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A Guy Called Gerald | |
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DazedDigital.Com |
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A Guy Called Gerald London superclub Fabric this weekend will see the likes of Claude VonStroke to DJ Sneak play alongside the UK producer and Dazed interviewee, A Guy Called Gerald Text by Flora Yin-Wong | Published 16 July 2010
A Guy Called Gerald: Personally I feel that with every track my music
changes. If my music didn't change I'd have been on my five millionth
track that would sound like 'Voodoo Ray' by now. But it has definitely
changed as technology changed. I started using analog equipment in the
early years of digital music because analog machines were cheap. And if
you were just starting out that was only option. It's funny now the analog
machines are expensive and the digital stuff is cheap.
A Guy Called Gerald: I rarely DJ these days - it's hard to find the tunes.
I perform with my own compositions using two computers. My technique is a
cross between DJing and a live jam session. The compositions are designed
so that every time I play I can take them anywhere meaning the composition
is 100 per cent fluid unlike a DJ mix or someone who's playing with DJ
software - every sound you hear is separated and 100 per cent under my
control. For me this is amazing - this is where 25 years of studio
experience kicks into play. Every time I play it's a live mix-down
session. I'm doing mixes within the mix. It's the only way it feels right
and I thank Propellerheads for making something I dreamed about a reality.
Trying to get people to dance is the main goal but you must excuse me if I
say I'm from a different planet when it comes to dancing. I was from the
post disco era that means the early 80s in a community of black dancers
whose recreation time was dance more than drugs so my concept of dance is
slightly different from what I see today. But things are always changing
and I'm looking forward to Fabric to bring the dancers out.
A Guy Called Gerald: Due to my past experience as an artist on record
labels I can't really find it within myself to treat another artist the
way I've been treated by record labels so I choose to encourage artists to
try to release their own music as much as they can on their own label.
A Guy Called Gerald: To be honest most of the time I don't know what I am
listening to. I have a really cavalier technique for choosing music I
listen to. I call it the blind technique - the key thing in music is to
listen to it and not to follow names. So I tend to just close my eyes and
pick music by sound and not by name. The only problem with this is I never
know what the track is called or who's done it. So when I do DJ I know I
only have music with me I like and it's a completely random mix of these
tunes. I also don't like playing the name game.
A Guy Called Gerald: I'm not the kind of artist that seeks out people to
work with. Put it this way, back in the 90s my technique of working was
totally alien to the producer's back then. Back then I invited producer's
to my studio to work and they couldn't believe I wasn't working with a
computer. I can't work in numbers and blocks and most people do with Logic
and Ableton Live so it's rare to find people outside that.
A Guy Called Gerald: Well I just released a new album in May and I'm
preparing for some more live shows around Europe and Asia. | |
A
Guy Called Gerald, or more specifically, Gerald Simpson, is the producer
and DJ hailing from Manchester who has been famed for his contributions to
acid house and techno in the 80s. His track "Voodoo Ray" was a dancefloor
anthem heavy with trippy vocals, 303s and 808s, where his use of these
Roland synthesizers and drum machines was integral to developing his sound
in techno music. Playing a live set alongside DJs like San Francisco's
Dirtybird/Mothership label boss Claude VonStroke, ex-Phonica's Heidi, and
Matt Tolfrey of Leftroom this Saturday, we'll be expecting an eclectic mix
of sounds throughout the night. The legendary DJ Sneak will also making an
appearance, whilst at the helm of Room 3 will be New York's Wolf & Lamb
label co-founder Gadi Mizrahi and his signing Lee Curtiss, plus Circus
Company 's Carsten Klemann. Dazed speak to some guy called Gerald to find
out what all the fuss is about...
DD:
What do you try to achieve with your DJ sets?