Groovy Sessions Interview
You can see the original Bulgarian version of this interview here The translation is below…
01. Hi Adam. You are going to release your second album this month. Tell us more about the idea behind “My Groove, Your Move”?
Hey man. Well, the idea was just to make as good an album as I possibly could! It’s as simple as that really. I knew that I wanted to have a few vocal tracks this time, as well as slightly less samples and even more live playing too.
02. Your debut long player “Press On” was a huge success and was supported by many tastemakers. Does that make the making of your second album hard?
I was amazed at people’s response to “Press On” – it was my debut and when you write an album for the first time you have absolutely no idea how it’s going to turn out, or how well it will sell – it’s a very nervous time for an artist. I’m so grateful to everyone that supported it…
Having said that, I am a firm believer in artist progression and for the second album I definitely did not want to make “Press On: Part 2”, even though I know that’s what a lot of people would have wanted. Although there are elements in it, “My Groove Your Move” is much less funk-based than “Press On” – there’s only one real out-and-out funk track on the record. Even though I am a massive funk fan, I listen to so much other music too, soul, indie, jazz, rock, electronica, classical etc and I really wanted that to come across in the new LP.
03. You have great vocal collaborations in the new album including Roxie Ray from Dojo Cuts and the US rappers Wax & Herbal T. How did you choose them?
A friend sent me a link to a video of Wax & Herbal T rapping in their car over my cover of “When The Sun Goes Down” (from “Press On”). The link if anyone wants to see it is here I’m not generally a massive fan of MC’s, but I loved their style and knew that I wanted vocals on the album so got in contact with them over Myspace. It turns out they were big fans of my stuff already, so I wrote the instrumentals especially with them in mind and sent them over. When I got their vocals back I was amazed – I had no idea they could sing! I took a closer look at their videos on YouTube and was amazed to find that they could also both play instruments too, which is very rare for MCs. They truly are talented guys and deserve to do very well.
I first heard Roxie Ray when Nick Record Kicks sent me a 7” featuring her band “Dojo Cuts”. I was blown away by her voice; especially her phrasing and I had been looking for a new vocalist for the album for quite some time. I was especially excited because not many people had heard of her, and as a producer searching for vocalists that’s always an attraction – you want people to say “Wow, who is THAT??!.” Again, I contacted her though Myspace (she’s based in Australia) and luckily she was up for working with me. I did it the same way – I sent her the instrumentals and some lyrics and she came back with what you hear on the album.
04. You and Andy Smith produced together a track for the new album. Are there any other projects that you are working on?
Well, I am producing a few tracks with Andy at the moment; it has just been a bit of a struggle to finish them as we are both so busy! Apart from that I have also just started a project with Flevans from Tru Thoughts under the name ‘The Pick-Ups’. We’ve recorded loads of raw material and are just about to start going through it all. That’s gonna sound sweet I think – we’ll finish it by the end of the year so it should be out in the first half of 2010 – well excited about that! I’m also producing a few tracks for a Spanish singer called Gene Garcia that will be out on Lovemonk Records next year. There’s also a band called Hypfonic from the South West who are young guys but have some very tight demos together already and have asked me to produce their debut album which I’m very excited about. Last but not least I will be producing the debut album from a guitarist called Nick Radford, aka ‘Frootful’, who is a regular LOA contributor, plays in the LOA band and who is a wonderful player. Oh yeah, and I will also be starting my own jazz label, Fred’s Records, next year.
05. Is that true that you played mostly all of the instruments on the “Press On” album?
Most of them yes. I’m lucky that I can play a few instruments. However, for that album I was blessed with wonderful contributions from people like Eddie Roberts, Nick Radford & Charlie Hearnshaw to name but a few. I have no hesitation in calling up specialist musicians if I have a part in mind that is too difficult for me to lay down.
06. You are very in demand for remixes and you have done remixes for over 20 different labels. How do you pick a track which you want to remix, and which remix you are most proud of?
