speak spanish? [Archive] - erutufon|nofuture

gunjack

21st October 2002, 20:40

it was the spanish gunjack: el duro technojackolantern - o or something.......... i dunno.

tony translated. here is the text.

BRIAN GIBBS / GUNJACK INTERVIEW

October 2002, if we look back a couple of years, techno has long been lacking the credibility it deserves,
Superstar dj´s, big wages, cheap equipment and, in the end, isn’t it supposed to be a big melting pot for something new and fresh to come out? But, instead, there is a growing trend towards Fixmer / Gigolo / electro-tech retro, dull boring tribal house, progressive shite and hollywood movie soundtrack breakbeat. How do you feel?

It’s easy to get discouraged! It is frustrating at times, but I just have to keep reminding myself that there will always be the cheesy trends and people who will run them into the ground. I just try to not pay any attention to the bullshit. Just gotta keep on doing my thing. I am also lucky enough to have amazing people in my life, to encourage me when I need strength.

Where is the future of the techno left wing?
Where is the excitement in the hard and dark banging stuff now?

Those of us who make raw and improvisational music will go deeper and diversify, those people who make more standard sounds, will become homogenized to the point of not being able to distinguish between one piece and the next. The whole problem I think is the atmosphere of consumerism. Looped up drumbeats and electronic music samples are acceptable and every week there are 3 more “DJ tools” records in the shops, so the standards have gone down...

Tell me about your relationship with Sheep, a no nonsense techno label. In which way is the label similar to your musical approach?

You said it perfectly. A no-nonsense approach. Fuck the bullshit. There’s no time to take the piss. Sheep, for me is a label that gives artists a chance to shine. Raoul is doing something very special with that label and I feel blessed to have had my part in it!

Tell me about the beginning of your career, how did you start DJing? And producing?

I was born in Los Angeles, grew up listening to all kinds of different music. To be honest, I started the whole DJ thing with hip hop. I was a little kid in moms garage with a ghetto set and 10 or 12 hip hop records. I got older and discovered the full spectrum of electronic music.

Born in the states and transplanted to Japan, how does the environment influence your compositions? Ever perceive the "blade runner" living environment in your life?

Got to admit that that sort of image played a big part in my coming here. When I first got here, it was tough to get started and my wife and I struggled for a long while, just to settle down and get started on a straight path towards our goals. Now we have a better living space and it is easier to become inspired by my surroundings. Japan is a dark and multi-layered country...

Is hard techno stuck in a rut? Tell me about innovation in sounds for the last two years. Have you felt "giant steps" in the progression to the future?

I think that the innovations of technology within the last few years have been really amazing! It is almost obscenely easy to compose electronic music at this point, so the standards for the quality of the records put out has dropped significantly, so there is a lot more bullshit out there, but there is still a core of artists doing something unique and special.

Tell me about your future projects. What are you up to? What is your new direction, where are you heading?

The gunjack project is still going, but I kind of want to slip into a new alias, a farewell to arms, so to speak. Musically I would like to go a bit more abstract and play more personal music, but I am still young and I need the intensity of harder sounds.

10.- Japanese techno: Kimura, Itoh, Kanamori... the most obvious, but, is there a new school of Japanese techno? How do you see the actual scene, and other Asian techno paradises, like say, Singapore?

Techno is huge at the moment here in Tokyo. Big talent everywhere and lots of interest, but it is very expensive to go out and to be honest, it takes a lot out of me to go and run around in the clubs. I rarely go out unless I am playing music.

As for “Japanese techno”, I think techno is a global sound now, and that what happens in Japan, sometimes reflects what is what is going on in other places... but there is also a new generation of young producers here who are starting to get a grip on the flow of things.

The DJ in the future: cdj100, Final Scratch, noise boxes and so on. But the dj is sill a fundamentalist vinyl junkie. Where do both terms meet?

Nowadays it’s like fucking robots man. These guys come out and beat mix for 2 hours with no improvisation whatsoever, so I think that anything that makes a DJ set more interesting, can’t be bad... but personally I like to just go out there with two decks, a mixer and maybe some effects. Vinyl is GOOD!

When will we spanish people have the opportunity to see you play here? Any chances?

I am actively seeking bookings in Spain! Contact:
briangibbs@hotmail.com

What do you listen to @ home, and in the car?

My wife and I love all kinds of music and jazz is a big part of our lives.

The line between Detroit and the rest of the world is getting more and more separated. What do you feel for modern American music...

Like I said, techno really is a global thing. While it’s true that labels like UR, Metroplex and Transmat have a sound that is distinctly Detroit, I do know other folks who release really hard stuff through the city as well. I work with a label in Detroit called TechnoCity. We are kind of trying to bridge the gap. As for my favourite American composers, John Tejada, Claude Young, Circus, Female, Carl Craig and Stewart Walker to name just a few.

Current top five:
1. Oscar Mulero – “CV is Dead” – (Warm Up)
2. Paul Mac – “Breakthrough” – (Hardcell remix) – (Stimulus)
3. Rue East - "Nonstop" - (Phont)
4. Paul Mac - "Bits of These" - (Native)
5. Billy Cobham - "Heather" - (Atlantic)

All time top five:
1. Miles Davis – “Bitches Brew”
2. Mahavishnu Orchestra – “Apocalypse”
3. M5003MB – “the Cosmic Courier”
4. George Benson – “Live at Carnegie hall”
5. Surgeon – “optic”