
When I buy music, I buy music. I don't really
register the names anymore - I'm just into the music.
I'm too old to play swap cards.
On your website, there are mention of some
live dates in February. What can people expect when
going to see you play live?
This time it's a live DJ set. I will be jamming my tracks
live using software that emulates perfectly the machinery
I used to use back in the eighties. I'm taking full
advantage of this opportunity because in the early days
I used to have to lug around an 808, 909, 303, two SH101s,
keyboards, cables, etc… Now it is all contained
in the box. Back then if you'd told me I could do it
all on computer I would have laughed at you. I'm really
not into taking all this equipment on stage for the
visual effect only. What I'm interested in doing is
giving you a dance experience. I never had anything
to lose and still don't so I'll give it to you as raw
as you got it in '88 if you were around. If you weren't
it'll be a new experience, believe me.
Email interview January 2005
Thank you to Gerald and Natasha. |