That’s a tough one. I know a lot of artists find remixes boring to do, but I love them – the challenge of having to come up with something fresh out of someone else’s work has always appealed to me. I’ve been very fortunate to work with a lot of fantastic source material, for example listening to the Tom Jones acapella for the first time was amazing when working on his “Give A Little Love” remix. I don’t think I could possibly pick a favourite remix as I’m proud of every one of them, but I listened to my version of “Brand Nu” by Soopasoul on Jalapeno Records the other day and felt proud of how it sounded.
07. You are doing live shows, a full band, Soundsystem (DJ & live drums) and DJ sets. Which one of these acts you enjoy most?
I’m a musician first and foremost and for me you cannot beat the feeling of being in the same room as other like-minded musicians, all locked into the same thing. It’s what it’s all about; it’s how the magic happens. So I would have to say playing in the live band is what I enjoy most.
08. Tell us about the musicians you are working with at the studio and at your live shows?
Well, the vocalists you already know about. Damon Minchella plays bass in the LOA band – previously he has played with Paul Weller and was one of the founding members of Ocean Colour Scene. He is completely unfazed by anything, has seen it all before and is a great bass player!
Nick Radford (who I mentioned before) plays guitar in the LOA band and everyone who hears him is blown away by his sound – he just keeps getting better and better! He is also an amazing graphic designer and illustrator – check his work here
Another guitarist who has appeared on both LOA albums (and who I’m going to be working with a lot in the future) is Eddie Roberts. Many people will know him from The New Mastersounds, who are pretty much the tightest funk band around. Eddie is a phenomenal jazz guitarist as well as the more well-known funk stuff he lays down with The New Mastersounds – a great producer too.
Special mention must go to Marek Bielski – a good friend of mine and an excellent audio engineer. It is thanks to him that the new album sounds the way it does – he has an amazing pair of ears and he knows his frequencies really well. I was very lucky that he helped mix the new record. Being able to ask someone like Marek (who was not involved in the actual writing of the album) to come in and to give me the benefit of all his experience was invaluable. Props to him…
09. You are part of the Freestyle records family, but you have worked with other indie labels such as Record Kicks and many others. For which label would you like to work in the future?
I have always been a big fan of Tru Thoughts – I have been buying their music for years and am full of admiration for the way they have built up the label and the artists they have. Even in hard times like these, independent labels like them are thriving and it’s because they do things properly. I have been lucky to do a couple of remixes for them recently and long may it continue! Ninja Tune are also a label that I admire – some of my favourite artists are on their roster. It would be great to have anything put out by those two labels in the future.
10. Name some musicians and producers that really inspire you from the past and some from the contemporary scene?
Wow, so many people as I listen to so much music! From the past I would have to say all the producers from the Atlantic, Stax & Motown labels, Wille Mitchell too from Hi Records – all the stuff from those labels sounds so good and has never been bettered in over 40 years. I listen to loads of jazz and you cant beat Blue Note & Prestige – Rudy Van Gelder’s recordings really have stood the test of time and none of the modern jazz stuff even comes close to sounding as good. Other engineers like Glyn Johns and Geoff Emerick have been very influential – again a lot of the modern recording methods don’t do it for me at all. Musicians from the past – there really is too many to mention here (a full list can be found on my myspace page http://www.myspace.com/lackofafro although I would say that Herbie Hancock, Cannonball Adderley, Sam Cooke, Grant Green, Mitch Mitchell, Kenney Jones, Clyde Stubblefield & Jabo Starks have been especially influential.
From the contemporary scene there are a number of producers I follow, in no particular order – Quantic, Bonobo, Jason Swinscoe from The Cinematic Orchestra, Madlib, Flevans, DJ Shadow (“Entroducing” was what kicked me into writing my own stuff, along with Moby’s “Play”), Mark Ronson, Danger Mouse, Smoove, The Prodigy, loads really. Musicians: Mike Bandoni, Luke Flowers, Si Allen (drums), Charlie Hearnshaw (alto saxophone), Mark Buckingham (woodwinds), Eddie Roberts & Nick Radford (guitar), Damon Minchella, Pete Shand (bass), Joe Tatton (keys) – the Haggis Horns are tight as hell too…